Doctor » l.h au

26%

“I’ve been through a lot Grace”

Luke sits down next from me crossing his hands around his stomach, while staring at the wall across the room avoiding eye contact with me.

“When I was eight I saw my mum kill someone.”

My mouth instantly dries in nervousness.

“The man he was attacking her, my dad was at work and I was supposed to be in bed, but I heard screaming so I came down the stairs and just watched, I didn’t even try and help her.” Luke’s voice crakes as he hides his head in his hands. “She was on top of him stabbing him, over and over. When he stopped moving she pulled the knife out of his stomach and was crying on top of him then she came over to me and just held me at least an hour, crying.”

‘Goodness Luke, I’m so sorry.” I reach over the table to try and hold his hand but it pulls away rejecting it.

“I never really did recover, for years I had nightmares, I can’t tell you how many therapists and counselors I went to. About a year ago I was home alone and I could hear someone downstairs, I-I thought it was happening again. So I grabbed a knife and I went down stairs and I- stabbe-d. h-im.”

Luke’s sobbing uncontrollably with his head down on the table. “No, Luke, no please.”

“It was my father, I stabbed my own father I stopped when I heard him scream. He survived and knew I didn’t mean it but I wasn’t ‘safe’ to be around so they sent me here.”

“Luke it’s okay”

“It’s getting to be there, I’m better now, I’m not paranoid of everything and everyone anymore.”

“It might not be any of my business but why don’t you go back to them now? If you’re on good terms?”

“I’m twenty two Grace, it’s time to live my own life, it’s not like I don’t see them, I still talk to both of them almost everyday.”

“So you’re okay then?”

“I am i'm okay.” He smiles.