BURNS » Niam ✔

5 - This Should Have Been It

"Yes. Unfortunately, on an off week, my temporary replacement lost control of him and the orderly had a hard time retraining him. Greg got away, snatched a lighter from one of the employees on a smoke break out front and set our grass on fire."

Niall felt his heart go numb. "Oh. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. No one was hurt and the fire was so small they easily put it out with a cup of coffee. So no one was sued."

"That's good. You scared me for a bit."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. But the second thing you must know is that ever since he was brought in, he's suffered from delusions. He has it bad. They've concluded it comes from his traumatic past. He takes medication to help him but it hasn't completely kicked in yet either. I had just given it to him before you knocked on the door. So be gentle."

Niall gulped. "Yes ma'am."

She smiled. "Alright. I'll be at the end of the hall on the couch. That's where I take my breaks. Just holler out of the door if you need me. My name's​ Betty."

Betty stepped out and opened the door wide. When he walked inside, she closed the door behind him. The first thing Niall noticed when he looked around the room was that Greg was sitting up in his bed and watching TV. Greg didn't even notice him come in until he saw him out of the corner of his eye.

"Who are you?" He asked mysteriously.

"My name is Niall. I'm your younger brother. It's been fifteen years since you've seen me. I'm twenty three now."

Greg turned away from him. "I have a brother?"

Niall felt his chest could combust right there. What? Greg didn't remember having a brother? After all that Greg put him through as a child, he couldn't even remember who he was now?

"Yes. You have a brother. How can you forget me?"

Greg shrugs. "I don't know you. Does Ms. Betty know you're here?"

"She let me in."

"Oh."

He returned to watching TV and Niall sat down in the chair across from him. He couldn't​ believe that he got a comfortable room with a bathroom, bed and TV, along with 3 full meals a day after everything he had done. To be honest, it made him angry. "So... You just don't remember anything, huh? This is just everyday life for you. You just conveniently forget while Betty tends to your every need and watches you like a child. And you just get to sit around all day and watch tv even though you're actually a criminal."

He tilted his head sideways. "Who are you?"

"I just told you who I was. I'm your brother."

"Why are you here?"

"Because I wanted to see you. I wanted to see what kind of comfortable life you have here after you killed our parents."

Greg looked at him with a deadpan expression. "What?"

"After all that they did for you, that was how you repaid them? By taking their lives by a fiery death. How could you?!"

When he stood up, Greg sat back against the pillows to get further away from him. "What are you talking about?"

Niall scoffed. "You really are delusional, aren't you? It must be nice to murder your own parents and scar your brother for life then pretend it didn't happen."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't. But I do. And I spend every waking moment that I'm not busy thinking about it. As if you didnt hurt me enough as a little boy, you decided to take my parents too?! You took them away from me! You completely changed my life!"

Greg still looked at him as if he was clueless.

"And stop looking at me like that! You shouldn't be afraid of me. I should be afraid of you! You're the one who has a history of taking lives!"

"Ms. Betty!"

"What are you calling her for? I'm not going to hurt you."

"Ms. Betty! Ms. Betty!" He jumped out of the bed and knocked from the inside of the door. "Ms. Betty help me! He's trying to hurt me! Ms. Betty!"

He kept screaming and knocking frantically and all the while, Niall just stood there paralyzed with fear and shock.

The door finally opened and Ms. Betty came rushing in. "Greg?! What's wrong sweetie? What happened?"

"He tried to hurt me!"

"No I didn't!"

She hugged him and put a hand up to Niall. "No sweetheart. It's okay. Remember the Psychiatrist said that only happens in your head. It isn't real."

"But Ms. Betty..."

"Now, now sweetheart. Why don't you lie down for a nap. I'll get you some warm milk to drink first."

Greg stopped hugging her and looked back at Niall with a terrified expression.

"Greg, listen to me." Betty said.

Watching Niall carefully, he got into bed and scooted underneath the covers.

Betty walked over to Niall and spoke in a low tone. "He had another hallucination didn't he?"

"No... I—"

"It's okay. This happens often. That's why we keep an orderly at the end of the hall. To help restrain him if need be. But I usually try to make that a last resort because it breaks my heart to see someone who's mentally sick be handled in that way."

"Ms. Betty." Greg called.

"Yes?"

"Tell him to leave."

She sighed and looked sympathetically at Niall. "I'm sorry. But he's obviously all riled up and I don't want to make him upset again so it might be best if you do leave."

"Yeah. I understand. I'll leave."

"Okay. But you're always welcome back for a visit. Maybe next time it won't be so bad."

"Sure." He began to walk but before he left, he stopped and looked back. "I'm really sorry, Greg."

Greg still looked at him as if he was scared and lost, so he just left out without another word. As he walked down the hall, he wiped a falling tear from his face. He hadn't seen his brother in fifteen years. He wasn't sure what he expected but this should've been it. Why did he ever think Greg would change? He never had any remorse for the things he had done. So why would fifteen years away from his family be any different?

Therefore, when Niall said he was sorry, it wasn't just for hollering at him and getting him all worked up and afraid. It was this. He might've had a bathroom, comfy bed and 3 meals a day. But that was the only thing normal about his life. Maybe Greg even suffered more than Niall did. Because even if he couldn't remember it, he lost his parents and he lost his family too. But even more than that, he lost his sanity. And Niall felt lucky that even after everything he had gone through over the years, that was the one thing that he did get to keep.