London Institute For The Mentally Ill (An Infernal Devices Fanfic)

XVIII

It was Tatiana's turn to visit today, apparently.

Gabriel and her weren't really that close as siblings in the family. He just can't find himself tolerating his sister's girly antics, and the feeling is mutual on her towards his videogames. Despite that, her welfare is his concern — both him and Gideon's actually — because his brotherly duties say so.

She was wearing heavy make up today; her eyes are plastered with colors and so were her lips and her bone structure is defined well. From the neck down she is dressed in pastel pink. She really is a stereotypical girl, and her loud fashion sense would've severely annoyed him before.

It still annoys him, but there's a certain amusement to it he can't ignore. She's just being young, and he doesn't mind young.

"So," Tatiana started, "Gideon has apparently talked to the head nurse of this facility. A few more weeks and you'll be allowed to go home."

Gabriel looked around the hall. He is surrounded by his co-patients entertaining their respective visitors. Looking at them, he doesn't think most of them would be cleared anytime soon. He smugly smiled to himself.

Tatiana may have noticed the smile on her brother's face. "You like it here?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Maybe." Sure, he hates being reminded every day that he is just as much of a freak as the others here, but the institute is far more alive than his home. The people here are mundane beings he can actually talk to about normal stuff — nobody nagged him about his duties as a future business owner, and he is actually allowed to deal with stuff he doesn't like the way he sees fit, which usually consists of physical violence which results to him being reprimanded but at least here, he feels like he is allowed to hit someone.

"Dad's going to buy this hospital, so you can manage it yourself if you really like the place that much." Tatiana inspected her posh nails, buffed and, like the rest of her face, colored.

Gabriel stared. "But I thought a Mr. Mortmain is going to buy this hospital." The first thing that came to his mind is the rumor floating around the hospital. Apparently Mr. Mortmain has an affair with one of the nurses — which obviously isn't Sophie since Gideon is already snogging her for himself. Maybe Mortmain was embarrassed to have his secret girlfriend exposed, to say the least.

"Mortmain?" Tatiana said,"Oh, you mean the owner of the clockwork company. Aren't you aware that he and dad would be co-owners of this place?"

Gabriel gaped, which prompted her to roll your eyes. "Why am I not surprised? You don't have interest in stuff like this."

Gabriel thought back to when Gideon told him the reason for their late mother's suicide back when he was nine and is too innocent to figure out stuff. Their father had told them that she's been suffering from PTSD due to her complicated past but is too prideful to seek help. Turns out her cutting her wrists in the bathtub is much more than that.

Benedict Lightwood is HIV positive.

He's been to a lot of promiscuous affairs disguised as business meetings without their mother knowing. As soon as she found out she was HIV positive, she confronted their father, who confessed about all his affairs. Three nights later, he found her dead in their bathtub, her blood mixed with the water overflowing it.

It seems to Gabriel that him buying the place serves as an act of retribution for himself, a way to make up for breaking their mother's mind. Tatiana doesn't know the full story, and the two of them would like to keep it that way for now. Her young mind is only processing girly stuff like makeup and celebrities she'd like to party with. She has pride over her intelligence albeit it's just a vain and delusional type, which, when fueled about what their father really did, would explode.