Generation 1: Chapter 17

 🛑 This chapter is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18 🛑

It had been a while since Jason had ran away; he had been grounded and wasn’t allowed to go out for an entire month. Jason had still been seeing Archor, but he tried to keep it to himself after the reactions he had gotten from his parents. There were a few times when Sadie would talk to Jason about Archor, and she would also keep it from Marrick; she wanted them to start getting along, and if she told Marrick about Jason still seeing Archor, it would only stop from from ever truly bonding. Whenever Jason saw Archor, it was still the typical thing where Archor would never let him get too close and Jason was beginning to think more and more that there was nothing wrong with him. Sadie had noticed that whenever Jason saw Archor, there was actually excitement about it in his tone and excited to tell her about him, which only caused her to worry more and she didn’t want him to believe that Archor was alive. Was this his interpretation of an imaginary friend..? She came up with a plan and decided to keep it from Marrick and the rest of the family, wanting to get help for her son.

Sadie came to Jason’s room and shut the door behind her, “Are you ready to go?” She asked, seeing Jason sigh heavily and he looked to her with a blank expression.

“Do we have to go? This is stupid,” he contested and Sadie sighed as well.

“I just.. I just want another opinion, a professional one, about what you’ve been seeing.. I'm trying very hard to understand all of this for you,” she replied with a gentle smile, hearing him sigh in defeat yet again.

“But I don’t want to, it’s stupid. I see him because he let’s me. I don’t know why you guys don’t see him, but there has to be a reason for it. Maybe he just doesn’t want to hurt you guys by seeing him because you knew him,” Jason replied, somewhat surprising Sadie on how he had come up with an answer to her worry, “I don’t mind seeing him, even if he is a little.. Messed up in his normal black and white fur,” he continued, referring to Archor’s bloody state.

“Well, I think this is best, I don’t want you to be seeing such gruesome things,” Sadie said with concern, “Aren’t you curious at all to know why?” She asked, watching Jason get up from the floor and put his toy away.

“I don’t know.. I guess a little,” Jason replied.

“You know to keep this from your father and sisters, right?” Sadie asked and Jason nodded.

“Yeah, Dad would just get upset, and the girls would just be more people making fun of me. Or worse, worrying about me, like you are,” he said with a bland tone, Sadie’s expression going slightly discouraged as she followed her son out of his room and downstairs.

Marrick, Hitomi and Anya sat within the living area next to the kitchen, Hitomi studying as Marrick and Anya conversed. 

“I just hope I get into the schools I want. Hitomi was accepted into every one that she applied to, I hope I’m that lucky,” Anya began.

“I only got into those schools because of what I’m doing right now, studying my ass off,” Hitomi added.

“Hitomi,” Marrick scolded gently at her choice of words and Hitomi giggled nervously, “Don’t worry, you’re very smart too, Anya, you’ll get into every school you apply to, I know it,” Marrick encouraged and Anya smiled warmly at her father's response.

Simply just being in the presence of his father when he came downstairs made Jason uneasy and irritated, watching as his father didn’t look at him and continued talking to the girls. Hitomi didn’t bother looking up from her book, continuing her studying, but Anya turned her head around and smiled at Jason.

“Hey, baby bro! You’re always such a late sleeper on the weekends,” she said with a gentle giggle and smiled more.

Jason looked to her and shrugged, “Yeah, I guess.. I like my sleep,” he replied blandly, keeping his annoyed expression and Sadie brushed her hand down his hair.

“Where are you two off together?” Marrick asked, looking to Jason and then to Sadie, who was more likely to give him an answer. Jason hated how his father always wanted to know where everyone was at all times.

“Just a little mother-son day, that’s all,” Sadie said with a smile, trying her best to lie to Marrick, even though she wasn’t very good at it. But, Jason looked to Sadie and he was proud of her that she managed to lie so well; it only convinced Jason more that she cared for him dearly and didn’t want his father to find out about anything that she was doing for Jason.

“Do you want a ride?” Marrick asked next and Jason sighed and rolled his eyes.

“She said mother-son day, back off already,” Jason snapped and turned his attention towards the TV that wasn’t even on.

“Jason, knock it off. It’s just a simple question, tweak,” Hitomi finally looked up from her book to Jason and he completely ignored her.

Julia soon came out of the kitchen, having just eaten her lunch and coming up to Jason with a joyful smile, “Hey! Wanna go to the park today? Or go roller skating or something?” She wondered, always loving to spend time with Jason since he was closer in age to her than Anya and Hitomi were.

“Maybe later.. Mom and I are going out for a little while,” Jason replied, wanting to play with his sister and not be dragged somewhere with his mother that he didn’t want to be a part of, but he more so was going just to spend time with his mother and be out of the house away from his father.

“Oh, alright..” Julia answered, her expression sad and she walked over to the couch Hitomi and Marrick were on. Marrick grabbed her before she could sit down and pulled her onto his lap, tickling her sides and she burst out with laughter, Jason only growing more irritated since he would much rather be playing with his sister and now his father was giving Julia the fun that she wanted with Jason; Jason was even starting to get jealous at the fact that no one else could see Archor, then he wouldn’t have to be going through with seeking help like his mother wanted for him.

Sadie and Jason soon arrived at the psychiatrist’s office, one that specialized in studying and treating children and adolescents. They walked in and Jason waited for Sadie, watching as she walked over to a girl behind a desk that sat in front of a large pair of stairs. 

“Welcome, can I help you?” The girl asked Sadie and she smiled.

“Yes, I made an appointment for my son, Jason Dubois,” Sadie replied and the girl looked through her computer.

“Oh, here it is. You’re Mrs. Hughes’ 1:00?” She asked and Sadie nodded, the girl smiled, “Alright, well, she’s still with a patient right now, have a seat. I’ll call when she’s ready for you,” the girl added.

“Alright, thank you,” Sadie said with a smile, walking over to Jason, “Let’s have a seat, sweetie,” she said to him and he nodded, though still wishing he wasn’t there.

“Now, don’t be shy or scared to tell her everything you’re here for, we’re here to try and figure out why you’re seeing these things, okay?” Sadie said with an uneasy tone and Jason couldn’t help but smirk at his mother; she was more nervous about this than he was.

“I know, Mom, it’ll be okay,” he comforted her and she soon smiled at Jason.

“You’re a lot braver than I am, and I want you to know that I love you and there’s nothing wrong with you, I’m just.. Concerned is all,” Sadie continued and Jason sighed, but kept his smirk.

“I know, Mom, I just want to get this other with,” Jason replied and Sadie nodded in agreement, proud of him and how he was taking all of this so calmly.

It was 12:59pm when the patient with the psychiatrist came down from upstairs and left the building, the girl at the desk then called for them, “Jason? Mrs. Hughes is ready for you now.”

Jason looked to the door and wondered if he should take this last chance to make a run for it and not go through with it, but when Sadie stood, Jason looked to her and sighed, not wanting to disappoint his mother and reluctantly following her upstairs.

They walked upstairs together and Jason stood by the door as he watched his mother sit in the living area just outside of the room, “You’re.. Not coming in with me?” He asked, finally getting nervous about talking with a stranger about what he had been seeing.

“No, I’m not, it’ll give you some privacy, she might even ask questions about home and I don’t want you to feel held back if I’m in there with you. Whatever you two talk about isn’t going to leave that room,” Sadie assured her son and he made an uneasy expression, soon looking to the door and hesitating, “Go on, it’ll be fine. I’ll be right out here if you need anything at all,” she continued and Jason soon nodded, walking to the door and slowly stepping in.

Jason walked into the room and looked around, seeing a weird contraption in the corner of the room to his right, soon looking to art supplies scattered about, a presentation board, a desk and computer and then to the living area in the middle of the room. He had to admit, he really liked that room as he continued looking around, shutting the door behind him and soon feeling relaxed as he stood there.

Jason’s eyes soon met the brown orbs of Mrs. Hughes and she smiled warmly, leaning over and putting out her hand for Jason to accept and shake. 

“Hello, Jason, I’m Mrs. Hughes, or you can call me Elaine if you prefer, doesn’t matter to me,” she said with another warm smile, her tone laid back and very welcoming. Jason soon smirked and shook her hand.

“Hi,” is all he could say.

“Quiet, are we? Well, let’s change that. Let’s have a seat, I want to get to know you better,” she said with, again, a warm smile and Jason was soon warming up to her the more that she smiled at him. He studied her face a little, guessing she was in her mid thirties or later, but she was still very pretty and had a youthful look to her.

Elaine took a seat in a chair and Jason chose the love seat, sitting there awkwardly and waiting for things to begin, however they were supposed to.. 

“So, Jason.. When your mom set up this appointment, she only told me a little about you. I wanted to keep the details short because I wanted to hear more from you. But, she told me that you see things, is that right?” She asked with a smile, Jason growing nervous and his fingers fidgeted within his lap, his childish behavior shining through and not sure if ‘yes’ or ‘no’ was the right answer. He sat there in silence and looked to his lap, Elaine chuckling lightly under her breath at his bashfulness.

“It’s alright, Jason.. Nothing that you or I say in this room will be repeated once you leave, it’s just you and me, okay?” She assured him and he looked to her, soon nodding and she decided to ask a different question, “How’s life at home?” She wondered.

“Umm..” Jason began, still unsure of what he should and shouldn’t confess, but he soon sighed and decided to answer her to the best of his ability, “It’s.. Alright,” he replied.

“Just alright?” Elaine wondered and Jason shrugged, “Tell me about your mother, how do you feel about her?” She asked with a smile, seeing Jason smirk slightly.

“She’s great. I really love her, and I couldn’t have asked for a better mom,” Jason replied with his smirk turning into a smile and Elaine only smiled more warmly to his words.

“That’s wonderful..” Elaine replied, writing something within a tiny notepad tucked between her thigh and the armrest of the chair, “How about your sisters, how many do you have?” She asked and Jason continued his content expression.

“Well, there’s Hitomi, the oldest.. Then Anya, then Julia, then me. So, 3,” Jason answered and Elaine nodded joyfully.

“Wow, good.. Good. Tell me a little about them, do you all get along?” She asked next and Jason nodded.

“Yeah, besides the random stupid girly drama that is pointless that they always pull me into. Other than that, we get along, I like spending time with them,” Elaine kept her smile and nodded, adding a few more things to her notes before continuing.

“And what about your father.. Marrick, correct? How do you feel about him?” She asked and Jason withdrew from her instantly, his face growing angered and he watched as she instantly wrote more things onto her notepad solely from his expression. Jason sat there and didn’t answer her, feeling as if this was a trap to get him in trouble so he sealed his lips. 

“Jason, it’s quite alright.. I want you to be comfortable with me, I want us to talk, get to the root of why you see the things you do, or why you’re seeing things in general. Please, go on,” Elaine continued, assuring Jason that his secrets would be safe with her by smiling at him more and Jason finally deciding to fess up.

“I don’t like him,” he finally spoke quietly and Elaine simply nodded, wanting him to continue, “He’s just.. He gives me the creeps, I don’t know why.. I’ve never liked him, for as far back as I can remember. I don’t trust him,” he continued and Elaine made a slightly surprised expression.

“Well, it’s very good that you’re talking about it. Feel free to continue if you’d like, only if you’re comfortable,” she replied with another smile and Jason nodded, starting to feel a little more relaxed around Elaine.

“It’s just.. I honestly don’t know what it is about him.. I’m not trying to lie to you or anything, I really don’t know.. But, I don't like being around him. It’s gotten to the point where he doesn’t expect me to talk to him, and sometimes he respects me enough to not say anything to me to keep me from getting angry,” Jason continued.

“Well, that’s good, isn’t it? He doesn’t want you upset with him, so he gives you your space. Isn’t that what you want?” She asked and Jason looked to his lap.

“I never said that,” he said quietly.

Elaine let out a gentle chuckle, “You don’t need to. It’s obvious that your holding something against your father, do you have any idea what that could be?” She asked and Jason looked to her, soon shaking his head ‘no’ and she nodded, “Is there anything else about him that you don’t like? Anything that he does that makes you angry?” She wondered.

Jason thought for a few short seconds before continuing, “Well, he always wants to know where we are. All the time. We can’t leave the house without letting him know where we’re going, it’s so annoying,” he replied.

“Isn’t that what a parent is supposed to do, though? Know where their child is, just in case, god forbid, something bad were to happen?” Elaine asked, trying to see the logic behind Jason and he then continued.

“He doesn’t only do it to me and my sisters, he does it to my mom, too. He’s always controlling her. He has such a nice way of saying things to her and it blinds her, but the meaning behind what he is saying is way more strict that he’s making it seem to be.. I.. Don't know how to describe it better,” Elaine nodded more and Jason was beginning to get irritated by her just constantly nodding, not to mention just talking about his father was making him mad. “Are we done yet?” Jason asked impatiently and Elaine let out a soft laugh.

“No, not quite.. With your permission, I’d like to try something with you,” Elaine began, catching Jason’s attention and he was slightly curious about what she wanted to do, “Have you ever been hypnotized?” She wondered, Jason’s expression going surprised and somewhat excited about the idea of it and he shook his head ‘no’. 

Elaine smiled, “Would you like to try it? All you would do is go into a meditative state, I’ll ask you questions, and it’s your subconscious that answers. I would like to try to reach yours, since I’m still not seeing any red flags yet that would be the cause of your.. Imagination,” she corrected her words, trying not to insult him and make him feel like he was ‘different’. Her words made Jason finally smirk again, making him believe there was nothing wrong with him and he was somewhat relieved.

“Okay, let’s try,” Jason agreed and Elaine smiled.

“I want you to completely free your mind. Take a few, long, deep breathes, letting them out slowly. Think about anything that makes you calm.. Happy.. Content.. Relaxed.. At ease.. Something that you love perhaps. Your mother? Your sisters? A toy? Focus on staying calm and relaxed, breathing in.. And out..” Elaine cooed softly and she waited an entire minute, watching as Jason’s eyelids grew heavy and he soon laid on the sofa. 

Her words soon lessened to a whisper, “Jason?” She questioned, not getting anything in response and she smirked, continuing in a relaxing, quiet tone, “When I count to three, you’ll wake up and have no knowledge of what we’ve discussed during this, but I’m going to be talking to your subconscious, I would love for it to reply..?” She somewhat questioned, hoping it would work, although knowing it already was working by her soothing tone. 

“Jason? Can you hear my voice?” She asked at a normal volume, Jason nodding after 10 long seconds and Elaine continued, holding the notepad ready in hand, “Where are you right now? What do you see?”

Elaine waited another long 10 seconds and Jason finally replied, “My house.. I see my mom, holding Julia..”

“How old does she look? Are Hitomi and Anya there, as well?”

“She’s.. A toddler. It’s Anya’s birthday, everyone’s there,” he continued, his voice eerily responding with a blank and bland tone every time with no emotion detectable, seeming as if he was a robot.

“Very good..” Elaine added, still not bringing up Marrick, “What are they all doing together? Where are you?” She continued.

“They’re all.. Getting ready to go somewhere.. Somewhere, fun.. Just the girls..”

“Where are you?” She repeated.

“I don’t know.”

“..Where are you, Jason? Search the house,” She repeated yet again.

“Upstairs, in my room.”

“..Are you the same age as you are now?” She asked and Jason hesitated.

“There’s a crib in my room where my bed should be, there’s a baby boy in the crib, he’s sleeping.”

“Very good, Jason. You’re doing very well,” she encouraged before continuing her questions, “Why are you in your room?”

“I can’t get the door to open.”

“Who is the baby?” Elaine wonders.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you hear?”

“The television.. Just outside of my room.. It’s on.” Jason replies in his bland tone.

“Who’s watching it?” She wondered.

“My father.. He’s.. Talking to someone,” Jason continued, showing signs of irritability now that they were discussing his father more, “I hear.. A dog barking. He’s barking louder now.. My dad yells at it, but I can’t understand what he’s saying.”

“Why do you think your father is yelling at the dog?” Elaine asked.

“I don’t know.. It won’t stop barking. The baby starts to cry.. My dad comes in and picks him up, walking him around the room and he manages to quiet the baby so it can go back to sleep.”

“Then what happens?” Elaine wondered, trying to dig a little deeper now that Jason had mentioned the dog. Sadie had told Elaine over the phone while making the appointment that Jason was seeing their old dog, Archor, which Jason was supposed to be far too young to know or even remember. Elaine is intrigued by Jason’s words, beginning to think that she may be finding the root of his problem.

“My dad leaves the baby in the crib.. It’s sleeping again. A long time goes by.. My room is dark now and the baby is still sleeping.”

Elaine takes a moment to think before continuing, “Is the baby, you, Jason?” She asks.

“I don’t know.” Jason then grows irritable again, shifting more than he ever had and something is obviously bothering him.

“Jason..? Breathe.. Keep calm.. What do you hear?” Jason’s expression soon grows slightly scared and she notices his hands beginning to shake, “Jason, focus.. Jason.. What do you hear?” She continued.

Jason’s voice isn’t as bland and monotone anymore, Elaine detecting that he was growing scared of something, “My dad.. He’s coming back up the stairs.. To my room.. I can hear his footsteps on the stairs..” Jason continues and his hands clenched into fists on the couch, struggling to continue, “I hide in the corner. I hear him touch the knob.. But, he doesn’t come in.. He’s talking to someone again.. The dog sounds scared.”

“The dog is still there, outside of your room?”

“Yes.. He sounds.. Defensive, as if he’s protecting something.”

“Is the dog protecting the baby?” She asks and Jason shifts his entire weight, a tear falling out from his shut eye and he grows terrified of what he’s beginning to hear next, “Jason? Stay with me.. Jason!” Elaine struggled to get him to talk more, but his body was going into a gentle spasm and his entire body was shaking in fear.

“1, 2, 3!” Elaine called out, watching as Jason’s eyes suddenly shot open and he sat up immediately, panting and sweating and soon wiping his one eye to see that he had been crying.

“Are these tears? What happened?” He asked Elaine in a panic, noticing that his entire body was still shaking and he could still feel fear within his most recent emotions that he was unaware of.

“It’s alright, take a few deep breaths..” Elaine suggested with a smile, Jason oddly feeling better quicker than he would’ve thought and tried to relax again on the couch, “Usually I do hypnosis to patient’s who have been coming to me a little longer, but your mother made it clear that you wouldn’t want to do this more than once, so I skipped a few steps. I can tell you though that we made a lot of progress, I’m very proud of you,” she added.

“What did I say? What did I talk about?” He asked somewhat excitedly, surprised that it had actually worked.

“Well, you talked of your mother and sisters, your father, and a dog,” she replied, Jason surprised and he nodded, waiting for her to continue, “But, you got upset the more we went on, and I didn’t learn anything too devastating that would cause me to worry too much,” she said with a smile and Jason believed her, soon smirking and letting out a soft sigh of relief, “I think we should end our session now. Do you feel anything.. Different?” She wondered.

Jason shrugged, “Was I supposed to after that?” Jason asked, but his tone made it seem as if he didn’t care for an answer.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, huh? Come, let’s go to your mother,” Elaine said with a smile and Jason hopped off of the couch, Elaine following him to the door and out of her office.

Jason came out of the office first with a smile on his face, Sadie noticing and taking it as a sign that he did well. 

“How was it?” She asked him.

“Easy,” he said with a confident grin and she caressed the side of his head with an approving smile.

“Go wait in the car, I’m going to talk to Mrs. Hughes for just one minute, okay?” Sadie asked and Jason nodded, taking the keys from her and going to the car.

“So?” Sadie began, “How is he? Did you find out what’s wrong?”

“Mrs. Dubois, this is my complete and truthful conclusion, and it’s the best professional opinion I can give you in regards to such a short session. But, I have reason to believe that Jason is suffering from one or multiple disorders.. He shows signs of Pediatric Schizophrenia, which is illustrated by symptoms such as auditory and visual hallucinations, strange thoughts or feelings, and abnormal behavior therefore profoundly impacting the child’s ability to function and sustain normal interpersonal relationships.. I also feel he has a mild case of Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or ODD.. It can be described as an ongoing pattern of anger-guided disobedience, hostilely defiant behavior toward authority figures, such as his father, which goes beyond the bounds of normal childhood behavior. Children suffering from this disorder may appear very stubborn and often angry, and whenever I brought up his father, he acted as such. I fear that he might also be bi-polar,” Elaine explained and Sadie was in shock, all of Elaine’s words not sounding at all out of the ordinary and she sighed with grief.

“Is there anything I can do, or Marrick can do to get him out of feeling this way?” She asked, worry in her tone and Elaine smiled warmly.

“It’s alright, Mrs. Dubois, all of these cases when it comes to Jason are extremely mild.. I’m not at liberty to discuss what him and I talked about, but I can tell you that he doesn’t hate his father.. He’s scared of him.. Terrified, actually,” Elaine said softly, losing her smile and Sadie’s eyes widened.

“Excuse me?” She asked, “Why would Marrick scare him? Well.. He can be intimidating at times, but he’s done nothing to our son for him to feel so strongly about this. I can’t imagine why he would be scared of him.”

“Well, maybe that’s something Jason and Marrick need to work on together.. I’d love to try and convince you to let me have a few more sessions with him, but I don’t want to pry.. It’s his decision completely,” she said with a soft smile.

“If this keeps up,  and if he wants to come back, then I’ll give you a call. Thank you for all that you’ve done,” Sadie said with an appreciative smile, shaking Elaine’s hand before leaving.

“My pleasure. Let Jason know that I’m always here to listen,” she comforted and Sadie nodded, leaving the office building to drive her son home as worry consumed her.

Sadie worried for Jason the whole ride home, but she never let it show as she listened to her son and he talked normal, seemingly not having a care in his heart about the visit, and Sadie realized Mrs. Hughes had probably made him believe there was nothing wrong with him.. At least he felt better, she thought. Sadie didn’t say much on the ride home, but when they walked in through the front door, Jason soon quieted, noticing his father on the couch with a scowl cemented on his lips and he looked angered. 

“We’re back,” Sadie said with a bland tone, Anya being the first one to acknowledge them and she smiled.

“Hey, mom! Hey, Booger!” She teased and Jason smirked slightly, “How was your guys’ day together?” Anya asked and Sadie looked to Jason, smiling at him.

“It was very nice,” she said softly, watching as Jason smiled back to her and he was convinced that he had done good today. Sadie was proud of him for going through with everything, but she felt bad that she was lying to him about his results.

Marrick rose from the couch, Jason’s smile instantly disappearing as he watched his father approach his mother and he grew irritated, knowing that Marrick was about to question her and he wished that his psychiatrist could witness this herself. Marrick pecked Sadie’s lips and looked to his son, glad they were both back, but wondering where they had gone to.

“You two were gone a while, what did you end up doing?” Marrick asked first. Jason sighed and rolled his eyes.

“We just hung out. Saw a movie, got a bite to eat,” Sadie replied, Jason looking to her and studying her expression, seeing that even he believed her lie and Jason was the one that was actually with her. Marrick continued to look at Sadie with somewhat judgmental eyes, somehow knowing she was lying and he wanted to know why.

“What did you see?” He asked next, Jason letting out an over-exaggerated sigh and his eyes hurt for how hard he rolled them in agitation.

“Jeez, are you the police now? We saw a movie and ate, stop asking questions. Mother-son day, meaning not you, and not Dad-jealous-and-annoying-day… Oh, wait, that’s every day,” Jason insulted and Marrick grew angered instantly.

“You watch that mouth of yours or you’re not stepping foot outside of this house for months.. Don’t test me, I’m getting sick of this and sick of how you treat me. It’s time for you to grow up,” Marrick hissed and Jason grew intimidated and he averted his eyes.

Jason then completely ignored his father, looking to the doorway that lead to the study, swearing to himself that he saw something walk into it.. 

“Whatever, I’m going upstairs,” Jason said angrily.

“Stay up there the rest of the night, you’re in trouble for speaking to me like that,” Marrick added angrily.

“Fine!” Jason continued, quickly making his way upstairs and no one followed him.

Jason reached the study, looking around it before he went upstairs, “I could’ve swore I saw something..” He said in a whisper to himself.

Jason then heard claws tapping at the very top of the steps, looking just in time to see the back pair of dogs paws and tip of the tail, noticing parts of them were stained in red. Archor..? Jason thought to himself, looking behind him and noticing no one was following him or going to be soon, beginning to slowly follow the sound of the gentle footsteps on the floor above him. Jason walked up the stairs, then looked to the other stairs leading up to the third floor and seeing the same thing, the back pair of Archor’s paws and tail. Where are you going..? He wondered, looking down to the first floor and still not seeing or hearing a sign that someone was coming up. Jason continued, following Archor upstairs and going to the third floor.

Jason reached the top of the stairs and his eyes widened, seeing Archor balled up in a cowardly way, laying on the floor; unknowingly to Jason, where Archor was brutally murdered more than a decade ago. Jason was hesitant to approach, wondering if he should go get his mother, but he soon decided against it, realizing that Archor wouldn’t be there when they got back. Jason watched Archor, surprised that Archor had let him get this close to him without leaving or making a run for it. 

“..A-Archor?” Jason finally tried to acknowledge the dog, getting a little squeamish as the smell of blood was a lot stronger now than it ever had been.

Jason continued to stare at Archor, wondering what he should do and wondering what Archor wanted him to do. He’s just.. Lying there.. Like it’s where he’s meant to be, right outside my door.. Jason thought to himself, feeling an eerie sense flow over him and he shut his eyes, putting his hands over his face and rubbing his eyes.

“This is too real.. I want it to stop,” Jason said out loud to himself, continuing to rub his eyes and he soon looked up, Archor nowhere to be found and Jason hadn’t even heard him move, but he was gone again. Jason sighed in relief, slowly walking towards the spot that Archor was laying and the scent of blood only grew stronger and harder to handle. Jason observed the clean floor, then sighing in defeat, convincing himself that maybe the psychiatrist was lying to him. Maybe there really was something wrong with him.. Mom was quiet the whole ride home after she had talked to Mrs. Hughes and I didn’t even notice.. I wonder what she told mom..? Jason thought to himself. Out of nowhere, his keen eye then noticed a tiny, almost unnoticeable pin-point of a stain, Jason bending down slowly and touching it, scratching it off of the floor and he looked to his fingernail, rubbing the few specs of the substance he had gathered between his index finger and thumb. 

Jason gasped gently, “No..” Jason said to himself, standing to his feet, “That’s not blood..” Jason tried to convince himself, deciding to ignore what he had found between the crack of the floorboard and going to his room.

After they had all eaten dinner, except for Jason since Marrick had refused anyone to bring him anything as Jason’s punishment for his words earlier, they all bid one another good night and went to their rooms, Sadie looking at a butterfly Jason had caught her a few days before and smiling gently. 

“You’re a bad liar,” Marrick began and Sadie’s heart froze, not expecting him to say those words and she continued to look at the butterfly, trying to keep her attention off of the subject.

“What are you talking about?” She asked curiously and Marrick let out a quiet chuckle.

“Give it up. Where did you go with Jason?” He more so demanded than asked, Sadie growing guilty and not wanting to tell him the truth in fear of how he could react. She turned to face him when she heard him approach her from behind, looking to his eyes and somewhat noticing the same look that Jason often had; they’re more alike then either of them realize. Sadie thought, but shook off her worry, focusing on Jason again and growing remorseful.

“I.. I took him to see a psychiatrist, I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you would only get upset.. But, Marrick, he’s still been seeing Archor all this time, and it just got to be too much for me, I had to see if I could figure out what was wr..” She stopped her words, not wanting to admit that her only son was suffering and that something was wrong with him.

Marrick’s expression didn’t change, knowing full well that Jason had still been seeing Archor; I’m not stupid, I can see right passed his eyes. I heard every night that he chose to tip toe all the way down both set of stairs, passed my room.. I knew. “What did they say about him?” He asked, looking to Sadie with the same blank expression.

It was the last thing that Sadie had expected him to say, wondering how he wasn’t phased really by what she had just told him and she couldn’t help the tears that built up in her eyes. Marrick noticed instantly and put his arms around her comfortingly, feeling her return the hug tightly.

“She told me he might have several things.. He could be schizophrenic, he might have ODD, he might even be bi-polar.. Why does my baby have to go through all of this?” She asked, pleading for an answer and he was pained by her dismay, “You need to talk to him, I don’t care if he makes it seem like he doesn’t like you or whatever the hell he feels towards you. I want all the fighting to stop and I want my boy to be okay,” she continued and it made Marrick come to a realization.

It’s all happening exactly how I didn’t want it.. I didn’t want a son for this very reason. He was insane, like me, he had to be. He’s seeing Archor’s ghost for reasons that are unknown, and I want all of this to end. I don’t want him to go through this, either, Sadie.. I really don’t, that’s why.. That’s why I’ll take care of it. All of this hate, torment and suffering Jason is going through will soon no longer be a problem; not for him or you, or me, or anyone. I’ll give him the push he needs to get passed this, I’ll..

“I’ll take care of it,” he assured her, feeling her pull away slowly and she soon smiled, wiping her eyes softly before the tears could fall and happy that she believed he would make everything better. He had to, one way or another.

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Resources and information within this chapter gathered from this article.

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Original chapter written and posted on April 24, 2013