SANITY

Walter Montgomery stood outside of Autumn's house, looking through the window, seeing if he could spot anyone. He has had flashbacks. Pieces of how everything went down. Walter has been standing in front of Autumn's house for months. He was trying to spot him, trying to find out if he's there. Autumn has been missing for months. The same day he killed Zia, Xavier, and Evan, he vanished. Walter lit up a cigarette and took a deep pull. He blew out and felt a bit of relief on his pressured chest since he was the last one who saw all of them alive, police has been on his case, treating him like a suspect. Since there is no physical evidence linked to him, they had let him go. Walter took another deep pull and exhaled. He has been losing his mind trying to figure out why Autumn would kill everyone and why he could not touch him. Where is the cult situated, and how to get in? He knew he had to be one of them to understand them. To understand what the actual fuck happened. Walter took the last pull of his cigarette and threw it at his feet. It was still burning, still useable. He stepped on it, making sure it could not be used. The air was misty and cold; winter was nearby. Walter walked down the street and got into Autumn's car, which he got repaired. He parks the car away from the house so that no one can see it. Not that anyone in the neighborhood would notice it. He stuffs the key in the keyhole and starts the car. He didn't know where he could drive too. All he knows is that he didn't want to be home or alone. He didn't want to look at his father, who would bring up rehab in every conversation. He didn't want to sleep in his bed where he and Evan did it before everything. He was sick of talking of it in support groups like it's something normal that happened. Nothing was normal anymore. No one was normal anymore. He was not normal anymore. Walter felt his foot stepping harder and harder onto the gas. "Why did you do this, Autumn?" He whispered. "Was it because you had to leave me behind as some sort of joke. Because you fucking did something to me, and you couldn't undo it. Tell me, Autumn. Tell me!" Walter shouted and realized he was alone in the car. He tried hard not to cry but burst out of laughter instead, hardly keeping his eyes on the road. "He fucking kills everyone and left me alive." He couldn't stop laughing. "Then he just vanished. What the fuck is that about. I mean, clean up your friend's bodies first you piece of shit." Walter slowly stopped laughing and saw Zia in the back of his mind. Face burned off laying in the dirt. "Clean up their bodies, you peace of shit." He whispers. "You piece of shit!" Walter screamed, hitting on the steering wheel. A car horned as it drove in his direction, but he turned away in time. Walter stopped the vehicle in the middle of the road. He watched himself through the rearview mirror, staring. "What the fuck you looking at." He shouted and hit it broken.

Elaine stood in front of Walter's apartment door. She lifts her fist to knock but lowers it. John, Walter's father, has required her to help him deal with his trauma. She normally does not take cases outside of work, but she made an exception for him. Since Autumn is involved. Elaine firm herself and knocks on the door. "Hey, Walter." She greeted as he answered the door. "Your father told me to come around to talk to you." Walter stared at her, not saying a word. Elaine smiled when she felt uncomfortable with his glare. "Come in." Walter said and sat down on the couch. He didn't pay much attention to Elaine at all. Elaine closed the door behind her and quickly scanned around. The apartment had a different shade of brown in each section. Brown wooden doors, floor, and kitchen draw. Elegant but simple. She sat down across Walter. "You might be wondering what I'm doing here." She places her bag on the floor close to her feet. "Your dad and I spoke on the phone a week ago. He asked me if I would not mind helping you." Elaine studied Walter's behavior. His ignorance, the pain sitting on his facial expression. Walter changed the television channels seconds after the other. "I know you do not want to talk about it and feel no one would understand. I understand that. What you went through Walter was something horrifying and traumatic. Something that you just can't hide away, you need to talk about it." Walter shut down the television when she stopped speaking. He turned his head screw and smiled, "Do you know he was there too?" Elaine figured he was talking about Autumn. She didn't want to talk about him. "Yes, I do know that, but Autumn is not our main point of view here. You are." Elaine kept her tone warm and calm, presenting herself mostly. "Do you know that he just vanish and I was left with the dead bodies of his friends. Police questioned me for months, interrogated me trying to pin everything on me when he was the one who did it." Walter casually straightened himself and sat facing Elaine. "There was no evidence connecting Autumn to the crime. You said in your statement that you found Autumn in the forest when everyone was already dead. Now you believe that Autumn killed them. His friends. Why do you think he would do that?" Elaine laid a bit back into her seat. She got his attention, meaning Autumn was her way of tunneling into his trauma. "Of cause, he would perfectly kill them and left me with the plot holes. You see, Elaine, you don't know Autumn or any of them. They had dark secrets. They were dark people." Elaine nodded as Walter slightly whispered as he spoke. "And what about you, Walter? Do you have a dark secret? Did the murders of your friends made you a dark person?" Elaine realized she might have put him a bit too far. Walter began to laugh, his senseless laugh. "I'm the least dark one out em all. I was a normal human being before all of them." Elaine watched Walter senselessly continuing laughing. It was his way of showing his pain and hurt. "You don't know what the fuck you are talking about. I am the normal one. I was the only sane one out of all of them. I'm fucking sane!" He raged. "And yet here you are screaming at me. Showing imbalance emotion. Character instability. Signs of progressing insanity." Elaine kept her calm, her posture. Walter shook his head, laughing at her analysis then flipped back to being upset. "You don't know what you're talking about. You don't even know me!" Elaine took out a file from her bag and handed it over to Walter. "I know your mother left when you were still a child. You suffered from abandonment issues and clinical depression. You and your father moved around a lot, which means you never attached or committed yourself to anyone or anything. You were diagnosed with bipolar when you were in your early teens and had multiple suicidal attempts. Your father also told me that you were involved with one of the victims who died, Evan Stone. You see Walter, I never just walk into someone's house and not know who they are. You are in a state of manic, which means that you're having episodes of mood swings ranging from depressive lows to unstable highs. I know their dead was a trigger for you and brought back all of these emotions. Feeling abandonment, alone, left behind, afraid. All you need to do is tell yourself that you are feeling all those emotions." Walter stood with the file in his hand. He didn't open it at all. His tears stained the cover. "I am here to help you, no matter how long it will take." Elaine reassured him. "Thanks." Walter said, wiping his tears and threw the file on to her lap. "But I don't think you can." Elaine took the file, placed it back into her bag, and stood up. She knew she couldn't continue anymore; he had his limit. Walter walked her to the door and opened it. "Your father wants me to come to see you twice a week. I hope you took in what I told you, Walter." Elaine stepped out of the apartment and stood in the hallway. "I'll see you in two days." She said as Walter slammed the door close. Elaine slid her hand through her hair, exhaling. She couldn't show any remorse or comfort towards Walter as it would confuse or upset him. She stared at the closed door for a few seconds and went home, not knowing a crawled up Walter is crying behind it.

John Montgomery came home, finding Walter in the kitchen. Laying with his arm stretched out and a bottle of whiskey on the table. John locked the door behind him and shoved the key in his pocket. He knows whenever Walter gets distraught; he runs off. John throws his car keys on the coffee table in the living room, preparing himself for Walter. He always thought it was something terrible to prepare yourself for your child and balance yourself emotionally with whatever mood or state they might be in. "How long have you been sitting like this, Walter." He asked, taking the bottle of whiskey and threw it out in the sink.

Walter slid up, barely sitting straight. "Since that Elaine woman was here, who you hired by the way. Thank you for that. Never knew you were getting fed up with me." Walter babbled. John took a deep breath and threw the bottle in the trash. "This is not the same as all the other times Walter. You found your friends dead." Walter giggled at the word dead. "I am not enough to help you anymore. I've realized that after the past six months of my trying. Elaine is qualified enough to help you through this." John said. Walter could barely keep his eyes open. "You gave up on me, that's the thing. I always knew you had it in you. If you had a choice, you would have wanted her to take me. When you found out she was gone, you looked at me for years like you did not know what to do with me. Then came my disease, and you were back to wishing I was gone." John formed his firsts containing whatever outburst he could have. "That's not fair, Walter. I took care of us. I took care of you for so long, and I fought for them not to put you in a psych ward, and now you tell me I just wanted to you leave with your mother." Walter got up as his father was speaking to him.

"You are just lying to yourself, and you know that." He said, waiting on his father to lose his temper. "I don't care what you're saying. You're my son, and I won't let you degrade me like that. You've been spiraling out of control for six months longer than all the other times. You need help, Walter." John tried to help Walter, but he jerked his hand away. "I don't need help. I'm perfectly fine. You made sure that I am right. That I'm always just fucking fine!" Walter yelled, falling onto the floor. "Walter, come on." John took Walter's hand, pulling him up. Walter resisted in every way. "Leave me!" His voice echoed through the apartment. John grabbed him, pressing him tight against his chest. "I got you," John said as Walter cried and cried. "I got you," John whispered.