Mad House

Delaney counted the pills out methodically.

Three of the pink round pills- the Lithium that poisoned Liam's brain into normality.
And two of the white round ones- the Chlorpromazine, the new "anti-psychotic/anti-depressant" out of the clinic in Cincinnati. This was the new trial medication that Dr. James had started every patient at Brindlebrim on.

But all Delaney could think was, no one seemed any happier, and they certainly weren't any less crazy.

In her short time at Brindlebrim Delaney had fallen into a routine.

She and Millie would share coffee as they prepared meds and the charts for the day, along with procedure orders.

Each morning at precisely 8:00AM Louis would either hastefully grunt at Delaney or smile and greet her with a wave (depending on his mood) from his spot behind the rickety piano.

She would greet Rose, who was likely curled up somewhere with her book but instead of a 'good morning', Delaney would mumble "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" and Rose would shrug, "I haven't the slightest idea." she and Rose had that in common- Alice in Wonderland, her grandfather loved to read her that story as a child. Some days, Rose would motion like she would laugh- and it gave Delaney hope that maybe one day, she could muster a sound.

Zayn could usually be found reading the newspaper- surely griping about something, likely the weather (he hated the rain, a travesty in their small town located just outside of Seattle.)

Niall was always patiently waiting in the green cloth chair- ready to offer Delaney his most cheerful "Good Morning, Miss. Deedee!" (his designated nickname for Delaney.) she would then slip Niall his tiny milk carton she had hidden in the pocket of her uniform before watching him scurry up the stairs to his room.

On the rare days when Valentine wasn't burrowed deep in the laundry room pressing the uniforms, she was sat in the corner, legs crossed as she scrolled in her tattered leather journal.

She would then escort Adeline to hydrotherapy- the warm water soothed Adeline, and though the hydrotherapy had no real clinical effects, it allowed Adeline time to decompress. Also, she liked the feeling of floating.

She would then take off for Liam's room, where they would have their morning chat. It was, by far the best part of Delaney's day.

She didn't see Harry much, but the poor boy was constantly in some sort of trouble- he landed himself in solitary confinement at least once a week, but when she did he always wanted to hold a conversation about something, anything, really.

She and Millie would hurry all the residents down for breakfast and then shuffle them off to group therapy.

And this morning was no different.

Delaney had just passed Niall the tiny milk carton when the scream sounded through the hospital- it was so loud even Adeline -who usually went unphased- cringed, her eyes shutting tight.

It wasn't long before the large man hauled Harry down the stairs, his frail body flailing as he screamed. "THE MURDERER! HE'S HERE! IF WE DON'T LEAVE HE'LL KILL US ALL! I SAW HIM! I SAW HIM IN THE BASEMENT! ARE YOU ALL STARK RAVING MAN? GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

But before he could say anymore they disappeared through a door and back into a wing of the "hospital" that only Dr. James, the nuns and the orderly's had access to.

And like it never even happened, everyone went back to whatever they had been doing.

Except-

"Dr. James?" Delaney was- well...to be honest she wasn't quite sure what she was- confused, disgusted, disgruntled...

The appearance far from its usually nice, neat, clean-cut demeanor.

His slicked hair had a wild cowlick in the front like someone had raked their fingers through it, his leather belt turned to the side ever-so-slightly, the buckle off-center. He didn't appear to have his red suspenders on (which, Delaney had sworn he had on just this morning). The zipper of his pants was only half-zipped, and three buttons at the bottom of his neatly pressed shirt were undone.

"Out with it!" he screamed.

"You're all disheveled." Delaney challenged, firm in her words, her stance unwavering.

He narrowed his eyes at Delaney, his hand reaching up to smooth down the his greased black hair. "I had a run-in with Mr.Styles in the hall." he growled.

"With your zipper down?" her eyes went wide.

She wasn't sure where that came from, and she certainly wasn't one to sass- but she wasn't afraid of Dr. James, and quite frankly, she was tired of his bullshit.

His eyes went wide as his hands flew to the zipper on his trousers- quickly pulling it closed before his face twisted up into a snarl, his words seething. "Why don't you keep to yourself, Miss. Hudson! I think you're forgetting who signs your paycheck!"

And like a piece of paper in the wind, he was off.

There was something about Dr. Elliot James that left Delaney's skin crawling and littered with goosebumps- a feeling that she carried constantly, but sometimes it was far worse than others.

And as she saw Rose leaving Dr. James' office, it seemed as if every tiny hair on her body lifted to its end- a cold chill running down her spine.

"Rose?" her head was turned to the floor, one arm hanging, a fist of the navy fabric balled in her fist, her other arm crossing her chest, clutching her elbow so hard her knuckles were almost transparent.

The frail girl barely bothered to make eye contact, her head moving ever-so-slightly, her dull bangs falling to hide her sunken face.

"Rose-" Delaney repeated, her voice hush.

Delaney reached out, her hand brushing Rose's shoulder before she flinched so hard she almost sent herself into the wall. "What did he do in there?"

Rose's eyes flickered to the floor again, her body beginning to shake as she bit hard at her cracked lip, her eyes welling with tears. "Oh Rose..." Delaney let out a deep breath, doing her very best to choke back what she could only assume were tears with tsunami potential. "why don't you go up to your room, you can bathe and I'll bring you a hot cup of tea?"

Rose nodded before taking off like a speeding bullet, her feet pounding at every rickety step so fast they didn't even have time to let out their usual "creek".

Fury burned in Delaney's blue eyes as she spun, her eyes catching the door preparing to latch behind Dr.James. She sprinted, just barely grabbing the handle before it had time to catch. She snuck in, her white Keds quiet against the floor as she trailed behind.

She knew why they weren't allowed back here- it was filthy. Dirt and cobwebs hung at the walls, every other light bulb burnt out, a mysterious buzz coming from somewhere, every once and awhile she would walk by a room making a chill run down her spine as she caught sight of an electroshock machine or a straightjacket laying on the floor.

But the sight of Dr. James made her stop dead in her tracks.

The vain bastard stood in front of a mirror, his hands methodically raking through his hair- but at the sound of her footsteps he spun, his cheeks pulling up taught. It was then, at the sight of his smug, nausea-inducing smile that she felt something take over her.

"What did you do to that poor girl?"

He let out a low chuckle, pulling back at his white lab coat, his left hand sliding into the pocket of his trousers, "Now, now-" he chided, "there's no need for jealousy Miss. Hudson. There is plenty to go around, your time will come-" she cringed as he reached up, his right hand wrapping around her cheek, his calloused thumb stroking at her porcelain skin. "as will you."

A resounding slap sounded down the long narrow hallway- making the lanky man stumble backwards his hand finding its way to his cheek which was already glowing red, the swelling setting in moments later.

An uncomfortable sting took over her delicate hand as she shook away the pins-and-needles.

"Touch her again-" Delaney warned, now cradling her right hand in her left, "I promise you'll regret it, the authorities don't take those types of allegations lightly." she reached down, smoothing at her apron, "And don't you dare take Harry to solitary, all that time in there isn't making him any better." she huffed before spinning in her heels, making hr way down the long white hallway, the dim lights made it hard to find the door.

But as she finally found the cool metal knob, she yanked it open, her chest heaving as she threw it closed behind her.

But she was met with Millie and her doe-eyes, she stared for a moment, taking in every bit of Delaney's trembling frame, "No one goes in there-"

"I um-" Delaney stumbled, "I had something for Dr. James."

Curiosity flushed over her brown eyes, "Okay..." she was careful with her words, "um..." Millie was clearly looking for any signs of distress, "are you okay?"

Delaney cleared her throat her words so fast they almost ran together, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Okay, well..." Millie reached up, pushing back a stray piece of Delaney's blonde hair that must have worked free in her fury, "Liam is asking for you. I told him you'd be 'round soon..."

"Thank you-"

Without another word Delaney was gone.

Her feet shuffled up the stairs much like Rose had.

Before she knew it, she was slamming the door to Liam's room shut. Her back pressed flush against the rotting wood. "Delaney?"

Liam was on his feet, his eyes wide.

"Delaney..."

Delaney closed her eyes, breathing in through her nose, then out through her mouth, in an attempt to keep herself from passing out.

She needed to clear her mind, but she also needed to put the burning nausea that sat at the back of her throat to the back of her mind.

She couldn't be vulnerable. Not here.

"Delaney?" Liam repeated, his voice closer this time.

She held out the tiny plastic cup before fishing another tiny carton of milk from her other apron pocket, holding them out.

"Please take your pills Liam."

"Not until you talk to me." his bottom lip was protruding in a slight pout, his brown eyes flickering.

"Liam, please-" she pleaded helplessly.

He let out a sigh before taking the tiny cup between his lips, tipping his head back.

Delaney watched as his Adam's apple bobbed before he stepped forward, his mouth opening wide- his tongue moved to the right, then to the left and then up, pressing flat against the roof of his mouth, giving her the proof she needed that he had, in fact, taken the pills.

Delaney crossed her arms tight over her chest as she sunk to the floor, her back sliding against the peeling black paint until her bottom was flat on the floor.

"What do you know about Dr. James?" Liam lifted a brow.

"You mean besides the fact that he's a creep?"

"So he does touch the patients then?"

"Well everyone knows that, I mean-" he stopped, his heart sinking into his stomach as the words burned at his tongue. "he didn't touch you, did he?"

"Liam, I'm fine. I can take care of myself-"

"Did he hurt you? Because I swear to God I'll kill him-"

Delaney leapt from her spot on the floor, her index finger pressing to his plump lips, "Shhhhhhhh! Are you crazy?! If they hear you say something like that, they'll take you to solitary and forget about you!"

"Liam!" she huffed, her hands going tight around his biceps. "Just...stop, okay? He touched me, but I took care of it. I told him-"

"your threats are useless." Liam muttered as they sank down onto the bed. "The last nurse that tried to do anything about him -her name was Mary Elizabeth- she just disappeared one night. We never heard form her again. I heard through the grapevine that he took her to the basement and depending on who you talk to -Harry says he keeps her tied up down there with all the others, but Lou thinks he ate her."

"Dr. James?" Delaney breathed.

Liam just shook his head, "No- the serial killer."

"Oh bollocks! There is no murderer! And this place doesn't even have a basement!" Delaney wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, Liam, or herself.

"Yes there is! The man that owns this place!"

"I thought the church owned this place?"

But before he could answer a knock sounded at the door, making them both jump. Delaney had never been so relieved to see Millie. Once again Millie examined Delaney, then Liam, "everything alright?"

"Fine." Delaney interjected, not giving Liam the chance.

"It's um- it's meal time..." she mumbled, her cheeks going pink.

"Thank you, Millie-" Delaney stood, motioning for Liam to do the same, "we're on our way."

And just like that, Millie was gone.

Liam took two careful steps before turning around, "Delaney?"

"Yes Liam?"

"Promise me you'll take care of yourself, and you'll let me know if he gives you any trouble, yeah?"

Delaney thought for a moment, "Yeah, I promise Li..."

But the last thing Delaney expected, was for Liam to press his lips to hers.