therapeutic ; irwin

week evelen

eleventh group therapy session

"I'd like you all to know that anything you read about Luke in the news or hear about him, it's all untrue. So please don't bring up any of it in this group. Whatever happened with him in none of our business and we should give him and his family some space."

"What were the news saying?" I lean over to Ashton and whisper in his ear.

"They said something about him hurting his family or something like that, I'm not sure," he replied, whispering. This was news to me. My mum and I never really read or listened to the news, so I hadn't seen anything about Luke. I'm sure if I had seen something I would've noticed.

"As I was saying, Ashton," Charlie spoke through gritted teeth. "Please don't believe everything you hear."

"Charlie, is Luke okay?" Jackie spoke timidly.

"He's fine. He's being looked after just fine," Charlie replied, placing his hands on his thighs.
I wanted to speak up to ask another question, but I knew that if Charlie got one more question from one of us, he would snap.

"Anyway, I also wanted to talk to you guys about something else. Next week, we have a new person coming. Her name is Max."

"Her name is Max?" Calum exclaimed, smirking. I could see Michael biting back a smile as well.

"Yes. It's short for Maxine," Charlie stated. He looked like he could burst from anger at any second. I guess us crazy people finally felt relaxed enough to show our true colours.

"Maxine? How old is she? 80?" Ashton laughed. I nudge him and he mouthed an innocent "what?" in reply.

"No, Ashton. She's 19 and I'm sure she won't appreciate comments like that," Charlie sighed. He was trying his hardest not to get up and walk out of the room.

"Do you know why she's coming in?" Lilli asked, talking for what seemed like the first time in weeks.

"She has bipolar and her mum has told me she gets angry very easily, so you can't razz her up," Charlie explained.

"That should be fun," Calum smirked slightly, speaking softly.

"Can you guys cut it out? I'm done with your rude comments!" Charlie snapped. That shut everyone up. We all became silent. I looked up to see Ashton, Calum and Michael all attempting to bite back smiles. They were all like high school boys misbehaving in class. Jackie stared down at her lap and Lilli looked almost frightened by Charlie's sudden outburst.

"Sorry. I just don't want to be interrupted again," Charlie spoke harshly. Silence filled the room and the mood became uncomfortable and unsettling.

"Sorry Charlie," Ashton mumbled and the rest of the boys mumbled something similar to him. Everyone became quiet once again and no one knew who was going to be the first to speak next.

"What are we doing this week?" Ashton spoke up, making all eyes turn to him before turning to Charlie.

"This week, we're going to try doing art therapy. You may or may not have noticed the art materials at the back of the room. I am not qualified to be an art therapist, but there's no law saying I can't. I'm going to get you all to express your feelings and emotions onto a blank canvas."

I looked behind me and there sat six smallish canvases, a few bottles of coloured paints and brushes. Everyone looked in the same direction as me. I heard different reactions from everyone. Some groans and some excited squeals.

"Um, Charlie, I can't paint," Jackie raised her hand slightly and tucked an amber strand of hair behind her ear.

"You never know until you try, Jackie," Charlie replied, standing up to grab canvases. He tossed them towards the group. As soon as I received my blank canvas, I stared at it. I had no idea what was going to happen, but it was making me very anxious. For as long as I can remember, I've been drawing, but never anything fancy and usually not to express my feelings. I hadn't been a huge painter, though I had done some canvases a while ago.