q u i n c y
🗝️
It was one of those dreams that feels so real, you think it's actually happening.
Someone was lying dead, in a pool of his own blood, mangled beyond recognition, a keychain clutched in his hand and covered in blood. A human-like thing was crouching over his body, fangs hanging out of its mouth as it hissed at me when I tried to get closer. He bent over his body, and I watched as he scratched at his body, mangling it more and more. It pried the keychain out of his hand, throwing it at me. A keychain that said "From a single letter, we find the words"; there's a stain at the bottom, nearly covering the word "words". I've seen that keychain somewhere before, but I can't remember where.
The "monster" started laughing maniacally, tipping its head back. Then it let out this awful, high pitched screaming and more of them appeared, carrying the body off...
🗝️
Then I woke up. Someone knocked on my apartment door... at 12:56 AM. I get off the couch I fell asleep on, going to the front door and opening it, only to see Quinn, my best friend, Max's, older brother.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" I stammer. "Oh, come in," I add.
He walks in, closing the door behind himself and then turns to me. "You look horrible." He says. "I mean that in the nicest way possible."
I sigh, laughing a small laugh and looking at him. "Is everything okay? Is Max okay?" I ask him.
He nods. "I-I don't know why, but Max said this was yours and to bring it back to you as soon as possible." He reaches in his pocket, pulling out a silver ring with an oval-like shape, a bronze design carved on the edge, in the middle it says, "From a single letter, we find the words", a stain at the very bottom nearly making the word "words" unreadable.
I drop it on the floor, dissolving into hysterics as it clatters and slides across the floor. Quinn looks at me, worry etched on his face as I back up, hitting the front door.
"Quince?" He asks. "What's wrong?"
He comes closer to me, his hands held in front of him, and grabs my hands, pulling me away from the door.
"It's okay, just calm down, and breathe." He whispers.
"I-I don't know who's keychain that is, but it's not mine. I-I-I-" I stammer.
He presses a finger against my lips. "Ssh, take a deep breath..."
"I had a nightmare. Just before you came. It was in my nightmare. The keychain was. Someone was dead, and there was this monster, and the person was holding onto this keychain, and—"
"Ssh," he soothes softly. "Calm down, breathe... I believe you, alright? Just calm down, okay?"
He guides my hand to his chest where I feel his heartbeat. "Focus on my heartbeat, okay?"
I try to take deep breaths, hiccuping from how hard I'm crying now.
Quinn holds my body against his, brushing the hair from my face and rubbing my back.
"I'm scared..." I say softly. "I-it was so vivid! I k-k-keep seeing the body. And that keychain. I've seen it before, but I don't know where. It's not mine, though. I don't even know who the body was."
Quinn presses his lips to my forehead.
"It's okay," he whispers. "I-I— Max told me it was yours. I'm sorry."
"It's n-n-not your f-f-fault..." I stammer, coughing. "Please don't leave me alone."
🗝️
Quinn manages to coax me upstairs, leading me to my bedroom.
"Let's get you a shower, okay?" He says softly, gently leading me to the bathroom across the hall.
I do something I never do, then. I cling onto somebody, begging them not to leave me alone. I wrap my arms around Quinn, burying my face in his chest.
"Ssh, it's okay, I'm not going anywhere." He says, leaning back, putting a hand under my chin and lifting my face.
He opens the curtain, turning on the water and starting to run a warm bath, instead of a shower.
He looks away as I get in, making sure I've covered myself with a washcloth before he looks back at me. He washes me off gently, turning on the shower head only to rinse off my body.
When we're finished, he grabs a towel, letting me wrap it around my waist. I back up against him, scared to go into the dark by myself. He wraps his arms around me from behind, holding me against him as he leads me into my bedroom, turning on the light.
As I dress, he turns around. When he turns back around, he lets me lay back in my bed, pulling the covers over me. I grab his wrist before he can leave.
"Don't leave," I say, whimpering.
"I'm just going to go downstairs on the couch." He says.
"No, stay here," I beg, looking into his eyes.
He sighs, taking off his shoes and crawling onto the bed beside me. He pulls my body close to his and I grab his arm, holding tightly.
"Don't let go," I whisper, looking at him.
He looks into my eyes, nodding, sliding his fingers in between mine and squeezing. He leans his head against mine, our noses brushing against each other's, sliding a hand up to cup my face. I take a deep breath, looking into his eyes.
He pulls back, looking at me.
"I shouldn't do this..." he whispers, running a finger along my jawline. "You're my little brother's best friend,"
"I-I don't care," I say, looking at him longingly.
He leans forward again, cupping my face and kissing me. Fireworks explode in my stomach and I feel drunk. A noise, similar to a moan, comes out of my mouth, onto his. He nips at my bottom lip and I open my mouth against his, letting him slip his tongue in my mouth. One of my hands goes to the back of his neck and one of his settles overtop of it.
He pulls away slowly. I keep my eyes closed for a few seconds after, leaning back into the pillows. When I open my eyes, his sparkling ones are looking into mine, a smile spreading across his features and I feel myself slowly starting to fall in love with him, after just one kiss.
2/17/21
What do you think the keychain was about?
Who do you think it belonged to?
