Tears Come From Cracks in Her Weak Skin

Chapter Fourteen

The days following were harsh, early murmurs of winter bringing cold winds and warm fires. Such weather made it difficult for recovery, but she was kept warm by Eret, Karl, and Jack, who constantly checked in on her, to change her bandages, to cater to her hunger and thirst, and to make sure she didn't go absolutely insane alone in her room. She wasn't confined to the small four-walled space, Eret often brought her downstairs into a sitting room where she could be closer to society, but he was busy being King, and she didn't want to bother him.

In the evenings she would try walking in front of the fire, she was still too weak to stand for more than a couple of hours, but she could see her improvement, and she was proud.

A week went by, and she got her first visitor: Sapnap. She had never liked him much, seeing as he killed both Fungi and Henry, but she was beginning to become tired of seeing the same three faces over and over again, so she welcomed him in with open arms. She brought him into the sitting room and began to brew a pot of tea, "How have you been?" he said tentatively, accepting the hot cup of water and a teabag.

"Good. Better than last week. How about you?"

"I've been okay. I mean, okay enough after losing my two closest friends. But, uh, yeah."

Niki stalled in her walk. She had completely forgotten about the fact that Sapnap was the last of the Dream Team. He had considered Dream and George to be closer than family. They had practically raised him. She had tried so hard to forget about what happened that she forgot that those she killed had friends, they had families, "Sapnap, I'm so sorry,"

He cut her off with an outstretched hand, "Hey, it's okay. I understand why you did it. You were angry and they were in the way. I just miss them, you know? Even though things were changing between us, they were my family. Just like L'Manburg is your family." He gently placed his hand on hers, almost as if he was afraid he would set her off.

"What do you mean when you say things were changing?"

"Well, I really don't know, but the last few weeks he was alive, Dream acted differently around me and George. He was more distant and when we hung out together, he was always distracted and just staring out into the distance. I don't know what he was going through, but it was weird. He wasn't Dream. And I think George wanted to help him, but with everything happening, and the fact that Dream never talked, he just couldn't. He was really upset about it." Sapnap wiped away a tear before it even left his eye.

"I didn't even know, if there was a way I could go back in time, I would have spared George. He didn't have to die. I wish I could say the same for Dream. I'm sorry." She truly was sorry for him, and she was right about George, he didn't deserve to die.

"S'okay, I'm just gonna miss them, you know? Like, I have people here, but they were my people. You know? Like Wilbur, and Tommy, and Tubbo. They were your people." He looked down, swirling the cooling tea in his cup.

"Why are you here, Sapnap? Our relationship isn't positive enough for you to visit the person who killed your friends just for a cup of tea, you must have some purpose other than to make idle talk, so what is it?"

He looked back at her, face red and eyes puffy from crying into his tea, "I know I can never apologize for what Dream and Schlatt did to you in that room. But I know I have wronged you in the past, so I wanted to apologize for what I have done. I came here to say that I'm sorry that I killed Fungi, and I'm sorry that I killed Henry. They seemed to make you and Tommy really happy, and I ruined it. It was reckless and childish of me to do so. And I want to make it up to you in any way that I can."

She stared back at the crying boy, mouth agape. He wanted to apologize? She studied his face, he seemed genuine. But why? Could she trust him? Then again, what else could she lose? "What did you have in mind?" She asked, trying to keep the topic light.