Stay With Me

42

Hellhammer turned to Necro, the confusion visible on his face. "Apparently Dead is back at the house."

Necro shook his head. "Idiot. He could have at least waited for them to discharge him."

"I'm pretty sure they were gonna keep him or send him to rehab. He would've lost his shit for real then."

Necro made a face. "Yeah, I suppose that's true. Still, I hate when he pulls this kind of shit. It's bad enough we have to practically babysit him but this is getting out of control. Dude is seriously messed up."

"What do you expect? He's Dead. He hasn't exactly been the most normal person since he came here, you know. I mean, what kind of person sends a crucified mouse along with their demo tape? Certainly no one I know."

"I guess so. Still, it's not exactly healthy to act the way he does. I feel like with one wrong push from someone he could totally snap and kill someone. Or himself."

"I dunno about that. He can't exactly seem to stay dead when he does this shit. Maybe he's immortal or something."

Necro couldn't help but laugh. "That would explain his obsession with Transylvania, wouldn't it? Might be a fucking vampire for all we know."

The two sat there, laughing at the thought. For the first time in weeks things finally felt relaxed. Maybe it was because they were by themselves, not worrying about Dead or the band for just a moment. Hellhammer would be the first to admit that he missed being able to feel this way. To just be able to enjoy the company of his friends and not stress about anything.

After a moment, Necro spoke up again. "How's Melanie? I haven't seen you with her all that much."

Hellhammer shrugged, reality slowly creeping back. "She's alright I guess. I've been so busy with all this stuff with Dead that we haven't really been able to see each other all that often. I know she understands but I can tell it upsets her. I'm supposed to be seeing her later tonight for a movie."

Necro nodded. "I'll keep an eye on the two idiots tonight for you. Why don't you go and see her now and just spend the day with her. I bet you she'll appreciate it."

Hellhammer looked at him with mild surprise. "Are you sure? What if you guys need me?"

"If we can't survive one day without you then there's obviously a problem. Seriously, go have a good time with your girl."

Hellhammer hesitated. "She's been asking about Vanessa. I don't know what to tell her anymore. She keeps asking when she'll be back and I have to keep making shit up. I don't know what else to do. I guess it's more than just the shit going on with Dead."

Necro let out a long sigh. "I understand. I'm not too sure how to help with that one. The most I can say is just tell her that there was some kind of family emergency and she had to leave. There isn't really any other option; we both know she won't believe the truth."

"I hate lying to her though."

"Well, not much else you can do, man. But you can't keep avoiding her just so you don't have to have the conversation."

"You're right. Can't really expect Dead to man up if I can't even have a simple conversation with my own girlfriend."

"Exactly. Now get lost already. I'll head back to the house and see what's going on. Call me later and let me know how it all goes. If I don't answer my house phone try Euro, alright?"

"Sounds good. I'll catch you later, man."

Necro waved as Hellhammer walked off, a heavy weight seeming to fall on his shoulders. Everything seemed to be falling apart lately. Dead was going off the deep end, Euronymous was trying to care but even that seemed like it was a touch and go subject. Hell, even his relationship had suffered because of it all.

I might need to take a step back for a little bit.

The thought saddened him to a point, but for now, he needed to look after himself for a while. He cared about the band, about Dead, and what they were trying to do, but his life needed to come first. It would need to be a conversation for later. For now, he needed to check on things with Dead and make sure he was alright.

⸸

Hellhammer watched as Melanie walked over to him, a small smile across her face. She hadn't expected him to come this early, but it had clearly been a welcomed surprise.

"I missed you, Jan," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"I know," he whispered back, holding her close. "I've been under a lot of stress lately. I'm sorry."

"Talk to me. Tell me what's going on."

"I don't wanna talk about it right now. Right now, I just want to focus on us and today. I haven't been the best boyfriend lately and I'd like to make it up to you."

Melanie smiled up at him, twisting a piece of hair around her finger. "Well, I heard there's going to be a fair today if you wanted to go with me. I think it would be fun."

Taking an exaggerated bow, Hellhammer smiled up at her. "Whatever you wish, my lady."