Dents

[+] Strange Timez

((This chapter contains mature content and adult themes that may be triggering to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.))

I didn't know how long I spent lying on the cool concrete floor. It was probably too long. The gritty texture scraped against my skin, leaving faint white scratches on my elbows and knees. My body felt empty. I was a broken mannequin of disjointed limbs and appendages.

When did I lose myself, so? When did I decide that I was no longer capable of resistance?

When did I accept that I was eternally bound to ride the assembly line of pain over and over again?

It was a balmy summer morning when I made the first decision for myself that I'd made in years. I had nothing to lose. It was time to leave. I stole the boat in the yard and paddled off into the sea. It was simultaneously the most exhilarating and terrifying thing I'd ever dared to do. Despite the high likelihood that I was sentencing myself to death, I was finally free. I didn't bother hoping to survive.

I had already achieved all I thought I could.

I woke in bed with a start and an awful migraine. I was sitting up stock straight. A layer of cool sweat matted down my hair and pajamas. My chest was heaving.

I'd woken 2D up at some point in my restlessness. He stared at me from his pillow with a distraught expression. His hair was a tangled mess. The onyx blood pooling in his eyes churned anxiously beneath the glittery surface. He bit his bottom lip.

"Yew okay, luv?"

I cast my gaze to the window. The curtains were drawn, creating the illusion of a permanent darkness swallowing us whole. I sighed, dropping back into the blankets with a soft thud.

"Yeah. I'm okay."

"Yew sure? Yew... Uh, yew were talkin' in yewr sleep."

My stomach dropped.

"What did I say?"

"Et's not important, if yew don't rememba anyway."

"2D. What did I say?"

He glanced away from me. His jaw clenched.

"You were beggin', or somefink, I fink. I dunno. I was still sort ov noddin' out. Bu' then yew started yellin' out 'at yew want to live."

His face twisted with compassion.

"Yew sure yew're okay? Yew can talk to me. I... I'm 'ere if yew need me."

"I don't know where to start."

"Bad dream?"

"Yeah. You could say that."

I exhaled. 2D scooted closer to me. He wrapped me in his long thin arms. He rested one hand over my heart. The other stroked my head in slow repetitive motions. The rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing lulled me into a peaceful daze. The adrenaline that vigorously coursed through me melted away.

I knew that the pain would never fully leave me. However, I didn't allow it to define me, either. I had learned to live with it as best as I could. I couldn't say I'd have ever made the effort without having someone else counting on me to do so.

My situation back in Essex was a unique one. I never considered the outcome that not only would I survive, but I'd fall in love, become part of a new family, and have a stable income doing something I enjoyed. I couldn't imagine a future beyond the next five minutes.

Now, that was all I ever did.

2D had changed everything for me.

"I love you, 'D. I don't think I can go back to sleep yet."