F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Chapter 23 • Guilt

❥Warning:
Includes strong language.

-GEORGE's POV-
I fell asleep for maybe 15 minutes at most after that since I already slept for hours beforehand. Meanwhile, I gazed over at Dream. He was sound asleep. I could tell by his small snores.

He looked so peaceful when he slept. I smiled to myself then grabbed my phone off of the table. I tried turning it on but it was dead. I sighed in defeat then saw Dream's phone on the table.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I used it to cure my boredom." I thought then grabbed his phone quietly off the table.

As soon as I held it, it turned on. My eyes widened as I saw a picture of myself as his background.

I clenched my jaw with a frown then unlocked his phone. After seeing that photo, I wondered if he had more of them on his phone. I pressed on his photos app and saw a whole album dedicated to me named:

"My Georgie♥️"

I gulped nervously then pressed on the album and began the slideshow. As photos of us appeared a few seconds at a time, I couldn't help but feel anxiety from them.

I saw the photo of me from a forest, along with photos of us in the rain. I saw one in particular that captured my attention.

His arm was wrapped around my shoulder as he kissed my cheek. My cheeks were so bright, my eyes were shining more than I've seen them before. And my smile...I looked so happy.

Tears rose in my eyes by accident as more guilt was placed on my shoulders.

"I took everything away from him...I hurt Dream. I should have ran away from Hunter. Did I run away? Probably not, I'm weak." I thought as my vision became blurrier, "Dream's hurting because of me. I took his happiness away from him and now he's miserable, it's all my fault."

"What if I never remember? It's gonna destroy him. He's loved me for so long. All for him to lose me. And me? I looked so happy in those photos. I took away my own happiness too."

"But I don't feel that way about Dream now. I don't remember anything. I don't remember falling in love with him. God, no wonder why this is crushing him so much. It's all my fault..."

I couldn't help but break out in a sob. I covered my hands over my face while setting the phone down. I tried being quiet so I wouldn't wake up Dream. I bit my lip to suppress my sobs but it only made the rise of my chest get faster as I started hyperventilating.

-DREAM's POV-
I opened my eyes slowly and heard someone breathing heavily. Then I remembered where I was. My eyes shot open immediately as I saw George having a panic attack as his face drowned in tears.

My eyes widened as I quickly stood up.

DREAM:
"George—"

He looked at me as his lip quivered.

GEORGE:
"Dream..." he cried.

By instinct, I held him in my arms as tightly as I could. He buried his head in my chest and held onto my collar, holding on for dear life.

GEORGE:
"I—I'm sorry..." he sobbed, "I...I can't remember..."

DREAM:
"Shh it's okay..." I frowned while running my hand through his hair.

GEORGE:
"It's not..." his voice cracked, "I—I'm hurting you..."

DREAM:
"George, listen to me, okay?" I talked softly while looking into his tear filled eyes, "This sucks okay but I'd rather you not remember us than for you to not be here at all...I don't care about your memory, I only care about you...I promise, it's okay..."