Winterberg Brain Rot

Trust me

Tic

Tic

Tic

Ethan was a very strong person. He could handle anything. He was understanding and trusting. However, he was also very very anxious. Every person has their limits.

He walked around the darkroom, his breath getting shakier by the second.

"In 5 seconds. Hold 6. Out 7." He repeated in a mumbled fashion. He passed back and forth. He didn't even notice his nails had dug into his skin. He didn't notice the blood dripping down his arm and onto the carpeted floor. The sound of the clock mounted on the wall was a nightmare. He wanted to tear the whole thing down. Shred-it like paper. He wanted to pull out his hair, tear out his eyes, and claw at his throat. The need to run out of those doors was growing rapidly. He needed to hide. To destroy something

It felt like he was drowning, and no matter how much he swam up, he'd only sink further.

Tic

Tic

Tic

Finally, he had enough. In the blink of an eye, he tore the clock clean off the wall and threw it on a nearby shelf. It knocked something down and broke it. Soon, shelves and bookcases were on the floor and shattered into pieces. His vision got blurry as his breath was ragged and horse-like.

The whole room was destroyed. When he realized that, the door stepped down. He walked backward until he hit the wall with a hard thud. He slid down and curled into a ball, hoping to vanish from the world around him. He sobbed. Wailed in loss and despair. His nails were digging deeper into his arms, ripping flesh.

He didn't hear the front door open. He didn't hear the soft shout of a voice. Karl's voice. The bedroom door opened, a small light barely laminating the bedroom. He gasped softly, running to Ethan's side. He couldn't hear him. He could barely feel him. Acknowledge the careful movement.

"Ethan, dear, can you hear me?" Karl spoke tenderly. Petting his hair in a loving manner. He could only nod ever so slightly. Still disassociating from this reality to the next.

Karl hums, leading his husband to the shared bed. He quickly left for the bathroom, grabbing a first aid kit. "Ethan love. I'm going to remove your nails, okay?" Karl slowly declawed the man's nails from his arms. He slowly cleaned up the wounds, being careful not to shake him even more. Karl recited Ethan's favorite astronomy facts to him. He'd always listen with a smile. The sparkle in his eyes when told him about a new theory he came up with

Karl bandaged his arms with a caring touch. When he finished, he sat beside him and told him the stupidest jokes he could think of. He could see the slight twitch of a smile as he started to go back to the same level as him.

"I saw Donna and Sal today at the bakery. Angie had tried going through the window and got stuck again." He said, rubbing his back.

Ethan giggled at the thought. "There's my boy. Welcome back." Karl said.

"Hi, Karl. How was your day?" He spoke softly.

"Just fine. The bakery had many more people than usual."

"That's good. Sorry to ruin your night. I-I don't know what got over me. It's just everything was so loud even though there was no noise. It felt like I was back in the village again. Like they were watching my every move again. Sorry, that's stupid." Ethan started to shake again. Tears forming once again. "One minute I'm reading and the next the whole room is destroyed." He cried, wiping his tears even though they wouldn't stop.

"Hey hey now. You didn't ruin anything. Everything is fine! See? I'm here now. I won't leave. They're not here. We're far, far away. You're safe." Karl said, wiping his tears. "Look. What is this?" Karl held his hand up. He looked at it and huffed.

"M-my wedding ring?" He said, a bit unsure. Karl raised his own hand.

"Good. Now, what's this?"

"Your wedding ring." He said it with more confidence. He had stopped crying.

"Good. Good. How long have we been married?" Karl asked.

"F-four years," Ethan said.

"See? We are safe. They will never get to us again. No more villages. No more monsters. No more loneliness." Karl hugged the man. He hugged back. He could smell the lingering scent of flour and cinnamon. He smiled and nestled Karl's neck.

"I trust you."

I love you

"Good. Now, what do you want to eat? I'll cook tonight. We can clean later."

I love you too. I'm here for you. Always