Basketcase

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty Three

"Mmm...." I moaned raking my hand through my hair. My eye squinted slightly before opening. I was in a bed, my bed. Hoisting my self up on an elbow, the curtains were shut, and Marissa was nowhere to be found. "Maarrrrrrrrrrr..." I moaned wiping my face with my hand. No answer. "Maarrrrrrrrrrrr..." I called again. Again, no answer. I scooted off the bed almost standing with the help of the bedside. I sudden rush of pain sparked in my forehead and tried laying back, "Ahh... it hurts..." I complained.

I slid down off the bed holding my forehead in hand.  Aspirin... Marissa's bag... where's her bag... I began to crawl but only on all three hand and feet. A deeply tanned leather handle stuck out off the side at the end of the bed. I aimed toward it, squeezing under the bed table and pulling out the bag. Pulling it up, my head smacked against the table. Freezing, my teeth curled over my lip, cutting a crease down the middle. My body inched back stretching out of my way around the object, my arm still clasping the bag. With the top of the table In view, I slowly sat up and rested casually on my calves sitting into a lazy 'v' with my but hitting the ground.

Zipping it open, I rummaged through the beg feeling around for a cinder style container, in which I ended up pulling out three but all were tampons. Reaching in for the fifth time around, after pulling out yet another tampon, a sudden vibration moved the bag. Sighing heavily, I groped through the bag searching for the source of the vibration, my hands finally pulling out the stupid square device. "Gahh... How do I turn it off!" I rambled shaking it. I stopped and flipped it over, the glass screen was lit towards me, the words 'Unlock' imprinted in a sliding motion.

The buzzing stopped. A smidge of silence, then a sudden blast of popping music. Terrified, my fingers fumbled with thing tossing it out of reach.

"I remember when we broke up the first time...

Crashing down backward, my brows crumpled. Make it stop...

"Remember how that lasted for a day?

I say, 'I hate you,'..."

I hate you...

"Oh we called it off again last night

But oh, this time I'm telling you, I'm telling you..."

I'm too tired to move! ... But this music.... My lips began pouting, the tune clicking in my head, repeating, the chorus, only seven words, playing on and on.

"We are never ever, ever getting back together...."

Sleepless tears inching down, escaping, over both sides of my cheeks. "We..." I sobbed, staring at a non-particular white spot on the ceiling, "are never... ever..." I lifted my head up and doped it, colliding with the carpet and wood, "Getting back together..."

The phrase repeating from my lips over the background noise of the song loop.

"Telling you... turn it off..." I pleaded, closing my eyes.

"Ryan?"

My head shook slowly from side to side. "You go talk to your friends... talk to my friends...." I heaved a heavy sigh, "turn it off..."

"Are you okay?" My eyes peeled open, colours other than white consuming view.

"Okay..." I blinked, connecting with a pair of eyes clearing up to a full face, then several. Marissa, Liam, Niall, Zyan. People... Yes... people... "Where's... Lou..." I mumbled, blinking slowly again.

"Oh shit! You think he is at ground level?" beamed voice one, my ears cringing to the volume. The voices began to mesh together.

"Oh God! What if he is?" answered voice two.

"Well we gotta go find 'im!" voice one cried.

"What do we do with Liam and Zyan?" two hesitated.

"Just dump 'em on the bed!" one replied, "We gotta look for Lou!"

In that moment, as the plain white ceiling returned to view, my mind reimagined the imaged of the four overhead and peering down: Liam's and Zyan's bodies appeared drooping lifelessly over the shoulders of Harry and Niall.

Flopping onto my side, I struggled to my knees, dragging myself to the bedside. The bodies lay stiff on the mattress and flattened to the mattress.

"Uh... Ry..." My head turned toward the voice, eyes barely opened for light to project an image. "Woah... okay... did you sleep?"

I blinked, trying to open my eyes again, "little..." I moaned, "needed... aspirin... bag... phone vibrate.... pop music... over and over... no more sleep..."

"Hey, Ry!" I wiped my head to the left.

"Geez..." the soft voice grew closer. A warmth pressed into my shoulder, pressing in slightly and began to rub in small circles. "The music is gone now," she explained carefully, "the phone probably died, so you can go to sleep now." I sighed with small smile softening to my lips. "But I need you to do one thing before you do."

"Mmm..." I mumbled, my mind drifting back and forth.

"I need to go now," she went on, "So I want you to come lock the door after I leave." Something slipped under my arms turning my body, the door growing closer. "You also cannot let anyone in here after I leave."

I blinked, staring at the hand on the knob turning and opening the door. "That's two things..." I murmured.

There was a small silence followed by a soft chuckle, "Yes..." she whispered with a hint of laughter, "You right... I need you to do two things..." Her two fingers aligned with my line of view, showing only one sticking up, "First, lock this door," then two, "And second, don't let anyone in unless they know the password."

I lifted my head slightly, "Password?" I repeated.

"Yes," she smiled.

"What's the password?" I mumbled.

She brought herself close in proximity, her breath blowing hot in my ear, "M, U, G. Mug," she said, "Gum spelt backwards."

My ear grew cold, her face coming into view again. "Mug..." I repeated. She nodded, holding the door open wider. "Okay..." I smiled small, continuing to mirror her nod after she disappeared behind the door as it slut. My fingers felt up the door to the deadbolt and the chain lock, sliding them to the left.

My hand fell to the floor and my head to the door. Thoughts slipping, "Never... getting back together..." I mumbled. Pressed against the cool wood, my ear flipped and curled in the opposite direction slipping up higher and higher. My head jolted up stead and then swaying and finally falling forward. Catching the wall with my hands, they shifted to the carpet and turned to the bed. My hands then knees sunk into a pillow of a dozen clouds, layer upon layer, my body collapsed. Opening my eyes, a blue sock lay inches from my eye. I lifted myself once more, heaving a glance to a pair of corpses and then to the bedding crumpled near the bed bottom. A heavy breath exhaled before I capped the sheets and blanked over my back. On all threes, I held the bedding with one hand and crawled to the head of the bed, alas, sinking into a feathered pillow. After a moment, my body rolled to one side, taking in a deep breath. "Night..." I sighed.

"Night," a fourth voice mumbled softly.