I Care {Darkiplier}

(Chapter 36)

You quietly pace around your room, your socked feet tapping quietly against the hardwood flooring of your hotel bedroom. At the moment you were currently getting yourself ready for your so-called...ahem, "Date", your friend dubbed it. For most of the day, during each conversation, they would manage to sneak in one joke about it, relentlessly teasing you about it. Not that you necessarily minded...

Besides, you knew It wasn't, not to you at least, despite what they may have said. Unless Mark confirmed it, it was a simple hangout, just like when you and Mark chilled and you met his dog.

Suffice to say, you were just gonna not gonna let yourself fall into such a rabbit hole, and not let your mind stick too long on the subject.

Currently, you were going to focus on the task at hand. You were in the middle of trying to find something suitable to wear, eyeing the clothing you had decided to choose, and plucking it from your luggage. You were still in the process of trying to make a choice. Even if you didn't bring too many outfits, you still felt the need to make yourself somewhat presentable, besides, today was Halloween. Might as well go out on one of your last days here...

Eventually, you were going to change at some point, but for the moment you were distracted, and indecisive.

Throughout your prepping for a night on the town, you found your mind wandering, not fully engaging with the chore. You were lost in your thoughts, your mind deciding to again, for the umpteenth time that day, remind you of your last visitation with Dark. Somehow it is still stuck in your mind. The way you had the clothing laid on your bed was quite similar to the way you had decided to set your provided attire down in the bedroom of the cabin, at what just felt like a few hours ago.

In reality, it was more than that, you only awoke this morning around 9:30, and currently, it was around an hour before you had to leave.

Whilst sleeping, once the conversation had died down, things had gone quiet, at least for a while, that was until the familiar pull of sleep tugged at you. Truly you tried your best to stay awake, but considering how emotionally and somehow physically exhausting everything was...It was futile.

Whilst you still could, you managed to shift gears and bring up your plans with Mark, and how you would be spending time with him during potentially your last day. The mention of it seemed to catch him off guard, at least momentarily. He was quick to recover, and as usual, gave a warning, but wished you well.

You never understood the warnings, you still don't fully understand. But still, the attempt at support, in a small capacity, is always appreciated.

The more waves of sleepiness that sloshed at you, lapping at you, there was a small part of you that refused to succumb to it. There was still so much to inform him of...you never managed to bring up the book, as there was quite a bit that happened before it that, in your state, you didn't want to do a full rundown of. Considering the circumstances of everything that occurred up to that point, it made it all the more difficult to let yourself leave.

However, something that has stuck out the most, and echoed around your mind the most, were some of Dark's final murmurs to you, as you struggled to keep your eyes open, the start of you nearly succumbing to sleep. At least, you were close, at that moment you were still trying to force your eyelids to keep open.

"I see our time is up for now...Even so, that's quite alright." A brief pause when he notes your continuous attempt at keeping your eyes open. "Hey...It...You're okay, my dear. I...Wouldn't advise you to try to do that. Let yourself rest, it's okay to let go. There is always next time. It is alright." Upon noticing you lessen your attempts to be awake and alert, his tone shifts, lowering slightly as he seems almost glad, "That's it. Let yourself sleep. Take care of yourself. You got it..." With the combination of you giving into the natural process, and Dark's gentle tone, soothing any tension you had, you managed to fall asleep quite quickly. He probably said some more words afterward, but it was one of the last phrases you could recall.