No Rest For The Wicked

A Nightmare Within Reality

A long silence spread through the room. A bone-chilling air of panic blew through Pete, leaving cold drops of sweat running down his forehead.

The courage he had displayed a few seconds ago had now shattered just like the glass of water he had thrown against the wall. He looked warily at Vegas. Looking at his face he could see that his cold eyes were the source of the atmosphere that dominated the room. His face was impassive and his gaze was deep in its sockets. All that Pete could discern was darkness. An ominous darkness more disturbing than anything Vegas had caused him so far.

The dead deep silence was louder than any of the threatening words of fury Vegas had thrown at him until now.

Vega's eyes were glued to the broken glass down on the floor. He stared at it with an absent-mindedly look.

''Now what? asked the voice to Pete with an air of disappoval of Pete's action. As if criticizing his stupid decision to throw the damn glass.

Vegas spared him a fleeting silent stare before leaving the room, closing the door behind him quitely.

Normally he should have felt relief, but behind the soft sound of the door closing there was a dark warning that traveled to Pete's ears, causing him to flinch and cling to the wall. The sharp pain in his body continued to increase and he felt his energy slowly fading.

Tick Tock

The hand of the clock stuck against the wall moved slowly and agonizingly.

He felt uneasiness beginning to stir his stomach.

Tick tock

As the seconds ticked by, the anxiety in his chest spread.

Tick tock

The agonizing seconds passed but there was still no sign of Vegas.

He wanted an escape but he found himself trapped in yet another dead end. He had jumped off the cliff hoping to reach the safety net of death but he had actually been caught in nets of torture that picked him up and threw him back to the endless, dark abyss of torture. He did not like the ignorance that was now surrounding him. It was unpleasantly unfamiliar.

He was used to fake environments. He had learnt to see through every facade people would harden their masked faces with. No matter the shell people covered themselves in, there was always a faint sign giving away a small trace of their true intentions. Vegas was no different.

Until now.

For the first time in a while he had no undercovering sign to bring a sense of serenity to his tormented soul.

He desperataly looked for any sign that could indicate what Vegas' eyes reflected. He recaptured the eyes he had faced previously. There was nothing .

No anger

No annoyance

No anything.

His eyes were just like his face. Vacant.

He now wishes he had slammed the door shut in anger. It would bring some sort of relief to know what Vegas was thinking.

The light was flickering in his feverish eyes and the room started spinning. He felt his eyelids carry a weight that dragged them down , closing them against his will. He did not wish to expose himself any further than this but it was beyond his power now. He finally allowed the warm bed sheets to cover the anxiety underneath and he sank into a heavy sleep.

'' You think you can act all high and mighty just because you won that match?'' yelled a drunk voice.

'' That win means nothing, don't get ahead of yourself'' the harsh leather of the belt made contact with Pete's exposed back once again.

The 14-year-old Pete was shivering in the corner half naked with his blank face against the gray concrete wall as he took one hit after another by his father.

His darkened eyes with an invisible sorrow kept looking at the wall until the wall started melting, disappearing into a thick darkness.

'' Shhh, keep silent''. A deep quiet voice emerged from the darkness and the shadows within it had morphed into an adult,brown-haired man.

It will be our little secret, this is for your mom's sake'' said the man as his fingers curled around Pete's cheek.

''HELP ME PLEASE!'' Another faceless voice was heard from the void making Pete turn around to distinct the source but a blinding light broke through the darkness forcing Pete to close his eyes as he put the palms of his hands in front of his face for protection.

He removed the palms off his face. He opened his eyes, his vision was blurry, the distant sound of music caressed his ears.

''PETE, what have you done?!'' a familiar voice demanded. Pete tried to adjust his eyesight.

BANG!

The sound of a gunshot filled his ears causing them to ring and everything turned back to darkness again.

Pete jumped out of the bed in cold sweat, his heartbeat racing in uneven rhythms and his breath unsteady. It was as if an iron ball was pressing against his chest, stealing away the air in his lungs. He placed his palm over his pounding heart trying to catch his breath.

''Relax, it was just like a dream'' he tried to calm himself down.

''It was just a dream'' He kept repeating like a chant until it finally worked. His heart finally calmed down and his breathing got steady.

He let out his lips a soft sigh of relief.

''Just a dream''

'' You know it was not just a dream'' the usual familiar voice interrupted, but this time it was not just a faceless voice in his head. It was accompanied by shape.

A shape Pete could see clearly in front of him. A familiar female figure dressed in a black jeans and a blue turtleneck sweater. Her long, wavy camel-colored hair was tucked behind her ears, allowing her small pretty face and chestnut-colored eyes to show. She was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed, staring deep into his eyes with a blank stare.

''Nadia'' Pete's mouth struggled to allow his voice to be heard and his lips to form this simple word.

A look of disbelief and shock took over his face as his eyes focused on the woman before him

Pete's palm immediately met his forehead, as if his hands moved instinctively.

His hand felt hot against his own skin, he was burning in fever and it was messing with his mind.

His hand slid down his face, covering it as he tilted his head downwards.

''What the fuck?'' he laughed to himself

''So what? What if this is a hallucination?'' argued the woman.

''It does not change the fact that it was not just a dream'' She continued making Pete's face lift upwards facing the image before him.

''It does not change the fact that you killed me'' her eyes pierced through Pete's, the distant tone of her voice clenching Pete's heart tightly.