Taste | Changbin

Chapter Ninety-Eight

"Why weren't you there? Why didn't you save me? You should have saved me." 

Lennon's father looked worse since the last time she saw him. His chestnut hair looked like it had been coated in a thick grease. Deep purple bags sat beneath his eyes. His angry eyes pierced her chest. 

"I'm sorry." Her voice came out as a hushed whisper. 

"Lennon?" 

"Mom?" 

She spun around to see her mother. A gasp shot out of her mouth. She slammed a hand over her face. 

Once the epitome of beauty, golden hair and a glowing face, her mother stood before her disfigured. Half of her face was caved in. Bones had been shattered. The egg white of one eye had changed to red. Dark red blood trickled out of her eyes and her nose. Her bottom lip was cut open and gushing blood. 

"Why weren't you there? You could have taken the impact. You could have saved me!" 

"I'm sorry!" 

She couldn't see them, but she could hear them clearly. The girls from the back stage of the concert. She dropped to the ground, curled herself into a ball, and plugged her ears. No matter how much she wanted them to stop, they didn't. 

"You're nothing, but bad luck." 

"You'd be doing everyone a favor if you'd just kill yourself." 

"Shut up!" She yelled. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced her fingers into her ears more. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" 

The voices stopped at once. Chest heaving with ragged breaths, she slowly eased her fingers out of her ears. She opened her eyes and a rugged cry escaped her lips. 

Her parents had moved closer to her. A blood trail had followed her mother. Fury sat upon her father's face. "You killed us!"  He hissed. 

Her mother scornfully agreed, "having you was a mistake." 

She bent down closer to Lennon. She could see everything, the sagged skin that was caused from shattered bones; the deep cut on her lip that revealed a gap of angry red inner flesh. Her blonde hair sat behind her head in knots. 

"Look what you did to your mother." 

All Lennon could do was scream. 

Changbin had been sitting in the living room with the rest of his dorm members. After Hyunjin and Chan made food, Chan had gone over to the opposite dorm to film a brief Chan's Room episode. Since then, his manager had blown up his phone, but he had been ignoring it. 

Everyone stayed in the 3Racha and Hyunjin dorm watching movies. Even after Chan came back, they continued to have a movie marathon. The movies were mostly background noise as they talked to each other about the tour. 

Lennon had been dragged over to their couch and seated between Han and Felix. She had spent most of the afternoon and evening drifting in and out of a depressed daze. The members picked up on this and tried to get her to join in their conversations. She spoke a little here and there and then zoned out again. 

After she yawned for a third time, Changbin took it upon himself to call it a night. Lee Know and the younger members went back to their dorm. Changbin had led Lennon back to his bedroom and insisted that she get some rest. It was only nine o'clock in the evening, but it was clear that she was tired. 

At three in the morning, Changbin had been sitting on the couch with Chan and Han. Hyunjin was in the kitchen making them all food. They hadn't really had dinner, they had just been snacking throughout the evening. The three gathered around Chan's laptop and were discussing what they could do to make their latest song better. 

The high pitched screaming caused Hyunjin to drop a bowl of hot ramen. He jumped and quickly dashed away from the pool of steaming water. He hurried into the living room to find it empty. 

3Racha had rushed to Changbin's room the moment they heard Lennon screaming. Changbin was the first one to his door. He flung it open and turned on the light. One of his sheets had become tangled around Lennon's neck. Unconsciously, her body wiggled trying to free itself. 

He rushed to his bed and quickly freed the blanket off her neck. Her face was wet with fresh tears. He grabbed one of her shoulders and shook her softly. "Lennon, wake up." 

Her body thrashed a few more times. Changbin ducked as one of her hands came for his head. "Lennon, wake up!"

Her eyes shot open at once. Still filled with fear, she blinked a few times trying to take in her surroundings. Changbin's large bed supported her back. His hand found hers and clutched it tightly. Gray walls filled the room. 

"It's okay, it was just a nightmare. You're okay, I won't let anything bad happen to you, I promise." 

Another round of tears came into her eyes. She threw herself into his chest as sobs racked her body. Changbin looked towards the rest of the members of the dorm that had gathered in his door frame. He waved them away at once. 

Chan was the first to move. He leaned inside to grab the door and quietly pulled it shut. Changbin's arms wrapped around Lennon's body. "It's okay, I'm here now. Whatever you experienced, it's not real. You're safe here. I got you, princess. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." 

"My parents...my mom," her voice shook as she spoke. "I killed them, I-I'm a murderer. I could have saved them." 

"You're not a murderer. Their deaths weren't your fault. Can you hear me? It's not your fault." He rubbed small circles on her back. 

Her sobs came out louder. 

"We're going to find a way to help you, I promise. You don't have to do this alone. We're gonna be here every step of the way, baby girl. I won't let you fall; we won't let you fall." 

He wrapped his arms around her a little tighter and placed a kiss on the top of her head.