Fall Into Me

Chapter 3

"Can't sleep?" He asks you. You put your phone down and look back up at the ceiling with a sigh.

"No. I'm tired mentally but not physically, I guess," you say.

"I can't sleep either. Except, I'm the opposite. Mind never stops running."

"Tell the little hamster in there to take a break," you say with a light laugh. He laughs similarly, and you look over to see a little grin on his face. Slowly it fades, and his brows crease. He can't hide it. This is really messing with his head. "You wanna talk about it?"

"It's complicated." He's being a little closed off. Maybe I shouldn't pry.

"That's alright. I know you might want to just keep it in, but I'm here if you need to talk out your thoughts," you say, closing your eyes. What I'd really like is some shuteye, but I don't think I can do that with a supposedly fictional man laying in my bed.

"I guess... It'd be different with you. I've never talked to anyone who's seen what I've seen, or knows what I've been through. Usually no one understands so I just..." He trails off. You open your eyes and find his staring back at you.

"Leon, it's okay," you say softly. "It's okay to be open."

"Thank you." He whispers. You smile, just a little, and his face softens. "Y/n, what would you do in my situation?"

"Shit... I don't know. I'd probably be breaking down. I mean, I think you're incredibly strong for staying here and keeping yourself together. But if it was your world I came from, I don't know if I'd want to go back. But I'm not you, Leon. You find a purpose in helping people. For me, I think there are a few others like you that can handle saving the world. There's pros and cons and... God this is complicated." He grins at you and shakes his head.

"You get it though. That's exactly what I'm thinking about. I'm torn, y/n. I don't know how to get back to the world with everything I've ever known. I also don't know if I want to. If I'm being perfectly honest... Over there I have nothing worth living for." His face saddens, and a frown appears on yours. "No one at home, nothing to do besides my job... I was alone. And in a world like that it's fucking hard, and every day sucks and every night is filled with terrors and horrible dreams. I have a chance at having a normal life like I've always wanted, right now. I wouldn't have to deal with all of that virus shit ever again and-" he cuts himself off. "Sorry, I'm talking too much."

"Leon, that's alright. Have you ever really talked about this with anyone before?" You ask, looking down for a moment.

"No."

"You might know this already, but I don't think that's exactly the healthiest thing." You say, looking back up.

"For the sake of my job I could never talk about it, if that makes sense."

"Oh... I understand. But you know it's fucked up they just made you deal with that on your own," you say, feeling bad for the man. Shit, this poor guy. With everything he's been through and not even a soul to talk about it with.

∆∆∆

"Yeah, it's fucked up." I say. I know I've never had anyone. My job offered therapy but I said no. I've been fine on my own for a very long time. But she... She could be a nice change.

"I'm really sorry, Leon," she whispers.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I know you're torn and confused and lost and- I just... I have nothing to offer." Her eyes dart to the side, a look of sorrow and guilt on her face.