Something to Bond Over || Until Dawn Jossam

The Comforter [Part 02]

"Thank you," he whispers beside me.

"No need to thank me, Josh. I'm being sincere," I tell him.

"Thank you for being sincere, then," he continues.

"Sure," I simply reply.

Poor Josh. The world is so against him and no one knows why. Speaking of...

"How long has this been going on?" I ask, gesturing stupidly at the space in front of us. "The... The hallucinations," I say the word hesitantly.

At the word, he looks at me sharply before looking away.

"I don't wanna talk about it," he says.

"It'll help. It can be our little secret. I mean, no one's here to hear it other than me, and when we get out of the mines, I won't tell anyone. I promise," I reassure him gently. "If we don't get out of the mines, at least... At least, someone knew of what's happening around you."

Josh sighs. "Why do you want to know?"

Fuck, what do I say to that? Because I'm curious? Because I'm scared?

"Because I'm worried."

"Of me," he sighs in a defeated tone.

"For you," I clarify. "I just... I want to know how long it's been going on."

"You won't like the answer to that," he tells me.

I move away from him a bit to look at him in the eye. He doesn't look at me. Instead, he keeps staring at his hand which is picking at a thread on his jeans.

Something drops at the pit of my stomach.

"It started since Hannah and Beth's disappearance, didn't it? Oh God, Josh," I exclaim.

"Now, you're putting more guilt on your shoulders," he says in a scolding manner, which surprises me. Shouldn't I be the one to blame for this?

"H—How did it start?" I slowly ask.

"Do you really wanna know? It'll only upset you. It does to me," Josh says worriedly.

Is he for real? Why is he so... nice to me? It makes me feel even worse. God, is this how killing with kindness really feels?

"Yes," I whisper in answer.

He shrugs, taking a deep breath before his hand starts tapping on top of his knee—clearly uncomfortable with the topic.

"It—God, I never told anyone about this before—but it started about a month after they disappeared... That's when people stopped waiting for any news about... about... But I... I just saw them... everywhere."

"Hannah and Beth?"

"Yeah," he says with a cracked voice.

"How?" I ask curiously.

"I dunno. Sometimes I just see Hannah crying in her room, and then Beth would come console her or something like that. Sometimes I'd see them laughing in the movie room in our house like they always did when they were watching some of dad's movies. I'd see them outside when I look through the window. They'd tell me to join them. I'd see them in every place they usually would be... and it sucks because sometimes I get fooled into thinking that they came back. That it was all a dream."

I keep silent because I don't know what to say.

"They're just so real... and... and beautiful but..." he stops and lets out a small sob before sniffing, quickly wiping the tear on his face.

"...But?" I ask hesitantly.

"They'd demand why I never saved them."

Fuck. I guess I'm not the only one placing guilt on one's own shoulders.