Claustrophobic Mind

Chapter 8

"Hello?" Billie Joe answered into his phone. He sat curled up on his couch under millions of blankets freezing from the chilling feeling of his thoughts.

"Uh, hey buddy. It's Tré," the caller said back.

Billie tensed at the response. Tré hasn't talked to him since that night that he flipped out on Fink. That was so long ago. That was before Billie Joe even knew Fink's name.

"Oh, hey."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Billie began to think that the call must've dropped. That was until he heard a long shameful sigh.

"Look, I'm not going to waste any time. I'm just going to get straight to the point," Tré said in one breath.

Billie bit his lip.

"Don't think I've forgotten about that night Billie Joe. It's haunting my life. Having flashbacks of you banging your fists on your head and you talking to yourself wasn't exactly settling."

Billie pushed himself further into the cushions.

"From what I saw...it was as though you were speaking to someone that's not there. Someone in your head."

Billie shook his head in disbelief. Tré knows.

"And if I piece that together with what you told me, I can infer that you are hearing...voices in your head. And it sounds like it can be a very serious medical condition," Tré finished, or so Billie thought. He probably had many more things to harass Billie Joe with.

Billie Joe stayed silent, waiting for Tré to continue. To his beliefs, he did.

"Mike said that he walked in on you shouting to someone, but you were only one in the room. That's only another sign. Now I haven't told anyone about this Billie, but I'm going to have to soon. You're family, you're friends, our manager...I just want you to understand that it's for your health. It's nothing against you," Tré said. He wasn't even sure if Billie was still there.

"I'm the only one that knows right now. I'm keeping it a secret for your sake. But this needs to be brought up so you can have medical attention. We're not going to put you in an insane asylum if that's what you're worried about," Tré continued.

"I know that," Billie's hoarse voice finally spoke.

"Good. I'm gonna have to let you go buddy. I need to make some calls. I'll see you soon alright?" Tré reasoned.

"Alright," Billie whispered. He was on the verge of tears. How could Tré do this to him?

Billie Joe hung up without another word. The whole situation came and went so quickly he didn't even have time to comprehend it. His life was about to change.

But what could he do about that? Nothing. He couldn't do anything. Tré was making calls as he was thinking about this telling people that Billie has lost his mind.

"I guess the word is out. The all mighty Billie Joe has flaws. He's mentally unstable. He's gone mad," Fink taunted. The devilish tone in his voice was as present as it's always been.

Billie didn't respond. He pulled the covers closer up to his neck. Fink was standing behind the couch looking down on him, Billie Joe could feel it.

"Can you believe Tré was the one to figure this out? I would've never guessed! I thought you would've told the person you've known longer. The person who knows you better," Fink continued.

A pinch of guilt hit Billie like a train. He should've told Mike or Adrienne before he even brought it up to Tré. They would've kept his secret. Right?

Billie heard Fink's footsteps coming closer to him than he wanted. Undoubtedly, Fink ran his hands along the couch as he made it to the spot Billie Joe was curled up in. His gloves caught Billie's eye, causing him to slowly lift his gaze up to the one thing that scares him most in this world. Fink stared back with a look of victory. He was happy that Billie was scared.

Tears started streaming down Billie's face as he shook. He was scared of what was going to happen to him. What was going to happen to his family. What was going to happen to Green Day.

Eventually, Fink crouched down in front of Billie Joe and slowly wiped away his tears. A quick look of sympathy for Billie showed on his face, but it didn't last very long. Soon he was back to the intimidating smirk that casually played across his face.

"Don't cry Billie boy. It's not over yet. You still have time to do something about this," Fink said wearing a straight face as he smoothed Billie's hair away from his face.

Billie Joe pulled his eyebrows together at Fink's comment. Of course it's over. It's all over. Tré knows and he's going to tell everyone Billie has ever known. The fans will know in no time, and he'll be thrown in a mental home before he knows it.

"What do you mean Fink? It is over. There's nothing left I-I can do," Billie struggled to get out.

Fink rubbed his black lips together. He began to run finger across Billie's jawbone, tracing his face. He seemed to ignore Billie Joe's confusion. The back of his hand rubbed Billie's cheek as he sighed.

"I hate to be nice to you. In fact..." Fink said as he violently grabbed Billie Joe's hair and started to pull so hard, Billie felt like his skin was going to split.

"I can't be nice to you," Fink said as he held his hand to Billie's head while getting up in the couch and straddling him.

He pulled his face so close to Billie Joe's that he could see the brown specks in his eyes.

"So I'm going to give you one choice."

Billie swallowed and whimpered from the pain that Fink was causing him. He squeezed his eyes shut, just about to pass out from how hard Fink was pulling his hair.

"Tré probably hasn't called anyone yet. And if he did, they probably don't believe him," Fink grinned.

Billie Joe clenched his teeth.

"And there's only one way to stop him from telling everyone. There's only one way to stop Tré from sending you into an asylum. And do you know, what that one way is Billie boy?"

Billie shook his head no.

Fink got closer to Billie Joe. Their foreheads were so closed they were touching, and Billie could feel Fink's gentle curls brushing up against his head.

After a long awaited answer, Fink finally spoke.

"You have to kill him."