Enamored //joshler [✔️]

21 (part 2). nightmare

1878 words

tyler's eyes flutter open, his pacifier discarded and resting on the pillow beside him. pablo is no longer nuzzled against his chest, and a terrible chill fills the room.

tyler shivers, pulling the covers around him tighter as he takes in his surroundings. the rest of his stuffies aren't on his bed either, but he must've accidentally knocked them all off in his sleep.

sleep...

he was asleep with josh. where's josh?

he pats the empty spot beside him, frowning. he slides out of bed, his bare feet hitting the cold wooden tiles below. he glances around, not finding his stuffies anywhere. the shorts and tank top covering his frame do little to protect him from the frigid air. he grabs a blanket, wrapping it around himself.

why did josh leave? maybe the bathroom?

he quietly exits his room, the door squeaking loudly and rippling through the otherwise silent house. from his door, he can tell the bathroom door is open. he frowns, approaching slowly.

it's empty.

maybe he went downstairs?

tyler slowly walks down the hall, the floor cracking beneath him. the hallway somehow seems to grow longer with each step he takes, his mouth running dry at the realization.

he's never going to reach the end.

he picks up the pace, finally getting to brendon's door and finding it shut. he goes to twist the knob, but it's locked.

weird.

without thinking, tyler's fist comes down to knock on the door, hard and loud.

"brendon!" he shouts, banging the side of his fist against the wood. the sound reverberates down the daunting hallway, echoing off the walls.

there's no answer.

cursing under his breath, tyler turns to head for ashley's room next. he reaches it quicker than he did brendon's, but it's also locked. he can't explain why, but his heart sinks into his stomach like a boulder. he begins pounding on her door with more force than the previous.

"ashley! ash! are you in there? can you hear me? please!" he shouts, goosebumps running down his arms as his voice echoes back to him from the end of the hallway.

what's going on? where have his friends gone? why did they leave him?

"josh!" he yells suddenly, looking down the rest of the hallway leading to the staircase.

it's a lot longer than he remembers, and seemingly growing more narrow by the second. tyler drops the blanket, ignoring the chill that shocks his bones as he takes off sprinting down the hall.

his bare feet pound against the floor, accompanied by loud smacking sounds with each stomp. it nearly gets lost under the sound of tyler's panting and the rapid pulse booming in his ears.

he needs to find josh.

where did everybody go?