Unwelcome

26

       

    I don't feel good.

My eyes wander around, staring at the clean walls as they stretch and morph into different shapes. The patterns wave at me, mocking my limp body as they move.

A familiar figure melts out of the wall.

I squint.

He wears a clean charcoal suit, pressed neatly into perfection.

His charming smile flashes in the dimly lit room. The room spins as he enters it, colors sprouting from the walls.

He glides closer to where I am.

I smell the lost scent of burnt tobacco and blood.

His hands are cold when he runs them through my sweaty hair, separating the strands from my forehead.

When his palm cups my clammy cheek, I flinch.

Alan.

Alan Black.

"Nononon" I slur, shaking,

His eyes meet mine.

"No" I whisper, "You're dead"

He simply smiles and shushes me. I notice that his eyes are glazed in an emotion I've never seen on his face—

pain.

Grief barrels through me, when I scan his hunched figure.

I let out a sound of distress, trying to move.

"Why did you leave me?" I ask him, tears choking me.

He shakes his head, "I'm sorry"

its just a whisper—just two words, but it breaks me.

My vision blurs as tears pour from my eyes, leaving trails of salt on my cheeks.

"I'm sorry"

He wraps me in his arms, tucking me into him.

He rocks us back and forth, and I cling to his body like a lifeline.

"I'm sorry"

I jump. His voice is different.

Thats not Alan.

I scramble away, but its no use. My body is boneless again. Dread churns in my gut and I begin to shake.

Richard.

Richard is holding me now.

He's not dead. But Alan is.

He breaks into an oily smile when he sees the terror plastered on my face. He pushes my body backwards and I fall.

I land on a bed.

And just like that.

Its just like old times.

This is not happening.

again.

Nononononononono.

no

no

no.

I fight and claw at his grip, frantically trying to escape it.

but its no use. My movements are sluggish, my limbs betraying me to whatever is running through my system.

"Please" My voice breaks, as I stare at him from my supine position.

The world tilts.

He leaves the room, and my body begins to quake.