lights out » d.h [INACTIVE; INCOMPLETE.]

Forgiving The Sin Of The Henchman

His steps were soft, but meant to be heavy. His smile was hesitant, it was meant to be evil. I couldn't imagine myself breaking out of my shell around Joey, but I knew one day I was going to have to talk to him, whether I liked it or not. He's been doing so much around the flat, cleaning dishes, washing our clothes as a kind gesture, heck- I once came back from food shopping to find my album collection stacked in alphabetical order. Sure, he's trying hard, sure he's being kind and patient, but what can that do over a situation like this?

"I can't do this anymore!" He entered my room, his hands thrown. "When are you going to believe me?! Come to the fact that Dan's crazy! I didn't kill anyone! I didn't hurt anyone! I'm not a liar!" He yells in anger, hitting the wall but not hard enough to make a hole.

"Joey calm down!" I yell back, getting off my bed to meet him.

"No! How can I be calm when the person I love the most is hanging around with some psycho!" He pouts, and sighs out of exhaustion.

"I don't hang out with him because I want too, I hang out with him because it's my job to watch over him," I place my hand on Joey's arm, trying to calm him down.

"I'm sorry..." He looks down, his eyes meeting with his feet.

It's difficult being in this type of situation. I mean, there's not much I can do about it, I only have people with words, not actual evidential proof to prove my point. The only thing I have to stick along with is my gut feeling, I need to trust myself and I don't know if I'm capable of fully trusting myself yet. I can hear myself trying to warn yours truly about Joey and to trust Dan, but the feeling switches over and over again, tiring my brain out along with excessive nightmares leaving me with thoughts darker than dawn and more haunting than any ghost will ever dream to be.

"Forgive me? Let's just put this all behind us? You don't really want a psychotic baby boy to get in between our years of close friendship? Right?" He looks up again, this time trying his hardest, but failing, from hiding a smirk.

I do the only thing I can to do, and accept his forgiveness. It was too late for this, knowing I had to get up early the next day was something that kept ticking in my head.

"I forgive you, I believe you," I say low enough, hoping I would be the only one to hear my words, but failing as Joey responds with a grin.

I fake a small smile, beginning to yawn. My sleep schedule was all messed up after getting the job. I had to get used to waking up before the afternoon and attempting to look forward to late night shifts.

"Tired much? Here let's get you all tucked into bed," he leans in against me, placing his soft lips on my exposed forehead.

I climb into bed, feeling the pressure of his body next to mine. He was getting comfortable, which only meant he was going to accompany me in my sleep. He kisses my temple, pushing away a strand of my hair away from my cheek, and placing it behind my right ear as my left lays against the pillow.

"Goodnight love," he whispers, sending creepy vibes to my gut, still not one hundred percent sure if I trust this feeling, but my mind tells me it's the right thing.

Joey reaches over to his side, turning the lamp off. I hear him mumbling words I can seem to make out, but I feel his arm around my torso as he pulls me into him.

"Goodnight," I whisper

✱✱✱

Screams abrupt through each wall inside my head, breaking down after every curse. There's absolutely nothing I can do about it. Nothing to do, no one to ask questions to, no one to help, no one to save.

My legs tided together with yellow rope, along with my wrists behind the white chair I seem to be sitting on. Grey duct tape over my mouth, soon getting weak from the sweat around the edges. My white uniform hugging my weak body, ripped and stained with what seems to be sweat.

The cushion walls are tall, yet such a small space to be. Everywhere was cushion, if I tried to squirm, I would drop to the uneven cushion ground.

Thats when I remembered, this is all fake. This is all in my head, simply a nightmare.

After a blink, the duct tape gone, the ropes nowhere to be found, my legs holding my upper body as I stand.

Holding onto the off-white cushion wall was a small oval shaped mirror. It hung softly on the wall and swiftly moved side to side.

Legs moving, feet navigating, I'm walking towards the mirror, soon face to face to it. My reflection was hideous, a image that would mentally scar myself in the real world. Bruises laid on my pale skin, cuts living on the surface of my more fragile parts of skin. My bottom lip was slightly swollen towards the right.

That's when my mind starts to warn itself; remember who the real enemy is. Remember who you're really against, remember your purpose.

That's when I blinked again, revealing a clean face with no bruises or cuts to be seen.

I am simply becoming wiser, I am simply becoming more aware of what's real and what's just a dream.

"Bell!" Joey holds me down.

I jolt up, fast and hard enough to almost bump my head into his. I can feel my watery eyes, batting more than normal. My throat was dry, my breathing was uneven and at a fast pace.

"Another nightmare?" He asks, emphasizing another.

I nod my head fast, and take a deep breath. "Don't worry, I'm fine," I say, wiping the remaining sweet off of my forehead.

"Wanna talk about it?" He says, groggily.

"No- no! It's fine, we'll talk about it in the morning," I toss back to my previous position, bringing the blanket more forward.

I can hear his movement, I can feel hot breath against my neck. I can feel his fingers as they press against my shoulder, making small circles to calm me down.

"Remember..." He stops himself. "Remember what's real and what's not, remember this moment," he then presses his lips on the right of my neck.

I groan, trying to respond but fail as I'm already back to the realm of haunting thoughts.

— unedited bc it's like 2 am. thank you all for the get well messages! i'm still sick, sadly, but good enough to get back to updating!

i hope you all enjoyed this chapter I tried to make it more on the chill side than drama and work related.

if you're confused about arabella's dreams, they're basically from stress and it's the only way she can get closer to herself and her true thoughts/fears, it'll all make sense in the end.

love you all! enjoy ~ xxxx dumbpickle