//simplicity

chapter 18-- together

Josh's POV//

I run my fingers through my soaked hair, slamming my drumsticks onto the floor.

"Why can't I perfect that beat?!" I groan and grab my phone to check for any texts.

Nothing.

I grow even more frustrated, slightly hurt as I think back to what happened. Tyler ran off so quickly, he wouldn't let me help him.. Something's wrong.

But I can't intrude.

I stand up and head downstairs to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. 'Dallon left 10 minutes after Tyler.. I probably made him feel uncomfortable' I think to myself as I trudge back upstairs. Thunder echoed throughout the halls and I smiled.

My smile quickly faded as I realized Tyler wasn't around.

He wasn't around to run into my arms. He wasn't around to nuzzle his face into my neck and attempt to block out the noises.
He wasn't around in general.. And it made me sad. I felt empty without him.
I shook my head at myself for thinking like that. He probably didn't care..

Hello.

I basically jump out of my skin, horrified. Who was that voice? Where did it come from?

"I-I'll.. I'll call the cops!" I shout in a failed attempt at a threatening tone, into the empty corridors.

Nothing. Silence.

I sigh shakily,
"I'm probably just imagining things." I try to laugh off the weird experience, pushing it out of my thoughts.

I enter the sound room, and walk back to my drum set. I glare at my drumsticks before picking them back up and starting from the beginning.

Tyler's POV//

I finished my baskets earlier than before but I wasn't hungry today. My throat burned from singing and I had no water to quench my thirst.

I laid on my bed, sprawled out. My fingers twitched as my hands grow numb. I chew at the inside of my cheek, looking up at the white plastered ceiling.

Friend. Listen to me. You're a disappointment to your father, your mother, your friend, and your lover. If you can even call Josh your lover at all. You miss that feeling. That latched onto your mind. That euphoric feeling you felt when your wrists emptied their source of survival. The blood that pumped in your veins was now pumping out quicker than before, but not into your veins. It was onto your bathroom sink. And you loved it. You missed it.

You needed it.

I gripped my hair tightly, tugging at it violently as if trying to pull the voice out of my head in the same fashion. A yelp escapes my lips as I rush into the bathroom, digging through the drawers in the counter. A prick was felt in my finger and I knew I had found it.

A shiny blade was held tightly in my hands. I stare at it.

TYLER. TYLER YOU KNOW YOU NEED TO. IT MAKES YOU MISS THAT FEELING OF FALLING THAT YOU FELL SO DEEPLY IN LOVE WITH. IT HELPS YOU ESCAPE. IT HELP-

I splice my arm, dots of blood surfaced to meet the cold air of the room. The velvet liquid rushed down my arms in a ruby stained blur. I stared at my reflection, consciousness depleting. A smile plays across my face and I fall to the floor.

"I won't fall in love with falling.."

The words barely escaped my lips as I black out, spiraling down into the darkness that beckoned me to fall further.