The Incredible League of Goth Pizza Haters (RH)

Part 24

---Sylvia---

I awoke covered in sweat and tears. I sat up in my bunk and worked on calming myself down a bit. I was overwhelmed with the sudden pressing silence of my fellow band mates' slumbers. At least I hadn't disturbed anyone. I got up and paced in the front of the bus, feeling sick. I checked the time. One in the morning. 

I thought about turning the TV on but the thought of it blaring and waking everyone up was scary. And somehow the longer I waited, the more uncomfortable I felt and the more uncomfortable I felt, the hotter the bus got. Finally I grabbed my coat and forced myself outside to pace and breathe. We were parked in the back of this old brick building a few blocks from tomorrow's venue. Buildings on three sides and a forest on the other. I stared into the forest and thought about dead faces with wide black eyes. 

I paced until my legs ached. Then I thought about going back inside but decided against it. There were sleeping people and the air was hot. Too much anxiety in there. I tried to convince myself how comfortable and cool the couch would be but my brain responded; 

Yeah but ya know what would be even more cool and comfortable? The ground. Right here. The concrete. Oh yes. 

Fuck it. 

I laid down on the black top. It was cold, yes, my brain had gotten that part right. But, there were tiny rocks embedding themselves into my back and my spine felt like a snake being pressed against a brick wall. Let's just say it was a hard situation and the odds were not in my back's favor. 

Still, I shifted and sighed and closed my eyes. My mind battled between sleep and anxiety. Anxiety won and I lay and watched the moon until the clouds took it to bed and my mind finally soothed my body to rest. 

***

"What the fuck - oh my god!" It was still dark when I opened my eyes. A tall dark figure loomed over me, eyebrow-less and distressed. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Via, what happened?" I sat up. My back felt like it had been struck several times with a hammer. I mumbled something about dead people then Chris lifted me off the blacktop and carried me to the MIW RV. He set me down on the couch and threw three blankets on top of me. 

"Jesus, Via. It's freezing. You feel like a corpse." he said. Oh the irony. "What happened?"

"What? Nothing. I had a bad dream..?" 

"Was the dream that you fell asleep in a parking lot because I have some bad news for you." 

"No... What time is it?"

"Like four am. Why were you in the parking lot?"

"It was very hot in the RV and I needed somewhere cool to sleep."

"You know you could have been raped by a hobo."

"There are no hobos here."

"That's exactly what the hobos want you to think." 

"Why are you awake?"

"I had to take a shit and then I thought you were attacked by a native tribe of hobos." he spoke quietly and I realized how early it was. Shit. Chris sighed and sat down on the other side of the couch. "Are you gonna go back to sleep now?" 

"I don't know." I said. My eyes were still blurry but my brain was awake now and I wasn't sure I'd be able to fall asleep. He turned on the tv and we watched South Park for a while until both our eyelids got heavy. I looked over at Chris and his head was thrown back on the couch, eyes closed and gentle snores drifted from his slightly open mouth. I leaned over and covered him with one of the blankets then switched off the tv and laid back down. I settled into darkness, gripping the blankets for comfort and falling asleep listening to Chris's quiet snores. 

I did not have any nightmares for the remainder of the night.

***

Someone lifted my legs and placed something on them. I shifted a bit, scrunching my eyes shut and preparing to stretch. 

"Via don't fucking move." I opened my eyes and saw Angelo balancing a bowl of cereal on my blanketed feet. "I don't mind you sleeping on our couch but don't you dare fuck with my Lucky Charms." 

"My apologies." I murmured and looked around. Balz was sitting down by the table on his laptop. There was no sign of Chris or TJ , and Ryan was sifting through the fridge. Ricky was sitting across from me on the other couch, sipping coffee. 

"Morning." 

"Is that coffee?"

"Yeah."

"What kind of coffee?"

"It's coffee. What do you mean?"

"Can I have some?" He leaned forward and handed me the cup, which I took and sipped. 

"Hey, uh, Via? I don't mind you being here either," Ryan said from the kitchen, "But why are you here?" 

"I fell asleep outside and Chris yelled at me. Then we watched South Park and he fell asleep. Does he still live?"

"Yeah, he's asleep in his bunk." 

"That's good."

"Why were you sleeping outside?"

"The ground is cold." I said and they all stared at me for further explanation. I sipped my coffee and thought about birds. 

"You're weird. You could have been raped by a hobo, ya know?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"