Undiscovered

Bad dreams

I wake up multiple times throughout the night with a different pain that I have to see to. The first time I woke, I was still alone, but the second time, Theo was beside me with his arm around me.

When i fall back to sleep I dream that Theo died. I was standing at the back of his funeral smiling and when people came up to me to apologise for my loss, I would smile and say 'don't worry about it' and walk away from them. Then, Theo walks up to me and says he's sorry for my loss and my smile descends leaving a deep frown on my face.

'You died' I say to him and without a response he lifts his foot and kicks the bottom of my ankle so that my legs come out from beneath me and i go crashing onto the floor. Everyone turns around while Theo walks towards me to give me another thump. 'No!' I scream 'noooo!'

"Shai!" I hear Theo's voice and I open my eyes. I grasp his hand and look around the room so I'm sure my dream is over. I lay my head back down on my pillow and relax while I wait for my heart to return to a steady beat and my breaths to slow down. "Sorry Theo. Bad dream" I say to him sluggishly. "It's okay. What was it about?" He asks me.

I consider telling him but I feel like lying so I'm gonna lie. "It was about me. I dreamt I was paralysed and couldn't move and someone was standing with a gun to my head" I say. He sighs and closes his eyes. "Well you're fine. Don't worry your safe" he says, And he kisses the back of my head.

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Once I'm fully rested, and ready to start my day, I get up and stretch in my bedroom. I feel very hyper and for the first time in ages I'm going out. My mom called me and wants me to join her for dinner tonight, so I'm excited about that.

Theo is playing his PlayStation downstairs while I clean up the messes he's made. He spilled his coffee on the floor and didn't clean it up, nor did he clean up the mess he made in the bathroom. Lazy pig.

Theo gets up to get a drink right after I've cleaned up the coffee spill, so the floor is still a bit wet from the mop. He's excited because he won his game and he jumps in the air for whatever reason that may be. "Yes" he says extending his arm in the air then, he reaches the wet floor and his foot slides forward sending him hard agains the ground. He hits his head quite viciously. I watched him the whole time and on accident I let out a laugh. I bite my tongue in an attempt to stifle it but he heard me, and he's looking right at me from where he lays on the floor.

"What's so fucking funny you stupid freak?!" He yells. He's livid by now and I can see his anger in his reddened face. "Nothing Theo" I say rolling my eyes. "Don't roll your eyes at me honey, or you'll be sorry" he says quieter this time.

When he goes quiet that's when I know I'm really in trouble. It's better when he shouts because I know that he's releasing some of his anger in his screams, but when he saves it all up and goes quiet, that's the worst.

Theo stands and walks slowly towards me. I mimic his actions by walking backwards away from him. He speeds up and then I turn around and run. I'm much fitter than him because I work out more but he's so much faster.

I run to the upstairs bathroom and lock the door. Theo is up within seconds banging on the door, every thump making my heart race even more. "Fuck off" I say to him. I'll climb out the window if I have to. "I'm not going to hurt you Shai just open the door" he says plainly. I don't know wether to believe him or not, but I open it anyway. He stands in front of me breathless with a streak of blood on his head. "I just wanted a plaster" he says laughing "I honestly don't know why you ran" he says. He walks past me still giggling to himself. I let out a sigh of relief and walk into my room to get changed, but before I can Theo grabs my arm.

My heart immediately begins to race and I can feel anxiety working its way through me. I look up at him and he smiles at me. "I can't see where it's bleeding from, will you help clean it up?" He asks me. I exhale, astonished by his patience with me. "Sure" I say.

He sits down on the toilet and I run a cloth under the water then add a little bit of cleansing water onto it. "This might sting a little" I say to him. He nods in response. I slowly dab it onto his scalp and then back into the water to rinse it.

Once his wound is completely cleaned I put the plaster on it for him. He smiles and looks up at me. "Thank you" he says gratefully. I smile at him and bend down to kiss him. I put my hands on either side of his face and he has his on my waist. He breaks the kiss and I walk out of the bathroom to get dressed.

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"You look nice mom" I say to my mother who is sitting across from me drinking a glass of blood red wine. "Thank you. You too" she says. I ordered some gluten free tacos and my mom got a burger. "So how have you been?" She asks me. I sit back in my chair to relax a bit. "I've been fine. How have you been?" She looks from her wine to me then her wine again and back to me. "I don't wanna talk about me. I wanna know what you've been up to" she says sharply.

"Well I've been working on some new projects. I have a few roles coming up that I need to prepare for but other than that I've been in my house doing nothing" I say. "So are you not having any fun? What about Theo?" She asks. I wanna tell her. She's the one person in the word who loves me unconditionally but this would break her heart. "Ido have fun. Me and Theo go out sometimes and we have a good time" I tell her.

"Why didn't you bring him tonight?" She says. "Because he's working, why are you asking me all of these questions?" I ask. She takes my hand and stares at my arms. I'm wearing a collar again today but it doesn't have any sleeves. "You have marks all over your arms. Honey has Theo been hurting you?" She says her voice sounding high.

This is where my acting skills are well appreciated. "Oh my god mom no. Why would you even think that?" I ask trying to sound astonished. "I have marks because I just finished an action film" I say. She buys it. "Oh well that makes sense" she says. I laugh nervously. The waiter comes over with our food and we eat in silence.

I finish my meal and tell my mom I'm gonna go home. I feel tired and nauseous and I need to change my bandage so I give her a hug take her home because she's been drinking then I get back in my car. I don't feel like going home. I feel like going to a concert or something but I know it's too late. Theo has texted me about thirteen times seeing where I am and when I'm coming home.

He's getting really obsessive lately. He always texts me to see where I am but it's getting a lot these days. When I arrive home though Theo is watching boxing. He switches it of when he sees me. "Wanna go to bed?" He says. I nod and he walks over, takes me by the hand and we walk to the bedroom together.