Collapse (TyVan Fanfiction) ((discontinued))

XII

"Won't be much longer now, Evan." A man sighed by a table, wiping a blade clean of red liquid.
A shorter, younger male was tied at the wrists and ankles onto a chair. He was soaked in both blood and sweat.

The older brother walked back over to Evan, lifting his head. "Soon, this will be reality. For now, you're just having a dream. Shame." Adam sighed once more. "Go wake up, now."

Chapter 12
Help

I woke up with a jolt, seemingly drenched in cold sweat. My heart was pounding in my chest, my breathing frantic and uneven. But this was every morning for me, the same recurring nightmare playing through my head every night for months.

Slowly, I was able to calm myself down enough to focus on everything else. For one thing, I noticed Tyler wasn't in the room. Huh, I would've expected him to wake up later than me.

Sighing, I slid off the bed and out of the room. Tyler sat himself on the couch, cleaning one of his guns. He caught notice of me, and nodded. "Morning."
"Hey. When'd you wake up?" A yawn broke the end of my sentence as I sat beside the taller man.
Ty shrugged. "Maybe an hour ago." He slowly started putting the pistol back together.
"And Evan?"
"Hm?"

He set down the pistol and rag, turning to face me. His face was only serious. "What's been going on with you, man? You don't look like you're ever getting any good sleep. And, even before all that shit happened a couple weeks ago, you look uncomfortable like you're having a nightmare while you're asleep."
His question caught me by surprise. I didn't even know how to answer at first, but his concerned stare somehow made it easier for me to get the words together.

"If you really want to know... I've been having the same nightmare every night. It starts out different, but always ends the same. Maybe that's making me restless, I don't know..." I answered flatly, not giving much insight to the dreams.
Tyler let out a deep sigh. "Talk to me. What's the nightmare about?" His voice was calm and sympathetic.

A warm feeling rose in my chest, a rare thing I've felt ever since the fall. He wanted to help me.
"As I said, it starts different. Sometimes I'm alone. Sometimes with you, other times with David and Lui... Until we're usually separated by something. Walkers, weather, other people. And I'm always captured by Purifiers, sent to my brother..." My voice cracked slightly. "The pain inflicted feels real. And it just ends like that, every time. I'm surprised I don't wake up with scars everywhere at times, it feels so real."
My eyes began to feel a little hot, tears threatening to fall. "It happens so often, I'm beginning to think it will end up happening." I added, my voice shaky and a bit quieter. My head drooped down, not wanting Tyler to see me cry.

After a second of silence, something wrapped itself around me protectively. My cold skin was instantly warmed up by the sudden gesture.
Tyler pulled me into his chest, his head on top of mine. "Hey, hey, hey... Cry if you need to. You aren't alone anymore. I'm here for you." He mumbled soothingly.
I expected don't cry and you'll get over it, something both my parents and old friends used to say.

That was the moment when I realized just how important this man was to me, how big a role he played in my life already. How much I really did rely on him.

"Come on, let's try and get you to sleep again." Tyler broke the hug and stood. He offered his arm, which I grabbed onto. He walked us to the bedroom again, the curtains open let in the natural light. One thing I didn't notice was that it was softly raining, the sky dark.

I sat on the bed once more while Tyler went to shut the curtains, which did in fact make it dark and cozy.
He rounded around to the other side and hopped onto the bed. But, this time, he held his arms out, his eyes gesturing for me to take the space. "Come on," he nodded. "We'll see if this helps you at all, 'kay?"

Finally, I gave in. My eyes were getting heavier for one thing, and my skin was getting cold again.
After I slid into the spot, Tyler wrapped his arms around me again. Not caring anymore, I dug my face into his neck, immediately getting drowsy. The sound of his breathing eased me into unconsciousness...

A loud crack of thunder startled me awake, a flash of lightning illuminating the dark room for only seconds before disappearing again.

Tyler and I were still in the same position as when we fell asleep, his chest slowly rising with every breath.
What made me happier was that I didn't have another nightmare, not even a dream to disturb me. My heart was pumping at a decent rate, my breathing was even... For a moment, I thought I was in a different body.

I noticed that the room was darker than before, meaning it was probably evening or possibly nighttime already. Neither of us seemed to be sleeping well for a while, if we could steadily sleep through the day.
But... that would mean something was keeping Tyler from sleeping well, too. Maybe it was his fear of Brian that kept him up, the fear of literally everything... maybe I was helping him, too. He was alone, like I was. He didn't seem so buddy-buddy with anyone but Brian, and after all that...

Not anymore. It's Tyler and I against all odds from now on. As long as the other is there to support, we'd be fine.

Only when Tyler adjusted his grip on me is when I snapped back to reality. Even while he was unconscious, his grip didn't seem to falter.
I couldn't help but smile softly. Maybe there's something there that wasn't there before.