Madhouse | Ethan Dolan

5

Ethan's POV

I feel my pulse quicken as I spot Octavia's lifeless body laying on the floor.

The plastic doors isolating her start to rise and I sprint to her, patting her cheeks.

"Hey, hey..... Come on, wake up!" I say hurriedly, shaking her awake.

My arms move from her chest to her face to her chest again as I try to collect myself and figure out what to do.

"Bring her to her room." The man says behind me.

I look back at him to see him surprisingly calm.

"She'll be fine." He shrugs, scoffing to himself. "In the meanwhile, you both will pay for ruining my show!"

I hold back my scowl, nodding as I swallow thickly.

"Octavia." I whisper one more time, pushing her hair back off of her forehead.

Shaking my head to myself, I lift her up, putting my one arm under her thighs and the other on her lower back, trying to get her limp body to lean on me for support.

Weirdly, she was still warm.

"You better not be acting." I whisper in her ear once more, just for clarification. I was hoping she'd answer. Maybe giggle and call me an idiot. Even slap me on the back of my head. Anything.

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My fingers reach for the next page of my book, flipping the delicate paper over as my eyes scan from left to right.

My eyes stop as I hear a rustle in the sheets.

Octavia moves over and faces the other side, groaning to herself.

"You're awake!" I breath, putting my book down and scrambling towards her.

"Of course I am, dumbass." She mumbles, pulling the sheets up.

"Do you remember anything?" I ask, rolling my eyes slightly.

"Duh." She snorts. "I fainted. It not like I hit my head." She teases with a slightly better tone.

"Well...." I start. "Are you hurt? He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

She shakes her head, propping herself up on her elbows. "I'm okay. You?"

"I'm alright. He did have something to say about my..." I trail off, rubbing my jawline.

Octavia raises her hand to run her thumb across my jaw. "You can barely notice it. He was being a dick." She says, keeping her eyes on the lower portion of my face.

I scoff, chuckling to myself. "I mean, I think he was being a dick when he cut me in the first place but...."

She raises an eyebrow sceptically.

"So what do you do for entertainment around here?" I ask, hitting my palms against my knees.

"We have a TV." She suggests, running her eyes. "But we can only watch movies on it."

My head shoots up in excitement. "Why didn't you tell me!" I exclaim.

She giggles. "It's not that great when you've seen the movies like, a thousand times."

Octavia's POV

"Psssht."

"It's true!" I reply, smiling wildly.

"Come on! Show me where." She says excitedly. I could tell he was trying to keep his calm.

I laugh tiredly, getting out of the bed slowly, feeling weakness in my legs. I was out for most of the day and I was starving.

"Don't you want to eat?" I ask, taking a deep breath.

"Nah, I'm okay..... Actually, okay. But can we eat while watching tv?" He asks, negotiating like a child.

I nod my head, quietly moving to the kitchen, trying my best not to collapse.

"Are you okay?" Ethan asks behind me.

I nod.

"I'm going to lift you up again." He says suddenly.

"Again?" I ask, before being cut off as my feet leave the ground and I feel a warm presence around me.

A quiet sigh escapes my lips and his arms securely hold onto me and my arms wrap around his shoulders.

"Ethan!" I say weakly. "Let me down!"

He shakes his head. "You're tired. I can see it. I'll get you food, just relax." He says cooly, keeping his eyes forward.

"Not while you're carrying me." I murmur.

"Do you want me to put you down?" He asks sternly. I swear to god though, I could hear a tiny bit of hurt.

"No." I reply, keeping my eyes down as a small smile shows up on my face.

"Okay."

"Okay."

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"There's Coraline..." I start, pulling out a couple CD boxes from under the coffee table.

"Ironic." Ethan scoffs, taking a bite of his food.

I chuckle, pulling out the next couple CDs. "Pinocchio?"

"Nah."

"Pixels?"

"No Adam Sandler." He says, batting his eyes.

I giggle again, taking out another thin box. "Logan?" I ask, squinting.

"Nope." He pops the p.

"Winchester?"

"No horror movies." Ethan shivers. "We're living in one."

I nod in agreement, picking out my favourite movie. Hunger games.

I turn the cover towards Ethan as he scans the cover.

"You wanna watch it?" He asks, chewing on his food.

I nod my head rapidly.

"Alright, let's watch it."

"Okay." I grin, waddling to the tv, slipping the disc into the DVD player.

I sit back, smiling to myself as I sit beside Ethan.

"Hey by the way..." he starts, keeping his attention to the bright television. "Thanks..... For not letting me die."

For the first time, I didn't feel like walking him in the face with a chair. Maybe living alone for an extended amount of time does something to a person.

"No problem." I chirp looking up at him.

His corners of his lips pulled up slightly. "You're still a bitch."

"You're still a douchebag." I reply, rolling my eyes.

"Dollies." A dark voice calls from behind us.

We both look back, huddling a little closer together.

"Time for your payment." The man growls, pointing towards his room. "Equipment is upstairs. Don't bother coming out until my room is spotless. I'm leaving for a bit.." he says, taking a set of keys out of his pocket. "Don't do anything stupid".

I nod, getting up from the couch.

"What does he mean?" Ethan asks, scratching his arm.

"His room." I groan. He always messes his room up when I piss him off.

"That's not that bad." Ethan says as we approach his door.

"Right.... Take a look." I sigh, pushing open his door.

"Oh." Ethan squeaks, understanding how much of a pain it is.