Promise // Mullette

chapter 14

- Hercules -

Days passed. My mom went home, not knowing about Laf. I couldn't bring myself to tell her.

I felt like it was my fault. I should've protected him or something, even though I wasn't there. I should've realized the red flags as soon as I walked in the apartment that morning, instead of not realizing it for nearly an hour.

I tried to spend time with Alex and John as a distraction. They were the only people I told. But every time we hung out, my mind would drift to Laf. I couldn't focus during anything, and it was nearly impossible to sleep.

Five days after I filed the missing persons report, I was up once again at 3 in the morning, pacing the room and running my hands up and down my arms.

Suddenly, I realized I could talk to someone about all this not-sleeping stuff. Alexander hardly ever sleeps, and while John urges him to go to bed and get some rest, I guarantee he's up right now, writing or something along those lines. Plus, I could use a friend right about now.

I pulled out my phone and clicked his contact, the phone ringing only once before he picked up.

"Hello?" He said, sounding awake and alert, as usual. It's a good thing I didn't wake him up. Since he got practically no sleep, John would probably murder me if I woke Alex up from the little bit of rest he got.

"I can't sleep. I haven't slept in days. I feel like I'm dying, not just from the sleep but because he's missing. He left a hole in my heart, Alex. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I can't just lay down in my bed and sleep when I know that someone has him and could be torturing him or raping him or something." I said in a rush.

"I'll be right over." He said, hanging up. And just as he said, five minutes later I heard a knock at the door.

A panting Alex was leaning against the door frame, fanning himself and then walking inside.

"I wrote a note to tell John where I went, and then I sprinted here. I didn't want you to be alone for long. It's so much worse when you're alone." He explained. A look of pain flashed in his eyes as he apparently remembered something, but it faded quickly and he sat down on the couch, motioning for me to sit across from him.

I sat on the chair and he tossed a blanket to me. I wrapped it around myself, shivering from both the cold and something I couldn't really identify.

"I've dealt with not being able to sleep for a long time. Ever since I was 17, I had these horrible nightmares that seemed so real. So to avoid them, I just avoided sleep. But that's really bad for you, and I know I'm a hypocrite for saying that and then still skipping sleep, but those nightmares are absolutely terrifying. I hate them." He said. I nodded before frowning a bit.

"Does John know about all this? I know he tried to make you sleep all the time, but does he know that when you do sleep, you have nightmares?" I asked.

Alex picked at the sleeve of his shirt for a moment and chewed on his lip before answering quietly.

"No. I don't want him to worry more than he does already. I feel like I'm a burden to him, more of a chore than a boyfriend. He doesn't need to know." He mumbled, not meeting my eyes.

"Alex! You gotta tell him. I know he worries but it's because he cares about you. That's why I worry too. And that's why Laf worries. He hardly knows you and he cares! We're here for you no matter what, but we want to help you. Will you try to tell John soon?" I said. I really wanted Alex to get the help he needed, and this is the first step.

He hesitated for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Enough about me. You're the one who can't sleep. Usually what works for me is I'll lay down, and John will talk to me until I drift off. It's comforting to have someone to talk to you. Does that sound okay?" He asked. I nodded and curled up into the couch with the blanket over me as Alex began to talk in his usual nonstop fashion, his hushed voice filling the room and eventually lulling me to sleep.

When I woke up in the morning, he was passed out on the couch across from me.

a/n: this chapter is kinda messy but I wanted Herc and Alex to have more of a friendship connection and I liked the idea of ending with Alex falling asleep too, because he's comforted by being with his friend and helping him out.