I open my eyes and yawn. I sit up and look around. It takes me a minute to realize that I'm not there. I'm at Hunter's. I notice a water bottle sitting on the nightstand; I grab it and take a couple of sips. My throat is still a little sore from screaming so much.
I swing my legs off the side of the bed and stand up. I immediately sit back down when I start swaying. I get up again and grab my cane, standing it up in front of me so I can lean on it. It feels different. I look down and notice that It's not wood anymore. I shrug it off and slowly make my way to the door. I open it and see Andy and Hunter on the couch sitting next to each other. Andy is looking over Hunter's shoulder to see his phone. I wonder what Hunter's showing him.
"Hey, Hunter?" They both look up.
"Yeah, what you need?"
"I wanna take a shower but I don't have any clothes." Hunter stands up.
"Yeah, I'll get you some." He walks up to me and heads into his room. He comes back out a minute later and hands me a small stack of clothes.
"Thanks." I take them and walk to the bathroom. I set the clothes on the toilet lid and hobble over to the shower. I turn on the warm water and let it run. I lean my cane against the sink as I undress.
As I look in the mirror, I see scars littering my entire body. I can't stand to look at them, so I draw the curtains and step over the edge of the bath and into the shower as quick as I can, closing them behind me.
The warm water feels nice. Then, the flashbacks come back.
Them holding the rag over my face as they waterboard me.
The pitter patter of the rain on my skin as I'm left outside in nothing but my boxers.
The pounding of fists against my skin.
They disappear as I fall to the floor of the shower, yelping out in pain as I land on my bad leg. Thoughts float around my head.
"Nate?" Andy's call knocks me out of my stupor. "I'm coming in, ok?"
I nod, knowing that he can't hear. I'm still too out of it to respond. I hear the door creak open, and because the curtain is closed, all I see is his shadow, causing more flashbacks to flood my brain.
Their shadows covering the walls as they stalk towards me.
Andy kneels down beside the tub/shower and I scoot back as he starts to open the curtain, but I shout in pain as I bang my right leg against the side of the tub. Andy lets go of the curtain and it falls back into place.
"Nate, work with me here. Would it be better if I open the curtain slowly or fast?" He asks.
"S-slowly," I stutter.
"Ok," he says softly, "I'm gonna open the curtain slowly." He grabs the curtain again and slowly pulls it back. When I finally see his face, I feel tears join the water from the shower head. I forgot it was going still. Andy reaches over to the opposite side of the bath and turns off the water. He then slowly leans forward and gently wraps a towel around my shoulders.
"I'm gonna put my hands on your arms and help you stand up, alright?"
I hesitate, then nod. He places his arms on my biceps and gently and slowly pulls me to my feet. I put all my weight on my left leg cause of the muscle tear.
Andy quickly dries my shoulders off and wraps the towel around my waist. He grabs another towel from the closet and uses it to dry my hair. He gently sits me down on the toilet lid and squats down in front of me.
"I'm gonna go get Hunter. Is that ok?" I nod my head and Andy stands up, walking out of the room. Not even a minute later, Andy knocks on the door and enters with Hunter behind him. Hunter quickly walks over to me and kneels down in front of me rubbing my arms up and down, seeing as I'm slightly shivering.
"Hey, are you ok? What happened?"
"F-flashbacks."
"Do you want to talk about them?" I shake my head. "Well, we'll let you get dressed, then you can take your meds, eat dinner, and go back to sleep. How does that sound?"
"O-ok." Hunter helps me stand up and I lean against him. Hunter lays my arm across his shoulders and he helps me get to my room.
"Do you want me to help you get dressed, or do you want to do it on your own?"
"I-I can do it on my own."
"Ok. We'll be in the next room." He gives me a small hug and they both walk out of the room.
YOU ARE READING
Branded Bones
FanfictionThis is a story based on Natewantstobattle's songs Branded and Bones, and maybe a couple of others. It's mostly going to focus on his Bones music video. Nate was kidnapped a while ago. He's forgotten how long. He's rescued, but is he really? He may...
