Entry #12050104001305

Shut Up And Go To Sleep

Mind groggy and eyes blurry, Jay rolled over to look at the alarm clock on the side table which displayed the time of 2:17 am. Wiping the sleep from his eyes with his hands, he quickly pushed himself up and went out to the living room. He felt bad for taking over Tim's bed, especially for so long. Expecting to find Tim asleep on the couch, Jay was surprised to find him sitting on the floor in the kitchen. His back was pressed up against the lower cabinets and his head was in his hands. If nothing else, he looked completely exhausted.

"Tim?" Jay gently asked as he approached, being careful not to startle him. Tim looked up and gave him a small smile but said nothing. Jay lowered himself to the floor beside Tim and stared at the wall across from him, waiting for Tim to say something. A long moment of silence passed before he finally looked up and spoke.

"I've just been thinkin', ya know? About how things used to be. Before I met Alex, before all this weird stuff started, before my best friend disappeared from the face of the earth. Just, back when things were normal. God, I'd give anything for this to just be a bad dream." His head dropped back into his hands as he let out a sigh. Jay wasn't sure what he was supposed to say, especially since he had the exact same thoughts. He felt like this was all a nightmare and at any moment, his alarm clock would go off and save him from this dreamscape. But so far, that was looking more and more improbable.

Minutes of silence passed until Jay finally said, "You should get some sleep. You can show me whatever it is that I need to see in the morning."

"I'm not that tired," Tim said, looking up at him. The dark circles under his eyes had only gotten darker and it was quite obvious that he was tired.

Having none of it, Jay said, "Go get in bed. I'll get your pill, okay?" Though he claimed to not be tired, Tim willingly obeyed and went to his room while Jay went to get his medication. Upon entering his room, Jay handed him a bottle of water and a small white pill which Tim easily swallowed before laying back on the soft bed.

"Do you ever wish you could be someone else? Just... anyone else. Someone normal, who doesn't have to deal with the stuff we do." Tim stared at Jay who had taken a seat on the floor, waiting for his reply. Jay didn't have to think of the answer because he already knew it.

"Yeah. But then I think about the people that are gone - or at least missing - and I know that, even if we were the normal ones, there would be someone else that would have to deal with this. So it wouldn't really be solving the problem, it would just be passing it along to someone else. And they would wish the exact same thing, to be a normal person again, and the cycle would keep repeating."

With heavy eyelids, Tim seemed to consider Jay's response before mumbling, "I guess you're right" and closing his eyes all the way. Jay listened to Tim's heavy breathing until he was sure he was asleep then headed towards the door, turning off the lamp on his way. Standing in the doorway, Jay vowed to himself that even if he couldn't save himself or figure out what was going on, he was going to keep Tim safe no matter what and try to give him a normal life. If nothing else, he would save Tim from all of this and, most importantly, himself.