Chester Bennington - Unusual Neighbor

Aftermath

The trip back home was silent, heavy and all I wanted to do was to throw up so badly.

It was like I had this tight knot on my stomach, clenching around my neck and making my head throb painfully. Images of Mike's intrusion, the gun aimed at me, the ugly argument we had, Chester on his knees begging Mike to kill him instead of me... It was all too much to bear, and the tears naturally kept strolling down my cheeks as a way to release the strain I was feeling inside. But it only infuriated me more.

Chester, on the other hand, was inexplicably craving to get some sleep. That day was so overpowering and terrifying that he felt like all of his energy and strength to face the world simply vanished.

When we entered our apartment, a chill ran down my spine. It all happened just hours ago. And I couldn't enter our bedroom again, so I rested noiselessly on the couch, dragging the long white blanket over my body.

Chester remained still at the door, his heart shattering a little as he observed my delicate and wretched figure laying helpless on the couch.

"Ana," he muttered, somewhat doubtful of what he wanted to say.

Approaching the couch and kneeling on the floor, I dared to look at him over the blanket with my teary eyes, knowing that I was about to explode at any moment. Too many emotions were making it hard for me to even breathe.

He didn't dare to speak for a while, watching as I hid my face under the blanket again, sobbing. His hands rested on my shoulders, stroking them in a tender way, not being able to stop his own tears from falling.

"I'm so sorry..." he whispered slowly, as he leaned his forehead against the blanket over my head.

Nodding, I raised my head to look at him once again and I couldn't hold it inside of me anymore.

"Never, ever again, dare to trade your life over mine! Ever!" Chester widened his eyes at my outburst. I sat on the couch and straightened my back, a wave of deranged energy going through every fiber of my body. "You... you knelt on the floor in front of him... He was going to shoot you! He was going to shoot you here, in our home. How would I live without you???"

"It's ok now, baby," he attempted to soothe me, but by the maddening look in my eyes, he knew he failed.

"No, no, it's not ok! You can't do those things! You can't do those things," I kept repeating the same words over and over again and Chester had to grab my face to make me stop and look at him. When I calmed down, he spoke sternly.

"I'd take one thousand bullets to keep you safe. Don't ask me not to do it because you were doing the same thing, in the same room. And I know you'd do it again. So don't ask me to never try to give my life over yours because you know I'd never keep that promise..." I sobbed, but Chester pulled my head up to look at him. "It was my fault. I let him continue his fucking harassment and I never thought he'd be capable of doing this... it's my fault, baby, and I'm so sorry for putting you through this..."

"No... It's mine..." I replied, looking down.

"Ana, n --"

"It is... I was the one that triggered him... I did something," I said and tried to explain to him that I talked to Mike's parents and made Rob deliver Mike a box with Mia's stuff because I wanted to end this stalking, but I sobbed and stammered so badly that no words could be discernible. What confused me the most, was Chester's neutral expression and the serene glimpse in his eyes. When I finally stopped to look at him with my eyes narrowed, he smiled weakly.

"Rene told me," he stated. "Weeks ago."

I snorted, eyes wide open, afraid of what he might think of me for lying to him.