Save me. (Remington Leith X Andy Biersack)

Chapter 29

The day comes where Remington must tell the police everything. His nights are sleepless, the only thing easing his mind the constant support, love and endless hugs his brothers provide. If he does fall asleep, he always wakes a few hours later, panting, terrified, and feeling more exhausted than before he fell asleep.

They try to persuade him to have a shower, or to at least wash his face, but Remington refuses every time. He can't hear water without flashing back to that hotel bathroom. When everything went wrong.

On the morning of the day he has been having nightmares about, Remington clambers out of the creaky hospital bed and into the bathroom. He limps quite severely as every step pains his stomach. The wound is still delicate, just like the boy.

Sebastian is sitting in the chair today. He swapped with Emerson around midnight so that the younger man could go home for a few hours and sleep in a bed. It's hard to focus on anything else when their brother is in such a bad way.

Tour was scheduled to begin tomorrow, but the whole thing has been cancelled. Of course it has. They haven't said much to fans.

We are extremely sorry to announce that our world tour has been cancelled due to Remington being caught in a nasty accident. All tickets will be refunded.

They're calling it an accident. Remington hates that, but he doesn't have the energy to argue about it. It wasn't an accident. He didn't walk into a knife, or slip over in the bath, or get hit by a car.

He was stabbed.

And now he is suffering because of it.

It was no accident. And everyone knows it.

Fans are upset. Angry. Worried. They say they're praying for Remington, wishing him the best.

In the bathroom, Remington looks at his sad reflection in the sad little mirror. He lifts up his hospital gown to expose the red mark which stains his tattooed skin. The boy rubs his eyes to stop tears. He can't cry. Not again. Dropping the fabric, he lets his always trembling hand touch the cool metal tap. He inhales, exhales, and turns it slowly.

Water drips into the sink.

Remington keeps turning until the water is rushing. He closes his eyes.

Big mistake.

Sebastian is made alert at the sound of the water. Though he hasn't been told what happened that night, he is aware that his little brother is terrified of showering. Just the thought makes him panic.

The guitarist knocks on the bathroom door. He waits for a moment.

Inside, Remington is willing himself not to panic, not to scream. He forces deep breaths and tries to make himself blind to the unfolding images of Holly with a knife. Of him bleeding into that bath. The red bathwater. The fear he felt. The agony of the blade as it sunk into him. The fear.
The unnerving, horrifying fear.

He believed he was going to die.

Alone in a hotel bathtub, hundreds of miles from home.

Sure to make the news.

People would read it in the paper at breakfast watch it on TV in the evening. Think about him briefly. Move on. He'd be forgotten.

Remington doesn't hear the knock on the closed door. He can't hear anything except for the rushing water.

Though he isn't sure if it's the water he can hear or his own blood rushing in his ears.

"Remington, you okay?" Sebastian says through the door. He knocks again.

Remington stumbles backwards, convinced Holly is in there too. Sebastian pushes open the door in time to catch his brother before he trips and bangs his head

He pulls Remington into his arms and turns the tap off. At the loss of the noise, the singer is pushed back into reality. He clings to his older brother and calms down.

After the morning's scare, Remington is even more anxious about what he is being made to do. How can he let himself remember that day without breaking?

Emerson is told about what happened and he is thankful that Sebastian was there to calm him down. There's no way Remington would be able to cope on his own.

The brothers are taken to the police station and Remington is guided into a room with two officers, begging for one of his brothers to come too. He isn't allowed anyone else in there. It might alter his explanation.

The boy sits in the plastic chair and avoids looking at the two people opposite him. He can't do this.

He is offered water. He shakes his head even though he wants some. He doesn't know why he does that.

And then the questions begin.

Where was he?
Was he alone?
Who stabbed him?
What else happened?
Did he tell anyone?
Were there any witnesses?
When was it?

Remington answers with one word.
Hotel.
Yes.
Silence.
Silence.
No.
No.
Can't remember.

He's told that he needs to tell the truth. He desperately looks for his brothers, wishing they were here. He can't see them.

"Do you know who it was?" The female asks, pen in hand.

Remington nods. He knows he has to answer. It makes him cringe just thinking about it.

She scribbles something down. "Do you know their name?"

Her question is simple. Yes. Yes, he knows her fucking name. He nods.

"What is it?"

Remington could really do with some water. He might choke. He doesn't want to say her name. Or think about her name. Or hear her name. He heaves a breath and gets to his feet. He needs to see his brothers.

The female officer stands up too. "Do you need a minute, sir?" She asks, aware of how distressing this is.

Remington barely manages a nod. The door is opened and he stumbles out of the claustrophobic room. Emerson is the first person he sees and he basically falls into his arms.

The drummer wraps him in a hug. "Is it done?"

Remington shakes his head. "Think I'm gonna be sick," he murmurs, "fuck."

The other officer who was in the room is quick on providing a bin. Emerson guides his brother down into a chair and holds the bucket for him.

Sure enough, Remington keels forwards and empties his painful stomach into the plastic bucket.

He's given a glass of water and told to take his time. There's no rush.

For ten minutes he sits with his brothers and they calm him enough to go back in. He hugs Sebastian tightly before following the officers back into the room. Sebastian whispers that he can do this, that he's strong. That he loves him and he's proud of him and it's all going to be okay.

Remington is asked again what their name is.

He accepts the water this time.

And then he answers. "Holly," he mumbles, scared she's going to suddenly appear. "Holly Gulls."

Exposing her fills Remington with a mixture of guilt, fear, anxiety, satisfaction, relief.

He wants her to die.

God, he wants her to die.