My Old Friend

Chapter 28

FAITH POV: I love him... Oh god, do I love him... I feel helpless in his presence... The fear is still eminent in my head, but it flees to the backline, as the other emotions race further. The harder I try to make myself angry, the stronger my attraction is. It's like I want to smack and kiss him all at once. 

I wonder if my urge to harm him is increasing my affection towards him. Maybe that's why I love him again... But then I try to let him in again, and be kind, and the affection grows anyways. 

Affection.... Ironic how it sounds so much like Infection... I guess the words are synonymous. The thought of him is infecting my mind, tainting my train of thought the more I breathe. I can barely speak a sentence in his presence. 

"How the hell am I supposed to take it, Tim?" Liz screams. A vein pops up on her makeup-slathered face. Her manicured blonde curls bob as she speaks. She looks like the classic southern belle... Her pearls rest on her neck as her yellow dress is fresh and ironed. She looks put together. The kind of girl you'd think the lawyer Tim would be made for... This Tim, well-- he'd rather die than live with a woman like that. She's perfect, but he's not... That's why he can't stand her. They don't see eye to eye. 

"Liz, she's a friend. Can we please take this out to the hall?" He pleads. Ryon tries to distract me as the two ignite the powder keg for World War III. 

"She's not just a friend, Timothy! You two had sex!" She says, disgusted with him. He begins to laugh. 

"Yes, we had sex, Liz." He says, sounding very irritated. "This was before I even met you!" He screams. She laughs as tears begin to fall. 

"You were just laying in bed with that--" She says, pointing to me. Tim cuts her off. 

"You better tread real carefully, Elizabeth." He warns. She steps closer to him, so they're almost chest to chest. 

"Or what?" She contests. His jaw tenses. 

"She needs a place to stay while she recovers. I'm sure she could stay in your room, couldn't she?" He says. She gasps. 

"So you could bang her?" She screams as if it were a curse. I watch Tim. 

"I'm sorry, is banging your manager better? Maybe I'll give her a call!" He shouts. She cringes with every word. My heart aches as their screams echo in my head. I feel like a pan, with the sound ringing endlessly.

"I hate you..." She says, stomping like a prom queen, and then turning to march out. She turns once she opens the door. "At least he can last for more than three minutes." She screams. My jaw drops as she leaves. I try not to laugh, but the whole statement makes me crack up. Ryon himself even has to turn away to avoid laughing. Tim looks over at us with exhaust. 

"I can't stand her." He says, clenching his fists. 

Being home feels good, although a little horrifying. 

I've been having nightmares... Every single night, a new nightmare... Every single one, Tim has been present. About 50% of the time, the girls are involved. A "villain" alternates every night. Some of the "villains" aren't guys I would've predicted would hurt me...

The first dream was with Mike and Jackson. They found me again, and began to beat me. Tim stepped in, but then Jackson pummeled him to a pulp, because Tim didn't fight back. God, I screamed like crazy for him to hit back...

The second dream was with Jason. He was beating Addie, and then tried to brand her with a poker from the fireplace -- idea of which probably resonated from one of Tim's disgusting experiences. I felt paralyzed as he kept drawing closer to her... Tim stepped between them and took it for her. He was in pain, but it was nowhere near the pain Addie would've experienced.