Trapped in the Static

Emotions Suck

Chase laid Anti on his bed after wrapping his arms in gauze. The bleeding had stopped and he tried his best to disinfect it. Luckily, the glitch seemed to recover from a lot of things pretty quickly. He laid shivering still on the bed but he was a little more 'there'. Chase covered him in blankets to help try and keep him warm and he laid himself on top of the covers beside him.

Light was just starting to crack through his blinds.

Chase just laid there next to the glitch staring up at the ceiling. He didn't know why he felt so calm next to him now. Perhaps it had something to do with seeing Anti so broken.

He had tried giving Anti some water to flush out his system of the drugs but he would only drink a little, leaving it on the table by the bed.

Anti just stared at Chase.

Slowly coming down from the bad trip, he realized where he was and what had happened. He wasn't really mad though. He was confused.

Head still feeling light and drowsy, he finally spoke on his confusion, throat a little sore from his screams and crying, "W-why?"

Chase turned his head to look him in the eye. He seemed so small at the moment. Like a child.

"Why did I help you?"

Anti nodded his head just slightly.

"Why not? You were in pain. Hurting. I couldn't just leave you like that on my kitchen floor to bleed out, Anti."

"Y-you don't unders-stand." Anti growled at him, "D-don't you remember what I-I've done? Even the unre-repressed memories are proof enough of m-my  . . . . I'm a m-monster. Demon."

Chase sighed, "I remember everything, actually, Anti. I had Marvin let me remember the rest. I know what you did. But still . . . . I can't bring myself to hate you"

"I possessed you. I threw your wife down the stairs. I taunted you into killing those people."

"Yeah  . . . . Stacey doesn't remember. It's for good reason she shouldn't have to. Remembering losing her unborn child could fucking kill her. She'll never have to know."

Anti went quiet and stared at him in utter confusion, "What?"

Chase glared at him a little. Maybe he was a bit bitter still. A little resentful, "What?"

"Unborn child? What are you talking about?" Anti's eyes widened and more fear crossed through him, "No. What? But I-"

Now it was Chase's turn to be confused, "What, Anti? D-did you. . . . not know?"

Anti cowered in the blankets even more, "I th-thought she had j-just gained weight" his voice cracked.

Chase swallowed. He wanted to yell at him. He wanted to strangle him and hit him but the look in his eyes told him . . .  he really didn't know.

"Anti . . . . Stacey was preg-pregnant that night you threw her down the stairs. She uh . . .. she lost the baby because of it"

Anti just curled in on himself, "I. . .I didn't. . ." he went quiet again.

Chase stared up at the ceiling again, "Fucking hell, Anti. You make it hard for me to hate you, you know."

"Do you know where my hoodie is?"

The question surprised Chase but he nodded, "Y-yeah. I found it on the island counter. There were pieces of something in it."

"Okay. Good." Anti just turned over with a groan.