***Trigger warnings for panic attacks, PTSD, mentions of self harm behaviours and marks, mentions of past physical and sexual assault, and mentions of child neglect.***
Wait to start the song.
2:41 am. It was 2:41am when Tyler woke up to the sound of his phone ringing on his bedside table. Even half-asleep, he knew exactly what that meant. He shot up in bed, grabbing his phone and answering it without hesitation, waiting for the automated voice that never came as Jay groaned and rolled over beside him, pulling the blankets up over his head.
"Hey, Tyler. It's Ashley Frangipane. Um, so don't panic, but the reason you're getting a call from me instead of Josh right now is because he's in the infirmary at the moment, and he isn't talking," Frangipane explained in what Tyler had already been professionally trained to identify as a forced calm tone.
Tyler was already out of bed, turning on the light and grabbing clothes out of his dresser at random as he anxiously asked, "What happened?"
"Dude," Jay complained, burying his face in his pillow before pulling the blankets up to fully cover his head.
"It had to have been a flashback or a night terror or something. One second he was sleeping, the next he was out of bed and in a complete panic while he tore up the skin on his arm. He didn't have anything that could be used as a weapon, thankfully, so he couldn't get down too deep with just his nails, but he ripped himself up pretty good by the time another guard could get there to help me restrain him and calm him down. I think he's mostly embarrassed and overwhelmed right now, but he's safe," Frangipane informed him. "They're bandaging him up, but then he'll be okay to come back to his cell. Normally they'd have him do a psych eval first, but they know he isn't going to be able to cooperate if it's someone he doesn't know."
"But no one knows what triggered the panic to begin with?" Tyler asked worriedly as he tucked the phone between his shoulder and cheek while he exchanged his pajama pants for sweats.
Frangipane seemed to hesitate before admitting, "He was talking about Abbie in his sleep before it happened. Just...mumbling her name with a bunch of nonsense. I'm considering calling his sister, Ashley, to come check in with him. She might be able to bring Abbie in at some point, but even if she can't, I think it's eating away at him that he's losing his siblings again. He'll probably want you here first if you can come, so I'll call her in later. I just wanted to let you know since you're Josh's person that he tells everything to."
Tyler swallowed nervously. "Ask him what he wants us to do. If he needs Ashley now, she should come in now. If he needs me, I'll be there. If he needs both of us, I'll handle whatever consequences I need to after she sees me there, but his health and safety are the main priority. We'll do whatever he needs us to do."
"Give me a second," Frangipane told him nervously before disappearing long enough for Tyler to get his socks and one shoe on.
"Where are you going?" Jay asked tiredly.
"Maybe nowhere. I don't know yet. Don't worry about it, okay? Everything's fine. Go back to sleep," Tyler reassured his little brother.
Frangipane's voice returned then. "Come on over. I'm going to call Ashley and see if she'll come in, so be prepared in case she says yes. She might say no, so don't worry too much just yet. I'm calling you guys from my phone, not the prison's, so she's more likely to at least answer and hear me out."
"Okay. I'll head out in just a second," Tyler told her. "Thank you for keeping him safe. I'll see you in a minute."
"Uh huh. Thank you. Bye, Tyler."
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Lockjaw (Joshler)
Fanfiction"This is how it often goes, sold into captivity so long ago. This is how it often goes. God knows I would know." -Mothers (Lockjaw) As awful as it sounded, Josh's favourite letters were the ones that came from people who, for some reason, thought he...
