Chapter #4: Collins/Angel [AKA-Trip and Fall Again]
-X-
Minds raced. Thoughts ran in circles, tighter and tighter, and even tighter, until they tripped over themselves. Colors swarmed, and images danced across the screen. A movie screen playing images that were almost comprehensible. Why was there a movie screen? And… why was there a movie? The last thing he remembered was talking to Mark… Mark! He was screening an edited version of his film…
I smiled as the image of my angel came up on the screen. He was laughing. He was so beautiful when he laughed… I miss his laugh…
And then there it was. The all too familiar chuckle, and the equally familiar warmth as a hand covered his own. Collins turned, grinning and looked into the eyes of his lover.
Beautiful, I'd always told him he was beautiful. My queen, with the most beautiful eyes, warm brown eyes…
But they weren't brown. They were even more beautiful. Technicolor. And they were shining with some kind of emotion. Love… Joy… Laughter… Collins could sit there forever, just next to him, hands clasped. Just… together. Together was enough.
And then the film ended. I watched as the rest of the Bohos left the room, congratulating Mark. Maureen turned to look at me. "Collins, you coming? We're all going to the Life."
"Nah… I'm good. I'll just stay here for a while… Have fun."
Maureen looked a bit concerned, but forced a smile, before grabbing her jacket and following the Bohos out of the loft.
-X-
And then their lips were pressed together, tongues dancing, hearts beating hard and fast. Collins pushed his Angel against a wall that came alive with color, and light, and pulsating patterns. Clothes seemed to be torn off without notice, disappearing the moment they were removed, revealing skin so soft and smooth and flushed it was almost unreal.
Angel's touch was so familiar, it was impossible to believe that it had been months since we had last been together. His hands were strong again, and warm, and the lesions on his face and chest were gone. He looked healthier than I had ever seen him… Like he might have looked before… Before AIDS…
And then he didn't. The young man's skin paled, and he was thinner. Those eyes, the brown… No… those Technicolor eyes lost their color. They turned black, and empty. He coughed, and hacked, the sound that had plagued Collins head for months was back.
I couldn't stand it. The sound of my Angel coughing, over and over. I covered my ears, and I screamed. "Stop it! Just shut up! SHUT UP!"
And then there was red. And the coughing continue… only now there was blood, flocks of it across his vision. Staining their clothes, staining the room. Everything was washed in a morbid crimson. He closed his eyes, but the color remained, burned into his mind forever. And then there was silence. The blood slowly dripped away. His Angel stopped coughing.
"Thank you… Thank you… Thank- NO! No, DON'T!"
The lesions started appearing. Dark spots growing faster than they should have. First on his arms, then his chest, then his neck, and then the tiny devils began to infect his Angel's perfect face. And then his arms were empty, and the red stains seemed to return, sinking into the walls and the floor. He screamed.
I could feel the sticky liquid drying on my as a sobbed, and I pulled myself up from the worn couch. I stepped into the bathroom, into the moldering shower. I turned the water as hot as it would go, and I scrubbed. I washed the blood off of my skin, scrubbing every inch, until all of the gore, and all the memory of Angel's touch was gone from my body.
But it couldn't ever leave him… It never would. That thought brought Collins to his knees. Tears hot, and wet, and salty streaming down his cheeks. The loft once again echoed with aching screams.
-X-
I could feel cold. Cold and darkness. The colors were gone. And the sounds as well. There was nothing but the feel of icy air and icy water. Had hours passed? Had days passed? I heard a door open… somewhere far away… and Mark's voice could be heard in the main room.
"Collins! Are you still here?" There was a pause, and I heard his voice again. Quieter this time. "He's probably gone back to his apartment. He wouldn't stay here alone all day…"
"Mark?" My voice cracked as I said it, and the energy it took to speak had my vision swimming, but I could hear footsteps, and I could hear the bathroom door open, and the shower curtain was pulled away, and then I heard him gasp.
"What happened to you Collins?" He helped me stand, and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Bags under my eyes, still in my clothes, but they were soaking and they clung to me, exposing how thin I actually was.
"B-bad Tr… tr… trip" I stuttered, suddenly realizing I was shivering.
"C'mon. I'll get you some dry clothes," Mark told me as he led me out of the bathroom and sat me down on the couch. He returned with a dry towel and a pile of clothes.
"Thanks." I forced a smile for him.
"No problem." He forced one as well.
-X-
I'm sorry it was so… depressing…however I'm very proud of myself for updating so soon.
Please read and review. Comments, ideas, suggestions, constructive criticism, non-constructive criticism, flat out flames; all reviews are welcome [Flames are only sort of welcome]
Peace and Love,
Glow