Arthur's eyes came open slowly, fluttering gently and squinting a little at the bright light above him.
"Wah…" Arthur tried, his throat scratchy. "Wah appen'd?" Arthur tried to sit up, but a hand on his chest easily held him down.
"Vacci…" a low voice said gently. "You need to relax… The possession took a heavy toll on you. You're going to need a lot of rest." Arthur barely understood the phrase in Italian, understanding it means 'Take it easy' almost a full minute after hearing it. He was having trouble processing what had happened as a whole.
"There…was a kid…" Arthur mumbled tiredly.
"We know," came another voice, a gentle woman's voice. "His name was Gabriel. He was Madame Jezabel's child…" Gabriel…Madame Jezabel…Wait…I've heard those names before… He blinked a few more times, his eyes adjusting as he looked around slowly. Lewis was on his left, lightly holding him down with one hand, while Vivi was on his right. Mystery was sitting next to her, his ears drooping down a little in concern.
"Madame…Jezabel…" Arthur started to speak, feeling his eyes focus out again tiredly. I feel like I could sleep for weeks.
"What about her?" Vivi asked, tilting her head a little, before looking at Lewis. "She wasn't haunting this place at all. It was just Gabriel." Arthur shifted his arm around and under him, attempting to sit up again, but was stopped by Lewis.
"You need to rest," Lewis said almost sharply. "I insist Arthur." Arthur glanced over at him, before slowly swiveling his head around to look at Vivi.
"She…didn't kill herself…" Arthur mumbled gently, his voice lazily trailing off.
"What?!" Vivi almost shouted, leaning over him in a second. "What makes you say that?!" She was practically bouncing where she sat. He owed her an answer now, but it was getting harder to manage it.
"Her…husband came back…" Arthur managed, his eyes fluttering again, exhaustion pulling him closer in its grasp. "She…made Gabriel…hide…and her…her husband…her husband toooook er dow oo the bas…base ent…." Lewis looked at Vivi, absolutely confused by what Arthur was muttering.
"Are you able to make sense of him?" He asked.
"He said that her husband took her down to the basement," Vivi said gently, nodding her head slowly.
"You must be good at speaking jibberish," Lewis said quickly, a playful smile on his face.
"Not exactly…" Vivi said gently. "I was hoping that the truth wouldn't turn out that she left him alone to die… What I don't understand is… Why was she able to move on?" Vivi looked up to Lewis, waiting for an answer when the tired blonde spoke again.
"She…knew…he would…n-neve…fin…em…" He tried, his voice getting softer and softer as his eyes fluttered again.
"I thought you told him he'd feel well rested?" Vivi said to Lewis, leaving him out of the loop.
"If it was my fault alone, he would have." Lewis defended. "Like I said, that took a lot out of him. People who are possessed tend to use twice as much energy then humanly possible. That's why he slept for so long after surgery." Arthur turned his head, looking at the two of them once more, before turning it away from the light altogether.
"G'nie…" He muttered, before his eyes fell shut and he went back into a heavy slumber. Vivi smiled gently, leaning over to run her fingers through his hair.
"I'll start the van," She offered before getting to her feet, and walking out of the haunted house. She almost gawked when she saw the sun starting to rise, sure they were only there a few hours, but she kept to her task and started up the van. Mystery hopped in the front seat beside her, settling near the window. Vivi looked up as she saw Lewis carrying Arthur out of the haunted house, the man slumped over his shoulders like a young child.
"He's getting too old for this," Lewis commented, sensing her thoughts almost immediately. He smiled and easily put Arthur into the back seat of the van, the man letting out a long, loud breath as he continued to sleep. Lewis went around the van and got in, shoving the dog into the middle of the seat with ease and shutting the door. Vivi rubbed her eyes and started driving the van.
"We're renting a hotel," Vivi informed Lewis, who already knew this detail before she spoke it.
"A nice one?" He asked hopefully.
"It depends what we come to first." She replied.
By the luck of the draw, they came to a three star hotel right off the bat. Vivi went inside and bought a room would two beds, coming out to find Lewis with the near blonde draped over his shoulders again.
"I haven't seen him sleep so heavily in a while," Lewis said with a smug smile. "No nightmares the entire car ride, and he barely moved. I know it's unhealthy to get possessed, but it seems…" He looked up at Vivi, her eyes hardening a little. "I'm just saying it's not ALL bad. It's bad, but not ALL bad. Okay?" Vivi gave him a heavy sigh.
"Let's just get to the room." She mumbled softly. Up an elevator and into a beautiful room, complete with a raining shower, a stocked mini fridge, and a microwave, they finally had a chance to bask in comfort. Lewis took Arthur to the nearest bed and laid him in it, taking the time to pull the blankets over him and tucking him in.
"There…" Lewis said with a satisfied smile. Mystery wasted no time jumping onto the bed with Arthur and curling up against his side. Vivi walked over by Arthur, a calm smile across her face. This was what she considered a rare treat. Arthur's face was relaxed, void of the worry lines and wrinkles he usually had, making him look his age for once. His breathing was calm and even, almost quiet, and even let out an occasional snore. He wasn't trembling in his sleep, like when he had a nightmare, or crying silently from a dream he couldn't escape. He was completely calm and at peace.
The sight made Vivi want to cry, but with happy tears. The moment was ruined when her eyes came over the sleeve on his left arm, before slowly looking up at Lewis.
"He can't sleep with that one," Vivi said firmly. Lewis returned her gaze, as if unsure, but nodded slowly.
"I know," He admitted, before walking out of the door. He came back shortly later with Arthur's took kit, setting it on the table beside the bed. "Why doesn't he have any pain medicine?" His tone was coated in worry.
"Arthur said it doesn't hurt him anymore," Vivi informed him, looking back down at Arthur's frame. Deep down, she wondered if he was lying or not. Lewis shook his head in disbelief, but slowly took out the tools and lifted up Arthur's arm.
Vivi handed him the tools when he asked and everything went smoothly, until it came to the part they both feared; disconnecting the wires. Arthur had designed it so that it was pretty simple to do, but they both feared how he would respond to the pain. They didn't want his peaceful sleeping to be ruined. They exchanged worried glances, before pulling them off quickly.
"Like a Band-Aid," Lewis said gently, if only to reassure himself. They both paled as Arthur let out a loud groan, kicking his legs a little and sucking in some air harshly. They looked between each other, Vivi's eyes starting to water, when he stopped and regained his calm slumber. Both sighed, looking to each other once again before smiling gently.
"Thank goodness," Vivi said gently, placing the metal arm on the table beside Arthur. Lewis smiled, leaning forward to kiss the blue clad girl before she could protest.
"Seems even you aren't completely brave," He said teasingly, kissing her on the nose when she pouted.
"You were scared too," Vivi said sharply, crossing her arms and looking away from him. She expected a response, a comeback, but the sharp gasp that escaped Lewis's lips was unexpected. She looked up at him, then followed his gaze until her eyes landed on Arthur's stump. In their endeavor to take off the metallic appendage, they had failed to take notice of the white scares that ran across the top. Vivi was the first to react, pulling the sleeve up all the way so they could look at it better.
Lewis's hand clasped onto his mouth, the large man trying not to cry like a young child. He could see the scars on his arm, the scars that had obviously been carved deep into the skin intentionally. He could almost could the individual scars that were put together to make the letters.
"I never…wanted this…" Lewis said gently, his eyes widen and his voice almost hallow. The word stared back at him, mocking him almost, as they screamed in testament to the pain Arthur felt, but never shared with anyone.
Traitor.
When he had been unable to tell anyone else the turmoil he was going through, he admitted it to himself. Lewis felt sick, moving towards the bathroom with the speed that matched an ex-football player. Vivi froze for a moment, before following him into the bathroom. The man stared at his reflection in the mirror, horror struck as his thoughts swirled around in his head. He did it because he thought you were dead. This is your fault Lewis. This is all your fault. You should've been more understanding. You should've talked to him right away. You should'v- His thoughts were silenced by a small hand on his shoulder.
"It won't help Arthur heal if you beat yourself up over that," Vivi said gently, knowing exactly what he needed to hear in that moment. The large man turned around, his hair covering his eyes, as he leaned down and pulled her into his arms.
And if she felt something hot and wet drip onto her shoulder, she never mentioned it to anyone.
Arthur woke up in a clean bed, tucked under the blankets like when he was a child. He stretched slowly, turning over and closing his eyes again as if to fall back asleep. He looked out to the bed across from him, a small smile creeping across his lips.
Vivi and Lewis, both brought down to their pajamas, were entangled in each other's arms as they slept in the next bed. Vivi had her little legs in between Lewis's, her arms squeezing his chest with her head buried into his shoulder. Lewis had one arm wrapped around Vivi's torso, with the other lightly laying on the back of her head. Vivi's face was hidden, but Arthur almost laughed at seeing Lewis. His head was tilted back a little, his mouth wide open as a thin stream of drool went down his cheek and onto a pillow. The blanket was tossed lazily aside.
Arthur slowly crawled out of bed, walking over to grab the blanket and lay it over them, receiving a small, pleased mumbled from Vivi. He noticed right away the metallic arm was missing, but didn't question it. He never wore it to bed after all. He traveled across the room where he spotted a mini fridge, and opened it eagerly to inspect the contents. Sodas, fruit cups, lunch meats, and even some beer in the back. How classy. He spared the beer a parting glance before scooping up a soda and easily opening it with his finger.
"Practice makes perfect," He mumbled gently, before taking a long drink. He slowly walked back to the bed, setting the soda down on the table next to it and carefully crawling under the covers. He smiled softly, rolling over a little, just to roll back when the sleeve got tangled under him. Arthur let out a heavy sigh and sat up, pulling the shirt over his head and throwing it across the room. He started to settle back down, when something caught his eye.
Black markings on the stump. He couldn't make them out in the low lighting, so he leaned over and turned on a nearby lamp. He blinked as his eyes got used to it, before staring down at the stump.
And burst into tears.
It wasn't your fault little fratello.
The sobs were enough to wake the sleeping couple, who crossed the space in seconds to offer comforting arms. He didn't fight them at all, sniffing loudly and doing his best to avoid wailing. Neither friend said a word, knowing that all he really needed right now was their presence. The warm embrace didn't hurt though.
