Bad Memories
Willie closed and locked the door, and then leaned against it, banging the back of his head against it several times; a knotted feeling settling in his chest. "Stupid…Stupid! How could you leave the door unlocked?!" Willie glanced down at his watch.
11:45am
Stepping away from the door, Willie quickly walked to the great room and peered out the front window. In the distance he could see the woman's red hair bouncing down the driveway. "He's gonna kill her… shit… he's gonna kill us both." Willie spun around and stared at the basement door. Five hours…maybe six…that's all that's left for me. Willie searched the room, not sure what he was looking for, but tried to think of what he should do in the last moments of his life. He looked again at the basement door and then decided to head for the kitchen.
Willie pulled out a blue milk crate from the closet and began to fill it. Bread, cheese and cans of soup all entered the crate. Willie pulled the drawer open and grabbed a can opener, a bowl and a spoon, and added them to the rest of the items. He took all the bottles he could find and filled them with water, and then grabbed a few other items, stacking them carefully on top of one another, until the crate was so full that he could barely carry it.
Willie grunted as he picked up the crate, and he headed for the basement, holding his breath as he walked past the pair of coffins, and then to the door of the cell.
"Willie? Willie please…I'm going crazy down here. He comes in here in the middle of the night, Willie." The detective's voice sounded different; there was no anger left in it at all; he sounded defeated. "He…he drinks from me, Willie. He drinks my blood…"
"I know what he does, Joe." Willie rolled his eyes and set the crate down. He lit each of the lanterns beside the door. The detective was sitting on the cot, he looked like hell, and Willie thought that it was appropriate. He was in hell.
"Willie, I – I told ya I'm sorry for shooting her. I am … I really am. You have no idea how sorry I am."
"Doesn't matter anymore. Listen to me Joe, I'm probably not comin' back down here after today."
"What? Why? You can't leave me here –"
"Joe, shut up and listen! I… I brought you some stuff." Willie began to shove items from the crate through the bars on the door. "Come here, I need ya to take this stuff, otherwise it will break if it hits the floor."
The detective stood and walked to the door, reaching out his unsteady hand and taking the items Willie was handing him.
"Water, should last you a while. He will forget you need it. Ration it."
"Willie, what's happening…"
"Here, take these."
"You can't leave me here…"
Willie handed him the can opener and bowl, ignoring his pleas. "I don't know how long this stuff will last. Here, take these too." Willie reached into his pocket and gave him the flashlight and all the matches he had in his pocket, and several packs of batteries. "I still hate you for what you did, but I can't just leave you with nothing. I'd be as bad as he is."
"Please, Willie, let me out!"
"I'd let you out, but I don't have a key."
"Willie, where are ya going? You can't leave! You can't leave me with… with IT! He's … he's a -"
"I know what he is!" Willie screamed in anger. "He's going to kill me tonight. Look, I only have a few hours left before he wakes, and I sure as hell am not spending it talking to you."
"Willie! WILLIE!"
Willie left the lantern glowing for the detective and rushed out of the basement. The thought of what was coming made the hair on the back of his neck stand up and gave him a shiver through his chest. Willie bolted up the stairs, taking a few at a time, and when he reached the first floor he stopped in the kitchen. Tea, I'll make tea. Willie grabbed the pot that always had hot water heating over the fire and poured a mug full. He grabbed the tea from the cupboard, crushed several packets into his pockets, along with some butterscotch candies, and headed into the great room. He looked around it and spotted the brandy decanter on the table. Before he let himself think twice he grabbed it, and with a mug of hot water in one hand and the decanter tucked under his arm he headed up the stairs to his room.
Placing the mug on his dresser, he dropped the orange spice tea bag carefully into the water and then looked in the mirror, finding a shaggy blond haired, blue eyed ghost staring back at him. "How did I get here?" Willie spoke low and quiet to himself as he fished out the picture of Abigail from his pocket. Shaking fingers placed her picture in the mirror, sticking it into the small gap between the frame and the cold glass. Willie grabbed a chair and set it down across from the mirror and he stared at her as he lifted the decanter to his lips and took a small swig, feeling it burn down his throat and into his chest. He took another swig, and then another, ignoring the sour knot in his stomach that was starting to wake up. He put the decanter back down on the dresser and pulled the picture from the glass and held it close to him, staring at her and wishing he could crawl into it. "Abby," he sighed heavily, "I'm so scared."
Willie tried to empty the decanter, but he couldn't, each sip got thicker and tasted more and more like bile. He set it back down and dropped his head in his hands. He took a deep breath and looked back down at his watch.
1:15
The house was warm in these early days of summer, but a chill ran through him bringing with it a dark thought, one that wasn't foreign to him. He had this thought many times when he first came to the old house."I could just do it, kill myself now, before he gets his hands on me." Willie mumbled to himself as he headed to the bathroom and opened each drawer, one at a time, to try and find something, anything that would be sharp enough.
He pulled out his razor and began to dismantle it, hurrying and cursing as he cut his fingers several times, the irony not lost on him that he was grimacing at tiny cuts, given what he was about to do. He could feel the dark vines twist in his mind, a warning from his sleeping master to stop this nonsense, but Willie ignored the message. Stop…why, so you can do it instead? He held the small blade between his forefinger and his thumb, and his heartbeat grew to a crescendo as he trembled. He set his eyes on the mirror and took a long look at himself, trying to figure out what happened to the man before him; the man he saw disgusted him. How did he wind up so broken? He shook his head, shaking the remaining thoughts from it, and looked at her picture one more time. He wanted her face to be the last one he saw, not his own.
Her eyes seemed to stare deep into his soul, disapproving of what he was about to do. He knew she would never want him to do this. Fight Willie! She would say. Hold on! You'll make it, we'll make it. He could hear her voice in his head. "I'm sorry…I just don't think I can take anymore." Willie stared long and hard at her face, and as he tried to take the blade down across his skin, but he just couldn't seem to do it. It was as if he were fighting against a horrific storm. Willie screamed into the air and threw the blade against the wall.
Willie crushed his hands together and then looked back at his watch.
2:30
At 2:35 the pounding began, and it was strong. He felt all the tendrils in his brain tighten and grip around his thoughts, and through no will of his own, he was being pulled to the basement. Called to his master; his captor. Willie grabbed the photo and walked back to his room, sticking the picture in the top drawer. If by some miracle he survived, he wanted it in a place that he knew he could find it later. He was afraid that if he left it in his pocket, the vampire would find it, and destroy it.
Willie grabbed the extra flashlight he kept hidden in his room and made his way down the stairs to the first floor. He flicked on the flashlight, sliding the switch up the handle with his thumb, and then shined it down the stairs to the basement. His mind was pounding and his heart was keeping time with it.
"Willie! Willie? Willie, is that you?" The detective was loudly whispering from the cell. "Willie!?"
"Shut UP! Just SHUT UP! There's nothin' I can do!" Willie screamed back. He stood before the coffins and knew that he was to wait there until nightfall came. Of course the vampire would make him wait, force him to sit there in silence with nothing to do but get lost in his own fear. It was hell. Willie sat on the floor and leaned against the bricks, he felt like he had been sitting there for hours. He flashed the light around the room slowly, looking at every archway and cobweb.
The next time he looked at his watch it read 3:50
Maybe an hour and a half left, and then I'm dead. Willie stood up and leaned against the bricks, shining the flashlight against the coffin.
"I never shouda opened the coffin that day. You would still be in there, rotting in your horrible existence, if I hadn't. You should be thanking me, not punishing me. You should be thanking me for setting you free!" Willie started a stream of consciousness ramble. He was scared beyond belief, and he nervously let the words tumble out of his mouth. He began to pace and circle the coffin, letting the cold, smooth wood drag beneath his fingers.
"In a way I hope ya kill me. Then this will all be over." Willie paused and ran his hand over the top of the coffin.
"You know what's funny? I thought that I would be a good dad one day." Willie laughed, and a twinge of pain twisted in his veins. "I thought that after years of having nothing, I could start over. I wanted a family that I could protect. One that I could take care of and love. Abigail made me believe that I was worthy of it." Willie stood between the two coffins. "You had that! With her…with Angelique. She loved you and you treated her like a dog. She lost everything because of you, she lost her only child, your only child, Sh lost her mind. Even before she turned you into this … this thing, you were a monster. I met Josette, she was insane and she didn't love you, and you were too stupid to see it."
Willie raised both fists and brought them down on the coffin with all the force he had, directly above the spot where Barnabas' head would be resting.
"You've taken everything! Stolen everything from me!" Willie pounded again on the coffin, and again, frustration, rage, fear and grief swirling around him like a tornado. "I did EVERYTHING to try and keep you happy. You didn't have to do the things you did." Willie stepped back from the coffin and leaned against the wall. "I guess we have something in common. We both have nothing."
Willie started to look at his watch when the coffin lid flew open and before he could utter a single word he was thrown up against the wall, his head bouncing off the hard brick and then his cheeks pressed against them, and he felt a slow ache spread across his forehead.
"How dare you speak to me like that!" Barnabas was awake, and enraged. He pulled Willie up, spun him around and threw him into the basement stairs, Willie's arm taking the impact of the fall. Willie was sure he heard a crack that was accompanied by a fierce pain.
Barnabas stood above Willie, his dead face fuming and grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him from the ground. "If it weren't for me you would be in prison somewhere. You're lucky you met me. I taught you discipline. I taught you how to exist without stealing and drinking. I was the best father figure you ever had."
"Father?!" Willie yelled back, trying to ignore the pain in his arm and head. "You think of yourself as my father!? You must be joking!" Willie stood, and winced through the pain in his arm. "I have NEVER thought of you as anything other than a monster!"
Barnabas reached out and gripped Willie with his iron hand behind his neck. He drew Willie close to his face, and his eyes went completely black. "It is only through me that you met her, your precious Abigail. Because of me you lived a life of happiness, even if it was for a brief moment in time in your miserable existence. I gave you that."
Willie's anger rushed through his body, and without breaking his stare, he replied. "Go to hell, Mr. Collins."
The Vampire yelled a horrific scream into the air and then forced Willie's body to bend over as his knee forcefully came up into Willie's rib cage. Willie gasped for air and then slumped to the ground.
"You fool!" Angelique had been standing quietly in the shadows until now, watching the two men emasculate one another. "You're playing right into his plan. He wants you to kill him, and you are doing just that."
Barnabas looked at Angelique and then back down at his servant. "Barnabas, if you want him dead then just kill him. Otherwise, stop this nonsense, you have bigger issues with the good doctor."
Barnabas stared at Willie. "You let yourself be seen. Do you know what that means? DO YOU?!"
Willie choked the words out, "You're finally gonna haveta decide what to do with me."
"Indeed." Barnabas stepped over Willie and fled up the stairs, leaving him lying on the cold floor, and Angelique chased after him.
Willie lay there trying to decide what to do, and eventually he decided to get out of the basement, the sight of the coffins and the sound of the detective screaming from the cell proving to be too much. He made it to the first floor when the vampire returned and picked him up and carried him to the second floor. Barnabas, still enraged, dropped Willie on the floor in his room like a mound of dirty laundry. Willie lay there, curled up in pain, trying to protect himself from any further blows. He looked up at the vampire and then noticed that the room looked different. Glancing around he saw that the room was barren.
"Wh-where is everything … why is the room empty?" Willie winced as he spoke, lying on the ground and searching the room.
"You seem to have a poor memory, Willie."
"Barnabas, please, why is the room empty?" Willie pushed himself up so that he was in a sitting position in the middle of his room, the bed was gone, his dresser gone. All of the wood for the fireplace, his chair…gone. There was nothing on the walls, it looked as though the room was picked clean.
Willie clutched his shirt pocket, feeling it empty and remembering he put the picture of Abigail in his dresser so that it wouldn't be found. "Barnabas, where's the dresser? My clothes?" My picture? Where's my picture?
"Why, so you can have this?" Barnabas held up the photo of Abigail and Willie's heart constricted.
"That's mine." Willie tried to stand and grab the photo, but the pain in his chest pushed him back to the floor.
"No. It is mine, as you are."
"Please…it's all I have left."
"On the contrary Willie, you have your memories to keep you company."
"Please, Barnabas…" Willie held out his hand and whispered, "Please don't take her from me."
Barnabas held up the picture and held it over the flame of the candle and Willie watched as the edges of it curled from the heat.
"NO!"
"Enjoy the show Willie, although, you have seen it before." Barnabas turned and left, picture in hand, and locked Willie in the empty and dark room.
Willie sat battered and slumped on the floor, and he struggled to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Even the small window had been blocked of any light. He lay on the ground, staring into nothing, when a flicker appeared on the wall. It was a bright, white light, and an image flashed, but it was too fast for him to make out what it was. Staring at the site that displayed the flash, a second flash appeared on another wall, and then another. Willie watched as the walls began to flicker images, flashing them like a home movie that was spinning too fast on its reel. He could hear muddled voices and as the images spun there was a strobe light effect around the room.
Willie pushed himself against the fireplace and watched as the walls started to come to life with broken images, until finally they settled, and the voices could be heard clearly. Willie stared in disbelief, pulling himself up and staggered into the middle of the room, his left arm cradling his right as he moved. Willie gasped when he saw her.
She was dancing around a small, bright kitchen, humming a tune that he knew well. He hadn't seen her since he was seven or eight years old.
"Mama?" He held his breath as he stood there, looking around the room, and all of the walls were playing something like a home video. "Oh my God…" Willie was caught in an avalanche of emotion. Suddenly he could smell the turkey in the oven and could feel the warmth from the fireplace.
"My mother…" He walked up to the wall and touched it, his heart tearing apart.
'Mommy! Look! LOOK!' A small boy with unruly and wavy blond hair ran to her, holding a coin in his hand. Willie stumbled back from the wall in shock. 'Look what daddy gave me!' Willie stared at the images, fresh tears beginning to fall, and emotion that he couldn't grasp washed over him like tar, something far worse from any physical pain he had endured.
The woman scooped the boy in her arms and hugged him tight to her, kissing his hair and spinning him around the kitchen. 'And what do we have here?' she kissed the little boys hand. 'Daddy gave it to me, to go get candy!'
The small boy had a smile on his face that could light an entire room, and his mother pressed her lips against his cheek and his blue eyes twinkled. 'I'll get you some of your favorite too!' the young boy wiggled out of her arms and she grabbed him one more time before he ran off. 'William, you are my sweet, sweet boy. You can go, but come right back here okay? I'll watch out the window.'
Willie watched the boy as he ran for the door.
"Don't leave. Don't leave them… you'll never see them again… you were supposed to die with them."
Willie was talking to the image of the child on the wall. He knew he was watching his own memories, live and in color, on all of the walls in his room. The images began to flash again, and settled onto a burning building and Willie stared as the small boy ran towards it, towards the bodies being pulled out from it. He recognized the bottom of her dress hanging from the stretcher.
'Mama…' Willie stared at the images. 'Mommy!' The boy screeched and Willie found himself sobbing in the middle of the room. The little boy scrambled out of the fireman's arms and made a mad dash for the stretcher. He quickly pulled the sheet away and screamed, her face and body covered in horrifying burns.
"Why are you showing me this? Why?!" Willie screamed into the room.
Within seconds the images started to flip again, and Willie was afraid of what they were going to land on next. When the flickering stopped the image was dark and he struggled to see what he was looking at, but after a few moments, he knew, and he felt sick.
A young boy was huddled into a closet. Willie heard the whispers before he could make out the image. 'Please don't let him find me. Please don't let him find me.' The boy repeated it over and over again and Willie found himself chanting along with him. "Please don't find him. He's just a kid."
The closet doors opened and the shadow of a man was standing before him. 'There you are. Come on little man, time for bed.' Willie watched as the child trembled and gripped his teddy bear, refusing to leave the closet.
"Please stop! Stop showing me this!" Willie spun around the room, looking for any surface that didn't have his memories playing out in real time.
'Don't make me drag you outta there, you know what happened last time.'
"Don't go. Don't let him do it!" Willie was again yelling at the walls, as if he could be heard and have some impact.
The boy meekly stepped out of the closet and the large man picked him up and took him into bed.
"Don't let him do it! Fight back! You stupid cowardly little shit!" Willie screamed as he sank back down to the floor and watched as the little boy wept in the bed, his face agonized with shame.
Again the reel began to spin and when it settled this time he saw the same man, standing in a doorway next to a woman with an slicked back pony tail and bright red lipstick. 'You're lying! There are 4 other children in this house, you're making this up so you can get all the attention.' She leaned towards the boy and slapped him hard.
"I wasn't lying." Willie muttered under his breath.
'Because of you they are taking all of you away! How am I supposed to pay the bills without the money from you kids? You have torn this family apart. You're a horrible little boy.' The child began to cry and squeezed his teddy bear tight. 'You should have died with your parents. I wish I never would have agreed to take you in here.' She then ripped the stuffed animal from the boys hands and threw it into the garbage.
"Barnabas please! Please… let me out!" Willie crawled towards the door and pounded on it as the images around the room spun.
One image flashed to the next, and when all the horrific memories of a childhood that had gone so terribly wrong were played, the images moved on, to his adolescence.
He was now staring at a women he hadn't thought of in years.
"Mrs. Cannon." He whispered her name out loud.
She was a kind looking woman and was the cleaning lady at the orphanage he was living in. He was fond of her, and she always took extra time with him, and sometimes she brought him cookies. He watched her sitting at a desk, the head mistress of the orphanage across from her. Willie remembered hiding outside the doorway and listening into their conversation. 'William? William Loomis? That child, well that child is troubled.' 'No, That child needs to be taken care of. I can see it in his eyes, he's got a kind soul, but life has been unkind to him. He needs a loving home, I want it to be mine.'
Willie wondered for a moment what his life would have been like if he would have stayed and lived with the woman.
'Mrs. Cannon, you have a lovely home and two beautiful children of your own. Why would you want to ruin that with William? He can only cause you heartache, and bring unhappiness to your family.'
Willie watched as the younger version of himself packed his bags and ran away, he felt now the same way he felt then, he would have ruined that family's life if they would have adopted him that day. He had to leave so that he wouldn't be a bother. It was 3 days later that he met Jason.
The images stopped again and Willie watched himself as a 13 year old kid. He knew exactly where he was, it was his first con job with Jason. Jason took Willie to the fair, and convinced him to steal the wallet of a man who was playing games with his young son. What he never told Jason was that he saw that man talking to a police officer later in the day, and he hid next to one of the tents and listened. 'Look, there was money in there. But I had my wife's wedding ring and her picture in one of the pockets. She died last Christmas, it's all I have left of her. You have to find it! You just have to!'
Willie watched as he remembered begging Jason to give back the picture and the ring, but Jason told him that the man would get over it, and that they needed the money just as much as anyone, so he sold the ring to a pawn shop.
Memory after memory of what he had done flashed on the walls. Forcing him to relive all of the terrible moments, and all of the terrible things he had done to others.
He was forced to watch Isabel die all over again, and forced to relive Jason's death.
Then the image flipped and landed on Abigail, lying in bed and crying as she cradled Willie while he was having one of his night terrors. He watched her as she held him and wept. He knew that his dreams caused her pain. He remembered waking from them to find her terrified.
Then suddenly, after what seemed like an eternity, the images finally stopped, and the door cracked open, the tall slender shadow entered the room, knelt down beside Willie's body, and whispered into his ear. "You see, Willie, everyone you have ever come in contact with has met some horrible fate. Some have died because of you, and due to your carelessness this afternoon, the good doctor will also die. You are a plague on the people who come close to you. You will not leave this house, and maybe now you will understand why. It is to spare people from your company." Barnabas rose and headed out of the room, locking the door once again, leaving Willie slumped on the floor.
As Willie lay there he wished, begged, for the fog to come in and take him into the darkness, where the pain would go away and the memories would disappear, but it didn't come. He was forced to lie in silence with all of the memories fresh in his mind of who and what he was. Willie was broken into pieces on the floor, tears flowing and hard sobs crashing in his chest like waves against the rocks at the bottom of Eagle hill.
The good doctor was sitting in her room, the window left wide open, and her night coat wrapped tightly around her. She was clutching a book, leather bound with hand written pages, and she didn't flinch when the dark figure appeared, and stepped into her room.
"I knew you would come."
"Did you Dr. Hoffman?"
"Yes, I have been reading something and have found that it was most informative." Julie waved the book in the air and Barnabas' face switched from arrogant to vulnerable.
"That does not belong to you."
"No. It doesn't. I took it from your home." Julia stood and walked to the opposite side of the room.
"You should not have been in my home."
"True. But I saw you, and Angelique and the young man in the cemetery."
"Really?" Barnabas stroked his chin with his forefinger and thumb.
"Why did you tell him she was dead? He looked devastated. How could you be so cruel? I know who he is. Abigail showed me a picture of her husband. It was the same man. She misses him to death."
"He is my servant."
"Servant?! No, he is a husband, one who is heartbreakingly missed by his wife. And any fool could see that his heart only beats for her. Why would you do this to them?"
"This is none of your concern." Barnabas growled and then he approached her violently, pinning her against the wall. "I'm afraid you will not get the chance to finish your book."
Calmly, Julia stood stock still and responded. "My book has taken quite a turn, Barnabas. The new chapters are all about you. And should I ever go missing, those pages will be mailed to a dozen newspapers throughout Maine. All, I am sure, will be jumping at the chance for a story on the famous Collin's family. Your secret will be out."
"You're lying."
"You don't have the luxury to take the chance."
The two stared at each other until Julia spoke again. "I think I can help you."
"Is that so."
"Yes."
The next several hours were consumed with conversation of possibilities. It was clear to Barnabas that the doctor was not afraid of him, and she had an insurance policy, one that would expose him for what he is if any harm ever came to her.
"Dr. Hoffman, you leave me no choice. I accept your offer. But you are not to tell the young man the truth. He is to stay in the house."
"Yes, until the experiment is complete."
"Complete and successful." Barnabas added and turned to leave.
"Barnabas, you should know that I had a key. There was a skeleton key here that I took. I let myself into the house. I was curious. When I stumbled on Willie, he seemed… frightened."
"Dr. Hoffman, I may need your assistance with him. Can you come with me to the house?" The small portion of Barnabas that remained human twisted with guilt. He knew he had hurt him, and now he knew he had punished him for something that he didn't do. Julia coming into the house wasn't Willie's fault at all.
"Yes, I'll join you there shortly."
Julia waited impatiently while Barnabas slowly pulled out the key and unlocked the door to Willie's room.
"You locked him in?"
"I don't understand why she is here." Angelique barked from behind them.
Barnabas didn't respond. He knew what was behind the door, and he wasn't excited to allow her to see it. Julia walked into the room and shined the flashlight around. Eventually she moved deeper in and saw something tucked into one of the corners.
"Oh my God!" She was shocked to find the young man crouched into a corner of the room. He was curled against the wall, his forehead pressed against the cold plaster, in the only position that helped make the pain in his ribcage subside. Julia flashed a look of disgust in Barnabas' direction, and he returned her look with one of shame and embarrassment.
"Barnabas, what have you done?"
"He requires discipline. I have explained this to you. He needed to understand -"
"Discipline?" Julia interrupted him. "Whatever you've done...it isn't discipline…it's cruelty." Julia studied the young man, "By the looks of it, you have beaten and terrified this boy." Julia knelt down in front of Willie and tried to gently assess his injuries, but he kept himself tucked tightly in the corner.
"Willie… It is Willie, isn't it?"
Willie didn't respond. "Willie, you must let me take a look at you. Please." She gently brushed the blood matted hair from his forehead and saw the gash that was there, the blood from it now thick and sticky, partially dripping down his face. "Well, he has a concussion, that's for sure." She looked at him and saw he was gripping his right arm with his left. "Can I move this?" Without getting an answer she tried to move his arm and Willie grimaced in pain and let out a guttural cry as she did so. "Arm seems to be broken as well." Julia was now enraged, and she did a poor job of hiding it. "Were you trying to kill this man?" She said in a flat voice.
"No, merely teach him a lesson."
"Well, he clearly won't let me take a look at him with you here, please leave the room Barnabas."
"Nonsense, I refuse to leave."
"You will leave, or a package gets mailed."
Barnabas' eyes flashed with rage, but to Willie's surprise and confusion, he turned and left, slamming the door behind him.
"Willie, please…let me look at you."
"P-please…leave me alone."
She laid her hand down on his knee. "She would want you to be taken care of. I know you're Abigail's husband."
Willie looked at her, and she nearly burst into tears at the pained look in his eyes. In all her life, and all her patients, she had never seen such sorrow. "Oh my dear boy," Julia cupped his face with her hands and felt the dampness on his cheeks, "…what has he done to you? I'm so sorry, this is my fault. I had no idea…" Julia then pressed against Willie's side, and he let out a gasp as her fingers gently ran over his ribs. "Willie, can you take a deep breath?" He could barely take a breath at all, and he squeezed his eyes tightly shut and swallowed the pain. "I think you have a fractured rib as well. Is there any possible way you can stand? Where is your room?"
"Th-this is my room."
"But there's nothing in it?"
"He – he took it all out." Willie paused briefly and then stared at her. "How? Why are you still alive? He was going to kill you."
"Well he didn't. I'll be back in a moment."
"Barnabas!" Julia stormed out of the room and Willie sat there confused. How on earth did this woman poses any kind of power over Barnabas? He was sure she would be dead by now. Julia was gone for several minutes and then stormed back into the room.
"Well, put it back. Have you any idea what damage you may have caused? To have to sit and relive every horrible memory of your life, every regret, every minute that you wish you could forget!"
"Angelique has a big mouth," Barnabas flashed an angry look at the witch. "She shouldn't have told you about that."
"Barnabas, bring his stuff back in here now or this home will be swarming with reporters, all finding out why the Collins family patriarch is never seen during the day."
"There, that should help your arm." Julia bandaged it, and as she did she ignored the scars that she saw. She knew where they were from, she didn't need to know anymore. "You should try and sleep on your injured side, you will find it easier to breathe."
"I can't sleep."
"Willie, I brought you some medicine; a pain killer and something to help you sleep." She handed Willie the pills, and he took them without hesitation. "I want you to try and take deep breaths frequently. Okay?" Willie shook his head.
"May I come in?" Barnabas stood in the doorway hesitantly.
"That is up to Willie." Willie shook his head in agreement. He was not about to press his luck any further. He had learned his lesson indeed.
"I'd like a moment alone with him."
Julie looked at Willie, and again he nodded. "I will come check on you in a little while Willie."
Barnabas moved out of the doorway and Julia passed him, whispering under her breath, "Do not harm him."
Barnabas sighed and sat in the chair beside Willie's bed.
"Willie, I may have been… well… perhaps I took things too far."
"W-why didn't you kill her?"
Barnabas thought about ignoring him, but decided to tell him the truth. Willie had always been the one person he didn't need to lie to.
"So she is blackmailing you."
"Yes. But she says she can help me to live freely during the day." Barnabas stood up and lit several more candles. "I'll take the risk, I'll need you to watch her closely during the day."
Barnabas walked to the other side of the room and lit even more candles, making the room shine bright. "This is your home, Willie, you must accept this."
Willie shifted himself and took a breath. "Abigail is my home."
Barnabas stuck his fingers into his pocket and sighed. He opened Willie's palm and pressed something into it. Without saying another word he left the room, leaving the door wide open.
Willie opened his palm and smiled when he saw her face, Barnabas didn't destroy the picture after all. Willie stared at her until the medication took over and forced him to sleep.