Chapter 11
Bam stood in a dark room. There were no windows or furniture, and the only door was made of thick steel and bolted to the floor.
He stood in the middle of the room breathing heavily as he looked all around him.
"What the fuck is going on? Where am I?"
A mirror appeared before him on a metal stand. It was large enough to reflect his entire body. Even though there was no light in the room, he still could see his reflection well enough to tell that he didn't like it. He looked a mess. His clothes looked as though they had been thrown on after they were living bunched up on the floor in a pigpen of a room for a week. His hair was disheveled and held in place with weeks worth of dirt and grease. His face was filthy and unshaven, and it looked like he hadn't slept in a while. He tried to turn away from the mirror so he wouldn't have to see himself, but every where he turned the mirror appeared right in front of him.
"Hey you!" The familiar voice shouted from behind him.
He shook his head and closed his eyes, too afraid of turning around to see who was standing there. "What… what do you want?" Bam asked, with a shaky voice.
"Why don't you look at me?" The voice asked.
"Don't… don't do this to me. You're not really there! How could you be?"
"Come on Bam, face me. You have to face me sometime."
"No! Leave me alone! You're not real!"
"Oh I'm real."
Bam felt two hands grab him by the shoulders and turn him around. He kept his eyes closed tight and started breathing hard again.
"Damn it Bam! Look at me!"
"No! I won't!"
A hand came across the side of his face hard and fast, causing a stinging sensation in his cheek. His eyes popped open and he brought a hand up to his face and touched the spot where he was slapped. He then looked at the person who was standing there before him.
It was he, the man that he had been avoiding: himself. This Bam looked the way he should have looked, the way his fans were used to seeing him in his pictures. He was well kempt, his clothes looked like they had just been pulled out of the dryer after being washed. and he looked handsome.
This Bam even had a twinkle in his eyes, whether he was smiling or not, which he wasn't at the moment. He folded his arms across his chest and looked at the dirty Bam with a stern scowl.
"Look at you. You're pathetic! What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Don't… don't do this to me."
"Why shouldn't I? You've been keeping me locked in here for a long time. And for what? To destroy yourself? To rot away in a mental institution?" He began to circle the other Bam as he spoke. "Is that what you want? To make everyone worry about you, and wonder when you're going to be right again? Just because you don't want to deal with me? What the fuck Bam?"
"Stop. Please stop doing this."
"Oh hell no! I'm not leaving you alone. You have to face me Bam. Or do you just want to waste away in the hospital?"
"Leave him alone!" Another, much younger voice shouted. "Stop being so mean to him! Brandon you don't have to listen to him. He's being a meanie."
The child version of Bam appeared next to the clean Bam.
The clean Bam looked down at the little Bam and smirked. "What? This is who you've been listening to? You mean you've actually been letting him push both of us around? What's the matter with you?"
"You don't understand. He keeps me…"
"Keeps you what, Bam? Safe? Secure? How can this little guy possibly protect you?"
"I…"
"Brandon listen to me. You can just get rid of him. All he does to you is get you in trouble."
"I don't know what to do."
"What do you mean you don't know what to do? Just… sit on him! Steal his toys! Make him cry! You can get rid of him very easily, he's just a little kid."
"Don't listen to him Brandon. He's trying to hurt you."
"Leave me alone both of you!" Bam started backing away from the two sides of his conscience.
"Bam it's ok. I'm trying to help you now. You've been listening to this little shit too long now. It's time to bring me back."
"No I can't. You'll hurt me." He tried not to cry.
"How will I hurt you? He's the one hurting you. How could you not see that?"
"Brandon don't trust him."
Clean Bam looked at little boy Bam. His eyes bulged and he reached his hands out, as if to grab the boy by the neck. He imitated a monster sounds, causing the boy to run away screaming. Clean Bam then looked at dirty Bam with a satisfied smile.
"See? That's all you have to do to get rid of him."
"But how do I know I can trust you?"
"You've always trusted me before, haven't you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well I'm the one you've always listened to. Every decision you've ever made, everything you've ever said, every prank you've pulled, everything you've ever done, including those nearly impossible skating stunts you've pulled off… that was because you listened to me. Not that little twerp. Why did you stop listening to me, Bam?"
"I… I don't know."
"Bam I said this all ready, but I'll say it again." He wrapped his arms around the other Bam's shoulders. "It's time to bring me back. You've got to."
The original Bam closed his eyes and nodded. When he opened them again he was alone.