Jessica tossed and turned in the dark, quiet bedroom. The queen bed was comfortable enough, although it was bit hot with the thick covers and the heat being on so high. But that wasn't what was keeping her up. No. It was something else.
Her stomach was churning. Her eyes were tired, but when she closed them she not doze off. What kept her up, was what was on her mind.
She imagined herself out on the road. It was dark and her headlights spot something off the side of road. She stops and tries to make out what it is, but fails to, so she puts the car in park. She then pulls a small flashlight out of her pocket. She steps out of the car and flicks it on. The single circle of light hit the dark road, exposing it to her sight.
She walked apprehensively towards the figure, afraid it might be a wild animal or something. However the closer she got, the less and less she felt it was an animal. It was to big to be a small animal like a jackrabbit or even a dog. And it didn't seem like a big animal either, it's body structure wasn't like any animal she's ever seen. She saw the colors that bounced off from barely being hit with the light, the thing was wearing a purple shirt. No... The body laid there on its back. Crimson colored fluid soaked into cloth, that also soaked into the dusty ground around it. It's medium length light brown hair fanned out across the ground. An arm, was pointed out towards her to reveal it's pale skin.
She finally mustered up the strength the shine the light directly at it. The moment that she caught complete sight of it, her heart dropped. It was Charlie... Her brown eyes were stared blankly up towards the night sky. A single streak of blood ran out from her open mouth. While down at her torso, she saw that her organs were spilled out from her torn blood soaked purple shirt. Jessica screamed.
Her eyes flew open taking a sharp breath and pulled herself out of the scenario. She shivered despite it being so hot. Her legs were wet from her own sweat. She felt like gagging. She sat up and pulled the covers off of herself. She tried to steady her breath and calm down.
She can't just think like that. No, wherever Charlie is, with William, she needed to pray that she was safe. Needed to hope for the best.
"Can't sleep huh?" Jessica whipped her head over to the second bed next to her. Marla was lying there facing her, wide awake.
"Marla?" Jessica begun.
"Me neither," Marla continued. Jessica blinked before tilting her head to the side.
"I didn't wake you did I?" Jessica asked. Marla smiled.
"No. I've been trying to fall asleep for the last couple of hours myself. But I haven't been able too," Marla replied. She pulled the covers off of herself and sat up with her legs over the side of the bed.
"You wanna go get some fresh air? It might help." Marla asked, making a nudging movement with her head. Motioning towards the door. Jessica looked towards it and then back to Marla. She smiled and nodded.
The two girls quietly opened the door and crept across the dark stained hardwood floors. The large quiet empty home almost seemed ominous. Each step they took made a quiet creak. They truly hoped they didn't wake anyone. Walking past Carlton's room, they heard someone snoring, very loudly they might add. They couldn't tell who it was, but they decided to keep going. Eventually they made it downstairs and outside onto the concrete front porch. They closed the front door behind them, and sat down on the steps. Breathing a sigh of relief that they were finally out.
They took a breath of fresh air and felt the cool night's air against their body's.
"This is much better," Marla said, pulling her thick black curly hair from over shoulders and back behind her. Letting her neck and shoulders feel it as well.
"You said it," Jessica added. If her hair wasn't at that awkward length of hanging right above her shoulders, if it was longer. She would've done the same. They looked out at the houses across the street. The small town was quiet at this time of night. Unlike what Jessica was used to. For the last 10 years, she's been living in a busy part New York, which had plenty of noise at night. The phrase, 'the city never sleeps', was true. It was never quiet there.
But, there was a time where she stayed in Illinois for an entire summer. She remembered that the house she stayed in was in a small suburb like this place, thus it was dead silent at night, except for cicadas. Their buzzing rang through the night. She only lived there for a year when she was 14. During that time, she grew accustomed to hearing them. She often heard them while roasting marshmallows with her cousins outside by the campfire. Which is probably why it struck her as so odd that it was for once in a very long time, completely silent. Not even cicadas lived out here.
She had to remind herself that she was out in the desert again. Sure there were lots of trees and grass in Hurricane. But they weren't there naturally. They were planted here over many years and were constantly taken good care of. That's how they've been able to even survive out here. While cicadas would need large groups of trees to travel across. This town and the others across the Southwest, are little isolated oasis's, in the miles of dried out dirt. It makes complete sense why they wouldn't be here.
She leaned her head back, breaking from her thoughts about state's and insects, and a question slipped from her lips.
"Do you think Charlie's ok?" She murmured. She realized that she had no prior thoughts about it. It just slipped out. Marla turned her head towards her.
"I certainly hope so," Marla responded looking back towards the house across from them. "I'm taking a guess she's been on your mind too?" Marla added.
"Yeah, I know I shouldn't, but I can't stop worrying about her," Jessica said looking down at the dark wood.
"I keep thinking about how each minute we're here, in a nice home, with air conditioning, being feed and kept safe." Jessica began, "And Charlie's out there, probably being kept in some damp basement, on a dingy stained mattress, not aloud to get up and move around because she's chained to the ground, probably barely feed, and maybe even beaten." Jessica knew there was something else she was afraid of, with someone like this Afton guy. She remembered the newer picture. He definitely seemed like a creep.
Her head ran through another dark scenario. This time she took the perspective of Charlie. Down on the mattress. She imagined William or Dave as he now goes by. Leaning down, wearing a dirty stained white undershirt, bleached ripped up jeans, messy disheveled hair. She imagine that poorly shaven face smile so widely as he undid his belt. Jessica snapped out of it. No! She didn't want to imagine that. That was one of the worst possible things that could happen. She felt so guilty thinking of that. Thinking of that happening.
"I know how you feel," Marla responded, snapping Jessica out of her trance. "I can't stop worrying about her either." Jessica looked at Marla, who was looking out into the distance. Her eyes seemed to say she was deep in thought. Just like Jessica was. I wonder if she was thinking of the same thing? Marla sucked in some air before continuing.
"But I think Charlie would want us to be optimistic. Not to worry so much," Marla continued. She looked back to Jessica and she nodded. They both jumped at the sound of the door opening and creaking steps. They looked back at the door and saw John close the door behind him.
"John?" Jessica asked, relieved. She was worried that it might've been Clay.
"Hey," he replied quietly, before went over and sat with them.
"We didn't wake you, did we?" Marla asked.
"No," he replied. "I was still awake when you two went down stairs."
"Oh," Jessica replied. "Can't sleep?"
"Nope. No matter how hard I try," he said exhaustedly. "Probably because Carlton snores louder than my dad." He said and they started snickering.
"It wasn't just me though, Lamar was really trying to sleep too. You should've seen him grumbling with the pillow over his head," He smirked. They all giggled.
"But yeah, I don't think many of us are sleeping that well tonight. Especially with the ridiculous situation we're in," John craning his neck back and closing his eyes. "I mean, who would've thought that when we would come back to Hurricane, all this shit would go down. Out of nowhere, that creep just straight up grabs Charlie right in front of us and actually managed to get away it. We just wanted to enjoy some nostalgia and coming to our friends memorial. But then the guy who killed those kids... Who killed Michael... He comes back to just ruin our week and fuck with us," John said tiredly.
He didn't seem to be angry. Perhaps he had worn himself out today. After all it, all of this had been pretty exhausting. John definitely seemed to be just accepting it at this point and just seemed tired. There was a long silence among them. Before Jessica decided to speak.
"John?" She said quietly.
"Yeah," he responded.
"I'm sorry," she said sadly. He turned his head to her with a confused look.
"Why are you sorry?" He asked.
"I know how much Charlie means to you, and I realize that's why you were so upset. I'm sorry that I and the rest of us kept dismissing your feelings. We acted as if we didn't care that you were upset, that we didn't want to let you be angry. But, we do care about what happened. And we were all upset, I just feel like we didn't express it the same way. So, I want to apologize for us, seeming rather apathetic." Jessica felt she dropped a weight off her chest. She was glad she finally got the opportunity to say it.
There was a pause.
"Eh-... Thank you, Jessica," John replied. He had started off, as to protest. To probably say how he was wrong, but quickly struck it down. He realized she wasn't going to take no for an answer. The three of them sat in silence, not looking at each other. A gust of wind blew against them, whistling in their ears. Jessica shivered and looked up into the night sky. The bright yellow of moon was starting to be blocked out by grey clouds. The whole sky seemed to be covered with them.
The three of them suddenly heard a rumble far away. They jolted in surprise. Marla and John were now also looking up. There was a flash of lightning in the distance.
"Looks like it's starting to storm," Marla said. Jessica and John nodded.
"I think we better get back inside, unless we wanna get wet," he said standing up. The girls followed and the three of them walked back in through the door while John was the last one to go through. He had his hand on the doorknob and stood in the doorway, looking back the rumbling skies.
"Please be safe Charlie," he whispered before shutting the door behind him.
Dave felt so unbalanced and whoozy. He leaned forward over the bar table and had the left side of his face tucked into the crook of his elbow. His right arm was stretched out, holding the empty shot glass.
Admittedly he drank a little more then he should've, more than he originally planned to. Dealing with other people anymore was so exhausting. It was stressful, and messed him up. Due to the argument him and Charlie had early that day. Dave went out to get a few drinks, and now was probably very drunk.
A concept that would've shaken him years ago. He remembered back when he was little, he grew up knowing what alcohol did to people if they drank to much of it. Men would beat their wives and kids. Teenagers and young adults would get into car accidents. People could even die just from drinking way too much of it.
In his younger adult years he steered clear of alcohol entirely. Whenever somebody offered him some, he would deny it. He never wanted to end up like those other people. And he especially never wanted to become an alcoholic. The idea of drinking to numb the swarming emotions of dealing with another person seemed like the kind of person he never would want to be.
But yet, here he was now. Oh how the times have changed. It seemed like changing his name really did mean something. After all, he had almost changed completely. He was practically a different person. He was shadow, a shell of his former self. He looked completely different, he acted completely different, and yet, it was still him. He was still the same person. Just with the wears and tears of time.
He was petty, dull, desperate, clingy, lonely, broken, and probably a few other deprecating words. And to believe this all happened because of his need for love. Because nobody loved him. He always searched for it. But no one was willing to give it. He wanted to spend time with people, grow close to them, hold them near and dear to his heart. And somehow, he ended up doing such... distasteful things. It got to the point of desperation, that he forced love onto innocent children, whom he forced to be his family. To be with him forever, never able to leave him, never able to deny it. They were all he had left in this cold empty world.
But now, he had something new and fresh. Charlie. Little Charlie. He thought about all the memories of her back then from being a baby, up until now. She was very different now too. But, unlike him, she was supposed to be. She wasn't a little kid anymore, she was a grown up. Yet he can't give her the freedom to be one... Of course he couldn't. She would leave him, she abandon him just like the others did. He couldn't take that anymore. He couldn't take no for an answer.
Yet, he felt awful knowing that she felt hopeless, that she felt sad. He wanted her to be happy. He imagined her out in a field full of tall tan grass, she was in a short white dress, decorated in flowers. Skipping and dancing and laughing. The bright yellow sun shining into his eyes while her form is cast into shadow. Yet her smile shined brightly. He smiled. That would be so heavenly. And, that felt like something he would've imagined Caroline doing. She always seemed to be wearing beautiful dresses and was always so care free. Charlie looked so much like her...
Dave knew with the situation now, that type of goal, the idea of him and Charlie living happily together, is unreachable. But at least he could dream about it, right? He could still feel that bliss. At the very least, he wanted her to tolerate him. But maybe, with enough time, he could make smile, he could make her laugh. But that, was very far away. But, he wasn't too worried, he still had a good 20 years to spend with her. Until he starts getting too old and starts getting closer and closer to dying, from natural causes this time, and not death by mechanical suit.
He groaned and the bartender walked over.
"You done drinking yourself to death buddy?" The bartender asked wiping a glass with a white cloth. Dave groaned again rolling his face flat onto the table and sat up. He blinked his drowsy eyes.
"Yeah," he said, reaching back into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He laid out a 5 for the man.
"Here's a tip for having to deal with me," Dave grumbled. The bartender took it.
"Thank you," the man hesitantly replied before walking away. He swerved around on the seat and sorely slid off of it. His hips ached, and his back was killing. Oh god! Why was he so old?!
He slid his wallet into his back pocket and began trying to make his way to the door. His vision was blurry, and was constantly warping. He was having a hard time keeping balance.
"fuck..." He whispered. He opened the door and stumbled out to his car. He shakily pulled out his keys and opened the driver side door. He sat down and started questioning if he really should be driving. But he didn't care. He just wanted to get home and sleep.
He started the car and drove down the road. He was giving his all to try and drive properly. This was going to be a rough drive.
Dave pulled up to the apartment complex and parked. He took a few deep breaths before he turned the engine off. He unbuckled his seat belt and stumbled out of the car. Not even bothering to lock it behind him.
He stumbled into the building which was dark. Perhaps the outside lights were constantly lit at one point years ago, but now, they could afford keeping the lights on through the night. It didn't really matter to him, besides, he knew the way to his room by heart and he tried to quickly make his way back to his room. His loud shuffles and footsteps echoed throughout the building as he was finally downstairs into his hallway. He let out a belch as he unlocked and opened his door. He walked in, pulling out his keys and wallet and set them down on the counter. So close...
He closed the door and stared at the chair next to the bed. He can't sleep on that. It was giving him enough back pain as it is, he wouldn't be able to sleep there tonight. He had to sleep in the bed. It looked so comfy... She looked so comfy.
But, she, herself looked so uncomfortable, her bonds didn't let her move her body. She couldn't change positions and get comfortable. God, that must be aggravating. And if he was going to sleep in the bed, he'd need some more room. He decided to undo her bonds.
He blindly reached for them in the dark and sloppily undid them. Charlie almost instinctively turned onto her left side, perfectly leaving enough room for him. She hummed happily, her body was probably so relieved. He kicked off his old brown beaten up shoes and crawled onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
His face pressed into her hair and he savored the smell. Strawberries. Though, it was only faint. After all it had been 2 days since her last shower. He should probably let her bathe tomorrow.
He quickly lost consciousness, being so warm and finally having a mattress to sleep on. I should just do this from now on... he thought before dosing off to sleep.