"Dess, I need help!" the frustrated voice that belonged to Brian yelled from the direction of the bathroom. I practically ran to him. He wasn't supposed to be there at all without me.
I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw he wasn't actually in the bathroom, just near one of them. "Can you get the door?" he sighed.
I eyed the door to his studio. "You're not even supposed to be thinking about playing," I told him disapprovingly as I swung the door open and flicked the dim lights on.
"So then why are you letting me in?" he smirked as he hobbled in on his crutches.
"Because you'd give me hell if I didn't," I grinned and continued through the room, flicking on numerous switches to everything I knew he would want to use.
"Don't know why I even came in here," he muttered.
"Because you spend most of your time holed up in here like a hermit on most days," I answered and sat down on the sofa beside him.
"Yeah, but I can't even play," he gestured toward his right arm, encased in a black mesh cast.
"Doesn't mean you can't just sit in here and listen to music, you know, Bri. The only thing we need for you right this moment is for you to get better and let your freaking bones heal properly. You do too much moving about for a guy with two broken legs." I teased, nudging him lightly with my elbow.
"I don't like sitting still!" he complained, playing with my fingers in his good hand.
"You're gonna have to for just a little while longer. It's been nice seeing you sit still for a change," I smiled, watching our linked fingers on his thigh.
"I'll try to do it more often for you then," he smiled and pulled me close to his side.
I rested my head on his shoulder and lightly chewed on my bottom lip. "I have to tell you something and I don't know if you're going to like it or not…"
His breathing quickened and his fingers tightened on mine. "What is it?" he choked out after a few very painful minutes of waiting on my part.
"I know that in all the years we've known each other we've never actually spoke about this, but it's not exactly like it was planned or anything," okay, so I was stalling, big deal. Why did I ever bring this up? Oh yeah, because I was pregnant with his baby and was scared shitless to actually say it out loud.
"Dessy, what is it?" his voice was pained and his impossibly tight grip on my hand tightened slightly. It was enough to make me bite down hard on my lip from the pain lancing through my arm.
"Yo, fuckers!"
"I'll talk to you later," I sighed before releasing his hold on me and running from the room.
"So not fair!" Brian yelled after me.
I chewed on my thumb nail as I walked through the hallways and downstairs.
"Dess where's the food?!" an outraged Zacky yelled from the kitchen.
"Still at the store," I answered as I walked in to see everyone raiding the fridge.
"Why is it still there? We were relying on you to have food!"
"Why were you relying on me and not yourselves?"
"Because you always have food!"
"Not when we've just got home!"
"But you were here before." "I wasn't here."
"Then where were you?"
I couldn't tell Zack where I had stayed. Sure, Leana blurted it out to Jimmy but he wouldn't say anything for fear of getting an ass kicking from both Leana and myself. It was part of the deal we made when we purchased the apartment; we didn't tell any of the guys so we would always have a place to hide out if we needed it.
Think and think fast, bitch! That little voice inside my head screamed at me. On glancing at Val and Leana and seeing they were purposefully avoiding looking at me while the others stared, I realized where I could say I was and avoid questions I wouldn't be able to answer.
"I stayed in LA. With my parents."
The relief in Val and Leana was visible as they glanced thankfully at me. I twitched my mouth towards them so they would know it was nothing but the guys wouldn't suspect anything of it.
"That was completely un-fucking-fair, Dess," Brian muttered as he swung into the room.
I shrugged. "Sorry."
"No you're not," there was a small smile on his face. Whew, he wasn't mad.
"So I lied, what are you going to do about it, Hop-along?" I grinned and grabbed the keys to my ever faithful jeep. "Who's coming food shopping?"
"Me!" Zack threw his hand in the air before grabbing hold of one of mine and racing to the front door.
"Buy junk!" Johnny called after us, followed by a 'shut up, Shortass.'
***
I'd never seen Zack so happy until I saw him surrounded by food. He would randomly grab something from a shelf and throw it into the cart I insisted that he pushed. I left him to it and wandered around, picking up things that would actually make a meal and not just something they would munch on, finish then complain ten minutes later that they were still hungry.
I was finished in the store long before Zack even made it to the check out. I was reading in the jeep when he finally tottered out with a smug grin on his face.
"First time I've actually ever done that," he stated proudly as he climbed into the passenger seat.
I rolled my eyes and left the parking lot behind us.
"What do you mean that was the first time you've ever done that?"
"I mean it was the first time I've ever done that. Someone always made sure I had food in the house so I would be able to eat whenever I wasn't rummaging around your kitchen," he shrugged.
"You're such a lazy fuck," I laughed as we pulled into my driveway.
"Hey! You know how good a fuck I am," he laughed as he climbed out.
"Not since high school."
"And whose fault is that?" he grinned as he grabbed everything from the back of the car and carried it all into the house, completely at ease.
I left him in the kitchen to put everything we'd bought away in its proper place and wandered into the living room. Everyone was completely engrossed in a gory movie I instantly recognized.
"Why are you watching this?"
"Shut up!" Johnny whined. "We're trying to watch this! It's good, we should go buy it."
I glanced at the screen mounted on the deep red wall. There was a girl on screen, tears streaming down her bruised face and a rope around her neck. She was pleading with some unknown character to let her live. "The rope gets attached to a car and Simm drives off, separating her head from her body."
"How do you know the killer's name?" Jimmy demanded. "And how do you know what happens? You don't watch gory movies, only horrors."
"Psychic," I smiled, tapping the side of my head.
"Okay then, Little Miss Psychic, how does it end?" he asked, thinking I wouldn't know.
"It ends with a screen-shot of Simm's face covered in the blood of his last kill."
"And his last kill is?"
"Annabella, the cheerleader you see at the beginning."
"Okay, do you two mind not ruining the film any further and letting us watch it?" Matt snapped. He obviously liked this movie. I shrugged and left them alone.
I hid out in my study, tapping aimlessly at the keys of my laptop, until I knew the film would be ending. My living room was a complete mess, empty bottles and chip packets littering the wooden floor. Not to mention the two bodies sprawled across it, still gazing at the Tv as the credits rolled across the screen.
"So how did it end?" I asked, making them all jump then moan because it had bothered their injuries.
"Exactly how you said it would end," Jimmy grumbled as he sat up, still watching the screen. "So how did you know it was gonna end like that?"
"You'll find out in a few minutes."
Everyone stared intently at the screen.
"Based on the novel 'Nightmare' by Dess Gates." Appeared on the screen and a collective 'I knew that' chorused throughout the room.
"Sure you did," I laughed and left the room heading in the direction of the kitchen; my favorite room in any house.
It was too late in the day to work on a meal. Well, it wasn't really, I was just being lazy. When I was finished with my non-cooking escapade, the island and counter was covered in all sorts of picnic finger food. I loaded up a plate and took it through to the living room where everyone was engrossed in yet another of my movies.
I rolled my eyes and sat on the couch beside Brian, resting the plate on his leg. "There's food in the kitchen," I informed everyone at a quiet part of the film.
I had never seen them move so fast in my life before.
"Thanks, sweetie," Brian smiled and began picking at the food on his leg.
"No problem," I smiled and joined him at picking at the food on the plate.
"So what was it you were going to tell me earlier?" he asked quietly.
"Uh…" an argument broke out in the kitchen. I fucking love interruptions. "I'll tell you later," I sighed as I got up to go see what they were arguing about.
Matt, Val, Zack and Leana were stationed around the sides of the kitchen, wonder and amusement on their faces. Jimmy and Johnny stood at opposite sides, Jimmy with a tomato in his hands, Johnny with an orange.
"If you even think about throwing either of those, I swear to gods above and below that is all you will eat for the rest of your lives," I threatened quietly from the doorway.
They both looked at me, sheer horror plastered on their faces. They both hated the fruits in their hands. Their hands slowly lowered to their sides and they eventually put the fruits on a stable surface. I glared at them all as they filed past, back out to the living room.
I followed behind them and sat back down beside Brian. I quickly got bored of the film, having spent eight months of my life writing the actual story. "Can we watch a different movie?" I asked, eyeing up the DVD cabinet.
"What's wrong with this one?" Matt protested.
"Nothing, I just…" my knee was bouncing uncomfortably.
"She wrote it," Val laughed.
"Why are all your films on today?"
"The horror channel's doing this weird tribute to great horror writers all week. Today just so happens to be my day," I sighed. "And I don't wanna spend all day watching the pitiful adaptations of novels my blood, sweat and tears went into. The directors never get it the way it should be."
"Okay, we'll watch a different one." Jimmy swung open the glass case and began looking, running his finger along the sides of the cases.
"Stop at 'D'," Zacky told him, choosing the first letter. Jimmy immediately made his way to the DVD's that started with 'D'. Neat freak, therefore everything was in alphabetical order.
"Next letter?"
"E!" Leana yelled excitedly.
His finger moved swiftly along a few cases.
"A."
And again.
"D, again," Brian grinned. "First word over."
"Dead? Interesting choice of first word," he rolled his eyes and then looked at me. "And your choice of next word, Mrs. Haner?"
"Silence," I smiled.
"Dead Silence? Are you freaking kidding me?! You know I hate those freaky ass dolls!"
"So leave. I wanna watch Dead Silence," I smiled sweetly for the first time in my life.
"Damn I hate that face you make," he muttered and popped the disc into the Tv. "As soon as this starts there is absolutely no speaking or noises of any kind. Not including the occasional shriek of terror stroke horror," he told us, serious for the first time in his life. We all made some small sound of agreement and waited for him to press play.
I watched in silence as the film started, a black and white version of the earth and then the wonderful sound of a flickering picture machine aaaand cue the creepy music.
"In the 6th century B.C. it was believed that the spirits of the dead would speak through the stomach region of the living. From the Latin VENTERfor 'belly' and LOQUI 'to speak' Hence the name VENTRILOQUIST."
As the words on screen disappeared and the match was lit, I whispered in Brian's ear the two word phrase that would change our lives. "I'm pregnant."
And All Things Will End.
I'll most likely post an epilogue, just to truly wrap it all up.
I wanted to fit this in somewhere, but couldn't find the perfect place, so I shall leave it here; "Love can be an all-consuming force that blinds those with the best of intentions." I hope that helps explain why Dess forgave him so easily.
Thank you everyone who reviewed the story, even just a chapter, you guys are awesome; Shadzlove6661, Frankie Cooper, JimmyFrankandBrendon, VengeanceAtMidnight, JustineJealousy, HaleyHollows and anyone else who reviews in the future.
Thank you for reading =]
Love, Sarah. xo.