I freeze, my lungs stilling and my eyes wide.
"What?" I whisper, pulling away from him, a shiver running down my back.
"You...died, were dying, dead, I don't even know, there weren't enough details in the actual dream," He's whispering too, but I can tell that he's distraught about the entire situation.
"All I could clearly see was blood a-and..." He trails off, not really looking like he's going to continue.
"And?" I try to prompt, although the word just hangs in the air, waiting for another to break the silence.
"Your dad...he was there..."
Now I'm paralyzed.
I can't think of any reasoning about this.
"Uhm...can you be a bit more specific about the dream?" I whisper, feeling his eyes on me.
"You were there and there was an alternate version of myself, no...ok I'm not sure how exactly to describe it but I was there holding you...there was blood splattered along the walls and I could hear someone sobbing, although I couldn't identify who...then your dad just turned."
A tear splashes onto my arm and I look up at Sollux, a bit shocked to say the least. I shush him and hug him close once again, he doesn't protest, not that I really expect him to. He just sorta turns his head a bit away, keeping his eyes away from my worried ones.
"What...what about the painting?" I ask haltingly, almost worried to how he would respond.
"The scene is...scarily similar to the type of dreams I have, in black and white, with a person in the center, it was just a shock to me I guess, heh," He gives a sort of forced laugh at the end, making me move back to give him a hug.
"That fucking sucks doesn't it," I murmur, mostly to myself as Sollux leans against my shoulder.
"Too bad I've almost gotten used to it isn't it," He mutters in response, stiffening slightly as he looks at the time. "How long is your mom usually out?" He asks curiously, but there's an indescribable tone to his voice. I frown at the sudden change of subject but shrug.
"Depends, one time it took her three hours, I'm guesstimating an hour or two for now." I glance over at him, "Why?"
"Oh, just wondering, I mean it's already past nine," He replies offhandedly, but I can tell something is off.
"Do you want to play some more?" I inquire, not wanting to retreat back to the topic of nightmares when the mood had just gotten a bit lighter.
"Eager for me to beat you KK?" He smirks in response, giving me a knowing look.
"Oh as if asshole, I'm going to win one of these and then it'll be my turn to rub it in your face," I reply, pushing against his shoulder half-heartedly. He rubs at his eyes and grins cheekily at me.
"We'll thee how far that getth you."
After another hour and a half of Sollux beating my ass at video games, I end up rage quitting by throwing my controller at the wall, putting a slight dent in the surface. Sollux is overcome with laughter beside me and I can't help but yell at him.
"AH YOU DICKHEAD! I WAS SO CLOSE TO WINNING YOU CHEATING ASSHOLE!"
"Ath if KK, you were no where near," He laughs mockingly, making me growl and stand up. He's lying on the ground, grinning up at me, not at all fearing for his life as I glare daggers at his head.
I grumble under my breath and walk over to pick up the controller lying by the wall. I make a tsk noise when I see the side got sorta messed up, unsurprising from the many time's I've thrown it in a fit of rage. Sollux sits up suddenly, as if he hears something. I give him a look as he checks his pockets, then stands.
"I think I left my phone on the table, jutht a thec KK," He says quickly. I raise an eyebrow, but nod as he walks out of the room. I think nothing of it when the door is left slightly open behind him.
After a few minutes I yell, "Did you get lost? My house isn't that big Sollux!" I stand and begin to walk over to the doorway, then pause for a millisecond when I hear the front door opening.
"Hey mom! You're back so soon-" I begin to yell jokingly, then choke off as I see the figure standing in the doorway is not, in fact, Layla.
Oh. Fuck.
Silas takes a few stalking steps towards me and I quickly back into my room, before I realize I'd be trapped. It's too late as he now stands in my doorway.
Oh fuck, please let Sollux stay away, please let Sollux be a smart asshole, please don't let him try to help me.
"Dad, but, you're supposed to be out, on a business trip," I gasp, inching backwards, him looming towards me. I'm being cornered, and there's no way to get out.
"Got done early kid, I didn't know you were still alive," he growls, reaching inside of the dark coat he's wearing and flipping out a large sort of knife, the pure black of the blade reflecting the light. I continue to back away, there's still about five feet between us when I reach the wall. I can hear the soft socked feet of Sollux in the hallway, and all I can do is pray is that he doesn't try to help me.
"As if," I snarl, trying to formulate different ways to stall him, but I keep drawing blanks. His lips tilt up in a twisted smile and I can see a drunken gleam in his eyes as he takes a menacing step forward.
"Guess I'll have to fix that, won't I?" He growls, diving towards me with the knife pointed towards my heart. Time seems to slow down as I watch the blade draw closer, I'm frozen as the door bursts open, and I hear Sollux yell something as I'm being pushed aside.
I land on the ground with a hiss, rolling over and looking up. Unable to do anything as my dad stabs the knife downward.
Down into my best friends chest.