I have honestly had this story open on word for hours now struggling to get it written. At one point when I was on a roll my fecking computer crashed and died on me and didn't even recover the story! So had to re-write most of the chapter.
Well now it's finally finished and it is rather angsty...Well, very angsty. All I've posted today are depressing angsty chapters, reflects my mood sort of.
Anyway, enjoy the final chapter and thankyou to everyone who read and reviewd xxx
Chapter nine
He fiddles with the sheets in his hand, scrunches them up into tight balls, his nails dig into his sweating palms, his arms tremble, he shakes all over, his feet twitch nervously every few seconds, his breathing is rugged, staggered, broken, he draws in short breaths and pushes them out almost immediately. He pulls the duvet up towards his mouth but this time doesn't bite it, instead he chews into his fleshy lips cracking them, making them bleed. His eyes fix on one spot on the wall again, glazed over like glass with bags hanging under them in shades of purple and black, the room is dark and silent with only the sound of his breath for company.
He jumps at the sound of a fist on his door knocking softly, almost reluctantly. His eyes dart to the wood, they widen even further revealing red veins surrounding his blue pupils. The door opens slowly, he sees a head emerge from behind it, Howard's head who smiles warmly, as warmly as he can. Vince pulls the duvet up under his eyes covering most of his face, Howard notices his fringe quivers slightly as he sits down to face his shaking friend.
"How you feeling?" He asks unsure of the answer, he hadn't expected Vince to be like this. Not this bad at least.
"He was her son." Vince blurted out through the sheets "That little boy, it was her son. The one who sung nursery rhymes, I saw him. Saw his face, his bottomless pit sockets, his black teeth, he looked scared when Naboo's magic pulled him back to his world." He cuts Howard off who opens his mouth to speak but then decides against it and remains silent just listening "I remember everything." He whispers quickly "I keep getting these images of skulls, burning bodies, rotting flesh...I can smell it on me, I can see blood on my hands!" He holds them out to Howard but they are completely clean "I murdered them!"
"Woah calm down, Vince. It's all in your head, made up memories to scare you half to death."
"They aren't made up! They're real, they happened. I remember her threatening to make me remember. She called you all killers." Howard swallows deeply simply starring at his distraught friend "I felt the pain, I actually did. You were worried I could." He nods at Vince who sits up shakily and carries on "I threw my straightners at you. I didn't mean to. I broke them." He brings his knees up to his chest and clutches them tightly rocking gently "Hurt my hand too." He looks down at the now purple cuts and bruises on his knuckle.
"How did you do that?" Vince simply nods towards his mirror, which is cracked in the middle with dried blood. Their reflection is staggered and broken in it "It's okay, we can get that fixed and Naboo can sort your hand out." Vince shakes his head violently in protest.
"I don't deserve help."
"Don't talk like that. This is the Demon's fault; she left false memories in your head! She's trying to finish you off, you've got to be stronger than this!"
"Let her! I don't care!" He jumps from his bed and heads out of his room in a tangle of sweaty sheets; Howard leaps up and pulls an arm swiftly round Vince's waist pulling him back.
"Wait!" He tries desperately, Vince feels hot and flushed against Howard's arm. He tries to struggle free but Howard is obviously a lot stronger plus he lacks magic now "Just calm down, Vince!" He begs but the smaller man doesn't listen.
"Let go of me!" Vince kicks his leg backward into Howard's shin forcing him to release the mod who runs straight for the kitchen cupboards. He flings them open and desperately pulls out packages of food and jars in search for something.
"What are you doing?" Howard cries as he joins his flustered friend who was in some sort of mad panic "This isn't like you at all, come on! Back to bed, Vince."
"No!" He cries, the cupboards were half-empty. Smashed glass lay on the floor in puddles of jam and cornflakes. He rushes straight through the mess and heads for the bathroom door not caring that he had sliced the soles of his feet open.
"Where are you going now? Stop, Vince come on! Calm down, go back to bed!" The smaller man ignores his friend who rushes after him to find him ferociously digging through the medicine cabinet above the sink, he throws the contents of a first aid kit over his shoulder letting it smash on the tiled floor "Vince...Hey! This isn't like you, stop!" He tries to grab at his arms to stop him but the young man was determined. Vince pulls at packets of prescription medicine; he rips them from their small plastic pods and forces them into his mouth while Howard wrestles with his stubborn limbs "Stop it now!" He cries trying to stop Vince from shovelling in more medicine, he wraps a hand over his friend's mouth and hooks his arm round his chest and heaves him away from the mirror "Spit them out." He demands but Vince refuses and tries swallowing them, Howard clutches his cheeks and pinches them together making him pout, eventually the pills come out and litter the floor in different colours. Vince collapses in his friend's arms and together they sink to the floor "Hey it's okay, I didn't mean to shout." He coos while clutching his sobbing friend in a hug.
"I can't stand the images! I hate the nightmares, make them go away, please. Promise you'll make them go away?"
"I promise. Come on." Howard guides Vince to the sofa in the lounge leaving the destruction in the bathroom behind, after letting the mod lay down on the sofa and making him promise not to move, Howard heads to Naboo's room.
Naboo approaches the sofa with Bollo following carrying a pink bottle of bubbling liquid, he drops down to the mod who is lay on the sofa and examines his nervous twitchy eyes.
"What's that?" Vince asks quickly not sitting up from the cushions.
"It'll make the nightmares go away." Howard whispers as he sits down on the floor by the sofa "I'll give it him, Naboo." The Shaman nods and Bollo hands over the bottle, the two leave the room and head back to clear away the cauldron "Here, sit up Vince."
"What will it do?"
"Make you forget."
"Like you promised?" Howard nods as Vince sits up slowly and takes the bottle, he swallows it whole. It leaves a fizzy feeling behind in his throat; a wash of drowsiness drowns him and panics him "I don't want to fall asleep!" He cries "All the nightmares will come back." His hand instinctively shoots out and grasps onto Howard's who pulls himself up onto the sofa and let's Vince lean against him.
"No they won't. They'll go away. I promise." He whispers as Vince's eyelids get heavier. They still feel sore from the tears and his head pounds from the hangover, his body still shakes from fear but slowly it starts to calm down and soon enough he falls into a deep, safe and promised sleep. His mind completely erased and washed clean of the threatening events of the past few days, Howard swore he could see a slight smile spread across Vince's lips as he slept making him smile himself, he sat with his friend for several hours stroking Vince's arm with his thumb while thanking god that everything would be okay from now on.