Chapter 3

Jeriah made his way into the kitchen with an inordinately loud grumble, basically stomping as he left. He mumbled something under his breath about alcohol which guaranteed the rest of the night would be spent drinking.

I sigh and take my seat once more, staring pointedly at Isaac who had yet to sit. He was still pacing, slightly less frantic, yet no less annoying.

"Sit down." I beckon, gesturing to the seat opposite me. "I know you have questions."

I watch him drop into his seat and cross his arms glaring at the wall behind me. 

"Come on." I prompt as his glare eases and he sighs heavily.

"How did you handle it?" He asks and immediately winces at his own question. "I mean…like…"

"I did not handle it." I answer. "I became unresponsive after. Part of me refused to believe it had happened."

"I mean…fair." Isaac looks highly uncomfortable.

Jeriah returns with three glass cups and a rather large bottle of amber liquid, staring pointedly at me. "The coffee table." He says, tilting his head in the direction I had kicked the table. "Do you mind?"

My face flushes in embarrassment as I stand and go about placing the table where it belongs. It had not been my intention to kick anything, but anger bested me. I notice the cracked indent my foot had created and immediately begin apologizing.

"Don't worry about it." Jeriah says, placing the items on the table. "This is my fifth table since I met the guy." Here he motions towards Isaac.

I shake my head in amusement and reach for the cup Jeriah hands me. I take a sip and immediately turn my nose up in distaste. I am not partial to whiskey as it leaves a foul after-taste, but it will do the job of getting me drunk, so I say nothing and take another drink.

"Whiskey Jeriah?" Isaac says, sniggering as he downs his drink. "Your sophisticated ass would NEVER."

"The fuck you mean sophisticated? You seen my house?" Jeriah looks offended. 

"Motherfucker, you live in the suburbs." Isaac points out. I have no clue what a suburb is, but by the look Jeriah gives to Isaac one would think it was an insult.

"I didn't know how annoying soccer mom's were, ok?" Jeriah responds, leaning into his seat and spreading his legs, getting comfortable. I watch him shimmy and move further into the seat with a contented sigh before motioning towards me with his half full glass.

I lift my glass and nod before taking a drink and feeling the warmth of alcohol flow through me. I was never a heavy drinker so the warmth always hit me quickly. 

"I had a dream after...you know…the thing." I say breaking the silence surrounding us.

"So we're talking about it?" Isaac asks, staring between Jeriah and I, looking a bit ill. 

"The story is not over yet." I point out, swirling the drink in my cup and watching as it spins in circles. "This is why I am here, after all."

"That's why you're here?" 

I nod. "Pretty much." I down the rest of my drink, motioning for Jeriah to pour me another. "Why else would I come here?"

Isaac takes a drink from his cup and places it on the table with a soft clack. I can see him thinking, mulling over what he heard and what he wanted to say.

"So what was your dream about?" He opts to ask instead of whatever he had been contemplating.

"A boy." I say, glaring at my glass before taking a drink. "His name was Sariel. He talked too much." 

"What did he look like?" Isaac asks, curious. 

"Tall." I begin. "About as tall as Jeriah. Black hair, purple eyes and a frustrating personality. I did not like him. It was hard enough processing what had happened without his persistent need to 'help', so he came off as annoying and entitled rather than helpful. He wanted answers I was not ready to give." 

I fell silent, drowning in memories long passed, looking ahead with unseeing eyes. I had suppressed these memories, having not fully come to terms with everything that had happened to me. Speaking about them now reminded me of how powerless and frightened I had felt, which caused my mind to shut down. 

"Cugu." Jeriah's yell broke me from my stupor and I shake my head to bring my mind back to the present. "You good?"

I nod and place my glass on the table with a sigh. It had been many years since I had last  become unresponsive so it was terrifying to learn it could still happen.

"What happened?" Isaac asks worriedly.

"Nothing." I blatantly lie, giving no room for argument. "Where was I?"

"Sariel." Isaac reminds with a calculating look. "Something about him not knowing when to shut up." 

"Yes." I nod, continuing the story.

I opened my eyes to a gray expanse and took a deep breath, continuing to lie where I woke, with no energy nor care to move. I lay there, blankly staring at the nothingness consuming me enjoying my pain free existence for the moment. Wherever I had ended up, my pain did not follow me.

My mind demanded sleep, but I did not wish to close my eyes, fearing the visions that would appear within my mind should I do so.

"It is okay." I whispered brokenly. "I am alone here."

"I mean..." A voice answered, and in my panicked haste to stand, I tripped on my own feet, falling forward, barely catching myself on my hands.

"Who are you?" I yelled, staring wide eyed at the creature which had appeared before me. "What are you doing here?"

"Um…you called me." He said, looking pointedly at me. "My name is Sariel."

"I am unsure where 'here' even is; how could I have possibly called you?" I spat.

He shrugged and offered me his hand. "Need help?"

I slapped his hand away. I stood and practically ran from him, trying to get some distance between this creature and I. 

"Why am I here?" I asked, my voice was small and shook miserably.

"I'm not sure." He replied. "Maybe what you faced while you were awake was more than your mind could handle. Maybe this is your way of hiding and being protected."

"Perhaps." I mused.

"Speaking of….what happened to you?" He asked, taking a few steps towards me. I backed away, not wanting him to get close. 

"Nothing." I said, continuing to back away. No amount of distance would be enough. He would alway be too close.

"Come on" he tried to coax. "What happened?"

"N-nothing happened." I stuttered, wrapping my arms around myself in a gesture of self soothing. "Nothing happened. Nothing happened. Nothing happened." I chanted, swaying back and forth on the balls of my feet.

"Something happened." He insisted, getting within arms reach of me "You can tell me.

Rage filled me at his constant persistence and before I could think on what I was doing, I had pushed Sariel with so much force I felt his ribs give and snap as he fell backwards and away from me. 

"I said NOTHING HAPPENED." I wailed. "NOTHING. HAPPENED."

"Okay." He tried to sooth as he stood, rubbing at his sore chest. "You have a place to rest now. I suggest you take this chance to do so." 

I wrapped my arms around my abdomen and fell to the ground. I folded in on myself and took in a ragged breath, trying desperately to quell the tears burning my eyes. My resolve did not last long, though, as a gut wrenching howl left my mouth. I buried my face in my hands, heaving lungfuls of air in between ragged sobs that left my whole body shaking.

I screamed and  sobbed brokenly for what felt like hours, beating my fist into the ground before me, the pain of my hand non-existent in the wild nothingness of my mind. Sariel said nothing as he watched me break apart, wailing and grieving for everything I had lost.

I sobbed until all that was left in me were hiccups and ragged breathing, my eyes staring ahead…my mind broken. I fell to my side and slowly my eyes closed, sleep finally claiming me soon after.