From Murder to Dust

J - 3 - Planning

I had been back with my family for a week now, and everything was getting better...mostly. I still had those nightmares, and I was still more timid than usual, but my family were really helping me with that. I usually stuck around one of them in case I got scared, in which case they would comfort me; they didn't mind..they were the best family ever. Paps hadn't left my side since we were reunited, giving me constant reassurance and comfort; he's the best. I hadn't gone out with my family to spread negativity; they said that I needed to heal before I could come, since I would probably have a breakdown if I saw Ink in battle before I was ready..I understood. There was one problem, though..Outer and the swapped Papyrus wanted Ink imprisoned. While their point was understood, I would have had to be present if there was a trial..I wasn't ready. They wanted to confront Ink during a meeting of the judges - once a month - to ensure that Ink couldn't escape being taken to a trial with all those witnesses, but I would have had to come..they were leaving the decision up to me. When I was ready, they would give us the location of the next meeting, and we would interrupt it. It was a good plan..I just wasn't ready to handle it.

"Dust, it's okay!" Nightmare hugged me tightly; I had just woken from another bad dream. "Shh, you're safe..you're okay; you're safe at home."

"D-Dad.." I whimpered, hugging him back. 

I still wasn't used to waking up somewhere safe; I expected to wake up to Ink's yelling or harsh blows..I hated that. I had developed the habit of reaching to my neck, expecting a collar to sit there, ready to be used as a torture device against me. I expected to be pinned to a wall, helplessly forced to watch as Ink tainted the culmination of my being by touching it without my permission. I expected to be dragged out of wherever I woke into a snowy field, where I would no doubt have been beaten cruelly as the snow and ice froze my bones through the light clothing I had been forced to wear. I expected to be pulled off the ground and have an unknown substance injected into my soul before having an inevitable bad reaction to it, causing a speedy extraction process without the pain being dulled in any way. I expected to be insulted in various ways, bringing my already-low self-esteem tumbling to the ground. I expected to be woken by an electric shock coursing through my bones, threatening to prolong my exhaustion for several more days. I expected Ink to notice a fractured bone he had neglected to heal - intentionally or not - and slowly lengthen the crack by jamming a blade into it and pushing slowly..ever so slowly...

"Dust, it's okay." Nightmare comforted, rubbing my skull to calm me down; they hadn't had to deal with me like this before, since I had never really shown my fear this much in the past, but they had found that I liked the soothing sensation of having my skull rubbed. "Shh.."

"Mm.." I hummed softly, shaking less than I had a moment ago, but still retaining a small shiver.

"That's better...you're safe.."

"I-I'm s-sorry.." I shouldn't have been so weak! My family shouldn't have had to watch over me like this!

"Hey, you don't have to apologize. This isn't your fault; none of this is your fault."

"B-but.."

"Just relax..you're safe."

After that, I decided to just accept the comfort without anything more needing to be said; I really needed that..especially after bad dreams. I finally calmed down after ten minutes, at which point, I pulled my jacket - it was still the purple one, since there was no way for me to get my old one back - around me and slid onto the couch Nightmare had woken me on.

"Feeling better?" He hoped.

"Yeah.." I mustered a small smile. "Thanks, Dad."

"Anytime. I assume my attempts to block the bad dreams are unsuccessful?"