Vanilla Dusk ✓

Loop Part 7

A month passed and nothing peculiar happened after the truck incident. Shayne was relieved and Erik had practically forgotten all about it. Their life was back on track. They had lectures in the morning. Shayne was taking Law and Erik had Arts. They didn't share many courses but they would try to meet up whenever they were free or sit in each other's lectures. Shayne would always help Erik jot notes in his lectures but Erik, not capable of comprehending anything Shayne's lecturer was saying, always nodded off with his chin in his palm. Shayne wouldn't wake him up. He found it amusing to watch Erik sleep with his mouth slightly parted and produce those childish soft snores.

'What's that?' asked Erik, pointing to a small purple bruise on Shayne's right wrist. They were walking down the street after school and Shayne just happened to tuck some of his hair behind his ear- a rather suave move in Erik's opinion. The sleeve slid down a little, revealing the bruise.

'Oh, must've bumped into something at home,' lied Shayne. 'Couldn't remember when.'

'Be more careful.'

Shayne didn't know why it was still there and it wasn't the only one. Ever since that day, the day he saved Erik from dying, bruises and marks emerged on various parts of his body. They ached from time to time, not sufficient to torment him, and when he went to the clinic for a check-up, the doctor only gave him pills and cream, saying that no internal organs had been scathed.

He didn't want Erik to worry so he never told him about the mysterious wounds.

Nobody saw it coming. An old street had been going through months of renovation and a couple of buildings were encased in bamboo scaffolds. Some construction workers, suspended from the rooftop, climbed down the wall. They were transferring some metal pipes from one side to another, yelling instructions at one another and giving gestures. At some point, the machine broke down and halted the transfer midway. The pipes struck the wall and one of the strings snapped. A pipe slid down from others and a worker got sprung off, hitting the wall with a crack. Right then Shayne and Erik were passing below. Screams echoed in the air and they looked up to see the metal crashing down. Shayne felt an intense pressure on his right arm and staggered backwards. Erik, using all his might, had shoved him out of the way and before he could duck, half of his body was smashed and trapped beneath the pipe.

Blood oozed out from under the pipe, and the sight was almost as hideous as the last one, with Erik's body almost mutilated and his limbs deformed.

Shayne, unable to react immediately, could only gasp as Erik stared at him wide-eyed.

He never blinked again.

He went through the same thing again. Erik was rushed to the hospital, certified dead almost instantly and his brother arrived to claim his body. Shayne gave the same response, refusing to leave the hospital or let go of Erik's hand, shutting all the voices out, crying and pushing the staff before they had to sedate him and ask his father to fetch him home.

The funeral was scheduled two weeks after and Erik's parents flew to London from Norway. Shayne planted the very same kiss on Erik's forehead, his face still pasty, his eyes two hollows, his nose a bit mangled and his lips tightly sealed.

He looked so peaceful that Shayne wanted to join him.

He was back to the storage room, vaguely remembering that he had looked for the same thing before. A cutter? A blade? Could there be a gun?

And then his attention was drawn to the watch on his nightstand. It had remained there since the day he pressed the crown for the first time. A voice kept ringing in his head, persuading him to reach out for the watch. He picked it up, gazed at it for a long time and pressed the crown. The hand, as miraculously as it seemed, started to move again, this time heading towards the next interval – II.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Shayne felt woozy. Flopping down on his bed, he soon lost consciousness.

The searing pain woke him. Shayne sprang up from his bed and panted. He rolled up his shirt and a gash stretched across his abdomen. It wasn't bleeding but it hurt. He limped out of his room and checked himself in the bathroom mirror. His torso was still covered with previous bruises and a new one had formed. He gently touched the wound and it burned, as if his skin had been lacerated and lashed by something sharp, the insides mangled and knotted. His bones hurt just the same, almost like his limbs had been flattened and crumpled. He endured the pain and resisted a groan.

A knock came on the bathroom door. Shayne opened it and jolted backwards. Erik, holding a spatula and wearing a white apron, tilted his head and frowned at Shayne.

'You alright?' inquired the pale boy. 'So you're awake. I'm cooking something for breakfast.'

Before Shayne could utter something, Erik sealed their lips together and smiled. 'Brush your teeth and food will be ready.'

He left Shayne standing at the bathroom door and ran downstairs. Shayne, still flabbergasted, bolted back into his room and grabbed his phone.

18 September.

Again!

It happened again!

He had been travelling back in time, always to the day when Erik died. He dropped his phone and dashed downstairs, heaved a sigh of relief when he caught Erik shifting around in the open kitchen. When Erik whirled around this time, he was met with Shayne's arms. Tight and warm.

'Are...you okay?' Astounded by Shayne's sudden affection, Erik ran his fingers through his partner's tousled locks and kissed his cheek.

'No, not okay,' mumbled Shayne, shaking his head. All he could think of was Erik's body trapped underneath the pipe, squashed like a fly in somebody's palm.

'It's not a dream,' babbled Shayne repeatedly. 'Not a dream...not a dream...'

Erik thought that he might be feeling under the weather, so he walked Shayne back to the sofa and gave him a cup of warm water.

'No, Erik, you don't get it,' said Shayne.

'What do you mean?'

When he saw the perplexity in Erik's eyes, Shayne found himself unable to speak more. Instead of explaining everything all over again to Erik, he kept his mouth shut and leaned against Erik, feeling the concreteness of his intact body.

'Let's stay home today,' said Shayne finally.

'Sure.'

Erik nodded and patted his back.

When they watched the news that night, they learnt that an accident took place in a construction site and a metal pipe fell off a building, crashing a lamp post on the street below.

Luckily, no pedestrians were injured.