Forever

Chapter 21

The coffee Dream had gotten from the cafeteria sat atop a small table, untouched and cold. His phone sat beside it, and tired eyes kept drifting back and forth between the blank screen and George's unmoving shape. Fingers drummed nervously against the arm of a chair, and Dream blew out a slow breath before quietly muttering, "I think I screwed up, George. I shouldn't have let your dad go by himself. He's been gone for hours."

He was greeted with a silence that he was growing used to, and he dropped his eyes back down to the dark screen of his phone. Philza hadn't called, which could either mean that he was perfectly okay, or that he just hadn't been able to call for help in time. But Dream was desperately trying not to think about the second outcome.

He knew that even though George had been upset with Philza, he would be heartbroken if anything were to happen to him. And when George woke up, Dream didn't want the first thing he heard to be bad news.

With a sharp exhale and one hand tensing around the arm of his chair, Dream made a reach for his phone. He pulled up Philza's number, thumb hovering over the screen as he contemplated what to do.

He glanced back up at George, and although he knew he'd get no response, he found himself quietly saying, "he's probably fine, right? I mean, he's been doing this for a long time."

"Well, I don't know about a long time. I'm not that old."

The sudden response when he hadn't been expecting one made Dream jolt, and he turned quickly towards the door to see Philza leaning against the doorframe.

"Jesus christ," Dream muttered with a shake of his head, "you scared me."

Philza laughed, pushing off the doorframe and striding into the room as he responded, "sorry."

Dream shook his head again, settling back into his chair as Philza walked closer towards the bed. His eyes made a sweep over George, expression falling just a bit when he reached George's face.

"Did things with Eret go okay?" Dream asked, and Philza looked over at him with a nod. He didn't offer up any more than that, and Dream's eyes dropped suddenly towards the hand hanging at Philza's side.

With a raise of his eyebrows, Dream asked, "what happened to your whole speech about the never ending circle of senseless violence and retaliation, huh?"

Philza's eyes dropped to his own hand, and a blush spread over his face as he analyzed the spread of bruises that were already coloring his knuckles deep purples and reds. He shoved his hand into his pocket and out of view, laughing quietly as he responded, "right, I guess I'm not as good at controlling my anger as I thought I was."

Dream laughed softly, nodding in understanding as he asked, "so Eret won't be an issue anymore?"

"No," Philza answered, "he's alive, but he won't be bothering us anymore."

Dream wasn't thrilled about the idea of Eret walking around unharmed while George was lying here, but so long as he left George alone, he would find a way to be okay with it. If Philza wasn't worried, then he had no reason to worry either, and so he answered, "okay, good."

Philza nodded, and Dream could feel eyes watching him closely. Philza's voice softened as he spoke again, "don't take this the wrong way, Dream. But when's the last time you actually slept?"

Dream sighed, running a hand down his face because he had been hearing the same thing for days on end. He shrugged, but he knew it had been days since he had gotten a decent night's sleep. He didn't think he could sleep if he tried, but he knew his exhaustion was clear for everyone to see and comment on.

"Why don't you go home for a couple of hours and get some rest," Philza suggested.

Dream shook his head quickly, muttering back a quick reply of, "I went home this morning. I'm fine."