Billy Loomis has never cared about anything in his life until Stu Macher changes that. Afraid that his strange thoughts would make the only person he's ever cared for leave him.. instead Billy and Stu hatch a plan that will turn their little suburba...
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April 1995, Woodsboro, CA.
I hate the smell of hospitals. I try to bury my face into the pillow to escape it but the clinical stench of bleach and sanitiser still fills my nostrils. I want to leave but I don't want them to realise that I'm awake. I must have been lying here for six hours at least. I can hear whoever is sat at my bedside constantly stirring, sighing and tapping then occasionally leaving the room for about five minutes at a time. I hear the door click as they leave for the third time, I open my eyes and the dull room is lighter than the last time I managed to open them. It must be getting closer to morning. I lift my head slightly and look to the chair beside my hospital bed. There is a collection of used coffee cups, I'm hoping it's not my Dad. I'm not ready to face him but realistically who else would be here? There isn't anyone else. Well, there is but... That's a part of why I'm here in the first place.
My head starts to pulsate so I gently lay back down on the pillow. I can't pretend to be sleeping much longer but I don't want to see how today plans out. I wasn't expecting to be here to see the consequences but at the same time that thought enters my mind my chest starts to ache, reminding me that I didn't really want that. I couldn't leave him alone. No, Stop. These thoughts aren't helping. My head continues to vibrate and my throat is so dry. I can taste vomit in my mouth from the night before. I don't quite remember how I got here, all I know is that I'm not supposed to be here. Again my chest heaves, no it must be a side affect of the meds. That's it. The door creeks and the person walks back in, shoes squeaking on the linoleum floor. I get a sudden waft of aftershave and then I know it's him. What is he doing here? He isn't supposed to be. He wasn't supposed to come. I feel a weight at my side as he sits on the bed beside me. I close my eyes as tight as they will go like I'm a child again. "William?" He says, quietly. His voice seems strained. I try not to swallow the lump in my throat. I feel his hand rest on my side and fight the flinch. The weight shifts again and I hear the door click too.
I sit there for five minutes listening intently to the quietness of the room until all I can hear is the light thump of either my heart or head in my ears. I need to get out of here. I slowly sit up, my head feeling so light I'm not quite sure if I'm falling or standing. I steady myself, my bare feet touch the lino floor. It feels sticky and damp. I look down to my arm and see the IV drip pulling at my skin as I take an unintentional step away from the bed. I tear it out, the quick pain barely creates a wince. I try to look around the room but my eyesight doesn't allow me to see anything more than a foot in front of me. I walk forward and look closely around the room to see if there are any clothes to cover this blue gown. I find my Dad's jacket and slip it on. It's humungous but it will do. I step closer to the door and try and listen through it. I can't hear anyone so I open it cautiously. The bright artificial lights from the corridor are blinding and fill the dull room. I step into the corridor and quietly close the door behind me. I walk, feet sticking to the floor until a reception comes into view, it's empty. I keep walking until I see an elevator in reaching distance.
"And where do you think you're going?" I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn to see a man with a lanyard around his neck. Even without a uniform I can tell that he's a white-coat. I can't distinguish his face but I see two rather dark and thick eyebrows.
"I just needed some fresh air" I lie as he turns me around and starts leading me back the way I came.
"I'm sure you do but for now you need to stay in bed and get some rest"
"Are you a doctor?" I say sarcastically without intention. I want to fight as I feel my head pound and I miss a step. The man grabs my arm and stops me from face-planting the floor.
"No I'm not but it doesn't take one to see you're not ready for a stroll. I didn't think you had even come around yet" I hear annoyance and mocking in his tone. I fake a laugh "I just came around" he fakes a laughs too.
We get back to the room and my Dad is standing in there with a woman. When I get close enough I can see he is irritated or worried. It's hard to tell with him.
"What are you playing at?" His voice is raised slightly as not to taint his caring father act.
"I went for a walk" I reply quietly and sit down on the bed.
He says something I don't wish to reiterate and the woman next to him puts her hand on his arm to calm him. "William, it's good to see you're up and about but let's not run before we can walk" I can hear she is smiling from her soft tone but whether the smile is real or not is another thing.
"It's Billy" I mutter rubbing my eyes then pressing at my temples, my head seems to be getting more and more painful. My Dad steps forward and puts his hand on my shoulder. I look up, shocked by his touch and can see the tiredness in his eyes. He has a suit on but he looks unusually disorganised, his sleeves are rolled up and his normally slicked back hair has fallen out. I look away from his gaze. Why do I feel guilty? I can't fall for this act. He doesn't care.
"Billy, do you know why you are here?" I look up at the woman with the too soft voice. She is smiling. It's fake. She is dressed in a blouse and trousers and also has a lanyard around her neck but this is paired with a badge.
She doesn't want the real answer, that would scare her. No one would understand the truth, how could I even begin to explain what was going on in my brain?
I look down at my bare feet "I just took too many sleeping pills by accident, I forgot how many I had taken, honest." My head continues to pound as my mind begins to race. This wasn't supposed to happen; it was supposed to be over. I had escaped it.
My Dad dropped his hand from my shoulder and put on his most charismatic tone "He's an insomniac, I will control his medication from now on"
"Best make sure this doesn't happen again Billy, this could have been much worse. You was lucky that your friend found you-"
"My friend?" I snap my head up at the woman who I'm guessing is a doctor.
"Stuart Macher, the punk has refused to leave all night" My Dad sighed.
I stand suddenly finding my strength "Can I leave now?" My chest makes that funny twinge again, aching.
"Erm-" The doctor starts
"Please I'll make sure he stays out of trouble." My Dad flashes his best smile, wanting this whole situation to be over with so he can go back to pretending I don't exist.
I'm outside the hospital, wearing the clothes from the night it happened. Dry vomit down my front, it's better than the hospital gown. I didn't wait to be discharged, I just left. I had to get out, I couldn't find him in the reception, one of the workers said he had just gone out for some fresh air. I look around and feel my chest tighten. Must be an after affect.
"You fucking moron!"
I turn and see Stu standing over me, I look up and his face is contorted. He looks exhausted, eyes all red.. no, this is the feeling of guilt.
"I'm sorry, I just-"
"Just what Billy? I told you, you were taking too many! You could have died, man" He turned his head, looking like he was about to cry. He leaned like always, trying to make himself seem smaller. He didn't need to, I already felt so small.
I grabbed his arm and I felt him jolt almost like a volt went through him "I didn't mean to, I said I'm sorry alright?"
"You gotta talk to me, I told you you could tell me anything, you know?" he almost whispered, like we can't let others see how close we are. It's a secret that we both don't know why we're keeping it but we do. God, I wanna tell him everything but I don't want to lose him. Fuck.
I let go of his arm and leaned into him, my face into his chest, just for a second. Then pulled away.
