The second I close the car door, Mark starts talking.
"Well that went well," he starts. He lets out a breath and looks at me, "What do you think?"
"I guess so," I reply, staring out the window.
"C'mon Jack, don't be mad-"
"Tell me what he said."
"Sean-"
"And don't give me some bullshit answer about how he talked only about the meds," I spit, "I know there's more."
"Well, he did talk about the meds," Mark pointed out.
"What else?"
Mark doesn't say anything at first, so I turn to him. Emotions flicker across his face as he trys to figure out how to deal with this. He stares straight ahead and replies, "He told me what you said."
"Like what?" I press, "I barely said a word!"
"He told me that and..." he shakes his head, "H-He said you see things."
Mark bites his lip, and his eyes water. His grip on the wheel tightens, as if telling me this hurts him physically.
"He said you see things. Phantoms."
I am speechless, not knowing how to react. Why would the doctor tell him that? I don't want Mark hurt, and this is hurting him.
Mark looks uncomfortable when he asks, "Sean, do you still see me?"
"What?"
"Do you still see me?" he repeats, "Like, do you see me when I'm not there? Like before, when you..."
"No," I interrupt, "I don't. I think before I was just dreaming."
He nods and continues driving. I have put Mark in enough pain. I don't want him to know he's the one inflicting my pain, that the mere image of him is haunting my dreams, and my reality. So I keep that to myself. I bury it deep down, letting it eat away at me, instead of him. I can deal with it. I can cope with it. How else will I protect him?
YOU ARE READING
Imagine Me Darker
Fanfictionphan·tom//noun//a ghost or a figment of the imagination Something is wrong with Jack. One second he is recording and the next he is in the doctor's office awaiting his diagnosis. It wasn't Jack's idea. Mark is the one who told him to go. He didn't w...
