(Archived) Poth Short Stories and One-Shots

Testing the Ties that Bind - Chapter 2 (End)

Comprehension overwhelmed Goth as tears began to leak down the sides of his skull and onto the pillow cushioning his skull. He didn't have the energy nor the motivation to wipe them away as unsteady hiccups morphed into steady whimpers that evolved into heaving sobs.

Palette's gone! He left... and who could blame him?! Our relationship was built on a lie! I'll never see him again... all because of me and this stupid body!

Within seconds, he was clenching the sheets as he openly bawled in misery, uncaring of the ache lancing through his soul or the frantic chime of the monitor on the nearby shelf.

I hate this! I wish everything would just disappear... I wish I would disappear! I don't want to be here anymore! What's the point when-!

The door to the room slammed open. Goth's breath stuttered in shock and his tears slowed at the sight of a very distressed Palette in the doorway.

"Goth?! Oh stars, does your chest hurt again? Your leg? Do you need a nurse? What am I saying, you're crying, of course you need a nurse!" Palette shot out rapid-fire questions, talking a mile a minute as he rushed over to the side of the bed, then backpedaled as if to run out of the room before stopping himself and muttering, "No, there's a button for that. Running there would take too long."

Goth stared dumbly, his ragged breaths slowly ebbing as Palette jammed his finger repeatedly on a red button above his headboard. As he watched, the bedridden skeleton couldn't help but notice the desperation in his companion's expression or the reddened rims under his sockets.

Palette's starry eye lights locked on Goth, a watery smile adorning his face as he cupped the smaller's left cheek, rubbing his thumb against the lavender trail of tears while reassuring him, "Help's coming Goth. Breathe with me, okay? You're going to be fine, so hold on for a little bit longer."

Once his mind caught up, Goth couldn't stop the resurgence of tears at Palette's presence.

The taller skeleton's expression crumbled, leaned down and pressing their foreheads together, clenching his sockets while his voice warbled, "I know, it's hard. Just stay with me, okay? We'll get through this."

"Pa... Palette... you... you're here," Goth croaked softly in between hiccups. His companion lifted his skull, re-opening his sockets to give the crying skeleton a questioning look.

"Of course I'm here," he said with a curious lilt to his voice, "You started shaking and gasping for air back at the apartment, then you passed out after I called for help. The doctor said you had a panic attack and fainted from hyperventilation. You also got a pretty nasty scald burn on your right leg, so they treated that too... but they said there wouldn't be any side effects outside of some weakness and disorientation, and you would probably wake up soon. Why wouldn't I be here?"

"I... I thought... you were g... gone," the bed-ridden skeleton sniffled.

"What? Gone?" Palette blinked in confusion, "I've been here the whole time. I stepped out about four minutes ago to call your parents to let them know what happened. They told me- wait... is that why you're crying?"

Goth weakly nodded and Palette paled as the pieces seemed to snap in place.

"Oh... oh stars... you thought... and I... then you... I...," he muttered, slapping his hand against his forehead as he realized his mistake, "I'm so thick."

As Goth opened his mouth to respond, a nurse happened to arrive, "Someone pressed the emergency call button, did something happen?"

Palette straightened from his hunched position, rubbing the back of his skull and explaining with a sheepish expression, "I'm sorry, I came back to find my boyfriend awake and crying. I mistook it as him being in pain, so I panicked and hit the call button."