The Five Stages of Grief (Insane AU) SKEPHALO

Chapter 4: Depression

video by: skeppys_scarf they did a really great job on this and it's based on the story ^^ you should check it out!

depression (noun): feelings of severe despondency and dejection.
sometimes, having a pet around can help you cope.

•Darryl•

I really wanted to say Zak was getting accustomed to his new environment, but he wasn't.

In fact, he seemed to be getting worse.

It had been three days since he first moved in. He was no longer restrained to the chair, but now had the freedom to roam around the basement as he pleased.
The door to the rest of the house was locked anyway. And he didn't seem to want to hurt me anymore, so I had no fear of him using force to take the key.

The only problem was that despite all the freedom he now had, Zak wasn't moving around. He just sat on the air mattress and stared at the wall.

Now, I sat beside him with a box of pizza and two cans of soda.

"Zak, you haven't eaten," I frowned, turning away from the uneaten portion of his pizza to look at his frail figure. As I scanned him over, I noticed the deep bags underneath his eyes. "Have you been sleeping?"

He shook his head no very slowly and continued to stare blankly at the wall. A deep worry grew inside of me. "How can I cheer him up?"

"Hey, Zak," I giggled, "Wanna hear a joke?"

He didn't answer.

"What do you call a cow with no legs?"

Still nothing.

"Ground beef!"

The room was quiet, making the worry in my gut grow bigger as if to threaten to swallow me whole.

I sighed and stood up, suddenly remembering something Zak had mentioned to me the previous day.

"Rocco."

"I'll be right back, little muffin. Please try to eat something," I murmured before climbing the stairs to the exit.

As I locked the door, I realized I missed him already. But I definitely missed his laughter more.

I vaguely remembered where his house was, so I grabbed his house keys and some dog treats before hitting the road.
As I drove, I worried he would find a way to escape with the amount of time he would have to himself, but in all honesty, he didn't look mentally stable enough to create a plan right now.

•

I arrived at Zak's house late in the evening. It seemed like no one had been there since he moved out, but I wasn't sure. I completely forgot about his dog, poor thing.

"Well, at least the dog and Zak can both be happy now," I thought, using the keys to open the front door. As it jingled open, Rocco started barking at me, thinking I was some sort of intruder.

I bent down to pet him to let him know I was friendly and gave him a treat. "Hi, buddy! This is the first time we have officially met. Do you wanna see Zak?"

The dog whined, making me think he actually missed Zak.

Or maybe he was hungry. I scanned the room for any dog bowls and found two, both already full of food and water.
This concerned me a bit as I realized someone had come to take care of the dog, but before I could think it over more I heard footsteps approaching.