OBLIVION [SEQUEL TO SATELLITE HEART: BARLEY LIGHTFOOT x READER]

chapter twelve

Barley tore apart his room in search for you. 

For a sign. A shirt. A love letter. A picture. Anything. 

If he looked in his real room in his real life, he would find a picture of you taped to the wall right above the bed. And the pictures you'd taken at the creek all those years ago were tucked away in his wallet. One of your shirts were in his dresser, just because you'd forgotten it over there and even when he moved out he didn't move it. He had stashed of love letters everywhere, because you'd probably written hundreds for him over the course of your relationship. And something in here had to smell like you, right? A jacket of his, a t-shirt, an extra pillowcase stored away in his closet? 

Something. 

Anything. 

The room was a disaster, with everything torn out of the dresser and closet and desk and clothes and paper and figures and books all over the floor. The room was a disaster, and he was falling back on the bed, gasping loudly, holding his chest, repeating the same thing in his mind and out loud in a fast and scared whisper. 

"She was real. She was real. She was here." He covered his face. "I know she was real and I know she loved me. We got married... we got married on---" He shot up to his feet and cried out with his hands flying up to grab at his hair, "No, I can't remember! No, I know... I know..."

A knock at his door. "Barley, are you okay?" Ian. 

Barley whispered his brother's name and ran to the door. He yanked it open, forcing it to open all the way despite the pile of laundry blocking it. "___ ___ is my wife. Okay? I know you're not remembering that but I swear that it's true. We started dating when I was twenty, okay? And we got married a couple of years ago. I think. And she's pregnant! I told you and Mom and... and it wasn't Dad there. It was Colt. It was Colt! He was there and we told you guys. And then we randomly decided to try to get Dad back and it's my fault---" 

"Okay, so the answer is you're not okay," Ian said. "Look. I don't know what you're talking about, but you're acting weird." 

"No!" Barley snapped, pushing past his little brother and rushing across the hall to his room. He started to move around, looking for something. 

"What are you doing?" 

"I'm looking for it."

"For what?" 

"For the wizard staff!" Barley exclaimed. 

"If you're talking about one of your game props, you're not gonna find it in here," Ian said. "Why don't you ask Dad where it is?" 

"No, your wizard staff." Barley blinked at his brother. 

"Why would I have one of those?" 

"Because you're a wizard!" 

"No I am not. What's gotten into you?" 

"Dad gifted us that staff on your sixteenth birthday so we could bring him back for a day! You have the magic gift. You brought the staff with you, didn't you? You left it right here. I know it's real, okay? I know it is because... because that's how we got here." 

Ian shook his head. "No, Dad was here for my birthday and I know that because he bought me a car. Remember? I got my license that day." 

"No, you waited a long time to get your license. I taught you how to drive!" 

"Dad taught me." 

"No he didn't!" Barley was about to pull the hair from his head.

Ian laughed, "Dude. What is wrong with you right now? Why are you trying to argue with everything I'm saying?"