Page 35 of The Not So Super Hero
In the blink of an eye, everything changed.Zane stared at his bloody hand.Red stained his knuckles, the skin ripped up and throbbing.The blood wasn’t his.His gaze narrowed on the warm liquid that ran down his arm like a river that stained his skin while it inched ever closer to him.Zane’s breathing became rapid as his mind tried to tell him it wasn’t real.He was hallucinating, everything was fine, but the panic continued until he was nothing but a shaking mess beneath his blankets.
As if the blood had a mind of its own, it crept over his shoulder like fingers.He swore he felt a breath on the back of his neck, a low whisper from a familiar voice that caused his heart to stop.
Whimpering, Zane bolted up, bringing out his opposite hand to wipe furiously away at the evidence.He didn’t stop, even when he felt his nails dig into his own flesh.Then, in less than a second, the blood was gone, like it was never there in the first place.
Zane sat on his bed, chest heaving from the shock.He observed his hands to find no evidence of the blood or the bruises.All he could see were the claw marks he had made himself, the few scratches that began bleeding, though from his own doing.The voice was gone, the breath that seemed to engulf him.All of it was gone as fast as it arrived, but the guilt wasn’t.It remained, like a stain in his chest.
Zane flexed his fingers again.When nothing strange occurred, Zane released a borderline maddening laugh that somehow mixed into a whimper.He curled in on himself, burying his face into his knees.Zane would not get any sleep that night.
Getting to work was a pain.Zane’s head throbbed.He swayed when stepping out of his car, eyes incapable of focusing.Clutching the door, he barely kept himself upright.Sighing, he slammed the door shut and quickly made his way inside.
For once, he immediately got to work.As much as he needed sleep, he was too paranoid to risk it.His mind begged for rest.Even his headphones couldn’t keep the noise of the outside world at bay.Everything was too loud.Every tiny sound bombarded his senses until the simple tapping of water at the water fountain made his head feel like it was exploding.
There was static in the air.A static he recognized and constantly tried to block out.Such feelings lingered throughout the day until Zane was a jittery mess.He would stop every so often to lean his head against the cool glass of the windows.Sometimes his legs felt like they were going to give out, so he would take a seat.There wasn’t a moment of silence.
He couldn’t go another night without sleep, not like this.Perhaps he could call Chris, go sleep on his couch.However, Chris also had work and Zane didn’t want to bother him anymore than he already was.Though Chris wouldn’t say no.He’d drop everything, and that made Zane more adamant not to ask.The more nervous he acted, the more anxious Chris would get and that old man didn’t need anymore of that.
With his millionth heavy sigh that day, Zane clocked out of work and headed to his car with every intention of going home alone.However, a week of avoidance was too much.Zane stepped into the corridor that led to the exit.He found himself within viewing range of trouble itself, Bailey.Zane began speed walking for the doors, but it was too late.
Bailey caught up in the blink of an eye, standing between Zane and the exit.
“Wow, no need to look so happy to see me,” Bailey said, smirking.
“I am anything but happy to see you,” Zane responded.
Bailey’s jaw dropped.“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.Are you still not sleeping well?Have you gone to the doctors?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Right.Do you even own a mirror?”
“No, I already know I look good.”
“Funny,” Bailey scoffed, then knocked the tip of his shoe against the floor.“Why don’t you come rest in my dorm?”
Zane didn’t have time to respond to that before Bailey’s cheeks took on a whole new shade of red.Without his consent, he grinned as he watched Bailey’s mouth open and close in a panic.Words came out all gibberish before he finally said, “J-Just to rest cause you look exhausted and, like, my roommate is there.We wouldn’t be alone.Not that it matters if we’re alone cause that’s fine and I don’t really care and…”
Zane’s lips actually hurt from how hard he was grinning.Ok, so maybe he missed Bailey a little, but only because the kid walked himself into the funniest of situations.He really was a walking catastrophe.Maybe, deep down, Zane enjoyed that.
“You shouldn’t be driving like this,” Bailey tacked on while rubbing the back of his neck.
“No.Thanks.”
“Oh?And so you’re going to drive home looking ready to pass out?”
“I can walk if it troubles you so much,” Zane said in a teasing tone that only made Bailey’s red cheeks expand to his whole face, then his neck, then his ears.Zane hated that he found it cute.
Bailey pouted.“You’re annoyingly stubborn.”
“Not the first time I’ve heard that.”
“You can at least come up and rest for a bit, then head home later.It’s not just you on the road.”
Zane couldn’t deny that Bailey had a point there.He hated when the kid made sense.It felt wrong, like he was suddenly thrown into the upside down.
He glanced over Bailey’s shoulder towards the exit.Then he gazed upon the boy waiting for his response, bottom lip trapped between his teeth.His glasses sat crooked on his nose, which somehow added to the overall cute aura.Seeing those green eyes staring up at him with an almost hopeful expression made Zane cave.Damn, he was getting soft.Was he just too tired?He hoped he was just tired and it had nothing to do with Bailey.
“Fine, so long as I actually get to sleep,” he said.
