Hey, Y’all!
Brendan stared at the carnage surrounding him, both seeing the blood painting the walls and not seeing any of it at the same time. If he heard the footsteps coming up behind him, there was no acknowledgement. The owner of the footsteps walked up beside the catatonic man, looking at the damage that had been done in such a small space. Dexter glanced at the still silent man, back at the carnage, and back at the unresponsive man. He reached out a hand and poked him, finally getting a reaction.
Brendan sucked in a deep breath, feeling as if his heart was restarting even as his chest seized from what he was seeing.
“Did I…?”
Dexter responded with a simple, “Yes.”
“How… Why? Can this even be fixed?”
“It’s okay. You just forgot who you are. Welcome back.”
Brendan turned to stare at Dexter, “How are you so calm?”
“You’ve been lost to us for 3 days, I’ve already had my breakdown. Now it’s your turn.”
“Lost… How did I do this? What made me do this?”
“We’re not entirely sure, though we have our theories. Speaking of, the others will be eagerly awaiting our return. Shall we?”
Body shaking as he slowly came out of his shock and was trying desperately to suppress his breakdown just yet, Brendan silently nodded.
It didn’t take long for Brendan and Dexter to return to the home they shared with the other four members of their claimed family.
Finn was by Brendan’s side instantly, eyes peering at his partner’s blood-covered face in concern.
“Are you okay, Bren?”
His shakes were becoming larger and more noticeable as he shook his head no.
Finn looked at Dexter who had been joined by his partner, Cleo.
“He hasn’t had his breakdown over having been lost to us and what he did yet.”
Finn nodded and slipped his hands into Brendan’s, who grasped his tightly, needing the grounding feel of his partner’s support. Brendan’s blue eyes found Finn’s calm brown ones, finding the calm support he needed.
Finn, never taking his eyes away from Brendan’s, told the others, “We’ll be back out when Brendan has broken down and recovered.”
Leaving no room for argument, Finn led Brendan to their shared room; not that any of the others would have argued. Considering the way his free will and innocence had just been completely stripped from him, they felt that Brendan deserved all the time to come to terms with what had happened that they could afford to give him.
What exactly do you think Brendan did that has him so traumatized? How do you think someone took such control of him? Comment your thoughts below!
Crofoot Cottage 