Chapter Text
I glance up from the inescapable trap of Instagram reels that I’ve found myself roped into for the 100th time today- or…tonight? Day versus night is subjective, and this timeline doesn’t exist. At least, that’s what I dream of.
My finger swipes across the screen automatically, as if my attention is set on a 3 second interval.
I’m partially awoken from my vegitative state by Alpha Beta.
“This is pathetic.” He comments through his containment cylinder. I feel his stare searching my face for any ounce of feeling.
“Damnit, I was just starting to enjoy the silence…” I mutter under my breath, not looking up from my phone.
“I have also enjoyed not having to hear your piercing, nasally whine. But even so, this has to stop at some point, Reagan.” I let out a breathy groan in response.
“You’ve been like this for what, ten days? Th-this is pathetic! I mean, he’s just a guy!” Out of my peripherals, I catch his automated eyes roll back, along with his janky mechanical arms thrown in exasperation.
My gaze finally rips off of my screen and jumps up to him. My jaw clenches hard.
“No…no he’s not…” I mutter, pushing my anger to the back of my skull. My hand automatically stretches out to grab the half empty beer bottle on the table nearby. I take a swig before slamming it back down, letting my cold gaze pierce into him.
I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not ready.
“You missed another call The Robes today…I’m surprised. I didn’t take you for a quitter.”
“Shut up..” My teeth bite back the anger filling the back of my throat.
I don’t have enough energy to get up and power him off- I bite my lip until the pain pulsates around my mouth. He stays quiet. The silence tightens around my chest with each passing minute. His eyes seem to search the room for an answer, before his dim face lights up, as if he’s somehow found one.
His jaw rigidly opens before I’m able to gather the strength to choke his ugly ass.
“Ya know, you’re the one who made him forge-“
My nails dig into my palms, drawing blood.
A sharp sting burns through my temples.
“Because I love him, you fucking asshole! I looked through every single timeline! Every! Goddamn! One! And NONE OF THEM! NONE OF THEM WORKED!” Each word echos through the house. I find myself standing up, pounding my fist onto the coffee table. I can just barely see him clinging to the back wall of his containment structure, wearing a facial expression outside of his coded reactions; one that I can’t quite decipher. My reflection from his glass chamber blurs into focus. Stained sweatpants, unbrushed hair thrown into a loose bun, the black hoodie
mom gave to me when I was 12… God, I look just like- dad… I glance down at the dents made in the wood surface, feeling my jaw unclench. Tears sting through my eyes, the air around me running out of oxygen. My body collapses halfway onto the couch, pushing the air out of my lungs with each pathetic sob.
Despite a lack of emotional intelligence, he’s smart enough to shut his mouth for a few hours.
…
My attention is ripped off of the “Friends” season 1 finale by the sound of my front door unlocking, a harsh reminder that the world I tried to escape from still exists.
A small line of warm yellow light slips through the bottom gap of my front door, crawling across the littered floor, scaling over mountains of empty takeout boxes and beer bottles, inching up the worn couch I lay on. My eyes squint as the inevitable piercing burn in my eyes approaches, yet I still can’t shake the apathy from my mind enough to care. I turn my head in towards the couch cushions as the blinding light expands, the smell of White Claw and sweat interwoven into the fabric blending together as I press my face deeper into the pillow.
The small cracks of vision I have through my cover flood with a light that has become foreign to me.
I couldn’t bring myself to care who was breaking in, yet what was left of my decaying mind still manages to drunkenly stumble around the subject. Maybe the Police? Eh, good. I’m in prison here, already. Maybe a cell mate would be nice company. Oh God, it’s probably Norman- that bastard… I already told him that I submitted those plumbing bill forms weeks ago! It’s not that hard, just refresh the page, dumbass!
“You have visitors, it seems…” Alpha Beta remarks.
Wait- visitors? Plural? How did he-? My thoughts are cut off halfway by the sound of a—
-dog..barking..? I can’t help but whip my head out from underneath the pillow baracade, the cement fusing my body to the couch ripping apart as I pull myself up. I peer down to the floor to see a golden retriever, dressed in 4 little blue dog shoes, clumsily sprinting towards me from the door, its wagging tail gliding over the mounds of dirty laundry. Just as I begin to question who’s dog this is, and more importantly, how a dog managed to unlock a door, an unshakable feeling of familiarity washes over me as it jumps onto my lap to lick my face. Alpha Beta flashes me a disturbing, knowing grin. I yank the dog off of my cheek by the collar, trying to catch a glimpse of the golden tag that jingled around it. My eyes squint through the burning light, before launching open as its name comes into focus. “Airbud”.
Is this-?? No… no, that dumb thing was just an anomaly! We got rid of it, I-I watched him vaporize! Unless…
A quiet, cautious voice floated in; one that made the world around me screech to a halt.
“Reagan?”
…
“Brett…?”