Chasing the Demons Away
Continued from here
Why'd I have to do it? Open my big mouth and say something that sent Wesley off the deep end again?
And everything had been going so well.
"And thank you. That's probably the closest I’m ever gonna get to those pearly white gates.”
It had been meant as a compliment, a throw-away line, not some portent of doom. But as soon as I'd said it, Wesley's face had frozen in shock, and then a whole bunch of emotions had played across his face. Disbelief, anger, hurt, confusion.
"I'm sorry. Shut up..." He'd hissed, putting his balled fist up to his temple and squeezing his eyes shut, hunching over like a little kid who'd been punched in the stomach. "Shut up!"
Somehow I knew he was back to hearing them, those voices, whoever 'they' were, and was fighting not to lose control, not to slide backwards to where he'd been when I'd first seen him.
He pressed back against the headboard, his knees coming up to protect himself, I shifted out of the way to let him do that. Then I moved closer and stroked his mussed up hair, and his tense shoulders.
"Wesley, it's just us here. No one else. We're alone, safe. Come back to me, okay?" I whispered, scared that I'd gone and pushed him futher back into that shell of a broken man than he'd been before.
(Open to Wesley)
Why'd I have to do it? Open my big mouth and say something that sent Wesley off the deep end again?
And everything had been going so well.
"And thank you. That's probably the closest I’m ever gonna get to those pearly white gates.”
It had been meant as a compliment, a throw-away line, not some portent of doom. But as soon as I'd said it, Wesley's face had frozen in shock, and then a whole bunch of emotions had played across his face. Disbelief, anger, hurt, confusion.
"I'm sorry. Shut up..." He'd hissed, putting his balled fist up to his temple and squeezing his eyes shut, hunching over like a little kid who'd been punched in the stomach. "Shut up!"
Somehow I knew he was back to hearing them, those voices, whoever 'they' were, and was fighting not to lose control, not to slide backwards to where he'd been when I'd first seen him.
He pressed back against the headboard, his knees coming up to protect himself, I shifted out of the way to let him do that. Then I moved closer and stroked his mussed up hair, and his tense shoulders.
"Wesley, it's just us here. No one else. We're alone, safe. Come back to me, okay?" I whispered, scared that I'd gone and pushed him futher back into that shell of a broken man than he'd been before.
(Open to Wesley)