"Don't Open That Door," Foo Fighters RPS, Dave/Taylor, Taylor/Chris, Kurt/Dave, Rated Adult17+
"Don't Open That Door"
Chapter 14: No Way Back
See previous chapters for info and warnings.
52,428 words so far
Chapters in this post: 14-15
Chp 14: No Way Back
Word Count: 4,472
Warnings: This chapter has a character in it afflicted with Alzheimer's and descriptions of childhood sexual abuse. If you have personal trigger issues with these things, you may want to tread lightly. There are also parts where Nicky treats Dave very roughly and makes threats of rape and violence. There is also a homophobic slur.
Kurt put a steadying hand on Dave's arm. "Dave, it's okay. We're safe. No one knows that I stole Len's keys. They won't look for us in here."
Still panting with fear and effort, Dave took the time to look around. They were in a bedroom that seemed to have been decorated by an older woman, with pastel-colored bedsheets and afghans over the furniture, and family pictures on the bedside table and windowsill. The grandmotherly woman sat near the bed in a wheelchair, a quilt over her lap and glasses low on her nose as she squinted at the TV guide from the newspaper. A bowl of steamy hot soup sat on a TV tray beside her wheelchair.
With a hairbrush in his hand, Nicky walked out of the attached bathroom.
Dave winced and gasped, holding Taylor tightly to him.
Kurt put up a hand, trying to calm him. "It's just a memory. They aren't aware that we're here. This happened long ago for Nicky; we weren't there when it happened, right?"
Unconvinced, Dave could not take his eyes off Nicky. He was near tears. "He wants to steal Taylor's body. He's trying to kill him."
Nicky began to brush his grandmother's hair, gently and slowly. "Do you want a bun or a ponytail today, Grandma?"
"Umm... ponytail is fine, dear."
Kurt pointed at them. "See? They have no idea we're here. Watch." Standing up, he shook his butt in the grandmother's face. "Woohoo, Grandma, kiss my ass. Kiss it."
Neither Grandma nor Nicky reacted. It was like he wasn't there.
Dave couldn't help but giggle.
"See? It's a memory. It already happened." Kurt put his arms under Taylor. Dave recoiled; he wasn't ready to hand his precious cargo over to anyone yet. "I'm not trying to take him, only to support you both. You're upset, okay? Let's put Taylor on the bed together."
"The grandmother's bed?"
"Yes. No one will ever know he's there. I promise." He nodded toward Nicky. "This memory loops at the end of their conversation. I've watched it several times. No one ever goes near the bed." When Dave was still reluctant to move, Kurt added, "Boddah and I will look after Taylor. We won't let Nicky get him."
Looking around the room, Dave noticed Boddah for the first time. The reaper stood in a corner near the bed, hood covering his face, barely moving and not saying a word. As creepy as the bird-thing was, Dave trusted him to protect them. He stood and let Kurt help him put Taylor on the grandmother's bed. Taylor immediately rolled over on his side and cuddled into the pillow.
Done with Grandma's hair, Nicky sat in a chair near her and started to crush oyster crackers into her soup.
"What kind have we got today?" Grandma asked.
"Chicken and Rice," Nicky replied.
"Mmm!" Grandma exclaimed, and rubbed her tummy. "I love soup!"
"I know you do." Nicky grinned.
"Leave me some whole ones," she said, indicating the crackers.
"Okay." Nicky threw a few complete oyster crackers into the bowl. "What's good on TV tonight?"
"Hmm." Grandma considered the book quietly.
Exhausted, Dave flopped down on the floor. "Kurt, I don't know what to do. How do I protect Taylor? We can't hide forever."
Kurt swallowed hard. He knew Dave wasn't going to like what he had to say. "You have to wake Taylor up."
"Me? How do I do that? I've already tried."
"There's something you have to say to him."
"What?" Dave asked.
Kurt swallowed again. He looked worried, stricken. "I can't tell you."
"Huh? What do you mean, you can't tell me?"
Sighing, Kurt rolled his eyes in frustration. "I'm not allowed to influence events that much. I've already done more than I should have. You have to figure it out for yourself. You have to break the spell, Dave."
Dave looked at Taylor, then at Kurt. "Please, if you don't tell me, Taylor may die."
There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Dave... if you don't figure this out... you'll all die," Kurt said.
Silent for a moment, Dave considered this, pushing his hair behind his ears and holding it there for a few seconds. "It's my nightmare, isn't it?" He lowered his hands. "If I can't wake Taylor up, it will come true. Nicky will kill me and Chris and then shoot Taylor in the head. No one will ever know the ghost was here. My family, Taylor's, everyone will think Taylor murdered his friends and then committed suicide. Our families will be destroyed."
Kurt nodded, tears standing in his eyes. "You can figure it out, Dave. I know you can."
His brow furrowed in a troubled expression, Taylor suddenly murmured, "Dave, he's got a knife."
Dave sighed, hearing that. What must it be like to be trapped in your own body, where you're not currently in control, helpless to do anything but watch what the controlling entity does with it? Taylor was having nightmares about what was about to happen to them all, what could happen, and couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. No, that responsibility had been left up to Dave. "Kurt, please tell me. Our lives depend on it."
Shaking his head, Kurt sat on the end of the bed and leaned his elbows on his knees, starting to curl in on himself. "It's not allowed. Please, if I could tell you, I would." He put his face in his hands.
Dave got on his knees in front of Kurt and touched his hands, trying to coax him out of his need to put up a wall, a cocoon. "Kurt, I don't want to die."
"Do you think I want you to die?!" Kurt sobbed, crying now. "I care very much about you and your family. Your youngest child is two! Taylor's youngest is two. If you both died, they wouldn't remember you. I don't want that to happen! If I could tell you, I would!"
At first, Dave didn't understand why Ophelia's age mattered so much. Then he realized what it was. When Kurt died, Frances was nearly two. She had no real memories of her father. His heart broke, and he moved in between Kurt's legs and took him in his arms. Kurt wept on Dave's shoulder, in his hair, against his cheek.
Nicky began to feed his grandmother her soup.
Kurt wept for a bit while Dave stroked his back. Eventually, he calmed down, sniffling, and hiccuped. Dave smiled fondly; the little hiccup was cute. He leaned in and kissed Kurt on the lips.
Now Kurt smiled. "Your moustache tickles me when we kiss."
They grinned at each other, sharing a moment. "Kurt, when we survive this, when, not if, I want to come back here and talk to you one last time. We need closure. You... you died without us getting a chance to talk." Dave swallowed a heavy lump of emotion in his throat. "We need to talk when we're not under so much pressure."
Nodding, Kurt said, "Okay," then leaned forward and whispered in Dave's ear.
Dave's eyes widened. "Really? Are you sure?"
Kurt nodded again. He looked at Taylor. "To figure out how you break this spell, you need to think about how much Taylor means to you. He's very important to you. Your emotional connection to him even predates your second marriage. What have you never told him?"
Dave sat back on his knees and gave it some thought.
For the first time since Dave had entered the room, Boddah moved, leaning slightly forward. "Auck, cronk cronk."
Kurt raised a quieting hand. "I'm not saying any more, Boddah. I know you don't want me to interfere."
The grandmother's bowl of soup had almost been emptied. "What are we watching on TV tonight, Grandma? Have you decided?"
She considered the TV book once more. "I'd like to watch 'Tales of Tomorrow.'"
"What channel does that come on?" Nicky held the other side of the book so he could read it.
"It comes on ABC."
"Oh... Grandma, I don't think that show is on TV anymore. I don't think it's even on in repeats."
"What's a repeat?"
Gently, patiently, Nicky asked, "What year is it, Grandma?"
"1952. What a silly question."
A troubled look passed over his face for a few seconds, then he pushed it down. "How could I be here if it's 1952, Grandma? Who am I?"
"You're my grandson, Nicky."
"Right," Nicky said with a smile of relief. "Was I born in 1952?"
"No, you were born in 1960." She seemed to realize what he was saying. Her eyes filled with tears. "Nicky, what year is it?"
"It's 1992." He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "I'm sorry you're having a hard time with this tonight. It's okay, I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere."
Grandma began to cry. "What's... what's your sister's name?"
"Ericka. And my brother is - "
"Robin!" she cried triumphantly. "His name is Robin."
"Very good, Grandma!" He patted her hand.
Watching all of this, Dave scoffed. "I don't understand how he could have been so gentle and caring with his grandmother and at the same time, murdering men in his spare time."
"Isn't that how all serial killers get away with it for so long?" Kurt remarked.
Grandma leaned over now and kissed Nicky's fingers where they held her hand. "No matter what, I will never forget my Nicky. I promise. My perfect grandson who takes care of me."
He looked like he might cry in reaction. "Of course you won't, Grandma." Nicky lightly squeezed her hand.
Dave scoffed again. "'Perfect grandson.' This had to be shortly before he was caught by the police. His trial happened in 1993. I wonder what Grandma thought about him after finding out he was a killer."
"Dave, you don't understand." Kurt motioned toward Nicky and his grandmother. "She never did find out. She was dying of Alzheimers. Her son, Nicky's dad, kept the truth from her to spare her. And Nicky was the only person she never, ever forgot. She asked for him up until the day she died." He nodded to himself. "This is a very significant memory, Dave. We can use it against him."
"Like how we distracted Nicky with the sex memory?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"Just tell me what you want to..." Dave suddenly grinned and started to giggle. He put his hand to his chest. "I'm sorry, something's - "
"...tickling me!" Dave said out loud, waking up on the chaise lounge. He found Oogly standing on his chest, licking up the dollop of chili. "Oogly..." he scolded lightly.
She continued to lick it up greedily. Once it was gone, Oogly jumped down to the floor and started eating out of the overturned chili bowl.
"Oogly, don't do that. You'll make yourself sick."
The cat ignored him. The stolen treat was too attractive.
All at once, Dave realized where he was and what was happening to him. He'd left Taylor's soul with Kurt and Boddah. Oh God, please keep him safe. Where was Nicky now? Was he asleep?
Looking around, Dave saw Chris asleep and no sign that Nicky had been back down there since he caught them in the act of trying to escape. He listened for a while, very carefully. At first, all he heard was Chris breathing deeply and Oogly eating out of the bowl. But over several agonizing minutes, Dave realized he could hear music playing, somewhere. It was a song he knew, but he couldn't place it just yet.
Then the music got louder as the source of it approached the kitchen. It was "Do Re Mi," Kurt's last demo. The other sound he heard wanted to rip his heart out until he figured out what it really was. It sounded like Taylor sobbing uncontrollably, like something very bad and heart wrenching was happening to him. But that wasn't Taylor crying.
It was Nicky.
The blood in Dave's veins turned to ice when the sobbing turned into a scream of anguish and something made of glass broke. This was followed by the sound of one glass after another being hurled against the floor and the walls while Nicky screamed in anger.
Chris jerked awake at the sound of the first glass breaking. As the sounds escalated, he looked at Dave, his face growing terrified, and panted with fear.
The only good thing about the noise is it got Oogly to stop eating out of the chili bowl. She cried, "Meow!" and ran and hid under the couch.
The sounds eventually stopped. Nicky probably ran out of glasses, Dave mused. He had time to hope that Nicky didn't break any of the special dishes in the breakfront when he came butt-bumping down the stairs, too drunk to walk them. Nicky got close to the bottom before stopping. He had Dave's cell phone in his hand, and somehow he had figured out how to play music on it, probably by poking at the buttons that looked like they would do something. Dave had a few Nirvana songs, the more recently released ones, on his phone, and Nicky must have discovered them.
The entire time, Nicky fixed Dave with an accusatory death stare. That couldn't be good.
Obviously, he'd been drowning his sorrows; he smelled like alcohol. Nicky held the phone up, looking at it, listening for a moment, and then began to sob heavily again. This time, it did tear Dave's heart out to hear it and see it because it was Taylor's eyes doing the crying, Taylor's face crumpled in anguish and grief and Taylor's body shaking with sobs. "He had so much more music to give!" Nicky wailed. He put his fists over his eyes like a child and wept openly.
Dave held back the tears, swallowing them until they hurt to do so. How many times had he thought those exact words?
Part of the way through the sobs, the focus changed. Nicky looked at him again and cried, "Why did Kurt betray me? Why did you betray me? Do you know how much that hurts? Why did you have to do that? Why?"
Dave wondered if he could talk his way out of this one. "Nicky, you gotta understand that we didn't mean to betray you. No one likes to be chained or tied down for hours. We just needed some relief."
"And then you'd come right back and let me cuff you back up without an argument, right? Is that what you want me to believe?"
"I would have done whatever you told me, just like I did when I took my shower."
"You ran my head into the headboard and tried to escape!" Nicky yelled, laughing bitterly through his tears. No, Dave was not making it better. He stood up on the stairs. "You think I'm a fucking idi... ot, you..." Nicky wretched, putting a hand to his stomach. He dropped Dave's phone, which somehow triggered it to stop playing the song, and dove for the nearest place he could find to throw up. That turned out to be the big vase next to the stairwell.
Both Dave and Chris cringed. "That's a Lalique," Dave mumbled.
Once he was done, Nicky weakly slid to the floor and lay there breathing hard for a while, holding his stomach.
Dave tried again. "I'm sorry we hurt you so bad, Nicky. You're sick. Come here and let me comfort you. There's just enough room for you on the edge of the chaise lounge next to me."
Nicky wailed from his place on the floor. "I want to believe you so bad, Dave. But you're lying! You don't care!"
Somehow, Dave had to convince him he was sorry. Their lives depended on it. "Please, Nicky, it's killing me to see you like this. Please come here and let me comfort you."
Dragging himself to his hands and knees, Nicky crawled, sobbing, to the side of the chaise lounge. He managed to pull himself up and get his body in the narrow space next to Dave before laying his head on the side of his chest. Draping the top arm over him, Nicky cuddled against Dave and renewed his sobbing.
Dave leaned over and kissed Nicky's head. He rubbed his cheek into his hair. "I'm sorry we hurt you. I never wanted to make you this upset."
The sobs wracked his body. "You don't want to be around me, just like my dad. He never gave me a chance either."
Would it be better to lie, or be more truthful? "You haven't even given me a chance to know you, Nicky. In time..."
"No, you want me to go away, just like him." Nicky took a deep breath and howled, crying harder. "My dad never loved me. He hit me and pushed me aside and nothing I ever did was good enough. I got a medical degree. I became a nurse! But was it good enough for him?!"
Dave had expected this kind of thing in Nicky's past. A person didn't become this twisted without a tragic past. He rubbed Nicky's head with his cheek and chin. "I'm so sorry he treated you like that. I would have been proud of you."
As Nicky continued, he started to cry so hard that Dave couldn't understand everything he was saying. The parts he understood were, "When I was a kid, my dad caught me with a boy from down the street. We were curious and we touched each other. My dad, he lost it. He got this broom and he held me down... and he... it hurt, it hurt... the broom handle... 'Is this what you like, faggot? Is this what you like?' That was his favorite word for me when he was angry."
Dave meant it when he said, "I'm so sorry those things happened to you, Nicky. No child should have to suffer such abuse."
"Do you really mean that?"
"Yes. Of course I do."
With a keening whine, Nicky hugged Dave tight and cried with his face buried in his chest. "I love you I love you I love you," he murmured.
Dave again rubbed his cheek into Nicky's hair. If he could get back at least some of his trust, maybe they could escape the threat of the nightmare, the threat that Nicky could murder them all.
Dave's hope for taking back some control of this situation fell with Nicky's next demand, a demand he made when he'd calmed down a little. "Dave, I'm still not entirely sure that you're not playing me here. I want you to prove it to me."
"Oh... how?"
His voice grew cold. "Tell me what you did with Taylor."
Dave paused for a long time. Finally, he realized he just had to be honest. Nicky wouldn't believe anything else. "I won't. You have to realize that I love Taylor, and have for a very long time. I'm not going to help you kill him so you can steal his body."
"Have you ever considered that if Taylor cared so much about you, he would have taken his body back by now?"
"No, because the statue has a spell on it that gives you the power to keep Taylor asleep. He's not capable of waking up until the spell is broken."
Nicky, suddenly angry, grabbed Dave by the hair and yanked as hard as he could manage. "How do you know so much? How?"
"Kurt." Dave winced.
"Who's feeding him information?"
Would it be dangerous to tell him about Boddah? Len already knew Boddah was there, so surely, Nicky did too. "Boddah."
"Hm. I guess I should have known that." Teasingly, Nicky kissed and nipped at Dave's neck, not letting up on his hair, holding it tightly in his fist. "I'm starting to give up on you, Dave. You're a hard nut to crack."
"I've hardly known you 24 hours yet. I told you, I need time."
"Maybe I don't want to wait any longer. Maybe I want to break you." Nicky yanked his hair again, getting in his face. "Maybe I want to hurt you like you hurt me."
Dave begged for his peace of mind, his very life. "Please don't do that, Nicky. I never wanted to hurt you so bad. I just wanted my freedom."
"Stop hurting him," Chris said, his protective inner lion coming out.
Nicky grinned, evil and vindictive. "You know what I want to do? I want to kill Chris and take you away. Take you someplace no one will ever find you."
Chris whimpered. "God, no, don't. Please." His inner lion, reduced to a mewling kitten.
"I don't have any real use for Chris, except as a plaything." He caressed Dave's stomach. "I should fuck you in front of him. Or as you'd put it, rape you." Nicky's hand followed the trail of hair down Dave's midsection to his crotch, lightly fingering the thatch of dark hair above his cock. "I can do whatever I want."
"I beg you, Nicky, don't hurt Chris."
"You're not concerned with yourself?"
"I am, but I can take being raped much more than I can take you murdering any of my friends," Dave replied.
Nicky nodded. "I suppose I can understand that. You can make it all end right now. Just tell me what you did with Taylor."
Dave laughed lightly; he couldn't help it. "I just told you, I don't want my friends murdered. I already know what you intend to do with Taylor once you find him."
Taking his hand out of Dave's underwear, Nicky leaned up on one arm and lightly shrugged. "Then I guess we're at a standstill."
"I guess we are."
Nicky dragged himself up off the chaise and rose up on shaky legs. "I'm gonna let you sleep on it. In the meantime, we'll be looking for Kurt and Taylor. If we have to find them without your help... well, you won't like what happens." With a disturbingly confident smile, he turned and made his way up the stairs, carefully and slowly, on unsteady feet.
Before he spoke, Dave waited until he couldn't hear Nicky moving anymore. "Boy, that Nicky is a weird drunk. Starts out all weepy and depressed and ends up mean."
"How can you joke like that?" Chris said, his voice cracking.
Dave let out a hysterical-sounding laugh. "I'm Dave Grohl. It's what I do."
Chris pouted for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry. I should have known you were worried." He sighed, then swallowed hard. "Dave, what are we going to do? He really means everything he just said, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, Chris. I'm sorry. Nicky means every bit of it. He tried to kill Taylor's soul. He thinks he can kill Taylor and take over his body." Dave held back threatening tears. "Nicky feels we've all betrayed him. He put a hit out on Kurt too."
"Is Kurt hiding with Taylor?"
"Yes. I think Nicky's already figured that much out. I'm not going to say any more than that out loud in case anyone's listening." He looked at the stairs, wondering if Nicky was up there, still and silent, pretending to be somewhere else in the house. "When you fall asleep, try to resist going to the place with the white bed. It's not safe now. If you do go there, see if you can find a safe memory to hide in." Dave said this last part very quietly, so even Chris could barely hear him.
Chris whispered, "The ice cream truck?"
Nodding, Dave said, "That sounds good."
"Dave, how come I'm no longer a spare? At first, Nicky said he was keeping me alive in case he needed someone else to possess. Now I'm just a 'plaything.' What changed?"
All Dave could do was shake his head. "I guess he thinks it's only a matter of time until he finds Taylor, and gets to keep his body permanently."
"I guess so." His voice shaking, Chris asked, "So what now?"
Dave lowered his voice again. "I have to wake up Taylor so he can take his body back."
Surprised, Chris said, "Why you?"
"I don't know, it has something to do with the spell keeping Taylor asleep. I have to say something to him that I've never said."
"What does that mean?"
Dave closed his eyes and laid his head back on the chaise lounge. "I'm going to do everything I can to figure it out, but... Chris, I don't know." Again, he choked back tears. Everyone's lives were in his hands. "I've done all I can to take control of this situation, but I can't control Nicky. He's loony tunes. He murdered people, for Christ's sake. Why did I ever think I could seduce him into letting us all go?"
"Don't doubt yourself, Dave. You'll figure it out." Chris tried to smile for him; Dave sounded like he was starting to lose it. "You're a very persuasive guy."
"I hope you're right, buddy."
Dave didn't want to fall asleep for anything after Nicky's threats, but his need to try to make sure Kurt and Taylor were okay got him to allow exhaustion to take him. He and Chris slept fitfully that night.
*****
Chapter 15: Too Far Gone to See
Chp 15: Too Far Gone to See
Word Count: 3,728
The mindscape was now a very different place.
The white bed, or what would have remained of it, was gone. The space was now filled with doors of all colors, doors to various memories. Doors that seemed to lead to nowhere.
Until you opened them.
Trying to stay quiet, Dave wandered, hid, among them. He wasn't even sure where it would be safe to go. Would he lead Nicky and his demons right to Kurt and Taylor if he went to that memory? Probably.
Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the sounds of Nicky's posse. Distant calls, roars, screams... they were looking for two of the most important people Dave had ever known. Could he protect them if they were found?
The imp made another appearance, peeking at Dave from around a door. "I'm going to make a bunch of noise. They'll come and find you," it snickered.
"Don't you dare!"
"Dave."
The whisper almost scared him right out of his skin. He looked in its direction and saw Chris poking his head out of a door as green as grass. Chris motioned for him to share the memory with him, to rest in its safety.
Dave turned to the imp. "Screw you, Fugly!" He gratefully went through the door.
The imp stomped its foot, but did not try to follow him.
The door led out of a house and into the bright sunshine of summer. Dave smelled fresh cut grass. He took a long sniff of sunshine and front lawns and breathed out with relief. They would have a brief respite from the current horror of their real lives.
Smiling boyishly, Chris walked toward the street, where a large crowd of kids had gathered around an ice cream truck. When he got close, he transformed into his child self. Dave blinked. Little Chris got his ice cream bar and headed back, and as he got close to Dave, he became an adult again. Dave realized he could see the child version of Chris walking away with some of the other children, and the adult version still stood before him. "Interacting with your own memories is surreal," Chris said, grinning and licking his ice cream.
"That was pretty fucking weird, yeah," Dave laughed. He looked at Chris's ice cream. "What, you didn't get one for me?"
"Oh..." Chris looked at the kids, went over, and stole his brother's ice cream. The boy went on licking at the empty air as if the ice cream cone was still there.
Dave started laughing. Chris brought the ice cream back to him. "You can't really change anything about your memories, but you can fuck with them a little."
"Thanks." They took their ice creams and went back to Chris's porch to sit down and eat them.
Dave was amazed he could actually taste an ice cream cone he got from a memory, especially one that wasn't his. Chris's memory looped; the kids ran to the ice cream truck and bought their ice creams again. "This is weird, man."
"Tell me about it."
After he had licked any sticky ice cream drips off his fingers, Dave sat back and sighed. "I hope Taylor and Kurt are okay."
"We could go check on them, couldn't we?"
"No. Nicky and his goons are looking for them. If they see where we go, we could lead Nicky right to them."
"Oh God. I never thought of that." Chris put a comforting hand on Dave's shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, Dave. We're going to figure this out."
A short beat of time passed and Dave put his hands over his face and burst into tears.
"Dave?" Chris moved closer, putting his arm around his shoulders.
"What if I can't figure it out? Nicky's gonna kill us all."
"No, no..." Chris pulled him into a hug. Dave hugged him back, crying into his shoulder. "Don't think like that. You're Dave Grohl. This is what you do, right? You figure shit out."
Dave laughed a little, but continued crying until he couldn't cry anymore. Chris held and rocked him through it, occasionally patting his head. "I'm going to be there to help you through this, okay? I mean, where am I going to go? I'm tied down to a couch."
The next morning, Dave was awakened by Nicky talking to Chris, giving him the speil about what would happen if he acted up. "Remember, this gun will be on you the whole time. If you ever want to see your wife and kids again, you better do what I say."
"What's going on?"
Nicky turned his tired, bloodshot blue eyes on Dave. He looked like hell. Hungover and sad, his facial hair scraggly and untrimmed. "You guys need the bathroom, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"Well?" He waved the gun dismissively. "Chris gets to go first."
Chris, having been unshackled and untied, stretched his legs gratefully. He went up the stairs first and was gone for a good half hour. Dave fretted and worried the whole time. What if Chris tried something and it went wrong?
He breathed a sigh of relief when they filed dutifully down the stairs, Chris back in the same clothes but with wet hair. It wasn't like he had brought a change of clothes with him just to check on Dave and Taylor. "I hope you at least put on clean underwear," Dave joked, trying to keep the mood light for his and Chris's sake.
"I did. They're yours."
"I'm surprised you don't have to hold them up."
Nicky said nothing as he chained Chris back up to the bar, then tied his legs down to the couch. He turned to Dave. "Now you."
On the way to the master bath, Nicky reminded him what would happen to Taylor if he made any risky moves. Dave noticed the difference between the threats he made toward Chris and the threats he made when he wanted Dave to be compliant. He knew how to read people and exploit their weaknesses. But Dave no longer believed anyone was safe.
When they passed through the kitchen, Dave noticed all the broken glass had been cleaned up. He had Nicky's obsessive cleaning to thank for that.
After using the bathroom, he took advantage of the chance to shower. Might as well be clean when the police found him with his throat slit. Dave made another one of those hysterical laughing sounds at the thought.
"What's so funny?" Nicky called over the shower door.
"Nothing," Dave called back. "Just having scary thoughts. You didn't hear the hysteria?"
After a pause, Nicky replied, "You should be scared."
Dave believed him. He had to do something to turn this whole thing around.
Desperate, when he got out of the shower, Dave gave Nicky an eyeful by ruffling a towel through his hair but doing nothing to cover his wet, naked body. Nicky looked, watching the water drip onto the floor from every inch of Dave, and stared longingly. "I don't know what would be more fun, fucking you in front of your friend while you beg me to stop or fucking you gently while you beg me not to stop."
"I like the second one." Dave would do anything to gain back Nicky's trust at this point, to avoid the nightmare coming true.
"If only I believed you." Nicky threw another towel at him. "You're just trying to get me to stop being mad at you."
"Maybe I am. But wouldn't you still enjoy it?" Dave used the second towel to rub his crotch under the guise that he was drying off, knowing that even Nicky knew he was trying to be coy, seductive. Nicky watched the towel move around the bobbing cock and licked his lips.
"What would you do to make it all up to me?"
"I'd let you fuck me like you wanted to on Sunday."
"You'd go that far to save Taylor?"
The question surprised him; Dave stopped moving. "Would it save Taylor?"
Now Nicky became coy. "I don't know. Why don't you lay down on the bed and give me a little taste?"
Hopeful, Dave dried himself off as much as he could and put the towel on one end of the bed. He laid across the end with his wet hair on the towel and waited to see what Nicky meant by "a little taste." If this could possibly save Taylor, he'd do it, and he wouldn't cry this time.
A mischievous grin on his face, Nicky sat on the bed nearby and held the gun to Taylor's chin. "Remember, don't try to touch me this time."
"Okay."
"Masturbate," Nicky commanded.
Dave nodded, and wrapped his hand around his cock. Nicky watched while Dave stroked himself, eyes closed, dick growing in hardness every minute. He started off with light, soft moans of pleasure, but they grew in volume the more excited he got. "Ohh... ohhh... ohhhh Nicky."
His eyes widened, and he laughed. "You do lay it on thick, don't you, Grohl?"
Dave wasn't sure this was working. He kept stroking himself anyway, hoping he could turn Nicky on. His fist pumped up and down faster. His breath quickened. "Ahhh... ahh... Nicky... God, Nicky..." Dave clutched the sheet in his left fist.
Nicky grinned at him, clearly not buying that Dave was thinking of him at all, but enjoying the show anyway. "Are you my eager little whore, Dave? Hm?"
"Uh huh."
"If I asked you to fuck yourself with a big ol' dildo, would you do it?"
"In a second... ohh..."
"If I shoved my dick in your mouth, would you willingly suck it?"
"I would."
"Ohh, you are so hot. Now cum all over yourself." Nicky waited, excited to watch Dave play this whole thing out.
Dave did, putting on the dirtiest show he could dream up. He rubbed his cock as fast as he could until he was crying out with a pleasurable orgasm, directing the cum all over his chest. One string of it hit his chin. Dave kept pumping, riding the orgasm out and moving his hips in time with his fist. He ran his free hand through the cum, rubbing it across his skin, and put a wet finger in his mouth, sucking the cum from it. "Mmm... mm..." he crooned. It was a performance not even he knew he was capable of.
Grinning with amusement, Nicky took advantage of the moment by leaning forward and taking hold of Dave's head with both hands. He licked the cum off Dave's chin and then kissed him, a hungry, dirty kiss. Dave did not resist or try to overpower him; he showed only submission, hoping it would work to earn back Nicky's trust.
When the kiss was broken, Nicky leaned back and was instantly on guard. "Dave, you are an absolute delight. All I have to do is threaten Taylor and you willingly become my manwhore. I love it."
That didn't sound promising. Dave took the other towel and began to clean any remaining evidence of what he'd just done off his chest. "Are you still going to hurt Taylor?"
"Probably, yeah. I haven't decided yet."
If Nicky hadn't been in Taylor's body, Dave would have leapt on top of him at that moment and wrung his neck. "You bastard."
Nicky snickered.
A few minutes later and he had Dave back in a pair of boxers and chained to the chaise lounge. Chris knew something bad had happened; he could tell by the disturbed, crestfallen look on Dave's face. "Dave? You okay?"
Before Dave could say anything, Nicky spoke for him. "Oh, your buddy Dave just tried to play me. I know the only one he really cares about is Taylor. But I'm going to fuck all that out of him over time. He put on a show for me that got me pretty hard. You wanna see?" Nicky unzipped and unbuttoned Taylor's jeans, taking out his hard cock and rubbing it. Eyes shocked and wide, Chris looked away. Nicky threw in a few moans to make his own show better. "You still like to see this, Chris? You said Taylor looked so hot when he played with himself."
"God, please leave Chris alone."
"Dave can't wait his turn." Nicky climbed on top of him, straddling Dave's midsection with his knees. Nicky pushed the jeans down off his ass and wiggled it, looking back at Chris. "You still like this ass, Chris? You still wanna fuck it?" He reached back and slapped one butt cheek.
"Pleeease, stop torturing my friend. You're killing me," Dave begged.
"It's all about you, isn't it?" Nicky took fistfuls of Dave's hair in both his hands. "Open your mouth, or I'll rape Chris in front of you."
That made him mad. Dave started to say, "God, you don't have to make threats like - " but Nicky filled his mouth, shoving his dick deep into his throat. Dave made unprepared choking noises.
Chris looked, shocked at the sound. "Stop hurting him!"
"Oh, shut up, Chris." Nicky eased the cock out a bit, instructing Dave to, "Breathe. Breathe through your nose. Thaaat's it. Easy, baby, easy." He slid his dick back in slowly, giving Dave time to suck it instead of choke on it. "Ohhh, that's good. You're sooo good to me, Davey."
"You're a horrible monster!" Chris said, close to tears.
"Ii~ii kno~ow," Nicky crooned. He slowly fucked Dave's mouth, floating on the intense feeling. "I can't help but be mean when people break my heart."
Dave did as Nicky wanted, taking his punishment. If he physically hurt Nicky by biting him, he'd be hurting Taylor. If he tried to resist, Nicky might take it out on Chris. Dave willingly allowed the forced blowjob, using his tongue to make it feel even better, and tried to think of Taylor. Taylor, who would never ever hurt him like this.
Nicky lost some of the control over how good it felt; he stopped pulling Dave's hair and cradled his head in his hands instead. "Oh Dave... oh Dave..." He panted, hips moving toward and away, toward and away. "It feels so good. I love you... I love you..."
Shortly after, he came in Dave's mouth.
Nicky eased himself out of Dave's tired jaw and rocked back onto his haunches, sitting on Dave's midsection. He gently, lovingly kissed Dave, holding his face again, and Dave did not resist. Until the end, he would keep trying to manipulate Nicky into letting them all live.
"Why, why do you reject me one minute and please me like that the next? Can't you understand how much I love you, want you, need you? Dave..." Nicky held his face and rubbed their heads together, placing small kisses on Dave's ears, neck, nose, wherever he could. "Why do you hurt me?"
"I told you, Nicky, I need time."
He growled loudly in reaction. "Fine. Is this really what you need?" Nicky reached into his pocket and took out the folding utility knife usually kept in a kitchen drawer. With a determined look, Nicky unfolded it open.
Horrified, Dave stammered, "What are you doing?"
Nicky began to carve into Taylor's arm.
Both Dave and Chris gasped. "Stop it! Stop hurting him!" Dave cried.
Ignoring them, Nicky continued, gritting his teeth as he drew letters into Taylor's skin. Blood dripped onto Dave's chest, the chaise lounge, and Taylor's clothes. He carved five letters into the arm, and showed it to Dave.
YOURS
"You see? This is how much I love you. I could belong to you and you to me if you'd only open your heart."
Dave could not speak at first. He stared at the arm in horror, not only because of Nicky's sick willingness to hurt himself for "love" (and, unfortunately, Taylor), but because of what this meant.
...that word carved into his chest, and the one carved into Hawkins' arm...
It was the nightmare. No matter what Dave did, they continued to barrel towards it.
MINE. YOURS.
Words failed him further when his phone, still sitting on the floor near the bottom of the stairs, began to ring.
Nicky fixed his pants and got up, casually retrieving the phone. Blood dripped from his arm to the floor. He looked at the phone and sighed. "It's your wife again. She can leave a message, can't she?"
Dave swallowed and finally spoke. "Yeah." It was more of a croak than a word. He swallowed again. "Will you please go stop that bleeding?"
Nicky stared at the phone, transfixed. "Okay." He slowly went up the stairs.
Dave relaxed a little when he heard the water running. Truthfully, he didn't have much reason to.
"Dave, that was really scary," Chris remarked.
"THAT was really scary? As compared to all the normal things Nicky's done?"
Nicky came back a few minutes later. He had stopped the bleeding, but had not bandaged the red, angry wounds. Strangely, he was still staring at Dave's phone.
"Nicky? You okay?"
"Your wife left you three messages," he said, in a daze. "Your kids talked on them. 'Hi Daddy. We love you. We miss you.'" Nicky swallowed; the motion clicked in his throat. "They sound cute."
Something was wrong. Something was really wrong. Alarm bells were going off in Dave's head. "Nicky, what's the matter?"
When Nicky looked at him, he could see it written all over his face. Just like that, the nightmare was happening. "I'm sorry, Dave." Nicky let out a small sob. "I don't think this is going to work."
He turned and went up the stairs.
Dave felt the panic constricting his chest, making it hard to breathe. "Oh shit. Oh shit, shit, shit, Kurt, help me."
Chris looked up. "What's wrong?"
Dave didn't have to answer him. He knew something was up when Nicky came back with a butcher knife in his hand.
Tears ran from Nicky's eyes. He sniffled and tried to smile. "Those phone calls made me realize that the way I want to handle this will never work. You have a wife... kids... Taylor too... they simply won't leave us alone. We can't hide from them forever. Chris would only complicate things. If I took you away, your wife would look for you. The money would eventually be cut off. She would never stop, because you're the father of her children. They would never stop asking for their daddy."
Babbling in fear, Dave said, "Nicky, please, whatever you're thinking of doing, we can work this out, it doesn't have to end this way. We can somehow make it work."
Nicky shook his head. "You know I'm right. When we're all dead, our souls will merge, and then we can be together forever. No one will stand in our way." He looked at his reflection in the knife. "It will be easier that way, Dave, you'll see."
"What?" Chris looked from Nicky to Dave.
Taking a step toward him, Nicky said, "I'll make it as quick as I can. And I'll do you first, my love, so you don't have to watch Chris die."
A look of absolute horror and fear completely took over Chris's face, and he began to scream. "No! Nooooo! I want to see my wife and kids again! I want to see my wife and kids again!" He struggled violently to free himself.
Dave, time is up! Kurt's voice screamed in his head. Tell Taylor how you feel! Tell him everything, even the things you don't want to say out loud!
Dave groaned. He finally knew how to break the spell. Nicky walked toward him with the knife. "Taylor, listen to me. Please hear me. I love you. I have been in love with you since your overdose, but I could have loved you romantically since you were Oh. If you had just told me, it could have been you and me back then. I would not have kept you out of the band because we had sex. I felt an instant connection to you when we played that Rush song together. You're one of my closest soul mates. I want you to be with me forever.
"I wouldn't trade my children for anything, and I know you wouldn't either, but I can't deny the fact that if you had told me you were Oh, our lives could have been very different. I love Jordyn and I don't want to hurt her, but if you asked me to leave her, God help me, I would do it. I can't spend another day not being with you. I want us to explore a relationship, a romantic relationship, you and me." Those words about his marriage, they hurt so much to say, but they also felt liberating, like ultimate truth.
Nicky had sat down on the edge of the chaise lounge. He didn't seem to hear what Dave was saying, lost in a trance. As he sobbed and raised the knife to Dave's neck, working up his nerve to go through with it, a thought fleeted across Dave's mind - the homicide detective had this part wrong. He was going to be the one to die first. "Taylor, I want us to explore everything we can make of our lives together, but we can't do anything if you don't wake up! Taylor, please, wake up!"
From his hiding place in the grandmother's bed, Taylor gasped and opened his eyes.
Notes: I feel like I should apologize to Jordyn Grohl after this chapter. Sorry, sorry, it's just fiction. ^_^;;
On to Chps 16-17
Masterpost
Chapter 14: No Way Back
See previous chapters for info and warnings.
52,428 words so far
Chapters in this post: 14-15
Chp 14: No Way Back
Word Count: 4,472
Warnings: This chapter has a character in it afflicted with Alzheimer's and descriptions of childhood sexual abuse. If you have personal trigger issues with these things, you may want to tread lightly. There are also parts where Nicky treats Dave very roughly and makes threats of rape and violence. There is also a homophobic slur.
Kurt put a steadying hand on Dave's arm. "Dave, it's okay. We're safe. No one knows that I stole Len's keys. They won't look for us in here."
Still panting with fear and effort, Dave took the time to look around. They were in a bedroom that seemed to have been decorated by an older woman, with pastel-colored bedsheets and afghans over the furniture, and family pictures on the bedside table and windowsill. The grandmotherly woman sat near the bed in a wheelchair, a quilt over her lap and glasses low on her nose as she squinted at the TV guide from the newspaper. A bowl of steamy hot soup sat on a TV tray beside her wheelchair.
With a hairbrush in his hand, Nicky walked out of the attached bathroom.
Dave winced and gasped, holding Taylor tightly to him.
Kurt put up a hand, trying to calm him. "It's just a memory. They aren't aware that we're here. This happened long ago for Nicky; we weren't there when it happened, right?"
Unconvinced, Dave could not take his eyes off Nicky. He was near tears. "He wants to steal Taylor's body. He's trying to kill him."
Nicky began to brush his grandmother's hair, gently and slowly. "Do you want a bun or a ponytail today, Grandma?"
"Umm... ponytail is fine, dear."
Kurt pointed at them. "See? They have no idea we're here. Watch." Standing up, he shook his butt in the grandmother's face. "Woohoo, Grandma, kiss my ass. Kiss it."
Neither Grandma nor Nicky reacted. It was like he wasn't there.
Dave couldn't help but giggle.
"See? It's a memory. It already happened." Kurt put his arms under Taylor. Dave recoiled; he wasn't ready to hand his precious cargo over to anyone yet. "I'm not trying to take him, only to support you both. You're upset, okay? Let's put Taylor on the bed together."
"The grandmother's bed?"
"Yes. No one will ever know he's there. I promise." He nodded toward Nicky. "This memory loops at the end of their conversation. I've watched it several times. No one ever goes near the bed." When Dave was still reluctant to move, Kurt added, "Boddah and I will look after Taylor. We won't let Nicky get him."
Looking around the room, Dave noticed Boddah for the first time. The reaper stood in a corner near the bed, hood covering his face, barely moving and not saying a word. As creepy as the bird-thing was, Dave trusted him to protect them. He stood and let Kurt help him put Taylor on the grandmother's bed. Taylor immediately rolled over on his side and cuddled into the pillow.
Done with Grandma's hair, Nicky sat in a chair near her and started to crush oyster crackers into her soup.
"What kind have we got today?" Grandma asked.
"Chicken and Rice," Nicky replied.
"Mmm!" Grandma exclaimed, and rubbed her tummy. "I love soup!"
"I know you do." Nicky grinned.
"Leave me some whole ones," she said, indicating the crackers.
"Okay." Nicky threw a few complete oyster crackers into the bowl. "What's good on TV tonight?"
"Hmm." Grandma considered the book quietly.
Exhausted, Dave flopped down on the floor. "Kurt, I don't know what to do. How do I protect Taylor? We can't hide forever."
Kurt swallowed hard. He knew Dave wasn't going to like what he had to say. "You have to wake Taylor up."
"Me? How do I do that? I've already tried."
"There's something you have to say to him."
"What?" Dave asked.
Kurt swallowed again. He looked worried, stricken. "I can't tell you."
"Huh? What do you mean, you can't tell me?"
Sighing, Kurt rolled his eyes in frustration. "I'm not allowed to influence events that much. I've already done more than I should have. You have to figure it out for yourself. You have to break the spell, Dave."
Dave looked at Taylor, then at Kurt. "Please, if you don't tell me, Taylor may die."
There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Dave... if you don't figure this out... you'll all die," Kurt said.
Silent for a moment, Dave considered this, pushing his hair behind his ears and holding it there for a few seconds. "It's my nightmare, isn't it?" He lowered his hands. "If I can't wake Taylor up, it will come true. Nicky will kill me and Chris and then shoot Taylor in the head. No one will ever know the ghost was here. My family, Taylor's, everyone will think Taylor murdered his friends and then committed suicide. Our families will be destroyed."
Kurt nodded, tears standing in his eyes. "You can figure it out, Dave. I know you can."
His brow furrowed in a troubled expression, Taylor suddenly murmured, "Dave, he's got a knife."
Dave sighed, hearing that. What must it be like to be trapped in your own body, where you're not currently in control, helpless to do anything but watch what the controlling entity does with it? Taylor was having nightmares about what was about to happen to them all, what could happen, and couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. No, that responsibility had been left up to Dave. "Kurt, please tell me. Our lives depend on it."
Shaking his head, Kurt sat on the end of the bed and leaned his elbows on his knees, starting to curl in on himself. "It's not allowed. Please, if I could tell you, I would." He put his face in his hands.
Dave got on his knees in front of Kurt and touched his hands, trying to coax him out of his need to put up a wall, a cocoon. "Kurt, I don't want to die."
"Do you think I want you to die?!" Kurt sobbed, crying now. "I care very much about you and your family. Your youngest child is two! Taylor's youngest is two. If you both died, they wouldn't remember you. I don't want that to happen! If I could tell you, I would!"
At first, Dave didn't understand why Ophelia's age mattered so much. Then he realized what it was. When Kurt died, Frances was nearly two. She had no real memories of her father. His heart broke, and he moved in between Kurt's legs and took him in his arms. Kurt wept on Dave's shoulder, in his hair, against his cheek.
Nicky began to feed his grandmother her soup.
Kurt wept for a bit while Dave stroked his back. Eventually, he calmed down, sniffling, and hiccuped. Dave smiled fondly; the little hiccup was cute. He leaned in and kissed Kurt on the lips.
Now Kurt smiled. "Your moustache tickles me when we kiss."
They grinned at each other, sharing a moment. "Kurt, when we survive this, when, not if, I want to come back here and talk to you one last time. We need closure. You... you died without us getting a chance to talk." Dave swallowed a heavy lump of emotion in his throat. "We need to talk when we're not under so much pressure."
Nodding, Kurt said, "Okay," then leaned forward and whispered in Dave's ear.
Dave's eyes widened. "Really? Are you sure?"
Kurt nodded again. He looked at Taylor. "To figure out how you break this spell, you need to think about how much Taylor means to you. He's very important to you. Your emotional connection to him even predates your second marriage. What have you never told him?"
Dave sat back on his knees and gave it some thought.
For the first time since Dave had entered the room, Boddah moved, leaning slightly forward. "Auck, cronk cronk."
Kurt raised a quieting hand. "I'm not saying any more, Boddah. I know you don't want me to interfere."
The grandmother's bowl of soup had almost been emptied. "What are we watching on TV tonight, Grandma? Have you decided?"
She considered the TV book once more. "I'd like to watch 'Tales of Tomorrow.'"
"What channel does that come on?" Nicky held the other side of the book so he could read it.
"It comes on ABC."
"Oh... Grandma, I don't think that show is on TV anymore. I don't think it's even on in repeats."
"What's a repeat?"
Gently, patiently, Nicky asked, "What year is it, Grandma?"
"1952. What a silly question."
A troubled look passed over his face for a few seconds, then he pushed it down. "How could I be here if it's 1952, Grandma? Who am I?"
"You're my grandson, Nicky."
"Right," Nicky said with a smile of relief. "Was I born in 1952?"
"No, you were born in 1960." She seemed to realize what he was saying. Her eyes filled with tears. "Nicky, what year is it?"
"It's 1992." He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "I'm sorry you're having a hard time with this tonight. It's okay, I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere."
Grandma began to cry. "What's... what's your sister's name?"
"Ericka. And my brother is - "
"Robin!" she cried triumphantly. "His name is Robin."
"Very good, Grandma!" He patted her hand.
Watching all of this, Dave scoffed. "I don't understand how he could have been so gentle and caring with his grandmother and at the same time, murdering men in his spare time."
"Isn't that how all serial killers get away with it for so long?" Kurt remarked.
Grandma leaned over now and kissed Nicky's fingers where they held her hand. "No matter what, I will never forget my Nicky. I promise. My perfect grandson who takes care of me."
He looked like he might cry in reaction. "Of course you won't, Grandma." Nicky lightly squeezed her hand.
Dave scoffed again. "'Perfect grandson.' This had to be shortly before he was caught by the police. His trial happened in 1993. I wonder what Grandma thought about him after finding out he was a killer."
"Dave, you don't understand." Kurt motioned toward Nicky and his grandmother. "She never did find out. She was dying of Alzheimers. Her son, Nicky's dad, kept the truth from her to spare her. And Nicky was the only person she never, ever forgot. She asked for him up until the day she died." He nodded to himself. "This is a very significant memory, Dave. We can use it against him."
"Like how we distracted Nicky with the sex memory?"
"Something like that, yeah."
"Just tell me what you want to..." Dave suddenly grinned and started to giggle. He put his hand to his chest. "I'm sorry, something's - "
"...tickling me!" Dave said out loud, waking up on the chaise lounge. He found Oogly standing on his chest, licking up the dollop of chili. "Oogly..." he scolded lightly.
She continued to lick it up greedily. Once it was gone, Oogly jumped down to the floor and started eating out of the overturned chili bowl.
"Oogly, don't do that. You'll make yourself sick."
The cat ignored him. The stolen treat was too attractive.
All at once, Dave realized where he was and what was happening to him. He'd left Taylor's soul with Kurt and Boddah. Oh God, please keep him safe. Where was Nicky now? Was he asleep?
Looking around, Dave saw Chris asleep and no sign that Nicky had been back down there since he caught them in the act of trying to escape. He listened for a while, very carefully. At first, all he heard was Chris breathing deeply and Oogly eating out of the bowl. But over several agonizing minutes, Dave realized he could hear music playing, somewhere. It was a song he knew, but he couldn't place it just yet.
Then the music got louder as the source of it approached the kitchen. It was "Do Re Mi," Kurt's last demo. The other sound he heard wanted to rip his heart out until he figured out what it really was. It sounded like Taylor sobbing uncontrollably, like something very bad and heart wrenching was happening to him. But that wasn't Taylor crying.
It was Nicky.
The blood in Dave's veins turned to ice when the sobbing turned into a scream of anguish and something made of glass broke. This was followed by the sound of one glass after another being hurled against the floor and the walls while Nicky screamed in anger.
Chris jerked awake at the sound of the first glass breaking. As the sounds escalated, he looked at Dave, his face growing terrified, and panted with fear.
The only good thing about the noise is it got Oogly to stop eating out of the chili bowl. She cried, "Meow!" and ran and hid under the couch.
The sounds eventually stopped. Nicky probably ran out of glasses, Dave mused. He had time to hope that Nicky didn't break any of the special dishes in the breakfront when he came butt-bumping down the stairs, too drunk to walk them. Nicky got close to the bottom before stopping. He had Dave's cell phone in his hand, and somehow he had figured out how to play music on it, probably by poking at the buttons that looked like they would do something. Dave had a few Nirvana songs, the more recently released ones, on his phone, and Nicky must have discovered them.
The entire time, Nicky fixed Dave with an accusatory death stare. That couldn't be good.
Obviously, he'd been drowning his sorrows; he smelled like alcohol. Nicky held the phone up, looking at it, listening for a moment, and then began to sob heavily again. This time, it did tear Dave's heart out to hear it and see it because it was Taylor's eyes doing the crying, Taylor's face crumpled in anguish and grief and Taylor's body shaking with sobs. "He had so much more music to give!" Nicky wailed. He put his fists over his eyes like a child and wept openly.
Dave held back the tears, swallowing them until they hurt to do so. How many times had he thought those exact words?
Part of the way through the sobs, the focus changed. Nicky looked at him again and cried, "Why did Kurt betray me? Why did you betray me? Do you know how much that hurts? Why did you have to do that? Why?"
Dave wondered if he could talk his way out of this one. "Nicky, you gotta understand that we didn't mean to betray you. No one likes to be chained or tied down for hours. We just needed some relief."
"And then you'd come right back and let me cuff you back up without an argument, right? Is that what you want me to believe?"
"I would have done whatever you told me, just like I did when I took my shower."
"You ran my head into the headboard and tried to escape!" Nicky yelled, laughing bitterly through his tears. No, Dave was not making it better. He stood up on the stairs. "You think I'm a fucking idi... ot, you..." Nicky wretched, putting a hand to his stomach. He dropped Dave's phone, which somehow triggered it to stop playing the song, and dove for the nearest place he could find to throw up. That turned out to be the big vase next to the stairwell.
Both Dave and Chris cringed. "That's a Lalique," Dave mumbled.
Once he was done, Nicky weakly slid to the floor and lay there breathing hard for a while, holding his stomach.
Dave tried again. "I'm sorry we hurt you so bad, Nicky. You're sick. Come here and let me comfort you. There's just enough room for you on the edge of the chaise lounge next to me."
Nicky wailed from his place on the floor. "I want to believe you so bad, Dave. But you're lying! You don't care!"
Somehow, Dave had to convince him he was sorry. Their lives depended on it. "Please, Nicky, it's killing me to see you like this. Please come here and let me comfort you."
Dragging himself to his hands and knees, Nicky crawled, sobbing, to the side of the chaise lounge. He managed to pull himself up and get his body in the narrow space next to Dave before laying his head on the side of his chest. Draping the top arm over him, Nicky cuddled against Dave and renewed his sobbing.
Dave leaned over and kissed Nicky's head. He rubbed his cheek into his hair. "I'm sorry we hurt you. I never wanted to make you this upset."
The sobs wracked his body. "You don't want to be around me, just like my dad. He never gave me a chance either."
Would it be better to lie, or be more truthful? "You haven't even given me a chance to know you, Nicky. In time..."
"No, you want me to go away, just like him." Nicky took a deep breath and howled, crying harder. "My dad never loved me. He hit me and pushed me aside and nothing I ever did was good enough. I got a medical degree. I became a nurse! But was it good enough for him?!"
Dave had expected this kind of thing in Nicky's past. A person didn't become this twisted without a tragic past. He rubbed Nicky's head with his cheek and chin. "I'm so sorry he treated you like that. I would have been proud of you."
As Nicky continued, he started to cry so hard that Dave couldn't understand everything he was saying. The parts he understood were, "When I was a kid, my dad caught me with a boy from down the street. We were curious and we touched each other. My dad, he lost it. He got this broom and he held me down... and he... it hurt, it hurt... the broom handle... 'Is this what you like, faggot? Is this what you like?' That was his favorite word for me when he was angry."
Dave meant it when he said, "I'm so sorry those things happened to you, Nicky. No child should have to suffer such abuse."
"Do you really mean that?"
"Yes. Of course I do."
With a keening whine, Nicky hugged Dave tight and cried with his face buried in his chest. "I love you I love you I love you," he murmured.
Dave again rubbed his cheek into Nicky's hair. If he could get back at least some of his trust, maybe they could escape the threat of the nightmare, the threat that Nicky could murder them all.
Dave's hope for taking back some control of this situation fell with Nicky's next demand, a demand he made when he'd calmed down a little. "Dave, I'm still not entirely sure that you're not playing me here. I want you to prove it to me."
"Oh... how?"
His voice grew cold. "Tell me what you did with Taylor."
Dave paused for a long time. Finally, he realized he just had to be honest. Nicky wouldn't believe anything else. "I won't. You have to realize that I love Taylor, and have for a very long time. I'm not going to help you kill him so you can steal his body."
"Have you ever considered that if Taylor cared so much about you, he would have taken his body back by now?"
"No, because the statue has a spell on it that gives you the power to keep Taylor asleep. He's not capable of waking up until the spell is broken."
Nicky, suddenly angry, grabbed Dave by the hair and yanked as hard as he could manage. "How do you know so much? How?"
"Kurt." Dave winced.
"Who's feeding him information?"
Would it be dangerous to tell him about Boddah? Len already knew Boddah was there, so surely, Nicky did too. "Boddah."
"Hm. I guess I should have known that." Teasingly, Nicky kissed and nipped at Dave's neck, not letting up on his hair, holding it tightly in his fist. "I'm starting to give up on you, Dave. You're a hard nut to crack."
"I've hardly known you 24 hours yet. I told you, I need time."
"Maybe I don't want to wait any longer. Maybe I want to break you." Nicky yanked his hair again, getting in his face. "Maybe I want to hurt you like you hurt me."
Dave begged for his peace of mind, his very life. "Please don't do that, Nicky. I never wanted to hurt you so bad. I just wanted my freedom."
"Stop hurting him," Chris said, his protective inner lion coming out.
Nicky grinned, evil and vindictive. "You know what I want to do? I want to kill Chris and take you away. Take you someplace no one will ever find you."
Chris whimpered. "God, no, don't. Please." His inner lion, reduced to a mewling kitten.
"I don't have any real use for Chris, except as a plaything." He caressed Dave's stomach. "I should fuck you in front of him. Or as you'd put it, rape you." Nicky's hand followed the trail of hair down Dave's midsection to his crotch, lightly fingering the thatch of dark hair above his cock. "I can do whatever I want."
"I beg you, Nicky, don't hurt Chris."
"You're not concerned with yourself?"
"I am, but I can take being raped much more than I can take you murdering any of my friends," Dave replied.
Nicky nodded. "I suppose I can understand that. You can make it all end right now. Just tell me what you did with Taylor."
Dave laughed lightly; he couldn't help it. "I just told you, I don't want my friends murdered. I already know what you intend to do with Taylor once you find him."
Taking his hand out of Dave's underwear, Nicky leaned up on one arm and lightly shrugged. "Then I guess we're at a standstill."
"I guess we are."
Nicky dragged himself up off the chaise and rose up on shaky legs. "I'm gonna let you sleep on it. In the meantime, we'll be looking for Kurt and Taylor. If we have to find them without your help... well, you won't like what happens." With a disturbingly confident smile, he turned and made his way up the stairs, carefully and slowly, on unsteady feet.
Before he spoke, Dave waited until he couldn't hear Nicky moving anymore. "Boy, that Nicky is a weird drunk. Starts out all weepy and depressed and ends up mean."
"How can you joke like that?" Chris said, his voice cracking.
Dave let out a hysterical-sounding laugh. "I'm Dave Grohl. It's what I do."
Chris pouted for a moment before saying, "I'm sorry. I should have known you were worried." He sighed, then swallowed hard. "Dave, what are we going to do? He really means everything he just said, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, Chris. I'm sorry. Nicky means every bit of it. He tried to kill Taylor's soul. He thinks he can kill Taylor and take over his body." Dave held back threatening tears. "Nicky feels we've all betrayed him. He put a hit out on Kurt too."
"Is Kurt hiding with Taylor?"
"Yes. I think Nicky's already figured that much out. I'm not going to say any more than that out loud in case anyone's listening." He looked at the stairs, wondering if Nicky was up there, still and silent, pretending to be somewhere else in the house. "When you fall asleep, try to resist going to the place with the white bed. It's not safe now. If you do go there, see if you can find a safe memory to hide in." Dave said this last part very quietly, so even Chris could barely hear him.
Chris whispered, "The ice cream truck?"
Nodding, Dave said, "That sounds good."
"Dave, how come I'm no longer a spare? At first, Nicky said he was keeping me alive in case he needed someone else to possess. Now I'm just a 'plaything.' What changed?"
All Dave could do was shake his head. "I guess he thinks it's only a matter of time until he finds Taylor, and gets to keep his body permanently."
"I guess so." His voice shaking, Chris asked, "So what now?"
Dave lowered his voice again. "I have to wake up Taylor so he can take his body back."
Surprised, Chris said, "Why you?"
"I don't know, it has something to do with the spell keeping Taylor asleep. I have to say something to him that I've never said."
"What does that mean?"
Dave closed his eyes and laid his head back on the chaise lounge. "I'm going to do everything I can to figure it out, but... Chris, I don't know." Again, he choked back tears. Everyone's lives were in his hands. "I've done all I can to take control of this situation, but I can't control Nicky. He's loony tunes. He murdered people, for Christ's sake. Why did I ever think I could seduce him into letting us all go?"
"Don't doubt yourself, Dave. You'll figure it out." Chris tried to smile for him; Dave sounded like he was starting to lose it. "You're a very persuasive guy."
"I hope you're right, buddy."
Dave didn't want to fall asleep for anything after Nicky's threats, but his need to try to make sure Kurt and Taylor were okay got him to allow exhaustion to take him. He and Chris slept fitfully that night.
*****
Chapter 15: Too Far Gone to See
Chp 15: Too Far Gone to See
Word Count: 3,728
The mindscape was now a very different place.
The white bed, or what would have remained of it, was gone. The space was now filled with doors of all colors, doors to various memories. Doors that seemed to lead to nowhere.
Until you opened them.
Trying to stay quiet, Dave wandered, hid, among them. He wasn't even sure where it would be safe to go. Would he lead Nicky and his demons right to Kurt and Taylor if he went to that memory? Probably.
Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the sounds of Nicky's posse. Distant calls, roars, screams... they were looking for two of the most important people Dave had ever known. Could he protect them if they were found?
The imp made another appearance, peeking at Dave from around a door. "I'm going to make a bunch of noise. They'll come and find you," it snickered.
"Don't you dare!"
"Dave."
The whisper almost scared him right out of his skin. He looked in its direction and saw Chris poking his head out of a door as green as grass. Chris motioned for him to share the memory with him, to rest in its safety.
Dave turned to the imp. "Screw you, Fugly!" He gratefully went through the door.
The imp stomped its foot, but did not try to follow him.
The door led out of a house and into the bright sunshine of summer. Dave smelled fresh cut grass. He took a long sniff of sunshine and front lawns and breathed out with relief. They would have a brief respite from the current horror of their real lives.
Smiling boyishly, Chris walked toward the street, where a large crowd of kids had gathered around an ice cream truck. When he got close, he transformed into his child self. Dave blinked. Little Chris got his ice cream bar and headed back, and as he got close to Dave, he became an adult again. Dave realized he could see the child version of Chris walking away with some of the other children, and the adult version still stood before him. "Interacting with your own memories is surreal," Chris said, grinning and licking his ice cream.
"That was pretty fucking weird, yeah," Dave laughed. He looked at Chris's ice cream. "What, you didn't get one for me?"
"Oh..." Chris looked at the kids, went over, and stole his brother's ice cream. The boy went on licking at the empty air as if the ice cream cone was still there.
Dave started laughing. Chris brought the ice cream back to him. "You can't really change anything about your memories, but you can fuck with them a little."
"Thanks." They took their ice creams and went back to Chris's porch to sit down and eat them.
Dave was amazed he could actually taste an ice cream cone he got from a memory, especially one that wasn't his. Chris's memory looped; the kids ran to the ice cream truck and bought their ice creams again. "This is weird, man."
"Tell me about it."
After he had licked any sticky ice cream drips off his fingers, Dave sat back and sighed. "I hope Taylor and Kurt are okay."
"We could go check on them, couldn't we?"
"No. Nicky and his goons are looking for them. If they see where we go, we could lead Nicky right to them."
"Oh God. I never thought of that." Chris put a comforting hand on Dave's shoulder. "It's gonna be okay, Dave. We're going to figure this out."
A short beat of time passed and Dave put his hands over his face and burst into tears.
"Dave?" Chris moved closer, putting his arm around his shoulders.
"What if I can't figure it out? Nicky's gonna kill us all."
"No, no..." Chris pulled him into a hug. Dave hugged him back, crying into his shoulder. "Don't think like that. You're Dave Grohl. This is what you do, right? You figure shit out."
Dave laughed a little, but continued crying until he couldn't cry anymore. Chris held and rocked him through it, occasionally patting his head. "I'm going to be there to help you through this, okay? I mean, where am I going to go? I'm tied down to a couch."
The next morning, Dave was awakened by Nicky talking to Chris, giving him the speil about what would happen if he acted up. "Remember, this gun will be on you the whole time. If you ever want to see your wife and kids again, you better do what I say."
"What's going on?"
Nicky turned his tired, bloodshot blue eyes on Dave. He looked like hell. Hungover and sad, his facial hair scraggly and untrimmed. "You guys need the bathroom, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"Well?" He waved the gun dismissively. "Chris gets to go first."
Chris, having been unshackled and untied, stretched his legs gratefully. He went up the stairs first and was gone for a good half hour. Dave fretted and worried the whole time. What if Chris tried something and it went wrong?
He breathed a sigh of relief when they filed dutifully down the stairs, Chris back in the same clothes but with wet hair. It wasn't like he had brought a change of clothes with him just to check on Dave and Taylor. "I hope you at least put on clean underwear," Dave joked, trying to keep the mood light for his and Chris's sake.
"I did. They're yours."
"I'm surprised you don't have to hold them up."
Nicky said nothing as he chained Chris back up to the bar, then tied his legs down to the couch. He turned to Dave. "Now you."
On the way to the master bath, Nicky reminded him what would happen to Taylor if he made any risky moves. Dave noticed the difference between the threats he made toward Chris and the threats he made when he wanted Dave to be compliant. He knew how to read people and exploit their weaknesses. But Dave no longer believed anyone was safe.
When they passed through the kitchen, Dave noticed all the broken glass had been cleaned up. He had Nicky's obsessive cleaning to thank for that.
After using the bathroom, he took advantage of the chance to shower. Might as well be clean when the police found him with his throat slit. Dave made another one of those hysterical laughing sounds at the thought.
"What's so funny?" Nicky called over the shower door.
"Nothing," Dave called back. "Just having scary thoughts. You didn't hear the hysteria?"
After a pause, Nicky replied, "You should be scared."
Dave believed him. He had to do something to turn this whole thing around.
Desperate, when he got out of the shower, Dave gave Nicky an eyeful by ruffling a towel through his hair but doing nothing to cover his wet, naked body. Nicky looked, watching the water drip onto the floor from every inch of Dave, and stared longingly. "I don't know what would be more fun, fucking you in front of your friend while you beg me to stop or fucking you gently while you beg me not to stop."
"I like the second one." Dave would do anything to gain back Nicky's trust at this point, to avoid the nightmare coming true.
"If only I believed you." Nicky threw another towel at him. "You're just trying to get me to stop being mad at you."
"Maybe I am. But wouldn't you still enjoy it?" Dave used the second towel to rub his crotch under the guise that he was drying off, knowing that even Nicky knew he was trying to be coy, seductive. Nicky watched the towel move around the bobbing cock and licked his lips.
"What would you do to make it all up to me?"
"I'd let you fuck me like you wanted to on Sunday."
"You'd go that far to save Taylor?"
The question surprised him; Dave stopped moving. "Would it save Taylor?"
Now Nicky became coy. "I don't know. Why don't you lay down on the bed and give me a little taste?"
Hopeful, Dave dried himself off as much as he could and put the towel on one end of the bed. He laid across the end with his wet hair on the towel and waited to see what Nicky meant by "a little taste." If this could possibly save Taylor, he'd do it, and he wouldn't cry this time.
A mischievous grin on his face, Nicky sat on the bed nearby and held the gun to Taylor's chin. "Remember, don't try to touch me this time."
"Okay."
"Masturbate," Nicky commanded.
Dave nodded, and wrapped his hand around his cock. Nicky watched while Dave stroked himself, eyes closed, dick growing in hardness every minute. He started off with light, soft moans of pleasure, but they grew in volume the more excited he got. "Ohh... ohhh... ohhhh Nicky."
His eyes widened, and he laughed. "You do lay it on thick, don't you, Grohl?"
Dave wasn't sure this was working. He kept stroking himself anyway, hoping he could turn Nicky on. His fist pumped up and down faster. His breath quickened. "Ahhh... ahh... Nicky... God, Nicky..." Dave clutched the sheet in his left fist.
Nicky grinned at him, clearly not buying that Dave was thinking of him at all, but enjoying the show anyway. "Are you my eager little whore, Dave? Hm?"
"Uh huh."
"If I asked you to fuck yourself with a big ol' dildo, would you do it?"
"In a second... ohh..."
"If I shoved my dick in your mouth, would you willingly suck it?"
"I would."
"Ohh, you are so hot. Now cum all over yourself." Nicky waited, excited to watch Dave play this whole thing out.
Dave did, putting on the dirtiest show he could dream up. He rubbed his cock as fast as he could until he was crying out with a pleasurable orgasm, directing the cum all over his chest. One string of it hit his chin. Dave kept pumping, riding the orgasm out and moving his hips in time with his fist. He ran his free hand through the cum, rubbing it across his skin, and put a wet finger in his mouth, sucking the cum from it. "Mmm... mm..." he crooned. It was a performance not even he knew he was capable of.
Grinning with amusement, Nicky took advantage of the moment by leaning forward and taking hold of Dave's head with both hands. He licked the cum off Dave's chin and then kissed him, a hungry, dirty kiss. Dave did not resist or try to overpower him; he showed only submission, hoping it would work to earn back Nicky's trust.
When the kiss was broken, Nicky leaned back and was instantly on guard. "Dave, you are an absolute delight. All I have to do is threaten Taylor and you willingly become my manwhore. I love it."
That didn't sound promising. Dave took the other towel and began to clean any remaining evidence of what he'd just done off his chest. "Are you still going to hurt Taylor?"
"Probably, yeah. I haven't decided yet."
If Nicky hadn't been in Taylor's body, Dave would have leapt on top of him at that moment and wrung his neck. "You bastard."
Nicky snickered.
A few minutes later and he had Dave back in a pair of boxers and chained to the chaise lounge. Chris knew something bad had happened; he could tell by the disturbed, crestfallen look on Dave's face. "Dave? You okay?"
Before Dave could say anything, Nicky spoke for him. "Oh, your buddy Dave just tried to play me. I know the only one he really cares about is Taylor. But I'm going to fuck all that out of him over time. He put on a show for me that got me pretty hard. You wanna see?" Nicky unzipped and unbuttoned Taylor's jeans, taking out his hard cock and rubbing it. Eyes shocked and wide, Chris looked away. Nicky threw in a few moans to make his own show better. "You still like to see this, Chris? You said Taylor looked so hot when he played with himself."
"God, please leave Chris alone."
"Dave can't wait his turn." Nicky climbed on top of him, straddling Dave's midsection with his knees. Nicky pushed the jeans down off his ass and wiggled it, looking back at Chris. "You still like this ass, Chris? You still wanna fuck it?" He reached back and slapped one butt cheek.
"Pleeease, stop torturing my friend. You're killing me," Dave begged.
"It's all about you, isn't it?" Nicky took fistfuls of Dave's hair in both his hands. "Open your mouth, or I'll rape Chris in front of you."
That made him mad. Dave started to say, "God, you don't have to make threats like - " but Nicky filled his mouth, shoving his dick deep into his throat. Dave made unprepared choking noises.
Chris looked, shocked at the sound. "Stop hurting him!"
"Oh, shut up, Chris." Nicky eased the cock out a bit, instructing Dave to, "Breathe. Breathe through your nose. Thaaat's it. Easy, baby, easy." He slid his dick back in slowly, giving Dave time to suck it instead of choke on it. "Ohhh, that's good. You're sooo good to me, Davey."
"You're a horrible monster!" Chris said, close to tears.
"Ii~ii kno~ow," Nicky crooned. He slowly fucked Dave's mouth, floating on the intense feeling. "I can't help but be mean when people break my heart."
Dave did as Nicky wanted, taking his punishment. If he physically hurt Nicky by biting him, he'd be hurting Taylor. If he tried to resist, Nicky might take it out on Chris. Dave willingly allowed the forced blowjob, using his tongue to make it feel even better, and tried to think of Taylor. Taylor, who would never ever hurt him like this.
Nicky lost some of the control over how good it felt; he stopped pulling Dave's hair and cradled his head in his hands instead. "Oh Dave... oh Dave..." He panted, hips moving toward and away, toward and away. "It feels so good. I love you... I love you..."
Shortly after, he came in Dave's mouth.
Nicky eased himself out of Dave's tired jaw and rocked back onto his haunches, sitting on Dave's midsection. He gently, lovingly kissed Dave, holding his face again, and Dave did not resist. Until the end, he would keep trying to manipulate Nicky into letting them all live.
"Why, why do you reject me one minute and please me like that the next? Can't you understand how much I love you, want you, need you? Dave..." Nicky held his face and rubbed their heads together, placing small kisses on Dave's ears, neck, nose, wherever he could. "Why do you hurt me?"
"I told you, Nicky, I need time."
He growled loudly in reaction. "Fine. Is this really what you need?" Nicky reached into his pocket and took out the folding utility knife usually kept in a kitchen drawer. With a determined look, Nicky unfolded it open.
Horrified, Dave stammered, "What are you doing?"
Nicky began to carve into Taylor's arm.
Both Dave and Chris gasped. "Stop it! Stop hurting him!" Dave cried.
Ignoring them, Nicky continued, gritting his teeth as he drew letters into Taylor's skin. Blood dripped onto Dave's chest, the chaise lounge, and Taylor's clothes. He carved five letters into the arm, and showed it to Dave.
YOURS
"You see? This is how much I love you. I could belong to you and you to me if you'd only open your heart."
Dave could not speak at first. He stared at the arm in horror, not only because of Nicky's sick willingness to hurt himself for "love" (and, unfortunately, Taylor), but because of what this meant.
...that word carved into his chest, and the one carved into Hawkins' arm...
It was the nightmare. No matter what Dave did, they continued to barrel towards it.
MINE. YOURS.
Words failed him further when his phone, still sitting on the floor near the bottom of the stairs, began to ring.
Nicky fixed his pants and got up, casually retrieving the phone. Blood dripped from his arm to the floor. He looked at the phone and sighed. "It's your wife again. She can leave a message, can't she?"
Dave swallowed and finally spoke. "Yeah." It was more of a croak than a word. He swallowed again. "Will you please go stop that bleeding?"
Nicky stared at the phone, transfixed. "Okay." He slowly went up the stairs.
Dave relaxed a little when he heard the water running. Truthfully, he didn't have much reason to.
"Dave, that was really scary," Chris remarked.
"THAT was really scary? As compared to all the normal things Nicky's done?"
Nicky came back a few minutes later. He had stopped the bleeding, but had not bandaged the red, angry wounds. Strangely, he was still staring at Dave's phone.
"Nicky? You okay?"
"Your wife left you three messages," he said, in a daze. "Your kids talked on them. 'Hi Daddy. We love you. We miss you.'" Nicky swallowed; the motion clicked in his throat. "They sound cute."
Something was wrong. Something was really wrong. Alarm bells were going off in Dave's head. "Nicky, what's the matter?"
When Nicky looked at him, he could see it written all over his face. Just like that, the nightmare was happening. "I'm sorry, Dave." Nicky let out a small sob. "I don't think this is going to work."
He turned and went up the stairs.
Dave felt the panic constricting his chest, making it hard to breathe. "Oh shit. Oh shit, shit, shit, Kurt, help me."
Chris looked up. "What's wrong?"
Dave didn't have to answer him. He knew something was up when Nicky came back with a butcher knife in his hand.
Tears ran from Nicky's eyes. He sniffled and tried to smile. "Those phone calls made me realize that the way I want to handle this will never work. You have a wife... kids... Taylor too... they simply won't leave us alone. We can't hide from them forever. Chris would only complicate things. If I took you away, your wife would look for you. The money would eventually be cut off. She would never stop, because you're the father of her children. They would never stop asking for their daddy."
Babbling in fear, Dave said, "Nicky, please, whatever you're thinking of doing, we can work this out, it doesn't have to end this way. We can somehow make it work."
Nicky shook his head. "You know I'm right. When we're all dead, our souls will merge, and then we can be together forever. No one will stand in our way." He looked at his reflection in the knife. "It will be easier that way, Dave, you'll see."
"What?" Chris looked from Nicky to Dave.
Taking a step toward him, Nicky said, "I'll make it as quick as I can. And I'll do you first, my love, so you don't have to watch Chris die."
A look of absolute horror and fear completely took over Chris's face, and he began to scream. "No! Nooooo! I want to see my wife and kids again! I want to see my wife and kids again!" He struggled violently to free himself.
Dave, time is up! Kurt's voice screamed in his head. Tell Taylor how you feel! Tell him everything, even the things you don't want to say out loud!
Dave groaned. He finally knew how to break the spell. Nicky walked toward him with the knife. "Taylor, listen to me. Please hear me. I love you. I have been in love with you since your overdose, but I could have loved you romantically since you were Oh. If you had just told me, it could have been you and me back then. I would not have kept you out of the band because we had sex. I felt an instant connection to you when we played that Rush song together. You're one of my closest soul mates. I want you to be with me forever.
"I wouldn't trade my children for anything, and I know you wouldn't either, but I can't deny the fact that if you had told me you were Oh, our lives could have been very different. I love Jordyn and I don't want to hurt her, but if you asked me to leave her, God help me, I would do it. I can't spend another day not being with you. I want us to explore a relationship, a romantic relationship, you and me." Those words about his marriage, they hurt so much to say, but they also felt liberating, like ultimate truth.
Nicky had sat down on the edge of the chaise lounge. He didn't seem to hear what Dave was saying, lost in a trance. As he sobbed and raised the knife to Dave's neck, working up his nerve to go through with it, a thought fleeted across Dave's mind - the homicide detective had this part wrong. He was going to be the one to die first. "Taylor, I want us to explore everything we can make of our lives together, but we can't do anything if you don't wake up! Taylor, please, wake up!"
From his hiding place in the grandmother's bed, Taylor gasped and opened his eyes.
Notes: I feel like I should apologize to Jordyn Grohl after this chapter. Sorry, sorry, it's just fiction. ^_^;;
On to Chps 16-17
Masterpost