Descent

Chapter Five

"I still say this isn't gonna help any." Edward grumbled as Riza drove him to his psychiatrist appointment.

"And I still say it will and you aren't wriggling your way out of it." Riza insisted, for the fifth time that day.

"Ugggghhhh, whatever." Ed muttered. They parked outside the building and Edward pulled his coat tighter around himself as he stepped out of the car. The day was cold and drear, the sky a miserable grey and and rain cold and chilling. He hurried to get under the verandah and waited impatiently for Hawkeye, who seemed completely unfazed by the rain, to follow. She showed him into the building and talked to the clerk while he waited in the waiting room, unconsciously tapping his foot. He wanted this whole business to hurry up an end, because he saw absolutely no point to it. When Riza came back, she told him to go up two flights of stairs, then enter room three forty one. He gaped at her, everything she said immediately flying in one ear and out the other. She sighed and showed him the way, walking a few paces ahead oh him. Because he didn't have to concentrate on directions, he took the time to look around at his surroundings. The walls were plain white -boring, and so was...well...everything else. There wasn't anything remotely interesting about the place. It almost felt like a mental asylum. Like he was in a padded room, just without the actual padding. At one point, he wasn't paying enough attention to where he was walking and tripped on a stair. His reflexes weren't fast enough and he hit his face on a stair before he could brace himself with his arms, and his head hit the stair with a sickening meaty smack. He saw stars behind his eyes and he groaned, squeezing his eyes shut so that the headache could pass a little.

The pain was incredible. It was amazing how much being hit in the head with a brick could hurt. Even blinded, he could see stars behind his eyes. Envy hit him with the brick again, and he cried out as it struck him on the chest. Envy shuffled to one side and Edward whimpered pathetically, tensing his body and bracing for the impact of another brick. It struck him again, this time hard in the stomach, and Edward pitched forward and vomited blood through his gag. The hot liquid slashed up the side of his face and soaked through the thin material quickly and it made it sticky and disgusting. Another crack on the back -no brick this time, just his hand- and Ed wanted to cry. He could hear Envy's cruel laughter as he hit him with another blow to the ribs. He bit back a scream and instead whimpered again, cringing from Envy's now constant blows to the back. It became to much and he screamed, but Envy just laughed. Tears welled up in his eyes. He couldn't take this abuse any more. He couldn't take the pain. It had to end, one way or another. It had to. Envy hit him hard on the back of the head, and he lost his connection to everything, embracing the swirling black mass of unconsciousness.

And then the light came back, and he remembered where he was. The psychiatric appointment. He'd tripped on the stairs and hit his head. Riza was holding him in her arms, and he was grateful. She said nothing, smiling and helping him to his feet. He could feel the colour rising in his cheeks, and bowed his head, allowing his bangs to cover most of his face, so that it could only be seen from a frontward view. As they ascended the stairs to the second floor, he realized something. As much as he hated it, despised the very idea of it, he really did need this God damn psychiatrist. Even just admitting it to himself, the shattered remains of his almost non-existent pride took a serious blow, and shattered just a little bit more. He sighed and Riza's eyes flickered in his direction, but not for any more than a few seconds.

They reached the end of the stairwell and went through the door to the second floor, and walked down the corridors, counting the door numbers as they did so. Once they reached door three forty one, Edward froze, breathing in deeply. He changed his mind. He didn't need this. This was the last thing he needed, some random stranger knowing all of his secrets! He was fine, he could go! He didn't need this! He spun on his heel and went to walk back where he came from, but Riza's hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and squeezed tight. He didn't look at her, just hung his head and tried to become invisible. "It'll be okay Ed." She said, and Edward decided that he ought to at least give it a go. He wouldn't tell the guy anything, he would just go in, sit down and pretend to listen to whatever ramblings the old geezer had in store for him, and make Riza happy in the process. She would be happy as long as he gave it a go, he reasoned. It didn't have to work. It wouldn't, he knew that much; there were just some things you couldn't forget. But he would try, because she wanted him to. He had a lot of respect and gratitude for his new roommate, and he was causing her enough inconveniences already, so he might as well let her boss him around a bit to try make up for it.