Amnesia | Brian Quinn

Chapter Two

Brian eventually cried himself to sleep, his dampened cheeks staining against Sal's shirt. Sal was frightened to fall asleep, in case Brian were to wake up and harm himself in some way. He slipped his phone out of his pocket, messaging his wife to update her on why he hadn't returned home that night, Sal knew that she'd understand, seeing as he was there for Brian the last time he relapsed. Brian laid with his head upon Sal's legs, as he sat up against the wall. Sal peered down to his best friend, seeing the pain that he was going through. It wasn't the most pleasant of sights to see someone he cared about so broken and fragile, it pained him enough the first time this happened, let alone seeing Brian going through all of this again. Sal ran his hand through Brian's strands of hair, as he began to fidget in his slumber, Sal could tell by his persona that he was having a bad dream. Brian began to kick his legs, as he rolled from side to side, before he bolted upright, screaming.

"No, no...NO!" Brian cried, as Sal wrapped his arms around him, laying Brian back down onto his lap. Brian fought against his restraint, but knew that Sal wasn't going to give in easily. He kicked and squirmed, until finally giving up. Sal looked at him with sincerity and a slight sense of worry, it was tough for him to watch Brian crumble, let alone what he must have been going through. Brian eventually calmed down, his breathing turning into pants for breath. "I'm sorry, Sal..."

"For what, Bri?" He responded, slightly confused. Brian sat up, running a hand through his hair, as he turned to face Sal. His tree bark eyes looked around the room, as he pieced together what he wanted to say.

"For it always being you to deal with me. Go on, go home to Bryony, she needs you more than I do. I'm not worth your time..." Brian sighed, as his hand slowly crept up his forearm, his nails delicately beginning to scratch at his skin. Sal gripped onto Brian, restraining him from doing any more damage to himself, as he made his best friend look him in the eye.

"Brian, you listen to me. Don't ever apologise, it's what I'm here for, and Bryony understands deeply. She sends you all of her love, okay? We're both, along with Joe and James, here for you. We understand that you need help, and that's what we're going to give you, okay?" Sal spoke softly. Brian crossed his eyebrows, scoffing sarcastically at Sal's choice of words.

"I don't need fucking help. I'm fine!" He stood from the floor of the bathroom, storming his way into his bedroom, as Sal followed suit. Sal grabbed ahold of Brian's arm, twirling him round to face him, as he tried to pull out of his restraint.

"Look at you, Brian! You want to kill yourself, and yet you don't need help?! Are you crazy?" Sal exclaimed. Brian glared at Sal, yanking his arm out of his clasp, as he took a seat on his bed. He wrapped himself up in his bedding, before rolling to face away from Sal.

"Just fuck off, Sal. You're not helping me in the slightest here. All I need is a friend, and you're being anything but that right now." Brian muttered, causing Sal to sigh deeply. He walked to the door, taking one last look at Brian.

"Fine, I'll go, but just know that all I was trying to do was stop you from making the biggest mistake of your life. Ring me when you're over this little strop, Brian. You're right, Bryony does need me, but I stayed with you because you needed me more. You know, that's what best friends do..." Sal announced, before making his way out to his car and speeding home.

Brian remained curled up in bed, wasting the day away, as tears streamed down his face. He had pushed away the last person he wanted to – his best friend. As soon as he heard his front door close, he knew that he had lost the one person who remained by his side through anything. He realised now that Sal was only trying to help him, and what did he do? He pushed him away, like he had done with everyone else he had ever cared about. Brian was now trapped amongst his thoughts, making him hate himself more as every hour passed. His arms were completely wrecked, scar after scar being formed, wound after wound bleeding. He soaked in the sight of the blood pouring down his arm, craving more. After all, he felt that he deserved this pain after what he had done to Sal. Brian laid there in bed, listening to the eerie silence of his home, it was practically deafening; he needed to get out, he needed to escape his own mind.

**

Sal sped home, parking up on his driveway, before making his way to the front door. He unlocked the door, stepping into his home, being greeted by his wife, Bryony. She could sense that things had ended on a bad note, as Sal barely responded to her. Usually, he would be all over her, but not today, he was just about able to give her a hug. The pair of them walked through to the living room, taking a seat on the sofa, before Bryony decided to ask how things were.

"Everything okay? How's Brian doing?" She asked sincerely. Sal rolled his eyes, as he shook his head in frustration. He gripped onto her hand, squeezing it tightly, as he smiled weakly.

"He's...well, I was trying to help him, but he kicked me out. This is the worst I've ever seen him, Babe. I didn't want to leave him, in case he tried to take his own life, but he refused my help." Sal sighed, as a tear threatened to spill. He started to shake his head, as he thought of the state that Brian could be in. "He's probably taken it out on himself, and I wasn't there to stop him. Fuck, I'm the worst friend ever."

"Sal, stop it. You've done all you can to help Brian, but it's clear that he needs professional help. I know that I'm an outsider looking in, but for someone to hate themselves that much, and willing to take their own life, it's clear that he needs to see someone. There's not much else that you can do for him right now." Bryony comforted, as she cuddled into Sal. Her head rested against his shoulder, as he placed a kiss to her forehead. Even though Brian had kicked him out, Sal knew that he had to do something. He wasn't entirely sure what state Brian would be in, but he had a feeling that it was pretty bad. Sal tried to continue on with his day, but the thought of Brian kept racing around his mind. Bryony could sense that Sal's mind was preoccupied, as he seemed out of sorts. She tried to distract him for a while, but nothing seemed to work.

As evening came about, Sal received a peculiar message on his phone from Brian. He held the device to his ear, as he listened to his words. Instantly, he knew that Brian had gone out drinking to try and forget the pain he was going through, which worried Sal greatly. Throughout the message, Brian's words were slurred, and the atmosphere surrounding him appeared to be rowdy and violent, with the sounds of shouting and hollering.

"H-Hey, Sal. I just wanted to ffffucking apologise for...for earlier. But I-I went out and I'm feel...feeling gooooooood, brother. No hard feelings, okay bye, B-Bitch." Brian slurred on the phone. There was the sound of a glass smashing, before Brian abruptly hung up. Sal knew that he had to find him, as he quickly slipped his shoes on, and raced out of the door to his car. He drove to any place that sold alcohol, searching for his friend well into the night. By the time that midnight came around, Sal still hadn't managed to find Brian, and it was beginning to worry him. He had one last bar in town to visit, before he'd contact the police to start a search for the man. He parked up outside the front, immediately seeing Brian doubled over in agony. Sal was about to get out of his car, when a girl walked up to Brian, assisting him over to a nearby wall.