The Five Stages of Grief (Insane AU) SKEPHALO

Chapter 6: Acceptance (Part 2)

•Earlier That Day•

The basement door opened and out came a cheery Darryl. The sight of him so happy made the tiniest of smiles pull onto my lips.

"Hey, Zak! Do you want to watch a movie?"

I nodded as he handed me the remote, signaling that he wanted me to pick something.

For the first time since I had been in the basement, I obliged. The television flicked on to Netflix and I clicked one of the first movies I saw.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Darryl's smile brighten.

"If I'm stuck here forever, I might as well try to start enjoying it more."

A deep trance overcame me as everything clicked in my brain. "I'm never going to get out of here," I whispered under my breath.

"What was that?" Darryl asked, running a hand through his light brown hair. One of his brows raised in a slightly worried manner and I felt fear and guilt mix around in my gut.

"Nothing, sorry..."

Darryl let it go quickly. He sat next to me on the air mattress a bit closer than he normally would. We both sat cross-legged, our knees barely touching on the sides. As much as I wanted it to bother me, it didn't.

Instead, it sent a tingling sensation from my knee directly to my stomach. I felt like throwing up butterflies.

We stayed like that for an hour as a bland movie played in the background. I was too focused on the weird feelings my heart was having to actually pay attention to the drama happening on screen.

"Am I having a stroke?" I wondered.

All of a sudden, a loud crash came from upstairs. I looked to Darryl quizzically only to find a worried expression on his face.

He stood abruptly, ignoring my concerns in order to investigate. "I'll be right back, Zak."

I tilted my head at him but didn't say anything. He took slow steps up the stairs and hesitantly opened the door, peeking his head out. After a few seconds, his face went pale and the door was shut frantically. As my worries grew, he fumbled to switch off the lights before quietly racing down the stairs.

"Turn the TV off!" He warned in a hushed voice. I picked up the remote and did as I was told, complete fright taking over my mind.

"Why? What is it? What's going on?" I searched his face for answers but found only concern and fear.

He halted in front of me. "Someone is inside," Darryl frowned, grabbing me by the arm to stand me up. "I-it's a robber I think. I saw a g-gun."

The room instantly felt much colder
"What do we do?" I asked, jerking the ends of my sleeves over my hands for comfort.

Darryl's worried brows seemed to relax a bit. A thought crossed my mind that he may have thought I would start screaming to attract the robber's attention.

I didn't really want to get shot, though, so that escape plan was out of the question.

"Take Rocco and sit in the corner very quietly. I'll take care of this." Darryl's face tightened and unease filled the air.

Hesitantly, I nodded and went to the corner, sitting Rocco beside me and holding his collar in case he tried to run.

Darryl crept to the end of the stairs in a crouched position. I could barely see him now in the darkness of the basement shadows.

We waited for what felt like years. I was beginning to think the robber had left the house already.

Just as I opened my mouth to talk to Darryl, the door at the top of the stairs opened slowly and a figure stepped in.