꧁ h o m e ꧂

𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠

TW: NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE, BLOOD, HOSPITALS, MENTION OF SUICIDE
(Heavy hitter for only the second chapter I'm sorry)

Shayne stared out the window at the open plains below. Winter was winter and that meant snow for most of the Midwest, but whenever there was a gap in the clouds he got lost in how expansive the middle of America was, and tried to fathom how people could live so far away from mountains, or the ocean.

The 4 hour flight felt like 12. He couldn't bring himself to plug in his headphones or watch a movie so he sat in silence. The flying metal tube was full of people but he'd never felt so alone. He found himself constantly wiping at his face, his hand wet with tears that he didn't know were there. At one point he thought he heard the stewardess ask if he wanted water but he physically couldn't turn his head to answer. 3 and a half hours in, the seatbelt light turned back on, signalling their descent into Atlanta. Shayne didn't even recall when it had turned off in the first place.

When they landed he grabbed his bag and somehow found himself outside of the airport. He ordered an Uber to Damien's hotel, a half hour drive away in Peachtree City, the name of which he'd scrolled back to find in his texts. Sarah had apparently tried calling the hotel to alert them of what was going on, but they thought it was a prank and hung up on her. Assholes. He hoped him being there in person with Damien's information would be enough proof to let him in.

The ride was long, mostly because of the knot that hadn't left his stomach, and that was now getting worse with each minute that passed as he got closer and closer to his friend. As they pulled into the front drive of the hotel, he muttered a quick 'thank you' before hopping out and tipping the guy way too much. He burst through the front doors and speed-walked to the front desk. I can't believe I'm actually here, he thought, taking as deep of a breath as he could.

"Hi. My name is Shayne, and my best friend is named Damien Haas. He checked in to room 214 on the 22nd and he's in trouble, I'm here to help him. He hasn't left the room in over a week.."

The lady at the desk saw that he was crying, even though he didn't notice. She looked at him sympathetically, not really knowing what to say, before typing something into the computer and adjusting her glasses. "Okay honey, let me see here... how do you spell his last name?"

"H-a-a-s."

"Alright now... and you said he was in room 216, right?"

"214 ma'am."

"Oh 214, okay... hm... well it appears that they put a note in here about his 'do not disturb' sign being on the door for a long time, the cleaners haven't been able to get in."

"That sounds right." He sniffed and wiped at his face.

"Alright baby, you seem like you're telling the truth. I'm not usually allowed to let visitors up without guest permission but, what the hell, here..." She grabbed a swipe card and handed it to him. "My supervisor went home half an hour ago. This is between us. Elevator to the second floor, then hang a right and the room is on the left."

Shayne thanked her over and over as he practically ran to the elevator, pressing the up arrow button as soon as he got in. He got off and made his way down the hall, finding the room. He couldn't believe he was here. The entire trip was a complete blur - he couldn't remember the flight, or the Uber ride, or who had even driven him to the airport in the first place. All he knew was that his best friend in the entire world was behind this door and he didn't know if he was dead or alive.

He swiped the card, pushing it open when the light turned green to find... a disaster, more or less. The sheets from the bed were balled up in the corner of the room, vomit and old blood stained the carpet, clothes were everywhere. It smelled like a decaying body but he could hear heavy, forced breathing coming from around the corner, the bathroom light casting a harrowing beam through the room. It was a horror movie come alive.