Stay, Forever

5

With each passing day, George finds himself slowly giving up. He feels complacent, in a way, because he's not quite sure what more he can do. He's still alive, but sometimes he thinks that's worse than Dream finally ending things.

He hates that he's just sitting around and waiting for his life to come to an abrupt end, but that's the harsh reality of the confusing situation he's in. And so he spends each day trying to clear his head. He tries not to think about Karl and how he's probably already planning out his Thanksgiving visit to George, and he tries not to think about what method Dream is planning on using to kill him.

He's sitting on the edge of the bed, because even though he doesn't know how many days he's been here or what time it is, he's starting to get used to being there. He can hear heavy footsteps trudging down the stairs, and he knows exactly how many steps it'll take before the door to the room swings open.

His eyes flicker up at the same time the door makes it's all too familiar creaking sound, and George sighs dejectedly as he meets Dream's empty gaze. Since the blundered attempt at escape, it's been Dream coming down to his room every day. He brings George's food and water, and he shows up every now and then to lead him to the bathroom down the hall. And while George finds Dream to be more nerve-inducing than Sapnap, at least he knows that Dream is the more level-headed of the pair.

He only looks at Dream for a moment, and then his eyes drop down towards the floor in front of him. Dream's footsteps echo through the room, and George instinctively holds both hands out in front of him as Dream approaches.

As Dream bounds his wrists together, George tries not to get too caught up on the dark stains that cover Dream's boots. But it looks an awful lot like dried blood, and unease settles low in his stomach as he pries his eyes up and see's scratches on the side of Dream's face. None of that was there a few hours earlier, and George feels nauseous as he tries not to picture the horrible things that have happened since he last saw Dream.

George shakes his head once as Dream tightens the knot keeping his wrists together, and tries to distract himself with a question, "can I take a shower?"

Dream doesn't answer, but his brow furrows as he examines the rope tied around George's wrists. George exhales sharply, and then makes a show of tugging against the rope as he says, "trust me, Dream, it's tight enough. I'm not going anywhere."

Dream takes a step back, pushes a hand back through his hair and asks, "you want to take a shower?"

George nods like its obvious, but Dream only stares at him like he can't fathom why George would bother asking.

"I've been down here for days," George tries, "you can at least have the decency to let me shower."

He watches the rise and fall of Dream's chest as he takes a slow breath, and he knows that Dream is thinking it over. But there's a shower in the bathroom down the hallway, and George isn't stupid enough to try and escape a second time. He's sure that Dream knows that.

"Fine," Dream finally answers with a sigh, "get up."

George rises to his feet, and Dream leads him out of the room and towards the bathroom. He pushes the door open and then moves to the side to let George in. George turns, extending his hands out towards Dream as he says, "I can't exactly shower with my hands tied together."

Dream pulls at the knots and the rope falls to the floor, and George moves to close the door between them. But a large hand lands against the weathered wood, and George glances up as Dream states, "I don't think so, George."

"But you said I could shower," George tries to protest, but Dream is already shouldering past the door and into the cramped space of the bathroom. He motions towards the small window that sits high up in the wall, and he answers, "I know what I said, but I'm not an idiot. You've already tried to get away once, there's no reason for me to trust you now."