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When I walked out of my house, Destri was still waiting at the sidewalk, holding his head with one hand and staring back the way we came. "You can come in," I said. The coast was clear.

He turned to me and hopped up the three steps to the front porch. "Thanks for helping me out," he muttered, looking at the ground. He must be embarrassed for having me to help him. That's just Destri. He doesn't like help at all. Everything he can do himself. So I ignored it and just held the door for him. He stepped inside the enormous hallway and waited at the foot of the stairs for me to tell him where to go. "All the way up and to my bathroom," I said, walking ahead of him anyways. I heard him follow. The big house was an embarrassment. And the other people in it. But luckily they weren't home yet.

A sudden rush to my head caused me to stop. Ow... It hurts really bad... Destri rammed into my back. "Hey..." I gripped my head. It'll pass, it's nothing. "Are you ok?"

I breathed out heavily and began walking again. "Yeah. I'm fine. It's nothing." It's fine. Just ignore it.

So we continued through my bare and empty room to the bright white bathroom. "Just sit on the floor," I called back from the bathroom. "I'm sorry there isn't anything else to use." Where is that medical tape...

"No, it's ok." Rustling behind me told me he had sat down and taken off his jacket. As I got the tape and the ointment, I thought about who- what caused the wound on Destri's head. The lidless boy with the bloodred smile carved into his pale face. Jeff. He seemed nice enough. Helping me get my wallet back and preventing Rick and Destri from beating me up too bad.

When I stepped back into the empty white room, I saw Destri had removed his shirt as well. It was all bloody, and his back was bright red. I guess the blood had really been more than I thought... At least he couldn't see it. He would be so freaked out. So I didn't let it show on my face as I knelt before him and parted his hair to see the cut.

"What the-" He'd seen the bloodied shirt. I felt bad for him. It was one of his favourites that he'd gotten at a Pierce the Veil concert. "Oh my gosh... Is it really that bad?!?" His grey eyes stared into mine, searching for a giveaway.

I remained as calm as I could. But I was still so lightheaded... "No, it's not too bad. Just a little messy. It spread a bit." I dabbed at the wound gently with some tissues, and he breathed in sharply.

"Man, be careful!" He pushed my hand away roughly and glared at me.

"I'm sorry... You do it then." I handed him the tissue and grabbed a new one for his back. Jeff did all this... Maybe his motives weren't so innocent after all... As I wiped the blood gently off his back, my head started to spin with all these thoughts. I tried to stay in focus and concentrate. Why was Jeff in the woods in the first place? The more I thought about him, the more he scared me... Now everywhere I looked I saw his face. That smile. Those eyes. Staring at me. I'm sure he's watching me somewhere...

Something's not right. "Destri..." I murmured. The world is going grey... "Destri I think something's wrong. I'm feeling really lightheaded..."

He turned around and searched my head. "Did he hit you too?"

"Once. But I didn't think it did anything."

He sighed and reached up to run a finger gently through my hair, feeling for blood. "Idiot. You didn't even bother to check? Let me fix it-"

I pushed his hand back. "Just let me finish yours first, so that you're not still bleeding all over the place. My mom will kill me if she sees blood anywhere." Don't think about her. She isn't worth thinking about right now. Jeff might be. He's somewhat scary. And dangerous. So I finished putting some neosporin on his wound and taping it over with a tissue and the medical tape. As soon as I finished, I closed my eyes and just fell asleep. So tired...

But sleeping didn't do any good. The only thing it did was bring back that memory again... of me in the woods, turning to that pale monster. The tear in his face stretched so high that it showed the skin past his gums. And even though there wasn't any fresh blood, it hadn't healed. It was only scabbed over with a horrible brown and black mess. Those eyes too... The lids cut off. In my dream they were in my hand. Jeff had put them there. They were still bloody. When I turned to run from him, he was standing maybe only an inch from my face. All I could see. Staring into what felt like my soul. A bloody knife in his hand. Who's blood-

Mine. I looked down to see a gaping hole in my stomach. My blood poured out onto the knife and Jeff's white shirt and my jeans and converse and the ground, sliding down my legs... so much blood...

"Dude! Wake up! It's just a nightmare!"

My eyes shot open quickly, releasing me from my thoughts. I was panting heavily, and sweat dripped down my face. Feeling the back of my head, I found that Destri had fixed it up. It was sore to the touch. We were still in the white room. Still in my house. No, I shouldn't have fallen asleep. She'll be home any minute, and probably bringing someone with her. Destri was the only one who knew anything about the situation. Even the information I gave him was vague. But he knew enough to help me out. Enough to understand that it was serious. "Destri," I panted, the dream still running through my head, "can I please crash at your place?"

He nodded, so I stood, gripping his arm, and we headed out the door.

Jeff's carved, bloodied face and his bloodstained t-shirt still played vividly again and again in my mind.