Save Me

Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

Retreat

[3:27 PM]

The boys sat in Namjoon’s living room reminiscing over their past memories.

Of course, there was the occasional laugh or smile, “remember when’s”, and the boys would reveal an embarrassing moment and cause the boy in question to groan and laugh, all while trying to explain. Hoseok forced a smile onto his lips, eyes still blurring like someone or something was blocking his vision. He only laughed to play it off, even drinking the beer that sat in front of him on the coffee table. He licks his dry lips, his mouth feeling drier than the desert.

Hoseok wasn’t feeling too hot.

“Hobi, are you alright?” Seokjin pressed concern, leaning closer towards the coffee table.

“I’m fine,” Hoseok’s voice cracked and he then coughs, “I’m fine.” He repeats.

Yoongi gives the group a separate glance each as a quiet gesture to leave it alone and continue with their stories. Hoseok swallowed hard, his throat dry and parched, and needing something other than a beer. He gets up, blocking out the boys’ loud laughs and heads for the open kitchen and towards the fridge.

So far, all he saw was beer, artificially flavoured fruit drinks and more, but no water.

“Hoseok,” Namjoon turns around, “instead of staring into my fridge and letting out all the cold air, why don’t you just get a glass from the cabinet and get some water from the sink?”

“P-Purified,” Hoseok swallowed again, his mouth getting drier by the minute. Namjoon shakes his head with a soft groan. Yoongi takes note of this.

“There’s some waters in the fridge in the garage,” Jimin cleared his throat, eyeing Namjoon who only shrugged, “do you want me to get you one?”

The other quickly shakes his head, “no. I can get it myself.” He makes his way towards the backdoor and into the garage. He reaches the fridge and upon opening it, he finds more beer and other types of drinks before his eyes finally find an entire case of water sitting on the bottom shelf.

“Yes, Lord,” Hoseok whispers, tearing open the packaging and pulling one out. He downed at least half of the bottle in three seconds. There’s a knock on the door frame and Hoseok turned around on his heels, Seokjin appearing with a small smile on his face.

“Are you okay?” He asks, “I was just worried something might’ve happened.”

“I’m fine,” Hoseok said, giving him a reassuring smile, then drinking another gulp of water, “I just need a few minutes alone.”

Seokjin nods, “take your time,” He walks back into the house, shutting the door softly behind him and Hoseok closed the fridge and sits down on the wooden steps, and continuing to drink from the water bottle within his hand.

His throat was still a little dry, but at least it was better than it feeling like a whole desert had taken shelter in his throat. His stomach cramped and his headache wouldn’t cease to disappear. Hoseok’s vision was still blurry, and his legs still wobbled when he walked. Why did he feel like this?

Hoseok thought back to the bottle of pills he had left over here for when he needed them, and he swallows down the rest of his water.

What if I were to just end my suffering here and now?

Hoseok finished the water bottle, throwing it in the nearby trash and carefully walking back up the steps and down the hallway leading to the living room. He stops as he overhears the boys talking amongst themselves.

“God, what the hell is wrong with him?” Namjoon runs his hands over his face.

“He’s just recovering,” Yoongi replies, drinking his share of Hennessey before skipping over Jeongguk and passing it to Taehyung, “you know, from that little episode he had yesterday.”

“Little?” Namjoon scoffs in response, “please.”

“Hey, cut it out,” Seokjin lightly snaps, “you know he’s gone through a lot and you say it like it doesn’t mean a thing.”

“Our friend nearly killed Taehyung,” He points to the bright, red-headed boy who shakes his head, “I’m sure you’re terrified, eh?”

“Namjoon, come on, he didn’t mean to,” Taehyung speaks, clearing his throat.

“He can’t help it,” Jeongguk frowns, “be a little considerate for once, asshole.”

“Now I’m the asshole—”

“Namjoon, please,” Seokjin then urges the younger male.

“Guys, come on, we shouldn’t be fighting over Hoseok’s condition…” Jimin speaks up, the group growing quiet, “but still… what if it gets increasingly… worse? Like… killing all of us in our sleep worse? I think he secretly hates us…”

Am I that bad? Hoseok thinks to himself, gripping onto the edge of the doorway.

“There’s no way—”

“Could happen. You saw what happened yesterday when he nearly cut open Taehyung’s throat,” Namjoon leaned against the arm of the couch.

“And how he was yelling about how we’re s**t friends and how he’d be better off without us,” Jeongguk then brings up, twiddling with the rings on his fingers.

“Hm… maybe he might be plotting to kill us all and we just don’t know it,” Taehyung then lightly shrugged with a hard swallow, taking a large swig of the liquor provided and setting it on the coffee table.

Seokjin believed he had nothing to do with this. Yoongi believed they were all crazy and making the poor boy look like a monster. Jimin believed he should’ve kept his mouth shut. Hoseok shed a few tears as they fall slowly down his cheeks. Is this how his friends really felt? That he was even plotting their murders? He storms into the living room, startling the group of boys.

“Is this how you f*****g think of me?!” Hoseok screamed, throwing an empty bottle on the ground and it shatters upon impact.

“How much did you—”

“All of it! f*****g all of it!”

“Calm down, Hoseok, we were just—” Yoongi tried his best to explain but was only cut off.

“I knew you guys were nothing but s**t! I stayed friends with you because I had no one else! And all because of yesterday, you now label me as a monster!”

“Please, Hoseok,” Seokjin says in a comforting tone, “don’t take any of this the wrong—”

“I’m done! I’m f*****g done!” Is the last thing Hoseok says before running towards Namjoon’s room.

“Hey, why is he headed to my room?” Namjoon says, alert. And then it hits him, “someone f*****g stop him!”

Jeongguk, Jimin, and Yoongi run towards the room and find Hoseok in the bathroom, swallowing even more pills than he did that very morning. The next few minutes consisted of Hoseok crying out in pain, all three boys running up to him as Yoongi flushed the remaining pills down the toilet as the other two tried to restrain the broken boy.

Hoseok tears from their grasp and runs out of the bathroom, sobbing loudly and running out of the house like a rocket.