Alex carried Vali with a bit of help from Jonas. The whole time they were silent except when Denny tried to protest against moving him around in his condition, but he relented after a word with Jonas.

Vali’s body was unceremoniously dumped in the middle of the room since there was a lack of places to put him; the whole room was crowded with shelves and packages not fit to sit on, except for an upturned bucket Jonas was currently sitting on and gazing at Vali with empty eyes. He had made a decision, and it weighed on his heart. The air he breathed felt like tar, his heart rate a mess, his hands itchy and covered in sweat. He felt cold, every little breeze sending shivers through his body, causing him to cling tightly to his clothes. His eyes darted to the plastic bag Alex had carried into the pharmacy, causing his head to spin. He had brought it in from where Alex had dropped it. It held no meaning now. It was supposed to be a good day… For you, Val.

Alex was outside, trying her best to take care of the mess. The glass shards and the desk had caused quite a commotion outside. Meanwhile, Denny had just finished retrieving what he needed in order to do some maintenance on Vali’s wound. He’s unconscious. No need to hesitate. He thought and took a deep breath in before kneeling and reaching for his head. He had some reservations after what had gone down in the next room. Yet it didn’t mean he wouldn’t help the wounded man. Before Denny’s hand reached its destination, Vali’s eyes snapped open.

Denny took a step back without wanting to, startled. From where Jonas watched his eyes darkened further. There is no turning back after today, Val… Denny had little reason to be scared of the current Vali, but he didn’t know that. He could hardly move as he was right now. He grunted as he tried to get himself up. His arms shook under him, barely able to support his body.

“You shouldn’t get up, just lay down for a while. I will take care of your wound.” Denny spoke while trying to sound as reassuring as possible.

“Get away from me.” Vali suddenly flared, even in his state managing to sound threatening. Denny stared at Jonas questioningly as he withdrew away from Vali. When their eyes met, Jonas clenched his fists.

“Please, give us some time.” Jonas’s tone as he spoke made Vali perk up and look in his direction. Vali clenched his jaw when he saw him.

Denny slowly nodded his head in affirmation. His heart was divided between helping Vali’s wound and trying to talk to Jonas before he did something he would regret, but he knew none of them would listen to him at this point. He knew he had no power here. He would have to leave this in Jonas’s hands. He looked at both the men in the eyes before closing the door, noting the determined look on Jonas’s face. When his eyes met Vali’s, he just scoffed and avoided his gaze, instead opting to look into a corner of the room.

After closing the door, Denny wordlessly went to pick up a broom to collect the glass fragments scattered outside. Alex was there already, a corner of the store already cleaned by her. She watched him, expecting him to say something about what had happened inside. When the silence kept going for a few more seconds she couldn’t take it anymore. “What happened in there?”

Denny looked up from the ground he was cleaning. “Nothing good, that’s for sure.”

Meanwhile, in the room, Vali and Jonas stood silently. The silence stretched, neither daring to utter a word. Jonas knew these would be their last words. What he would say was going to affect both of them greatly. He didn’t want it to be this way yet he saw no good future ahead of himself if things kept going on like this.

Meanwhile, Vali was scared of what he would say. He didn’t dare open his mouth, lest something he didn’t mean escapes it. His mind was still foggy thanks to all the adrenaline rushing through his veins, and the anger he felt made it even worse. He felt like a rabid dog that was about to bark at his only friend.

So they both waited for each other, until Vali’s impatience won over him and he spoke “Jon, I know I fucked up big time.” He paused to take a glance at him before continuing. “But please, can we talk about it later? I can hardly think straight.” He felt as if a weight was pulled off his shoulders only for it to be replaced with a heavier one.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a later.” Jonas didn’t meet his eyes as he spoke somberly. “Nowadays you never think straight, Val.”

Vali froze. He didn’t like where this was going, not one bit. “I know. That’s why I do everything I can, but there’s not much. I mess up everything I do. I’m… more stressed than usual, Jon. You know it.” He sounded exhausted. The next words he spoke were a bit more energetic. “And fuck her. She went way overboard. Even after I calmed down she didn’t give me a break, anyone else would’ve blown up as I did.”

Jonas paused for a second to think over the past minutes. “I don’t disagree that it was partly her fault. You can shove that ‘anyone else’ part up your ass, though.” His mouth ever so slightly curved up in a sad smile. “Not gonna lie, I kind of expected when you two met there would be some arguments. But…”

Vali spoke up when Jonas paused. “Where the hell did you two even come from, though? And what do you mean by ‘when’?”

His questions landed on deaf ears as Jonas kept talking from where he left off. “… that’s not what I’m concerned about.”

It was as if there was a big question mark on top of Vali’s face right now. “What do you mean?” His genuine surprise made Jonas even madder.

“Don’t tell me you already forgot what you did to Denny?” His eyes narrowed. “I told you already. You can’t delay this talk for later.” Jonas spread his hands as he kept talking. “You used to be able to keep your cool at least around friends! Now, though? In less than five minutes after walking into the room, you manage to assault one of the nicest people I know.” His voice raised as he spoke and he had to pause to take a breath to keep talking. “I bet he didn’t even try to lift a finger against you, and that wasn’t enough to wake you up.” Vali flinched back. He had never seen Jonas so mad before.

“You don’t get it, Jon, I wasn’t the one… I kept…” He took a sharp breath. “I told him to stop bothering me! I just wanted…” He trailed off as he spoke.

Jonas crossed his arms. “Are you joking? I know the kind of guy he is. You know the kind of guy he is, Val. That’s why I introduced him to you. All for you. It shouldn’t have taken you long to understand. Don’t try to lie to yourself.” He untangled his arms, one of his hands went up to massage his forehead, the stress quite evident on his face. His mood going from angry to confused like a pendulum. “Oh Val… What happened to you? You can be a jackass sometimes, but…” He shook his head. “Scratch that. You are a jackass most of the time. But you weren’t… This delusional person you are now. I can’t recognize you, Val. It breaks my heart.” As he kept talking his throat burned and his eyes felt dry. Vali didn’t utter a word as he watched his best friend have a breakdown. No, he couldn’t utter a word. “You knew your shortcomings. You saw your mistakes. You weren’t escaping from them before, Val. You were dead set on improving yourself. I admired you for it. That’s what gave me the courage to stay by your side.”

Vali wanted to look at the ground instead of his friend’s face right now. It hurt him so bad inside to look at that bittersweet expression. He gulped, the lump in his throat almost enough to bring tears to his eyes. Yet, he couldn’t avert his eyes.

“Look at you now. Just like a mad dog looking for ankles to bite. How close is the time you try to bash my head in just because I made a snide remark? How long can I live without breaking down, just because I tried to carry the burden that you are now? When I am so sure that I will be the next Denny?” With a shaky hand, he swiped the tear that was forming in his eye.

No… I wouldn’t, Jon… All the color drained from Vali’s face. He felt afraid, alone. It was hard to breathe in the cramped room, oh how small it felt right now. The cracks in the wall, the shadows of the equipment in the room weren’t big enough for him to crawl into. He wanted to be anywhere but here right now. “You don’t mean-”

“I mean it Val.” Jonas felt how heavy his tongue was, how hard it was to move it. Every single syllable caused immense mental fatigue. “I can’t bear it anymore.” It felt as if cold water was splashed on Vali’s face.

In a corner of his mind, he had always known that this day would come. But never in his wildest dreams was that day today. It was a normal day when he woke up, and it turned into the shittiest day of his life in the span of minutes. Jonas kept going, with no regard for his thoughts. “Let’s forget about each other. I hope you become the person in your dreams, Val, but I don’t see myself standing beside you on your journey.” He took a deep breath as if he was rid of the weight of a whole world. After he finished, Jonas felt cathartic. He couldn’t deny the regret he felt, but he was confident he did the right thing.

With that, Jonas got up and walked to the door. “Good luck, and goodbye.” Those were the last words Vali heard as the door closed. Jonas left the now-stranger, who was sitting on the ground in a trance, alone. He had gone to be with his friends instead.

The stranger cried silently.