Levi would come and visit him every day. It was fun. Levi would tell jokes, Levi would laugh, Levi would smile, and make his eyes twinkle. He just wished Levi could see it. 536Please respect copyright.PENANAbRTw2K6fJE
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Because he smiled and laughed too- or he tried to. It came out as a harsh gasping and rattling in his chest, like a deranged creature trying to claw its way out of his throat. His lips hurt every time he tried to pull them upwards on his sallow cheeks to show joy, and though Levi would hug him tight, he couldn't hug back. It really was frustrating, the way Levi would crush him to his chest and laughed loudly in his ear, rocking him him until his eyes rolled back in his skull and he went limp. When he woke up, Levi would be gone. 536Please respect copyright.PENANAkn4v7SltBx
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But Levi was never really gone, was he? Maybe he was just getting a drink, or a bite to eat, or walking around to stretch his legs a bit. Maybe he was tailing doctors and trying to sway them with his charming, cocky grin. Maybe. 536Please respect copyright.PENANA5NPSqZGRhc
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Sometimes he would come back with his face smeared in frosting, the rich brown a shocking contrast to the bleached walls. It was just like that one birthday party at Al's bar, with the chocolate rum cake, and he'd pushed his face in. He would just laugh like he did before and shake his head at him, try to lick the frosting away. He would try to help him, but he couldn't move, could only watch him grin and tell stories, voice hissing in his eardrums. Sometimes he would lurch forward to meet him and end up on falling on his face. It used to hurt. His nose would throb, his heart would ache and tear itself to pieces, but he'd long forgotten about the ache. He'd laugh at him, kneeling on the floor beside him, their noses inches apart, the sound echoing. 536Please respect copyright.PENANANWvsWAfKFr
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"Careful there, friend!" 536Please respect copyright.PENANAieprrsGdpe
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He always called people 'friend'- like that one time he'd fallen over because he was tipsy after one too many shots, making Levi snicker, and that's what he'd said. 536Please respect copyright.PENANArsg0JM75Q7
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"Careful, friend!" 536Please respect copyright.PENANAXU04ggW8iI
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He would even call him friend when they came in to hurt him and stab him, whispering in his ears and touching his shoulder in that serious yet oddly gentle way he had. 536Please respect copyright.PENANAEfhxR2UiWc
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"It's alright, friend."536Please respect copyright.PENANAiYMgNXSpnk
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"Calm down there, friend."536Please respect copyright.PENANA663KUD876g
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"Take it easy, friend."536Please respect copyright.PENANARRtfVCsr6I
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It was hilarious. It made him sound old, even though Levi was younger. He was just a smart ass, that's what he was. Same old Levi. 536Please respect copyright.PENANAMVmOnGfawF
536Please respect copyright.PENANAkG43TZEiRD
He would blink rapidly, just so he could keep Levi's face in in view, though sometimes he was just a mess and the saltine waves would make anything too blurry anyway. But he could still feel Levi. He could hear him, smell the ever present birthday rum cake on his breath, feel the hand on his shoulder, pale and chilly. His eyes were just for Levi, his thoughts screamed of Levi with every fibre in his brain..536Please respect copyright.PENANAKdPxUdoMxu
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Levi this, Levi that. 536Please respect copyright.PENANA9eOabiUmLW
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But sometimes Levi acted weird. He'd be gone for days, months, years- just faze out of existence like pixels on a screen. It would make him panic, and he would look around frantically, and see nothing but white- no Levi. 536Please respect copyright.PENANAsioUx9WjG2
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White walls and robotic voices, but no Levi. No Levi, no Levi...Were would he go?! He could tell, even though his thoughts resembled pea soup, that something was wrong. He couldn't focus, information avoiding him like skittish minnows. Something was missing, something was gone...536Please respect copyright.PENANAQUEljFNSNZ
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It had taken Levi with it, spirited him away with beer bottles and roaring motors that haunted him at night. 536Please respect copyright.PENANAn3zN7SGjH1
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When Levi was gone, they would return, and blame him, and he would become yet another twisted shell of himself. fetal position, head throbbing, eyes bulging and red tinged, stinging as the breath escaped his chest. He couldn't even claw at the floor- all he could do was writhe helplessly, and oversized maggot teeming with silent screeches. He couldn't even scream Levi's name. His tongue would swell and choke him, make him gag. Drool would soak through the cloth and mix with his tears. 536Please respect copyright.PENANAPGaLaCkx86
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The only good thing about this was the quiet. They would eventually leave him alone. The roaring and screeching of tiles would fade into the gray mush that was his brain, and the taste of alcohol would leave his mouth. Blaming, accusing hisses would die down, his tears would dry with his saliva, and leave dry, sticky trails. His breathing would resume its normal ragged tempo... 536Please respect copyright.PENANAzHQwjOmmf3
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It would all be quiet, and he would just stare with heavy, numbed limbs at the ivory walls, tuning out the doctors' voices, humming softly to himself and swaying brokenly to the rhythm of 'Steamboat Willy.' It would drown out their concerned glances and their fake, hushed words, comforting him with syringes and serums that only increased the quiet, the soft numb feelings. 536Please respect copyright.PENANA6k3D74gUbe
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Fine. He just hummed 'Steamboat Willy' and waited. It was Levi's favorite song. When the numb feelings went away, and he was able to think again, Levi would return. Levi always came back.536Please respect copyright.PENANA577Ry1xyrE
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It didn't matter what the breathalyzer test or the tombstone said. 536Please respect copyright.PENANA5BoqolYkVX
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He'd been there, among the bloody wreckage of the Mercedes that reeked of liquor. He'd always been there. 536Please respect copyright.PENANArRIkugYnqV
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He felt a smile twitch at his lips as he watched him materialize and grin at him again, kneeling on the white tile and putting a hand on his shoulder again. He could feel it through the straightjacket, and the two started to laugh again. 536Please respect copyright.PENANAR5EALyq013
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"Hey there, friend."536Please respect copyright.PENANAXY4Gzn1vJt