"Three times," Howard says quietly, corners of his lips sticking together with drying spittle. His breath is a thin, shaky whistle pulling into lungs convulsing from terror.
From Dr. Grey. From Donald fucking Duck. And now.
The first two scenes replay every time he sleeps, with Aunamee's voice narrating, "I wish I didn't have to go so far to protect you", "you'll never cry again"...and then the smile that was warm becomes a single blade of teeth, lancing down like a lightning bolt to rip Howard open from the inside. Every time.
He remembers the day Aunamee paid his tab in the bile in the back of his throat more than in his brain.
"Give me my knife back." Howard's words are individual tight-rope walkers, balanced and delicate and precarious, about to tip into either screaming or utter silence. He avoids those eyes, those eyes that met his back in the snow and smiled, and instead watches Aunamee's hands.
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From Dr. Grey. From Donald fucking Duck. And now.
The first two scenes replay every time he sleeps, with Aunamee's voice narrating, "I wish I didn't have to go so far to protect you", "you'll never cry again"...and then the smile that was warm becomes a single blade of teeth, lancing down like a lightning bolt to rip Howard open from the inside. Every time.
He remembers the day Aunamee paid his tab in the bile in the back of his throat more than in his brain.
"Give me my knife back." Howard's words are individual tight-rope walkers, balanced and delicate and precarious, about to tip into either screaming or utter silence. He avoids those eyes, those eyes that met his back in the snow and smiled, and instead watches Aunamee's hands.