literature

The Beast and the Harlot - End

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Literature Text

The mornings were the worst.

Before he came to his senses, before he remembered what had happened and what he had done...That short period of time in the mornings were what reminded Matt of how Zacky used to be before Brian.

It never lasted more than a few minutes.

The mornings were the worst because those few minutes give Matt hope that maybe Zacky could actually get better. The mornings were the worst because Zacky woke up with a stretch and a smile every time he saw Matt there, and Matt was there a lot. The mornings were the worst because that stretch and that smile made Matt forget.

Matt forgot, sometimes, how messed up Zacky was because of what happened. He never forgot for too long, though, because Zacky cried and thrashed and screamed in his sleep more often than not and Matt shook him and screamed right back at him because he couldn’t wake him up. After a while he just held him and tried to keep him still until the writhing stopped, and it usually did. Usually. Zacky never remembered his nightmares long enough to tell Matt about them, but he didn’t need to. Matt already knew who they were about.

The worst part, Matt thought, was having to tell him what had happened, why he couldn’t remember the past year and a half of his life.
He remembered being scared, more terrified than he had ever been in all his life. But he didn’t remember pulling the trigger. He didn’t remember all the times Matt had told him to get away from Brian before he got hurt. He didn’t remember why half of his ribcage was caved in or why he coughed up blood for days afterwards or why he had a footprint wrapped around his throat. He didn’t remember the blood splattering against the wall. He didn’t remember the sound Brian’s body made hitting the floor.

Matt did.

Matt remembered seeing Zacky drop the gun and collapse down to his knees. Matt remembered the way Brian’s eyes flickered to him, just for a moment, because that’s all he had.

Brian didn’t flinch when Zacky pulled the trigger. He didn’t even look away. He only let out a grunt as the bullet shattered his sternum and ripped through his heart. In that short moment before he collapsed, Brian looked at Matt, and smiled. His eyes weren’t panicked or hurt or shocked. They were relieved. He knew that was the end for him, but he had still won. This is what he wanted.

Matt remembered the last words he said to him. Not Brian’s last words – he was dead before he hit the floor. Matt remembered Zacky’s last words. Yes, Zacky still talked to him, but it was not actually him. The real Zacky died along with Brian that night.

Matt had rushed across the living room and bend down to eye level with Zacky, throwing both his arms around him protectively. Zacky gave him the smallest, saddest smile Matt had ever seen. His right eye was purple and swollen completely shut and his left eye was crimson. His nose was busted completely open and his lip was split with blood pouring out. That’s what made the smile so miserable.
He was beaten so bad Matt would have screamed or threw up or both if he opened his mouth. But he didn’t do either. He just sat there with Zacky and held his hand. Zacky just smiled his miserable little smile and whispered, so softly Matt could barely hear him, “It’s over.”
He closed his eyes, and that was the last thing Zacky ever said to him.

He still had the same sense of humor, told the same shitty jokes and listened to the same loud music. But the damage was done. After a while, the swelling went down in his eye and his split lip repaired itself, like it always did. His rips healed along with any other cuts or bruises Brian left him with, but he was never the same.

The worst part was definitely was having to tell him what had happened. Because he’d ask about it. Even though he couldn’t remember being with him, Zacky still remembered Brian. And he’d ask about it.

“Did I...?” He asked one day. He never brought himself to ask the full question, Did I kill Brian? He didn’t need to.

“Yes,” Matt told him. As horrible as the truth was, he couldn’t lie to him. And how was he supposed to take it? How is anyone supposed to take finding out that they murdered someone? He didn’t take it well.

Zacky was half the size of Matt, he could take it. He just didn’t like that he had to take it. Zacky wasn’t mad. He couldn’t feel anything, but he wanted to. So he had to break something. And that something just happened to be two of Matt’s ribs.

He apologized immediately after and even drove Matt to the hospital himself. Matt forgave him, of course. If it was anybody else in the world Matt would have broken their nose in a heartbeat. But it was Zacky.

He never brought it up again after that. He would ask about Brian, sure, but he never asked how Brian died or why he even had to kill him. Matt liked to think it was for the best. The less Zacky knew about the way Brian died, the easier it would be for him to move on.

He never did move on, though. Not really. He never got violent again after the night he broke Matt’s ribs, but he didn’t get any better. He’d shut down completely. He’d stare off into space and would shut everyone out. As time went on, Matt spent less and less time trying to shake Zacky awake to stop the screaming, mostly because Zacky wouldn’t let him.

Immediately after the night Brian died, Matt would spend every day sleeping on the floor of Zacky’s bedroom, just to make sure he was okay. After Matt had told Zacky that he had killed Brian, however, Zacky would request to be left alone.

For the longest time Matt thought there was a part of Zacky that was faking it. He just couldn’t believe he could go this long and not show any signs of improvement. He couldn’t believe someone would want to be that miserable.

Matt was right about one thing, though. The real Zacky died along with Brian that night.
Hi :wave:

Sorry this is super late and short and bad but it's done now :iconrelievedplz:

I hope you liked it, cause I had loads of fun writing it, though it was never on time...

so, now that this is done, I will officially be moving to my new account :iconcomickhan: so yeah you should go watch me if you want :thumbsup: I'm actually gonna be uploading another chapter on the story i have up there pretty soon. like today. so go read it :icongoplz:
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KiraDrowned38's avatar
OMG I LOVED THE BEAST AND THE HARLOT!! Awesome!! but so sad too.