Chapter Text
Izzy took his time showering, allowing the flow of hot steaming water to soak over his skin and seep into the tightness of his shoulders, closing his eyes momentarily to enjoy the heat he relaxed then suddenly his head snapped up and he was reaching out to the tiled wall to steady himself, he had briefly fallen asleep.
The bathroom had filled with steam, and he felt lightheaded, turning the water off he stepped out of the shower wrapping a towel around his waist, the last thing he wanted was for Axl to walk in and find him sprawled out unconscious on the bathroom floor again. The last time it had happened he’d been forced to agree to Axl’s terms of no longer locking the bathroom door whilst showering, which on reflection was probably reasonable as he remembered the image of Axl’s concerned face looming over him as he came too lying naked on the linoleum flooring.
Gripping the edge of the washbasin to stop himself from swaying Izzy pushed the window wide open, the cool air a blessed relief as it circulated around the room dispersing the steam, he was trembling, weak and exhausted from lack of sleep but at least the swirling in his head was beginning to subside.
By the time he had dried off and gotten dressed Izzy was feeling more himself and ready for breakfast, the only food in the apartment was coffee and pop tarts. He popped them in the toaster and waited for his coffee to brew, the local morning paper was lying on top of the table, Izzy picked it up noticing Axl had left a sticky note attached to the front page.
WE NEED TO TALK…TONIGHT… PLEASE.
Was all it said.
Great, Izzy thought, one of Axl’s speeches to look forward to when he got home from work, at least it was payday so he could pick up a few essentials and something nice for dinner. Maybe a few beers and a takeaway, battered chicken with sweet and sour dipping sauce and egg fried rice might soften up Axl the dictator Izzy smiled to himself.
Wolfing the pop tarts down in between gulps of black coffee Izzy’s mind drifted back to last night, unable to sleep he had tossed and turned in his bed all night until the alarm had finally gone off.
Axl of course working an early shift had long gone, he’d stuck his head round the door of Axl’s room, his empty bed left unmade and piles of dirty clothes discarded around the floor, it stunk of stale air and body odour, Axl wasn’t one for cleaning up and God only knows the last time he’d opened the curtains or a window, closing the door he had retreated to the bathroom thinking the shower would revitalise him and help him function at work.
It was going to feel like a long day.
Izzy took his medication, squeezing two tablets out of the sealed strip he swallowed them with the last mouthful of his coffee.
Why after all this time was it happening to him again?
He had hoped it had finally stopped; he had tricked himself into believing that before though, not experiencing anything for months then out of nowhere it would start up again. Whenever it did it left him feeling helpless, out of control and questioning his own sanity.
He’d been referred to different therapists over the years, but they had all provided him with the same diagnosis, stating he was experiencing delusional and paranoid hallucinations brought on by the misuse of narcotics, anxiety and pent-up emotion.
Axl had joked that was their way of saying he was anal.
But that didn’t explain why it had happened the first time…
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The memory was still etched vividly in his mind, it was the last day of school before breaking up for the summer holidays, he was sat in a classroom with his fellow pupils, and it was unbearably hot. He remembered wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead and being conscious of the sticky dampness he felt under his arms and lower back.
The teacher was sadistic, refusing to open a window enjoying seeing the entire class in discomfort.
Izzy remembered staring out the window and seeing Axl or Bill as he was called back then, stood at the school fence looking in at him, waving when he noticed he’d caught Izzy’s attention. Cheeky little fucker Izzy had thought at the time, typical bloody Bill skipping school then having the brass neck to stand outside the school gates waving in at him.
By the time the bell rang indicating the lesson was over Izzy had already made his mind up he would join Bill and ditch the afternoon lessons, it was too hot to be stuck inside and he didn’t know why he had bothered turning up anyway with it being the last day.
With his school bag slung over his shoulder he quickly ran outside and sped over to the section of fence Bill had been stood at but there was no sign of him he’d already gone. Deciding he would still bunk off the rest of the day he tossed his bag over the school gate and slipped his skinny frame through the railings.
He’d spent the next couple of hours searching for Bill at their usual spots, the park, the old railway tracks and the back of the cinema but there had been no sign of him.
The next day Bill had called round for him, and they’d headed off towards the park together, Bill made no reference to the day before, but Izzy was still miffed at his friend’s disappearance and what had felt to him like a deliberate snub decided he would confront Bill.
He stopped walking and asked.
“You know I came out to meet you at the fence yesterday, why didn’t you wait for me?”
Bill had brought a tatty old football with him and was practising keepie-uppies as they walked towards the park, the ball had veered off his foot when Izzy had asked the question.
Izzy watched his friend walk off to collect the ball and return carrying it under his arm.
“What you on about?” He asked, a confused look on his face.
“Yesterday.” Izzy answered slightly annoyed that Bill was now pretending he didn’t know what he was talking about. “You waved to me from the school fence but when I came out to see you, you’d gone, I had to wait for class to end before I could come, why didn’t you wait for me?”
“But I wasn’t at school yesterday and I didn’t see you.” Bill answered his expression blank.
“Yeah-you-did.” Izzy responded as though he were explaining something to a simpleton. “You were stood waving at me at the school fence and by the time I came out of class you’d fucked off; I couldn’t find you anywhere.”
Bill was now staring incredulously at Izzy. “It couldn’t have been yesterday, I was at home and didn’t get out of bed, I couldn’t, I was doubled up in pain, it was so bad I thought I was actually gonna die.”
They had both stood staring at each other neither one of them in that moment able to come up with an explanation.
Izzy remembered the familiar sensation washing over him, the tingling in his spine and the feeling of the hairs on the back of his neck standing to attention.
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Maybe this time he really was losing his mind, but he had seen him again.
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