Who: Adrian & Mila Where: Home When: Sunday afternoon, 06/10 Status: Complete
The competition for worst weekend ever was a tough one in Adrian's life but this one was in the top three at least. Nobody slept and if that wasn't weird enough to tick the boxes of potential supernatural bullshit, it also wasn't any kind of normal insomnia. Adrian had gone without lack of sleep, both on the job and back in his days of being a partying teen. This was nothing like those times. Twenty-four hours felt more like the breaking point of seventy-two and at some point he had wanted to leave the house, worried that he was going to lose his mind and pose a threat to his family. When sleep finally came he almost welcomed the nightmares because at least they were familiar and he was asleep.
His old nightmares weren't even scary anymore, mostly just sad shit and guilt wrapped up in disjointed memories and made up crap that was symbolic in multiple ways. The new element now was Mila's pregnancy and those usually jarred him more than the monster dreams and he woke up feeling off kilter as he remembered his latest one. He had killed Mila because she'd turned evil and Aaron had pleaded with him to take the baby and run, but then the baby was Mila and he had to take her to the tunnel to keep her safe. It was one of those dreams that left him wondering just where the line between crazy and sane really was and how easy it was to cross it. Yet another way of his brain telling him that him being home wasn't safe for anybody. He'd need to talk to the witch again, he needed reassurances that he could keep this monster inside of him in check.
He almost apologized to Mila when he found her in the kitchen, looking a little less sleep deprived and cranky herself. "Did you sleep?" he asked instead, gently touching her back as he passed her to go to the fridge. Maria had been bringing a lot of food lately and she probably thought Aaron was helping way more with eating it than he really was - or maybe she still had no concept of how much food was too much food for one person, either way worked just fine for Adrian.
The forced insomnia had made Mila overly cranky, especially given how exhausted she generally was even when weird shit wasn't happening in town. Thankfully Aaron had been patient with her, despite his own exhaustion and somehow they had made it through without the three of them all killing each other. They had been too tired to do much of anything, really.
After an entire day of sleep, Mila was feeling a bit better and she was pouring herself a glass of water when Adrian entered the kitchen. "Yeah, I did," she said with a small smile. Lovely, dreamless sleep too. "What about you? Are you feeling okay? I can heat up one of mom's casseroles if you're hungry."
"Already on it," Adrian told her and he didn't need her to take care of him all the time, feeling more like it should be the other way around. He was her big brother and she was pregnant! He grabbed one of the dishes from the fridge and brought it to the counter, turning on the oven and bumping his shoulder against hers. The bad feelings from the dream were still lingering but the longer he stayed awake the more absurd those things became whereas they'd felt so real just minutes ago. "I slept like the dead," he lied. "God I missed sleeping. It felt like a lot longer than two nights." And before the nightmares, he'd started seeing things that were far more worrying than any dream. He didn't much want to think about it, it was already fading away into the chaos of old memories.
The smell of the casserole might wake up Aaron too and she wanted to make sure he ate something. They had been too tired and miserable over the last day or so to do much but just lounge around, hazy and zoned out and grumpy. She was still a little cranky but it wasn't as bad as it had been. "It definitely felt longer than two nights," Mila agreed, rubbing Adrian's back comfortingly before she moved to sit down at the table. She did feel better but her body was still feeling pretty heavy. "I swear I was starting to see things, even though I knew they probably weren't real." It had still been unsettling, considering her history. Having Aaron beside her had helped her get through the increasing paranoia and she was glad she didn't have a total meltdown over it. "I can't remember the last time I slept without nightmares," she murmured, resting her cheek on her hand as she watched Adrian. "I suppose that's one good thing that came out of it."
"I feel you on that," Adrian sighed and wished he'd had a nightmare free sleep as well but it was what it was. At least Mila had gotten some peace today. The lasagna he was going to heat up was more than enough for both Mila and Aaron to eat with him if he wanted, but he could oh so easily devour all of it on his own - and given the chance, he would. "We were all acting and feeling like we'd been awake a lot longer than we were, I was seeing things too - hearing things. I know I wasn't around much, I didn't want to be in your face with my crazy." He smiled faintly, not really sorry for spending most of the weekend in the spare room by himself. It had been a miserable weekend, but at least he'd known what was going on, that he was just sleep deprived and not losing his mind for real. Mila though, she'd had him worried. Her grip on reality hadn't been strong when he first found her by the tunnel, there was always the fear that she'd slip back into that state of mind. "I just don't know what caused it, that part is kinda driving me insane." He had a feeling that man called Westin might know, but he also didn't seem like the type of person or creature who'd answer any questions.
"You're never in my face," Mila promised before taking a small sip of the water. She was starving now, so she was hoping to get at least a couple of pieces of lasagna before Adrian devoured the rest. "But I can understand wanting to be alone when you're that tired. I think it was probably better that way. I was kind of cranky. Nauseous and crankly." She smiled a little and set her glass down before pushing back from the table. "Do you want a salad to go with the lasagna? I bet I have some frozen garlic bread too that I can throw in the oven. I'm suddenly starving." She was headed for the fridge before Adrian could even answer. "I don't know what caused any of it either. But it's Point Pleasant, so it was probably just some weird glitch in the universe." Mila was well aware that if the insomnia had gone on for another day she might have started to believe it was the tunnel finally fucking with her and pulling her back in. It was just another brand of torture and honestly, she didn't think she had slept the entire time she was in that horrible place anyway.
Adrian had to agree that salad and garlic bread sounded good, like a real family meal. It was a little jarring how normal things felt lately after all those months of living in his car or at the strange facility. This weekend had almost felt like going back to some horrible way of being that he'd gotten used to. This was better though and he didn't butt in and start meddling with the salad because Mila was pregnant, not paralyzed, she could do it herself. "A glitch in the universe," he repeated with a soft snort. "More like we live in a hellmouth. Where's Buffy when you need her?" It was just easier to joke about it than it was to think of the reality of the situation, of all the evil that really lurked around them and the terrifying things he'd had to do. If Buffy Summers lived in Point Pleasant, she'd probably have killed him by now.
"Oh, man, I loved that show," Mila said wistfully. "I would totally become Buffy if there were actually vampires in this town. Are there? I don't know, I've never seen any, but who knows at this point, right?" She grabbed what she needed to make a salad and carried the ingredients over to the counter. "I should tell Aaron I want to name the baby Buffy, just to see his face." Mila smiled, grabbing a knife to cut through the lettuce. She had some baby name ideas already but there was a part of her that didn't want to talk about them just yet. Maybe another week or two. Slicing through the lettuce, Mila glanced at Adrian. "How are you though, seriously. Did you sleep okay?" He still looked tired, maybe a little worn around the edges.
The oven was finally hot enough so Adrian busied himself with putting the lasagna in there and setting the timer. He wasn't okay, he hadn't slept well, but the last thing he wanted to do was burden Mila with more bullshit than she was already carrying. "I'm still so tired," he settled for, giving her a slightly pained smile. "I'm just more hungry than I'm tired, so I'm gonna eat and then I'm going straight back to sleep. I think I need two days of sleep just to make up for this weekend." He leaned against the counter and rolled his eyes as he laughed. "Remember being sixteen and staying up forever was not a problem? Fuck, I feel old." She didn't need to know about his nightmares or his guilt - survivor's guilt both as well as that of a murderer. He was only accepting good things for himself because it did Mila good to see him doing good so he could fake it until she was more settled and ready to let him get back to whatever life he could rebuild for himself.
Mila wasn't sure she fully believed him but she wasn't sure he would want her pushing him. If he hadn't slept well, there was probably a reason for it. Some nights she barely slept at all because of the nightmares constantly waking her up. But those weren't something she wanted to describe to anyone. It was easier to deal with them on her own and try to push them out of her mind. "You are old," Mila teased. "But yeah, I remember staying up late and never having any problem getting up for school the next morning. Now it feels like I just want to sleep all the time." There was a reason for that, of course, but still. "I was thinking about driving over to see mom and dad a bit later, just to make sure they're doing okay. Would you want to come with me? I know you're tired, but if we go see them, it might put mom off from just showing up here."
"Absolutely," Adrian said and he had a faint suspicion that she'd just let him off the hook question wise, like there were some unspoken things between them and he honestly felt immsense gratitude for it. "I talked to dad last night, they hadn't slept at all either." Had it even been last night? Time felt so warped this weekend like everything else had, unreal and strange, full of sights and sounds he didn't know whether were real or not. He also didn't know whether Mila had talked to their parents too, if she had she'd already know they'd been miserable and he didn't really feel like talking about how much their mother had cried out of sleep deprived frustration. "Tonight then?"
"Tonight," Mila agreed. Maybe she would bring them some ice cream or something. She knew her dad loved mint chocolate chip, even if their mom didn't let him eat a lot of sweets. She hated thinking the people she cared about had been as miserable as she had been. Sometimes she wondered why on earth they stayed in Point Pleasant. What was it that kept them all there, especially after everything they had experienced and seen. Mila pulled open a cabinet to bring down the salad bowl so she could toss everything inside of it. "I kind of wish I could send them on a vacation somewhere nice. They've been dealing with a lot lately. I bet they would love Nova Scotia or something. Just get them out of this town for a little bit, you know?"
"Yeah," Adrian agreed and felt that familiar guilt dig its claws in deeper. They'd been helping him a lot already and they wanted to do more, to help him get on his feet. It worried him, knowing they might be dipping into savings or at the very least denying themselves the chance to do something nice for themselves. Getting back to work as a nurse wasn't going to cut it when it came to paying them back or buying them a nice vacation and he got that helpless, small feeling all over again. "I wonder if they'd go," he mumbled, forcing a smile. "I mean, you're pregnant, I'm alive, mom's kinda hovering a lot right now." He did wish they would go though, just get the hell out of this town to somewhere nice that had an actual catholic church that hadn't burned down and a beautiful beach that didn't hold horror stories of children drowning - at least none they would know about.
Mila smiled. "Yeah, mom is hovering a lot... all the more reason to send her on a vacation. Maybe I'll look into a long weekend somewhere. And if it's already bought and paid for, I can take what I've learned from mom to guilt them into going. Besides, I'm going to be pregnant for at least five more months and I can promise her I'll hover over you while they're gone." The more she talked about it, the better it sounded. Mila mixed the salad as best she could and carried the bowl over to the table to set it down. "If anyone deserves a break, it's them. And honestly, you and I could use a break from them too."
Adrian groaned guiltily in an attempt to refute that but honestly, yes. She was right. "We do," he admitted with a sigh. "I love them but... Man they can be overbearing. I don't think I even fully realized until I was living in Portland for a while." He'd felt so free to do whatever he wanted instead of living up to expectations and keeping up appearances, it was crazy to think Mila had always had it worse being both the baby and the girl in the family. Yet they could never be angry about the smothering because it came from a good place and Adrian couldn't help but wonder if some of that religious fervor came from knowing just how evil the world really was. It wasn't something he would ever ask them, Maria didn't need to know the amount of evil he and Mila had been through and their dad wouldn't keep it to himself if he talked to him.
"I try really hard not to get frustrated about it," Mila said. "They've been through a lot too, even without knowing what really happened to the both of us. At least mom is keeping us fed." She smiled and went to grab the texas toast from the freezer to slide into the oven. "You and Aaron could have it worse, you know. I could be trying to replicate mom's cooking." And yes, while she sometimes got defensive about it, she knew she wasn't a great cook. But Mila was determined to learn and try. She didn't want her daughter growing up on hot dogs and cereal. "And you know, if mom and dad leave town for a bit, you could probably house sit for them if you wanted some space. I know it's probably not fun for you to be stuck here with me every day."
"Oh!" Adrian exclaimed, feigning shocked realization. "I see where this is going. You just want me out of the house so you can spend alone time with your boyfriend." He made sure to sound that word out like they were teenagers again, like having a boyfriend was embarrassing for her and she'd never in a million years admit to liking Aaron Lucas. Of course he couldn't keep a straight face, grinning at her as he teased her and if he was honest then yes, he really liked the sound of that and Mila could probably stand to have some alone time with her fiance.
“Ew, he’s not my boyfriend.” Mila exclaimed, played along. She was trying unsuccessfully not to laugh. “Shut up before I tell mom!” Slipping the toast into the oven, Mila wandered over to sit down again. She wasn’t even that big yet and already she just wanted to sit and sleep all day. “Honestly, Adrian, I love having you here. But I know it can’t be too fun for you to listen to me puke all morning or walk in when Aaron and I are making out on the couch.” She smiled and rested her cheek in her hand. “If you want to break, I’m okay with it. And if you’d rather not surround yourself with mom’s religious paraphernalia and stay here, that’s okay too. I guess we have to get the two of them to agree to a vacation first.”
"I don't enjoy listening to you puking," Adrian told her warmly. "But trust me, I've seen and heard so much worse. Back at the hospital, you know. Puking, shitting and bleeding people were kinda my livelihood." It felt important to mention the hospital because they'd both been through far worse since then and that wasn't the topic he wanted to visit right now. "Your puking is just a beautiful part of the cycle of life." He couldn't keep a straight face through that sentence, it was just too corny and so he laughed again and rolled his eyes. All joking aside he closed the distance between them to lean down and hug her. "Thanks, Mila," he murmured. "I really appreciate it and I like being here."
Mila understood what Adrian was saying without him actually having to say it. They had both been through a lot of horrible stuff and her puking due to her pregnancy was probably very tame compared to all of that. Mila returned Adrian's hug, still caught up in feeling so relieved and grateful that he wasn't dead and that he was back in her life. She held onto him tightly for a moment, letting those emotions wash over her before she smiled again. "I should go wake up Aaron and see if he wants to eat with us."
"I wouldn't," Adrian replied with a little smile. "He'll either come drifting in here when he smells the food or he'll sleep through it. I wouldn't want anyone to wake me if I was still asleep after this bout of insomnia." Of course it was different to wake up to the person he loved crawling into bed with him and gently easing him into consciousness but still, he was pretty sure he was going to sleep again after he ate - at least he hoped he could. "Up to you though, food's ready in five." He kneaded her shoulder gently and glanced at the oven. "Or two. I think it's almost done."
"I guess you have a point." She felt a little guilty eating without Aaron but Adrian was right. The insomnia had been awful and Aaron had been worried about Mila while being exhausted himself. He deserved the rest. "If he sleeps through then we'll just leave some in the oven to stay warm." Hopefully Adrian wasn't so hungry that he would eat the whole pan of lasagna. Maybe she would take a couple pieces out before they began to eat, just to make sure. "I'll get some plates," she told Adrian, standing again. "I made some iced tea yesterday too, if you want some."
"Oh nice," Adrian replied with a smile because while he'd seen the pitcher, this was an invitation and he hadn't wanted to just assume he could drink it. He absolutely was always hungry enough to eat a whole pan of lasagna by himself but he could pace himself and leave some. It wouldn't make a whole lot of difference if he skipped a plate or two, he'd still feel hungry after either way. It was a frustrating feeling that never left him and he'd at least started getting used to it after all these years. "I keep picturing him floating in here, you know? Like they did in the old cartoons, like the smell was this entity pulling them along by the nose. Or like those dogs, you know. Where you put a piece of candy in front of their noses to wake them up." Was it mean, likening Aaron to a dog or a cartoon cat? He was a total puppy, so probably not.
Mila laughed, because she could absolutely picture Aaron doing the same. He loved to eat, just like Adrian... although for Adrian maybe it was more that he needed to eat. "He'll come down soon enough. Or maybe he'll sleep all day. Either way, I'll save him some." Mila set the plates on the table, once again grateful for her mom. The woman could be overbearing sometimes, but she was a mother who wanted to take care of her kids and Mila appreciated that, especially now. "If you go back to sleep when we're done eating, I may run to the grocery store and pick up a few more things. Do you want me to grab you anything?"
"Nah, I'm good," Adrian murmured, though at this point he wasn't sure if he'd sleep again until tonight. He didn't need to tell her how much he needed to eat; it felt kind of dumb to be embarrassed by it when he had heavy weighing guilt about so many other things, but he was and so it was a topic he avoided. Mila had provided everything else he needed and their parents had chipped in as well. "Just be safe out there and then we can go visit mom and dad after." He figured he might clean up a little while she was gone, pull his weight in the only way he could currently.
He said he was good, but Mila knew better. She already had it in her head to buy him some more food, because she had witnessed his appetite and Mila knew now that he felt either guilty or silly for asking for meat. But that was okay. She could make sure he was taken care of, even if he couldn't ask for it. "That sounds like a plan," Mila said, thankful to have something planned for the day, even if it was just going to the grocery store. Aaron could sleep as long as he needed to while Adrian and Mila visited her parents. Hopefully by tomorrow everything would be back to normal, though Mila wasn't exactly holding her breath for that. One day at a time was all they could do in this town.