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Grian didn't know why he agreed to let Taurtis drive the bus, it was obvious he was in no state to do so. Even though he tried to hide it, Grian could tell Taurtis was in a lot of pain. And, there was absolutely no way Taurtis actually knew how to drive a bus because he had 'driven' a train once. But he let it happen, it wasn't like anyone else was showing up anyways.
It had been okay at first, surprisingly enough he did understand how to work the bus. He stopped at stoplights and rail roads, and he turned just fine, Grian was almost convinced he had driven before. But just in case, Grian kept his eyes on the road.
At some point during the drive, Taurtis had started to steer with only one hand, using his other to push down on his wound. He was shaking. When Grian noticed he was going to speak up- he was going to tell Taurtis to pull over and have them wait for a real driver or something. But before his voice could come out, before he could even move, Taurtis passed out and the bus swerved straight into a telephone pole.
Grian was still conscious. He tried to scream but nothing came out of his throat. When his legs had enough strength to move again, he bolted towards Taurtis. There was glass everywhere and the door was blocked by the dent the telephone pole caused. Grian grabbed onto Taurtis's arms and pulled as hard as he could to get him out of the drivers seat. But something wasn't right.There was a jagged piece of metal that pierced right through his leg, and pulling on him only made things worse. He freed Taurtis from the seat but now there was a detached leg on the floor, and Taurtis was loosing a lot of blood. Grian wanted to scream, cry, maybe even throw up, but all he could do was fall to his knees in horror. Taurtis was gone.
Grian shot up in his bed when he woke up. Tears filled his eyes. The same nightmare again. And yet every single time he still woke up drenched with sweat and full of anxiety. Even though he knew it was just a nightmare, it didn't scare him any less. He knew Taurtis was okay, he was in the room right next to his. But he couldn't help but wonder if something could be wrong. It just felt so real.
Grian threw off his blanket and sat at the edge of his bed, letting his legs hang off of it. After a minute of mentally preparing himself, he pushed himself up off the bed. Trying to walk as quietly as possible, he tiptoed over to Taurtis's room. As he stood in front of Taurtis's door, he felt just like a little kid that was scared of telling their parents that they threw up. He didn't want to bother Taurtis- but he also needed to know he was okay. He needed to see Taurtis for himself.
Without much of a plan of what he was gonna say or do, he creaked open the door. He could just barely see Taurtis's silhouette in the dark. Slowly, he walked to the side of his bed.
"Taurtis? Taurtis, please wake up." He weakly begged as he shook Taurtis's shoulder.
Taurtis groaned and rolled onto his back, mumbling something about 'five more minutes'
"Taurtis!" Grian spoke a little louder, but not enough for it to be a yell.
"Huh?! Grian?" Taurtis rubbed his eyes as he started to wake up. "Did something happen?" He asked once he felt properly awake.
"Uhm.. had'a nightmare.." Grian sheepishly whispered.
"Oh.. Like the one you told me about yesterday?" Taurtis sat himself up. Grian nodded a quick yes. "Do you want to.. stay in my room?" Grian gave another quick nod.
"Wan' make sure you're okay." Grian explained.
Taurtis moved himself over and patted the empty space next to him on his bed. Grian climbed up onto the bed and snuggled up in Taurtis's blankets.
"Can I.. see it?" Grian looked up at Taurtis and nervously whispered his question.
"See what, pumpkin?" Taurtis replied, confused on what he meant.
"Where th.. the stab was." Grian answered as if it was obvious.
"You don't really wanna see that, now do you? It's icky." Taurtis brushed off his question.
"Yes, wanna. T' know s' okay. P'ease?" Grian sniffled and looked up at him with watery eyes.
"It'll make you feel better once you see it?" Taurtis asked for confirmation first.
"Yes!" Now it seemed like Taurtis understood.
"Okay, fine. But I did warn you that it's gross." Taurtis lifted up his shirt for him.
By now, the cut was no longer bleeding and a majority of it consisted of scabs and scarred tissue. Grian didn't dare touch it but he did study it for a bit.
"Not hurt anymore?" Grian asked, just for good measure.
"Not really, it's been getting better." Taurtis reassured him. "But enough of that, I think it's about time for bed, so how about we go back to sleep?" He added, pulling down his shirt.
"Bu' what if I have th' nightmare again?" Grian whined.
"Well, then I'll be right next to you to remind you that it's just a dream and I'm okay." Taurtis ruffled his hair.
"I'll.. try to go to sleep." Grian promised him that, he'd at least try.
Taurtis leaned over to his nightstand and grabbed something from the drawer. "Here, maybe this'll help." He popped a pacifier into Grian's mouth.
Grian was shocked, and maybe a little embarrassed at first, but quickly relaxed with the paci in his mouth. He was too exhausted to protest anyways. Grian moved a little closer and wrapped his arms around Taurtis's chest, cuddling him from the side. Taurtis, in return, wrapped an arm around Grian's back. Grian easily fell asleep with the comfort of being in Taurtis's arms again.