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He fiddled with the small apartment key in his hand, pinching it, feeling the sting of the jagged grooves on his thumb. A quiet song played out through the office, a mellow, unassuming tune that would be familiar if you really tried to remember. House looked down, eyes following some unknown dot that floated about aimlessly in the room. Head hung in a weary misery that took all strength of body and mind with it, he chuckled without breath.
“You know you can take your time.” Doctor Nolan reassured him. He’d been there with the man for all of 10 silent minutes as he twirled the key between his fingers. They’d gone longer without talking. Some nights, House simply came in, sat, twirled the key in his hand, and left. Maybe a tear shed, or let out a watery cough, or choked on the beginning of something too honest to speak, but for the most part he seemed devoid of realization entirely. He wore the expression of a young boy who’s ice cream had fallen into a puddle, his face eternally expressing that micro-moment just before he cried.
“My best friend was… a good person…” he finally began, chest hollow. He spoke with a factual kind of sadness in his voice. “My best friend… liked to pretend he didn’t like monster trucks… and when he’d turn on the TV he’d always turn the volume up, just to turn it down again…”
The soft grip he had on the key grew shakier, his hands struggling to hold onto the memories contained in the small, metal object.
“My best friend loved Hitchcock movies… we watched the one with Danny Devito on the first night we moved in…”
Dr. Nolan gave a small nod. He’d done away with notes, he’d already logged what he needed to know about House when they’d first met. This was his time to cope, this was his time away from isolation, though no company could bring him out of that loneliness he wished away with pills and a few smokes too many.
“My best friend thought rubber page flippers were useless…” he thumbed over the broad, smooth side of the key. It gleamed from House’s repeated, delicate handling. His eyes had ceased moving, they were fixed to the floor as everything died out around him.
“I loved all these things about him…”
A tear dropped silently to the floor. He swallowed thickly as his body trembled, eyes brimming with un-shed sorrows.
“Equally…”
The music ebbed and faded through the space, every color muted or grey, every shape meaningless and undefined.
He awoke suddenly to a loud, metal crash.
“RISE AND SHINE!” shouted the guard, raking his baton across the bars like as if playing an impromptu instrument, like they did in the movies.
House opened his eyes slowly as the calamity moved down the hall. The only sound he could hear was the quiet humming of a mellow, unassuming tune from his cellmate above.