darker_london | Renee / Tasha - Hallucinations

As much as she hated to admit to any kind of weakness, the violence and hallucinations of the past few days had really done Tasha's head in. She needed to take a long, hot shower.

The water was blissful as it in ran over her, coursing through her hair, down her back, cascading over her breasts. She leaned back against the wall for a moment, just savouring the feeling. Not to mention savouring being alone.

Then she heard the sound. A strange gurgling from the plughole. Tasha looked down, not quite sure what to expect... but certainly not expecting the see the ragged strands of red hair slowly snaking their way out of the plughole.

"No... no no no..." Tasha tried to back away, but there was too much of it, too much of that terrible, burning hair...

She tried to step out of the shower, but a powerful fist burst through the floor and grabbed her ankle, holding her fast. Unable to keep her balance, she slipped and hit her head hard against the shower wall. She had to fight to maintain consciousness, but she won the struggle, terrified that if she didn't... Scarlett would get her.

But when she opened her eyes, the corpse was gone once more. All that was left to prove the incident was a trickle of blood running down the drain. Just what she needed, a head injury on top of everything else.

She stood up slowly and carefully, always being sure to brace herself against the wall. No real dizziness... just a thudding pain at the back of her head. There would be no enjoying the shower now, so she simply dried herself off and made her way out. She was about to head upstairs when there was a knock at the door.

Tasha half expected to be hit again as she opened the door, but instead she saw Renee... and screamed, attempting to slam the door on her. Renee, however, jammed the door with her boot and pressed it open again. "Fuck, Tasha, it's me!"

Tasha blinked and stepped back a little, before pulling Renee into a hug. "Oh, I'm sorry Renee... I thought... Ugh. Never mind."

"No, Tasha..." Renee stepped inside, but kept a comforting hand on Tasha's arm. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just..." Her eyes flicked around the room nervously. "Come upstairs."

"Okay." Renee followed her up and sat down with her on the bed. Tasha let out a heavy sigh.

"You're going to think I'm mental," she said quietly.

Oh no... "No, Tash. I won't. You can tell me anything."

Tasha looked into Renee's eyes and gave her a weak smile. "I've been seeing things. Really strange things... like a bad acid trip. But I haven't been doing anything!"

"What kinds of things?" Renee asked carefully. Had Ry actually been right about this?

"Like... corpses. Of you and... Pierre and the girls."

Renee was silently thankful that Tasha had avoided saying Kait or Scarlett's names. She didn't need to hear them right now. "Maybe you're just tired? Thinking about things too much?"

Tasha simply gave Renee a helpless, I don't know look.

"Oh, honey... it's okay," Renee soothed, wrapping her arms around Tasha. "Would you like me to sleep with you for a little while?"

Tasha nodded. "If you could... that might be nice."

"Of course," Renee smiled, and stretched herself out on the bed. Tasha lay down with her and cuddled up, hoping that maybe with Renee there, the nightmares wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

The dream had taken her to a mansion. It was well-appointed with huge windows, lavish carpets, luxurious furniture... but no lights whatsoever. The only illumination came through the windows, fitful moonlight shrouded by clouds. Her footsteps echoed loudly in the large hallways. Somewhere nearby, she could hear the sound of that damn violin.

She wanted to smash it. So she moved towards it, her heart beating faster and faster in time with the violin. Her footsteps increased in speed to match its frantic pace as it got louder and louder. Finally, she rounded a corner to find Avery standing with the violin in his hands. He stopped playing as she stopped in place, surprised to find him here.

Then he grinned a terrible, face-splitting grin, and blood poured out of his mouth. As she screamed, Avery laughed...

* * *

Tasha was awoken by her own screams. Panic gripped her as she turned over to find Renee gone...

She screamed again as the door flew open, but it was just Renee. "I'm sorry Tash!" she said quickly, pulling the girl into a tight hug. "I was just going to the lav. I'm sorry you thought I was gone!"

"It's okay," Tasha murmured. "There's nothing you can do about the nightmares, anyway."

Renee gave Tasha a sympathetic look and stroked her hair. "I'm no stranger to nightmares. I know how terrifying they can be. Do you want me to stay?"

Tasha was tempted to say yes, but she shook her head. "I've subjected you to this enough. You should go home to Deirdre. The last thing you need right now is to be taking care of your looney cousin."

"I'll come back and see you soon then, okay?"

Tasha nodded. Renee hugged her once more and kissed her on the cheek. "You call me if you need me, for anything at all. I'll come running. I love you, Tash."

"I love you too, Renee. Have a good night."

Tasha sighed as Renee headed out. As much as Renee's presence might have been comforting, she didn't want her cousin seeing her like this. It was too humiliating.

She'd just deal with the terror herself.