Corey would think he'd feel some type of way when he saw his dead husband walking down a flight of stairs towards him. He felt blank as he sighed deeply "you know, not to be dramatic or anything but part of me was hoping you'd trip and fall down those stairs, they were never really cool stairs and I can't believe I agreed on them when we bought this house".

"I see you're still the same" Corey rolled his eyes "I just got taller is all, and a little bit older but I mean it's not like it matters now, I'm dead and life goes forward and people forget about you. It's not like I'll be sad about it, no one will miss me".

Roman chuckled slightly "you're always doubting yourself, I guess old habits don't die. I helped you once, I'm sure for you it felt so long ago but when you're here you tend to reflect on all your choices. If I could I'd go back and do it again I'd do differently".

Corey hummed slightly "oh yeah, let me guess you'd kill me when you get the chance? Maybe succeed with your little stab movie and then you'd reflect on all the fame and glory you gained along the way. You know you're not the first person who wanted me dead or used me to get to Sidney. It's a long line and apparently it'll never go away".

Roman sat down on a couch and Corey looked at him "not gonna chase me around? The others were so happy to do it when I appeared to them. I mean Jill loved it the most, to think I trusted her once, I trusted you once too, but I guess things change".

Roman looked miserable as he tapped his hands on his thighs "you know sometimes I sit here and think about everything we've done together. Part of me wishes my obsession with Sidney wasn't so strong, that I'd just got over my mother leaving me behind, maybe in some way we could've worked out and been normal. You got that life with Sidney, I guess I'm not surprised you ended up with her of all people. Seems she's always taking people away from me".

Corey walked around the room looking at the old furniture and photos along the walls. "That's all in the past, I grieved you and then I got better and well turns out in the end it was all a lie. Killing you was one of the easiest things I've ever done and to think at one point I couldn't do it. I remember pointing that gun at you and yet I didn't do anything. I just stood there and hoped it all ended, that it was some dream".

Corey sighed as he looked at Roman "I don't grieve for you anymore and I definitely don't love you anymore either. Those things faded away a long time ago, and yet when I died you were there. I didn't want you there, but you were still there".

Roman chuckled slightly "even if you pretend you don't care about me anymore, a part of you latched onto me when you died, you were scared and needed someone to help you. Sure you saw Casey at first but your sister couldn't have held your heart the entire time, she wasn't there for you all those years you spent isolated. You were this broken boy who had lost everything and I picked up the pieces and helped you. Even if you claim you hate me and that it was fake, it felt pretty real to me, at least until the end".

Corey picked up a photo and stared at it "I look at the person in this picture and I don't even recognize him anymore. This is me... and yet I can't remember this moment, or this house or anything remotely happy about being with you. I just remember the pain and all the suffering you put me through, you ruined my life the second you walked into it. We hadn't even meant until you made it happen, I was a part of your plan, your revenge. You knew if you gained my trust I'd tell you where Sidney was in a heartbeat".

Roman stood up "except you never did tell me where she was, I figured it out on my own so easily and I knew for months where she was. Hiding was easy for her and yet she didn't care about you. You didn't hide like she did, you didn't care if someone went after you because you thought you were finally safe".

Corey looked at the doorway "you're trying to distract me, it's not working Roman. I'm going to find Casey and I'll be free of your torment and everyone else's who thinks they can control my life. I was this obsession for years, this poor helpless guy who needed to be put down because of his name. I never asked for any of this shit! I didn't ask to be the main target for these stupid ghostface attacks. Yet I did it anyway, I endured it for years and it got me killed. I can't even protect my kids anymore because they're alone in the world and I'm here. They'll be next and so will everyone else they care about. It'll never end, this shit doesn't just end because I'm dead and that's the part that fucking terrifies me. I was safe and then I wasn't and now I'm dead and alone. I'll always end up alone because of ghostface, because of what you created all those years ago when you gave Billy Loomis the motivation to kill Sidney's mother".

Roman walked towards Corey "you don't have to worry about anything anymore Corey, you can be safe here with me, you don't need anyone else except me. You can learn to forget your past and all the pain you endured, because when you died you were set free of ghostface. This place doesn't have to be your fears or your past Corey, you created it the second your heart stopped beating. You're punishing yourself because that's all you've ever known, you don't know what peace feels like and it scares you".

Corey sighed "I'll have peace once I can find Casey, you keep trying to stop me but I won't let you distract me anymore. So move out of my way!".

Corey pushed Roman away from the door and pulled on the door knob. "You're not seeing the big picture Corey, you've never seen it and it's been in your face the entire time. You're the only one here holding yourself back from finding peace. You're so caught up on what you're feeling that you're not looking around you clearly. None of this is real Corey, I'm not even real... you're only seeing me because I'm someone you trust to help you find the exit".

Corey inhaled sharply as he looked at the key in his hand "I don't understand what it means, why can't I just find Casey, I just want to see Casey. You're trying to make me feel crazy. I'm not crazy!".

He tugged on the door harshly and screamed out angrily when it didn't open. "Open the door Roman! I know you're the one who locked it, just open it! Let me out of here". Corey turned when Roman appeared beside him "don't you think the key should work? You haven't even used it Corey, can you tell me why?".

Corey looked at the key "it's not a normal key, it won't work in this type of door, just open the door Roman and let me out of here". He kicked at the door angrily "don't you think your family deserves to see you Corey? This place is only keeping you here because you refuse to open your eyes and see the truth! I'm trying to help you get out! I'm the only person here who you trust to help you open the door, not Casey! And definitely not your friends! It's me! Because I'm the one who even remotely helped you realize that life isn't just about ghostface".

Corey screamed "shut up! You're useless!" he kicked the door angrily before he stormed towards the windows. He groaned in frustration "even the stupid windows are locked! What kind of place is this! Dying is supposed to be peaceful! I'm supposed to be happy and I'm....". He paused as he looked at Roman "you're seeing the big picture, Corey why do you keep fighting it? What are you afraid of?".

Corey shook his head "just shut up, open the door and let me find Casey, if you won't open the door at least just shut up so I can think!". He paced around the room searching for any type of exit but he was greeted by Roman's voice every time.

"Corey, you need to stop and just think about what's going on here. You've always been stubborn but for once in your life just stop and listen!".

Corey glared at Roman "I've been listening to you for hours! You're just saying the same thing over and over and it's really annoying. Just open the door or maybe help me figure out how to open it".

"I've shown you how to open it, you just haven't looked at it fully. Your fear is consuming you and it's making you not realize the reality of things".

Corey looked at the door "well the reality of things is that this is all bullshit, why am I being punished! I don't deserve any of this, when is it my turn to catch a break, I can't keep doing this forever".

"Then don't, open the door Corey" Corey looked at the key in his hand "but I can't...". He sighed softly as he pushed the key into his back pocket "you can Corey, that doors never been locked, you're punishing yourself by locking it. You think you don't deserve to survive after everything you've done in your life, that if you go back you'll face another death. Another person trying to ruin everything you've spent so long on building. Your family isn't going to die because of your past, and if anyone comes you know you'll end up stopping them, because you're a survivor Corey".

Roman turned the door knob and it clicked open "open your eyes Corey, and see the big picture. Stop being so damn stubborn, you're never afraid Corey, don't let this door stop you from seeing it. You think just because Mark almost killed you, that you deserve to be here? Stuck inside this place in this punishment. You never deserved any of this pain Corey, you're a good person and Mark really scared you, so much that you think you're never gonna be free of this mess. You were free the second your heart started again, you just had a few challenges along the way, but you can go back at any time. You're keeping yourself here".

Corey looked at Roman "I deserve to be here, they don't need me anymore". He looked away from the door "that's your past taking Corey, you're not a scared boy anymore. You're a survivor, a final girl if we're using terms you like so much. I'm you, the you that's wanting to go back, you just picture me as someone you trust, even if secretly hate me. Casey will always be here, this place isn't keeping you here. It's not permanent yet, so go back and prove to everyone yeah you're Corey Becker, you always survive when the killer is unmasked. There's no way you'd let Mark of all people kill you, that knife wasn't even that sharp and he sucks at killing people. I mean seriously the guy made you do it because he was a coward. So open your fucking eyes and stop being so god damn stubborn! I mean it Corey!".

"Come on Corey, open your damn eyes! You're not allowed to die yet, open your eyes Corey!".

Corey looked at the door "I'm not dead.... I.." he let out a shaky breath "I'm not dead, this.. this is just in my head and you're just trying to make me see it. I can hear them, I can hear all of them".

He smiled as Roman moved away from the door "they're waiting for you Corey, don't be scared anymore, you have nothing to be afraid of anymore. Mark can't hurt you and he can't hurt your family. You deserve a happy ending for once, so go get it".

Corey was hesitant for a moment "I know you're not real, that you're just some part of my subconscious, but... Roman I'm sorry... for everything and I really did wish things worked out for us in the end, but I guess not everyone gets a happy ending. I'll live for you, even if you did almost kill me a lot, but that's besides the point, I'm trying to be sentimental or whatever. You really need to shave that beard. It's hideous, even my subconscious torments me with it, that should've been my first sign that I made this place. Gosh it's so bad to look at... I gotta get out of here so it doesn't haunt my dreams".

He walked through the door letting the warmth of the light enter his body as he closed his eyes.

—

The world felt the same, when Corey Becker opened his he's he felt like a teenage boy scared for what he'd face. The doctors would greet him and tell him everything that's ever been wrong in his life, they'd show him the newspaper and smile sweetly as they told him his sister was dead.

The doors would swing open and people would bring in flowers that would fade away into nothing but ashes. He'd smile and pretend his heart wasn't broken, the other half was long gone and it wouldn't come back for a really long time.

He thought facing death would make him see that he deserved to stay, to endure the world that surrounded him. Everything would be so different and he was scared, the world felt colder when his eyes opened.

He could hear the soft hum of music tuning into his eardrums, he didn't process it at first. Until he blinked and felt the beat of his heart, he was alive and for some reason Lady Gaga was the first thing that greeted him when he could process it.

He would've laughed but he felt weak as he blinked again, his mouth was dry and he felt like he was covered in so much sweat and dirt. Lady Gaga kept going on and on about a bad romance and Corey couldn't help but wanna laugh at the irony of it.

He inhaled sharply and felt the air coat his lungs, being alive felt so heavy. He couldn't hear any movement, just the hum of his lungs.

He inhaled again, his fingers twitching as he flexed his eyebrows. He felt like he was going to explode as he tried to sit up, his head was killing him and the lights were so damn bright.

He would've pushed the pillow over his eyes but his hands didn't move. He felt the panic slip in rather quickly after he tried to punch the air. He couldn't help but let out a weak croak as he tried to move.

He wanted to laugh at the weird noise that left his mouth but instead he was crying silently. Lady Gaga used to make him cry but this was a whole nother story and he didn't enjoy it at all.

He inhaled and let himself relax as he felt his fingers twitch again. He imagined a ghostface bursting through the door to stab him and well it worked real wonders.

His body grew tense as he smacked his arm against the side of the bed, he winced as he imagined ghostface trying to stab him again.

He would've yelled when his foot smacked the ground but nothing happened. His body felt weak and he could barely even focus on the numbness as his face planted into the ground.

He let out a loud squeak that would've been a shout if his damn vocal cords would work. Lady Gaga kept singing about marrying the night and he couldn't feel his damn face. He grunted as he pushed the palm of his hand into the ground.

He felt the coldness of it spread along his skin as he focused on trying to sit up. His hand just weakly smacked the ground again and he shouted. For once his vocal cords worked and he's never been happier. He coughed as he used whatever strength he had to push himself aggressively into the wall.

He blinked rapidly as his eyes focused on his surroundings, the hospital room was freezing and so many flowers and cheap gift baskets were plastered everywhere. A sense of Deja vu hit him, he's been in this room before and gosh it still was creepy.

He remembered the doctors and the nurses who would greet him every hour. Then he remembered the pain he felt when he was told Casey was dead, so many gift baskets and flowers and he still felt shitty.

He felt like a kid waiting for his mother as he watched the door, it was shut and for some reason no one heard his loud struggle. Did no one care about him?

Lady Gaga kept playing but he couldn't pull the earbuds out and it annoyed him that he told Samantha that he used to secretly listen to her when he was a teenager. It was a secret and now half of the hospital probably knew about it, the music was so damn loud but he still found it comforting.

He looked at the emergency nurse button that was dangling off the bed and he hated himself so much right now for not clicking it accidentally.

Sure falling off a bed is easy when gravity does all the work for you, but trying to move even a single muscle when your body is numb isn't that easy. This wasn't like Kill Bill at all and he hated it.

By some miracle the music stopped playing due to the tape being done with. How Samatha found his old cassette player is beyond him, he kept it hidden so no one knew his secret obsession with Lady Gaga.

He could hear the noise that surrounded him now, it wasn't hard to miss the voices outside the door. "There's no way we're giving up Sidney, he can still wake up, I mean the doctors said it's possible they've had a lot of cases like this before where the patient wakes up and they're perfectly healthy".

He recognized Samantha's voice right away as he watched the door knob twist. "Don't you want him to rest? Sam I've been telling myself for months he's gonna wake up, but he's always the same and I can't just keep him like that forever. Maybe he was supposed to die that night Mark attacked him, we're only keeping him here because we don't wanna lose him".

Sam opened the door "we're not going to just give up on him, he wouldn't do that to us... wait... where is he?" she frowned deeply at the empty bed.

"He should be here.. the doctors would call if anything happened.." Corey felt like a lost kid as he folded into himself awkwardly. He probably looked like a homeless guy as he sat on the ground.

He tried to flex his arm muscles and maybe raise his arm but his finger just weakly moved. He rolled his eyes when he heard Sam and Sidney leave the room. Clearly they didn't think to look around first.

He could hear the loud protests and shouts and he hoped the poor nurse would laugh when she saw he was very much not dead. Instead he was like a stack of potatoes left behind at the store.

His hand twitched and he grunted as he felt it wrap around the earbud cord. He focused and then he smirked when the cord successfully hit the ground.

He let out a breath of relief when his hearing increased and his ear stopped aching. He flexed his hand feeling the sensation of it slowly regaining movement. He huffed when he accidentally smacked himself instead of grabbing the other earbud cord.

After trial and error the earbud left his ear and he shook his head weakly. He looked down at the cassette player that was beside him. He would've thrown it across the room to gain some attention but his hand smacked into the ground when he lifted it.

He groaned in annoyance and imagined half of woodsboro would find amusement in his downfall. He gripped the cassette player again and prayed this time he wasn't weak. He lifted his arm and then let the cassette player fly across the room.

His arm hit the ground as he heard the loud clatter of batteries sliding across the ground. He winced at the sudden sensation of his arm tingling, he huffed when the door opened and the nurse walked inside.

She saw him, her eyes of surprise made him huff as she ran towards him. "Oh my goodness, I.. I gotta find a doctor" he didn't feel her help him back onto the bed but he imagined it wasn't easy.

He opened his mouth but no sound came out, just a dry heave. "I'll get a doctor to come look at you, just relax, you've been in a coma and your body needs time to fully wake up". His eyes widened as the nurse smiled weakly at him "don't worry, it might feel weird but I promise you're completely safe. I'll inform your family that you're okay and not missing".

She walked out of the room and he looked at the ceiling, a coma. He would've thought his life was depressing before but this really was far more depressing than being chased by ghostface.

He felt like he was in an episode of black mirror, as he imagined how long he was in a coma for. It couldn't have been that long, he felt like he was sleeping for only a few hours at best, maybe it had been a few days since Mark attacked him.

When the doctor greeted him the man himself looked surprised by Corey being awake. It definitely couldn't have been a few days at this rate, he cringed when he heard the loud sobs of people in the hallway.

He wished he was still in a coma, sure his family missed him but it's not like he was dead. It couldn't have been that long, the door was opened and Corey shouted when the doctor smacked the small hammer into his elbow. His arm felt normal for once as he smacked the doctor, his eyes widened as he tried to act like he didn't mean it.

He was a reflex at this rate and he felt bad as he let out a weak cough. "His family's wondering if they're allowed to come in yet to see him".

The doctor stood up off the bed and Corey let out a weak chuckle at the thought of him smacking him. "His joints are good but I'd recommend they don't try and hug him, his body isn't fully functioning. His left arm is weak but it's capable of moving slightly. He'll need to see a physical therapist, so while the family is visiting, it's your job as his nurse to get the paperwork set up for his wife. Call me if you need any assistance".

Corey blinked as he looked at the nurse, she smiled softly at him "I'll go inform your family they can see you, I know you're probably still a bit groggy from waking up". He opened his mouth but no words escaped "your voice will need time to come back, your vocal cords haven't been used in awhile due to you being in a coma. In your case your voice should be the last thing to return, it's not everyday a patient of mine just wakes up out of a five year coma, but I knew you were one of the lucky ones".

She walked out of the room and he would've fainted but he kept his eyes open as he looked around the room. Five years, there was no way he'd been stuck in this hospital bed for five years. He felt sick as he pressed his hand against the blanket beneath him.

He heard the voices but part of him didn't recognize them right away. He kept his gaze on the ceiling, he felt lightheaded and so lost "dad?".

He blinked and he felt the warmth of someone grabbing his hand as he looked away from the ceiling. The girl in front of him looked so much like him, yet he didn't recognize her at all. The last time he saw his kids they were so small "it's me Maureen, I knew you would wake up. Mom said you would. Hallies at band practice so she couldn't make it but she'll be here when she can, and Stevens at school until two".

Corey felt overwhelmed as he tried to process everything "Maureen sweetie give him some time, he just woke up he doesn't understand what happened fully. He needs some time".

Maureen sighed "right, sorry... I just got excited" she moved away from the bed and Corey let out a weak breath. "Why don't you see if you can find the doctor, we need to figure out how long he'll be here for".

Corey was clear for once when he looked at the door, Maureen looked so different but that was his daughter. She was right there and yet he felt like a stranger, his mouth twitched as he tried to stop her.

He wanted to ask her so many things but he watched her disappear into the hallway. "Hey it's okay, I know this is overwhelming but I promise when you can be yourself again it'll be better. The kids will understand if you're not yourself around them. You're probably so confused". He looked at Sidney, she looked so much older, the lines on her face were more bolder and her hair held soft patches of gray as she smiled.

"I missed you so much Corey, after everything that happened with Mark I was so scared you'd never wake up. I did my best to keep the kids away from you, they didn't wanna see you like that, it was hard".

He let out a shaky breath "I know you feel like you've missed so much time, but you're here now and we can finally settle down. We're safe, ghostface died with Mark. No one's tried anything since then. It's like once word got out you were in a coma everyone just stopped caring about wanting to murder us I guess. We're safe for the first time in a really long time".

Corey found that hard to believe, because no matter what he was doing in life somehow it always led to him being hunted. He could be on the verge of his deathbed and ghostface would show up to see him.

He didn't know how to live life without fearing the worst, his entire life all he's known is ghostface. How was he going to keep going when he wasn't scared of looking behind his own back? Did everyone really think it was finally time to let him rest? Has Mark's impact on the world sent a message?

Corey blinked, he let himself relax as he held onto Sidney's hand. He felt at peace for once, of course peace isn't something he can grasp these days.

—
authors notes:
I got a tad bit hyped when I started writing this chapter, one thing led to another and here we are with a long ass chapter for no reason lol. There's literally 3 chapters left of this book. I literally can't.... I'm kinda tempted to make a book with his kids but I feel like Corey and his family need a break from ghostface, but I guess we'll see what I decide because I don't wanna part ways with the og Corey. Sure I have tons of other books with him in it but it's not the same as this story because this is where he comes from. I skipped literally 2 updates just so I could write this one and I'm not ashamed, anyways enjoy!