I rushed this chapter, sorry. I also feel my writing is becoming too repetitive; I use words like 'quickly' and ''confusing' and way too many commas too much. I guess my primary school teacher was right when she said I had a 'lacking vocabulary'.
But today I completely finished planning the ending to this and I'm very excited for it. Theres a bit of a twist too.
-
The credits quickly rolled on, as Rhett came to terms with what he just saw moments before. Never did he think he'd see her face again, but alas, there she was, with salon quality hair and a smile that could blind the happiest of people.
"Hello, I'm Kallie Wells, and welcome to Kallie Talk."
The audience gave a short clap, followed by the host nodding for them to pause. Rhett squinted at the screen, not knowing what to make of the current situation. He felt his hands grow shaky, and himself eagerly shuffling forwards on the sofa.
"Today I'm joined with Christy, thank you for coming today," the woman exuding optimism smiled. They were both sat at a glass topped table, with high stall chairs and minimal decoration on the set. A weird vibe was all Rhett could feel as he stared into the eyes of the woman that caused everything.
"Pleasure to be here," she chimed.
"Now, Christy has told us she is uncomfortable sharing every detail of her ever-so inspiring story on live television-" Kallie told the camera, and Christy nodded along as she spoke.
"But please tell us what happened first."
Something gave him the feeling that whatever Christy was about to come out with was a load of made-up nonsense, and wasn't worth wasting his time on. But, as always for Rhett McLaughlin, the curiosity got the better of him. Adrenaline he hadn't felt in so long was more important now.
"Well Kallie, it's a long and complex story. Ultimately it comes down to noticing when your safety becomes compromised, and why that may be," Christy said confidently, as if she had memorised a script in her brain. She then cupped her hands around the coffee mug in front of her, and flicked her hair to the side.
"For years I suffered mental abuse from my now-ex husband, but told myself it was nothing. I was overreacting, and he was only caring. I fell into the trap," Christy went on. Rhett's fist clenched up and his face fell into a deep scowl.
He knew exactly what she was doing.
"Bullshit."
Christy took a breath and resumed her story, with Kallie keenly listening whilst clicking her pen repeatedly.
"It was only until I took the initiative and got myself out of there, that I noticed what was happening. He didn't love me at all, and I was dumb to think that."
She was lying. And Rhett was fuming.
He muttered curses under his breath, trying not to burst into a fit of rage and cause damage he'd later regret. When it came to her, he struggled.
"Since I found my new, incredibly loving partner, I have realised that our relationship was barely based on love at all."
'So... she did move on' Rhett thought.
"Well Christy, it must have been difficult to get yourself out of a toxic relationship.. what were the immediate signs you noticed?" Kallie asked for the viewers. Her patience with Christy was dropping evidently, but isn't that what happens to every TV presenter?
"Well there are many to count, but you can-"
Christy's long rehearsed answers and occasional high pitched voice breaks became a background haze to Rhett's racing mind. A mix of surprise from seeing her, panic from knowing she's still out there, and anger at how she was lying about everything sent him over the edge. Rhett was trying to calm down his spontaneous bursts of anger over the months, but one last grin from the woman that broke it all was everything he needed to charge towards the TV and push it completely off the stand with all his energy. It toppled back and collided with the floor, causing Christy to be cut off mid-sentence and the screen to play white noise and a large bang as it fell.
Rhett panted as he stood, watching the black and white pixels fizz before him. His head hurt, his vocal cords felt as if they were broken, and everything became even more confusing than it was. There never seemed to be any logic to Rhett's life, yet he never expected it to change.
***
"It's okay baby, you're okay."
Scott traced small circles in Link's hand with his finger, waiting for him to come round.
He still had his foggy oxygen mask on his face, and the usual wires connected to his arms to check his levels. Scott wanted nothing more but for Link to wake up slow and resume with his well thought out therapy, but he knew that wouldn't be happening with Link's current state.
All the other nurses had left to attend other patients, so Scott was just left with unconscious Link in front of him and the faint hum of traffic below them.
Scott was just thankful Rhett was finally out of his mind.
