Better Love //dyle//

Chapter 1

Heavy footsteps echo up the stairs, the horrible stench of alcohol following him like a cloud of darkness. Every step, every sound he makes causes Kyle's heart to thump in his chest, his hands shaking even more, and his efforts at pretending to be asleep even more pathetic. His entire being is covered in a thin film of sweat, and his chest rises up and down as he lies on his back, listening to the stairs outside the cheap, run-down apartment creak, the shuffle of feet against the dirty, worn carpet and the final turn of the key in the lock, something that feels like a finality to the long-suffering boy.

"Oi, ger'rup you good for nothing," the man's thick voice is so gruff that it sounds like he smokes forty a day. Kyle is almost certain he was once in love with this man, he saw him as someone who treated him right and loved him, but a kick in the ribs tells Kyle that man has disappeared somewhere. 

The floor isn't comfortable to sleep on, and Kyle wishes they still had their bed. That had been pawned for money for drugs, so all that remains is a mattress on the floor- and Kyle had to pay for that himself. He sometimes asks himself what happened for his life to end up like this...

The man lets out a yelp of pain, his already blotchy skin forming another bruise already. He hates the way everything has turned out- he hates how he didn't listen to his parents when they warned him. They knew how bad he was before Kyle even announced they were together, back when he was a kind boyfriend.

"I said: get. Up." The man reaches down and yanks Kyle up by his t-shirt, making his stumble to his feet, his breathing heavy and laboured.

"I'm s-sorry..." The boy mumbles quietly, casting his eyes to the ground. Although the pair are very similar in height (Kyle is just shorter), his boyfriend is at least twice as heavy as him.

He shoves Kyle away from him, shaking his head in annoyance. "Do you not do anything around here? God, if you got off your arse and did something it wouldn't be this messy. We're both fucked if the police show up." 

Broken syringes, white power, and joints sit around the apartment, littering the place and making it look only half as bad as it actually is. If they saw the abuse and the fights that took place, then it would be complete.

The holes in the walls, the smashed locks and the destroyed countertops tell stories that Kyle doesn't have the ability to talk of. His spirit has suffered the most, though- even he can't tell where the once happy, bright-eyed, high-spirited man has gone, now he is nothing more than the shell of the man he used to be... He misses that version of him.

His boyfriend stalks off to the bathroom, his presence dominating the house. Whenever he is around, Kyle can't relax or feel comfortable at all. 

"What?!" The man snaps as Kyle follows him into the bathroom, staring down at the dirty floor. Kyle's heart leaps to his throat, fear consuming him. In another universe somewhere, he is happy. It is not this universe.

He looks up in surprise- he doesn't want to be hit for being too lazy and not following him, but now he might get hit for doing what he usually has to do. It's a game that Kyle can never win.

"What're you following me around for?" The man demands, glaring at him through the mirror. "Get out of my sight, you worthless git. God, you're always following me. It's pathetic." 

"Sorry..." Kyle mumbles quietly, looking back down and shuffling out of the bathroom, hearing the door slam shut behind him as he stands awkwardly in the living room, wishing that he could click his heels and get away from here. 

The room is dark and cold when night descends on them, calming the room down, but Kyle is still as uncomfortable and tense as ever. His boyfriend is holding him so tightly it feels as though he is being crushed, that air is being denied from his lungs. It all causes him pain because of the bruises on his ribs. 

Death was something that once scared Kyle. Never finding faith in any sort of God, he wondered what happened after death. Was there an afterlife? A Heaven or a Hell? Or was it nothing? Perhaps, this is the one he likes to think of the most, you get another chance in a completely new being. Since he's been in this 'relationship' (is it really a relationship if it's one way?), it didn't seem as scary. He sat atop his apartment block many times when his boyfriend wasn't there, wondering what would happen if a strong gust of wind came along.

He never had the guts to do it, though. Perhaps in the next life, this will be better, but he doesn't want people to think that he was dragged down so much by his boyfriend. 

His boyfriend shifts and pulls Kyle tighter to him, pushing down on his bruises and making the boy release a small whimper of pain. He shouldn't complain- he's been in worse states than this. There have been times where he genuinely thought he was going to die. A few bruises is nothing compared to that.

He just prays he'll get a break soon...