Better Love //dyle//

Chapter 4

"Hello stranger," Kyle hears Dan's familiar voice say to him the following day as he sits in the pub. His large hands are wrapped around a pint, the coolness cooling his warm hands. 

"Oh, hey," Kyle smiles, suddenly delighted that Dan is here. He's thankful his boyfriend isn't here, too. Last time was scary, he doesn't want to do that again. "Nice to see you again. You staying?" 

"Yeah- wait there a minute," he smiles, walking off into another part of the pub. Kyle glances down to his phone before putting it away, into his pocket. He glances around- he hates it when he has fresh bruises on his body, he feels like the world is staring at him. 

Dan returns a few moments later with a man by his side, a man that looks unfamiliar but radiates kindness. "Kyle, this is my boyfriend, Will." 

He's not sure why, but somewhere deep inside, Kyle is kind of disappointed. He had looked at Dan in a friendly way,  but he longed for him somewhere. 

"Oh- hi, it's great to meet you. I'm Kyle," Kyle smiles politely, putting his hand out for Will to shake, which he does.

"I'm Will. I think I've seen you around here before," he hums, crossing his eyebrows in wonder. Kyle's heart skips. "Ain't you normally here with some bloke?" 

"Oh, yeah. He's my fella," Kyle admits, his voice quiet. He doesn't want to admit that he's at home, too drugged up to move, or the fact that he hits him. He wonders if Dan has ever hit Will, or vice versa. 

"Well, I don't mean to sound horrible but... I don't like the looks of him. I was here the other day, and when he slammed on the table like that. Does he have anger issues or something?" Will wonders, frowning. He has seen the man here before- he shouts at people if they do something wrong or get in his way, he gets up in their faces. He hopes his and Kyle's relationship isn't reflective of that. 

Kyle shakes his head, though. "No, no. He's fine with me. I swear..." 

Will isn't wholly convinced, but the man looks uncomfortable so he decides he won't dig into it now. Especially not in front of Dan.

About half an hour and a few drinks later, as the three of them are having a laugh and enjoying themselves, Kyle's phone buzzes violently on the table, lighting up and showing a message. As the man looks down at it, Will notes how his face drops.

"I-I gotta go," he says quietly, though he somehow manages to keep an upbeat tone about it. It's obvious what has just happened, but nobody brings it up.

"But we were having such a good time?" Dan mumbles, disappointment in his voice. "Can't you stay another ten minutes?" 

"I can't. I'm sorry- something has come up. I don't know when I'll be back, though. I'm sorry, but it's been great meeting you." Kyle smiles, quickly rising from him his seat and going to walk off. 

"Wait, here. Take my number. Text me if you need anything, ever. Okay?" 

Kyle knows that Will knows, the look that he gives him is enough to tell him. 

Kyle sits on the floor, sobbing his heart out and unable to get his breath back. His face is badly bruised and blood is trickling from his nose and his mouth, pain flowing through his body.

His boyfriend's arms are wrapped around him, poison kisses being planted on the top of his head. "Hey, baby," he says, rubbing the man's arm. "You're okay, look. You're not hurt that bad." 

Kyle's sure he's broken his nose. Again. He just continues to sob, hiding his face from the man.

"Don't cry, you know you shouldn't make me angry. It's what you deserve when you go out, talking to other people whilst I'm here." He says quietly, "What if something had happened whilst I was here? What if something had gone bad with the drugs?" 

"Then don't take them," Kyle mumbles through horrible sobs, blood dripping down onto the wood of the floor. When his boyfriend's grip tightens, he knows he has struck a chord to make him angry. This makes him shake more. 

Suddenly, he is pushed to the ground again, a foot colliding with his stomach. "Don't try and fucking tell me what to do," he demands with another harsh kick, this time hitting him in the chest.  "You should be fucking there for me when I do this shit, since I do so fucking much for you." 

Kyle releases several yelps of pain, suddenly feeling a rising sickness from his stomach. Blood and saliva has pooled on the floor next to his face and his vision begins to go blurry with each passing kick, his skin growing paler.

That's where his boyfriend stops. He will hurt the man and make him suffer, but he will never kill Kyle.