Fix You ~Completed~

Act Twenty-Four

There was still two days left until Eddie and Gale would come home from break and I was lonelier than a tumbleweed in a desert. Kyla was working most days, saying he needed a break after spending the holidays at home with me, and I'd completed all the homework I was assigned over break. Most nights I tried to get out of the house, making up lies about heaps of work I needed to complete at the library.

The night before, I was not so lucky to get out. Kyla insisted I stayed home with him and I regretted it the minute I told him I would. My throat was all splotchy black and purple. I could barely cover it with my turtle neck; a little bit of the trauma was peeking out at the very top. Kyla hadn't meant to grab me so hard, but he said he "wanted to try something new" during private time. The new thing hurt, especially when he refused to let go when I started running out of air.

That was the reason I ended up at the café on a Wednesday night all alone. The place was a ghost town; the only inhabitants were Jimmy and that creepily happy Charles guy I noticed hanging around on Karaoke Nights.

"Clem! I have not seen you in decades, man! I was worried you died!" Jimmy called the minute he noticed me standing in the doorway, checking the empty café out. "Come pull up a stool and tell me how you've been!"

I started fisting my hoodie sleeves, wishing he hadn't phrased it like that. I didn't want to tell him how I'd been. That was the very last thing I wanted to do, because I'd been a few shades darker than horrible. I wanted Eddie and Gale to come home. I didn't like being without them.

With a chuckle, Jimmy produced a stool on the side of the counter for me to sit at. I sat down uneasily and he immediately asked if I wanted my usual. "A cinnamon latte looks like exactly what you need," he hummed. "Seriously, you make the zombies on The Walking Dead look like a lively bunch. Are you okay?"

"Uh-huh," I answered automatically.

"Clem." The way he said my name, I was afraid he was actually going to leap across the counter and hug the crap out of me. "Is that a bruise on your cheek?"

"No," I muttered. My ability to lie was mediocre at best anymore. Seriously, I sucked. If I was graded for my lying, I'd probably get a D. Okay, on second thought, it was probably good enough to warrant a D-plus.

I theorized this was due to the fact I just couldn't force myself to care anymore.

During Christmas, things were better. In fact, things were great. Kyla was acting so happy with me that I felt as giddy as I did back in middle school when I was first figuring out my feelings for him. That was before Kyla started getting mad all the time and before I stopped wanting to get out of bed in the mornings. It was a simpler time and, for three whole days, I returned to that period.

Then Kyla ran out of his new favorite drug and everything went back to the way it was.

The bruise on my cheek I'd earned because I had gotten a little worked up when Kyla refused to say he loved me again. Yes, I knew it was stupid for me to make a big deal out of it, but it was three little words! He could say three little words to me! Even if he honestly was lying, I didn't care!

"What is it then, if not a bruise?" Jimmy lowered his voice, glancing uneasily over my shoulder at overly-peppy Charles. He reminded me of a cult leader; he was charismatic, but something was off about him.

I didn't like the idea of spreading my dirty laundry out here, with the possible cult leader within earshot, but I felt any guard I had left collapse when Jimmy threw me that withering frown. "Can you pretend to be my bartender for a few minutes and just... just be wise and tell me what the hell I need to do?" I broke instantly, leaning forwards on my elbows.