Fix You ~Completed~

Act Thirty-One

You know those scenes in movies where all the sound fades out for a moment and you're left with nothing but visuals? Often, they are supposed to put extra emphasis on the action or the emotion of the scene. Taking out the sound magnifies it.

The minute I opened the door to the apartment, I felt as though I'd walked onto the shooting of one of those scenes. Our television was displaying picture, but was muted. I took my sweet time in removing my coat and shoes. I kept my eyes trained on the adult cartoon Kyla had been watching, looking for any signs he was awake. The last message he'd sent had been at four o'clock that morning, meaning there was a good chance he was passed out by now.

Ha, as if I could have been that lucky.

"You're such a fucking whore," Kyla snapped at me, coming out of our bedroom is a loose fitting t-shirt and faded jeans. His hair was a mess and eyes red. When he was within spitting distance of me, my nose was filled with the scent of smoke and I had to cup my hand over my face to be able to breathe. "You went to see your new boyfriends, right? You went to go get fucked by someone else."

I tried opening my mouth, tried to explain, but Kyla had his hands on my shoulders. Our eyes met for maybe half a second before he whipped me around. "What the fuck did you do to your hair?" he hissed, gesturing to my head.

"J-Jimmy from the c-café cut it for me," I whispered, trying to put on some kind of smile. "Do you l-like it?"

I didn't start to cry when he threw the first punch at me. As always, I took it and didn't say a word. Best to just let him fume for a while then "make up for it" later.

"It's bullshit, Clem! You look just as fucking awful as you did before! A goddamn haircut isn't going to change that!" he seethed. I kept my eyes trained on my shoes and forced them not to bubble over. "So, you went and saw Jimmy? Who the fuck aren't you screwing around with behind my back?"

I shook my head. "Kyla," I got out in a stutter, "no one. Jimmy is just my friend, like Gale and E-Eddie. I w-went out with them to have fun. I just w-wanted to see my friends."

"How many fucking times do I have to tell you that they don't care, Clem? Nobody cares about you and your shitty sickness. I barely can force myself to! I can barely stand being around you half the fucking time! You make me want to kill myself!"

"Stop," I whispered, holding my cheek. A smack, this time to my opposite side. It left a ringing in my ears. "Kyla, I-I just wanted-"

"You wanted to get away from me, is that it?" he snarled, coming at me again. I slipped away, a definite no-no when it comes to Kyla. The grip he took on my arm had me yelping, desperately trying to run away, run back to Eddie. "I'm all you have, Clem!"

I hissed, "No, you're not! I have friends, Kyla! I have people who care about me! I have people who don't just want me because I want them! They truly l-love me and they tell me all the time! None of them see me as some fucking piece of meat that's there for them whenever they want!"

I was pushed against the counters face first. Kyla held me down, one hand resting on my left arm bent behind my back while the other curled around my neck like the gear shift on his truck. "You idiot," he snarled. "You pathetic idiot! You are so desperate to have someone show you an ounce of love, aren't you? What? Do you not feel like I give you enough love, Clem?"

"Kyla," I begged, my throat feeling as though it were full of sand.

"I fuck you every night, Clem. I always kiss you before I go to work. We sleep in the same bed. We live together. I provide for you. What more do you need, huh? Am I not enough for you?"

My eyes watering, I admitted, "You're too much."

"Oh, I'm too good for you, Clem? Is that it?"

"Y-yes."