a vent
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Travis.. 'falls down the stairs' a lot.
I know that's not what it really is, but time after time, without fail, he makes that same joke.
It wasn't funny the first time, and it's never going to be funny. But he's going to keep making it.
I just don't think it's very funny that I sit here and help fix him up, even if he doesn't want me to, only for him to go back like nothing happened.
He talks about her a lot. He only says good things, and I guess it's because he wants everyone else to think that the bad times are only an occasional thing.
They aren't, and everybody else already knows. It's not a secret.
"Katie's got the cutest laugh."
"She's my perfect angel, I love Katie so much."
"Did you see what Katie did?"
I can't stand to listen to him talk about her. Yes, Travis, I did see what she did, no it wasn't her stupid sports junk, it was her hitting you hard enough to knock you back over a joke.
It was her shoving you and making you cut open your arm on a rock, it was her hitting you over the head every time you tried to speak to her after an argument, it was her treating you like shit.
Or, maybe I'm remembering it wrong, and it was her threatening to push you into the road. That sure was fun, I just thought it was so cute how she screamed at you like there weren't people watching. You looked so fucking scared of her.
Of course, I can't say that to him.
I've tried. It's easy to remember what happened vividly.
He flinches away for the millionth time, sitting down in some old lawn chair that's set out on the balcony overlooking the water. He should be having fun, but instead he's stuck in here with me, the infamous relationship ruiner, so I can help fix him up.
I want to help. I want to get him out of this stupid, garbage cycle he's gotten himself sucked into. "Travis-"
And he doesn't even let me try.
"Dante, if you're going to try to be my life coach again, just stop." He snaps at me. Travis doesn't snap at anyone. Ever. Maybe sarcastically, but never like that.
I can't even look at him, because I'm too scared that when I do, he's going to be staring through me with some sort of harsh look in his eyes. One that tells me he hates me, and I can't handle that.
"..I'm almost done." It comes out a murmur, and I can't help but start thinking. He spends so much time with her, maybe spending more time with someone else will help him realize something.
So I offer, because god, I miss hanging out with him all the time. "After this, do you want to go get something to eat?"
There's a few moments of silence before he sighs.
"I already promised Katie I'd take her to lunch. Sorry, Blue!" He laughs it off. He does that for everything now.
I'm so stupidly jealous and overdramatic that I keep talking. "You can't cancel one out of the million times you go somewhere with her?"
That gets him to pause, and I can feel it, he's gone frozen, because he didn't expect that as much as I didn't expect him to snap at me.
"..Dante, she's my girlfriend." Yeah. Thanks, Captain Obvious.
She isn't a good one.
"You shouldn't spend all your time with your girlfriend." I roll my eyes, but I can't tell if he notices it. Regret is hitting hard. It comes in the form of anxiety, too, and I can feel it in my stomach.
