Bed Sheets II

20. Abuser

Draven hadn't heard from Eric ever since the night they spent. Although he relished having Eric at his fingertips again, he was not surprised. Eric had an engagement with Kyle, and regardless of what Eric did, Kyle would take him with open arms since he loved him.

And that was exactly what Kyle had done.

When Eric returned home after a few days, he found Kyle with his suitcases packed. Their home was basically empty, most of the furniture already pushed to the corner of each room, as if the moving truck was to arrive the next day. Kyle had raced to the door, and the moment he met Eric's gaze, his shoulders slumped and he lowered his eyes to the floor for a few seconds.

In such a cold tone, he spat, "What are you doing here?"

Eric inhaled a sharp breath; he had never seen Kyle in worse shape. His eyes had dark circles, his eyes were swollen as if hadn't stopped crying in weeks, and his hair was disheveled, as if he hadn't washed it in days. He turned away from Eric a few times, avoiding staring at him for too long since by every second that passed, only disgust swirled in his stomach.

He sighed quietly before clearing his throat and saying, "I can explain—"

"You had sex with him." Kyle widened his arms in defeat, shrugging his shoulders and his eyes seemed to grow teary, "That's all I hoped you could avoid doing, but you had sex with him. It's funny since I kicked you out because of him, and you went to find him."

"It wasn't supposed to happen that way Kyle."

"Well it did, alright?" Kyle snapped, "And you can't keep making excuses. I asked you if I had anything to worry about, and you said no. I asked you if you still had feelings, you got mad at me for even thinking that. But the moment you don't have anyone, you turn to the only person I don't trust you around?"

Eric bit his bottom lip uneasily, glancing towards his shuffling feet before admitting, "I still...do have feelings for him." He was afraid to meet Kyle gaze, and the silence was terribly intense that he thought the air had thickened. Kyle did not say anything, and Eric added, "It didn't start until here—"

"No," Kyle rejected any excuse, shaking his head aggressively. "I can't do this anymore Eric. We need to be apart."

"But I don't want to be apart."

"If you didn't want to be apart, then you wouldn't have had sex with him."

"I was drunk, and I was around him and the feelings I still have for him emerged and I couldn't stop myself. He said some words that made me feel loved and I went for them. It was all in the moment Kyle, you have to believe me."

"No," he shook his head, lifting his chin with an exasperated sigh. "I've worked really hard to get to this point, believing you now would have been for nothing. I'm ready to leave—"

"No you're not, Kyle please." Eric stepped forward, and Kyle seemed fragile, rapidly stepping away from him. Eric waited for a moment before taking a slow step towards him, and Kyle didn't move. Soon enough, Eric had reached his arms around Kyle's waist and was laying his head against his chest, but Kyle wasn't hugging him back. "I can't lose you, Kyle. You mean everything to me, I didn't mean to hurt you like this."

Kyle sighed, but couldn't resist Eric any longer. Eric felt Kyle's arms lift and wrap around his shoulders, and because of his tall built, he leaned his chin on Eric'a hair, "It'll take a while for me to get over it. We need to go to marriage counselling to work this out because my trust for you is broken."

"I'll do anything for you," Eric admitted truthfully, "I'll do anything to win you back."

"I'm going to need some space."

"Yes, no problem. Just..." Eric snuggled his face deeper in Kyle's chest before whispering, "don't leave me because I don't know what I'd do without you."

This conversation had lead the whole country into confusion, reporters following Eric and Kyle as they walked to their cars, hammering them with questions and paparazzis taking pictures of them holding hands. Kyle wanted to make a statement from all of this, that he had gotten him back and that Draven's attempts had failed. Which was part of the reason when reporters bombarded the front of his building, he allowed them to.

He stepped out of his office, motioning for Eric to follow him and they went outside. The reporters encircled both of them rapidly. The moment that happened, Kyle shoved his hands in his pockets, unbothered, and he lifted his chin pridefully. He had no means to be embarrassed, since his relationship had not faltered and he didn't let it crumble. His love for Eric was real, and regardless of Eric's old emotions, they belonged together.

The first question he heard was, "Have you heard about Eric's infidelities with Draven H. Malcom?"

"Yes," Kyle shrugged his shoulders, "it was manufactured."

"But an officer's body camera was shown—"

"It's manipulation techniques from Draven. He made it seem as if Eric had cheated on me hoping that I would break up with him. That didn't work."

The reporters raised an eyebrow, "How do you know?"

"Because Eric was with me that night," Kyle lied calmly, even with an uncertain Eric standing behind him. "But I'm not going to let Draven win, and I wanted the people to know the truth. Draven's not the man he makes himself seem to be."

"How so?"

Kyle exhaled a long shaky breath, as if it was a difficult thing to talk about. "When Draven and Eric were together, Eric admitted to me that Draven had been abusive to him, physically more than anything."

The reporters eyes' all widened in shock, gasps across the crowd. All the microphones turned to Eric, "Eric Valence, it that true?"

"Yes," Eric spoke, although he struggled to keep his composure. He was not exactly over Draven, and berating his name was something he had wanted to avoid. But winning Kyle's trust was his main focus at the moment, hence why he forced himself to appear afraid, biting his bottom lip uneasily.

Kyle wrapped an arm around him, tightening his grip on Eric, "It's alright babe, you can share this." It was all an act, a very believable performance that all the reporters were eager to hear more, wanting more spices for the articles they were going to write. They were delivering fake information, and the reporters were feasting on it.

Eric nodded his head, "I used to hide in our closet when he was angry since he would take it out on me. He gave me a black eye once for talking to another editor at work, and made me stay in his home, barricaded in his bedroom until it healed. He had me brainwashed, but I realize now how much of a monster he is and how conniving and deceiving he can be. I was entrapped into his abuse for years, but not anymore."

Eric had gone on for about half an hour before Kyle interlaced their hands and headed towards their vehicle. This information was made into a news reportage, and the moment Draven watched it, his glass of whiskey fell from his hand and shattered.