Some would say that this was true loyalty, true love even. To be honest, I don't know what to call it myself. Perhaps a trap? A game of chess that I lose time and time again? A game in which you always make the, ever changing, rules? I always find myself questioning. It's only when the red stove kettle begins to simmer, that I realize how truly stupid I am.
I know it's wrong. I know it's not worth it. Yet the pain between us is far greater than the pain without us. I feel afraid to say something, I know it'll always end badly if I do. So, instead, I sip my tea as an anxious coping mechanism, pretending I can bury my face in the warm bliss of the cup as some sort of escape from reality. I slurp down the liquid thats always too hot, it burns my tongue and I always await for more, for a refill, as if it could fill the need for the reassurance that I never get from you.
All these words I want to say begin to swarm as I drink my tea. Sometimes I feel myself heat up, much like the hot kettle on the stove, and I get the courage to meet your cold eyes. I brace myself, I take a deep breath, I ignore the race of my pounding heart and the quiver of my lips. The blood in my veins feels hot. The kettle boils and hisses violently, it's an unbearable sound to my ears and I get this instant rush of adrenaline that taunts me, makes me feel like I can finally do it. I can finally leave, yell at you, make you see my worth. The kettle hisses louder and louder and louder. I open my mouth to speak, to scream and then-
Nothing.
No words could ever fall, despite the swarm of them in my head and the pounding headache that forms when I push back my tears and heartache.
You smile and get up to pour me another cup of tea. I'm left there alone momentarily wondering to myself 'What if we had just let the water boil over instead? '