Catharsis(Return to Sender), Part 7

Recap: The guys have come face-to-face with the monster stalking them – the thing that Russ created.

Cataracts, because love can make a person blind to anything their lover might do to them or others. Physically mute because asking for help feels pointless and telling them to stop has become impossible. Bruised and broken, but still standing because in the end, standing up to bullies is the only thing that has the chance of working.

The man paused in his typing. The house was quiet, the summer storm moving out of the area already. His eyes went to the scars on his left hand in a half circle. Little white marks that would stay with him for the rest of his life, reminding him of the day he’d stood up and told Russ to fuck off. The day Russ left and never came back.

“What the fuck is that?!” Russ screamed, backing himself into the table again.

The figure didn’t say anything else. There wasn’t anything to say. No words that would make Russ understand the damage he’d caused or even care.

“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” Anson said from the floor.

“Anson, help me…Please, baby, I love you…I didn’t mean – “

“Bullshit.” Anson got to his feet. “You broke something and it’s time to face your punishment.”

In one last attempt at saving himself, Russ turned to climb over the table to the window. Anson watched his Other grab Russ in a tight hug from behind. That rasping voice spoke again. “I…owe you…so MUCh pain…”

Lightning flashed and they were both gone.

Anson sat back in his chair. Another good one down. He printed the story without reading it and stapled the papers together. They went on a slowly growing pile to the left of his computer, each laying out a different path to his freedom from Russ.

Anson only hoped that if that bastard ever showed his face again, he would be ready to fight back harder than he had the last time.

A/n: And done! To sit in my editing pile forever! If you stuck with me to the end, thank you so much! I will be picking another writing prompt for the next story. I hope you come back. Tschau!