"I'd be better off without you," Desmond said softly, poking an old, shrivelled bean into the sink.
"Like hell."
"No, I mean it, Brady."
Silence hung over the room like the smoke from dinner. The cheap exhaust fan was useless, running for hours and hours without doing anything to the smoke clinging to the ceiling.
"You're mean," Desmond said.
The quiet pushed in again.
Part of him wished Brady would deny it, push back a little. Snap or yell, even. But the truth between them always sat in silence.
The ride home from Thanksgiving. Why did you say I was a friend? The walk after their first fight. Did you really mean that you hate me? The morning after the first time they slept together. I can see myself with you, Brady. Earlier that morning, standing in the cluttered living room. Do you love me?
"Desmond... You know it's complicated."
He huffed.
Oh, he'd heard that one. One time, two times, ten.
"Do you think life is gonna just magically tidy itself up?" Desmond asked, bitterness creeping into his voice. "Or do you think it'll just take care of me for you?"
Silence.
"Jesus, Brady. If you hated me so much, why'd you let me move in?"
"Rent was high."
Desmond looked down at the shrivelled bean in the sink. It wobbled as his eyes watered. For once, he would have preferred the silence.
About the Creator
Silver Daux
Shadowed souls, cursed magic, poetry that tangles itself in your soul and yanks out the ugly darkness from within. Maybe there's something broken in me, but it's in you too.
Ah, also:
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More stories from Silver Daux and writers in Fiction and other communities.
The steps to losing a child
Step One: Lose a child. Not what anyone wants to happen and nothing you can do to change it, but you can go through steps to becoming happy again. You can go through steps to loving again. You can go through steps to become a new you because after losing a child you will never be the same person you once were.
By Tabitha Hinkley5 days ago in Fiction
Comments (5)
The cruelty we're capable of even with our words is substantial. Really great work building the relational tension so quickly
Ouch! That ending stung.
This felt almost uncomfortable to read, that’s how realistic it was. Super great work conveying a piece of human life.
Things said that should remain silent. An all to true story that portrays the lives of many
Ouch, that conversation was too real.