HEAVY TRIGGER WARNINGS IN THIS ONE FOLKS.

Please proceed with caution.

TW: physical, mental, and emotional abuse, choking

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Sebastian woke naturally with the sun shining into the bedroom. He made a mental note, yet again, to buy curtains that actually blocked the sun, to replace these cheap ones he has had for half a decade.

He unwrapped himself from Rylee's grasp and stood up from the bed. He bent back down to push her hair out of her eyes and placed a kiss on her forehead. She sighed into his touch but stayed asleep.

He straightened back up, stretching his arms above his head, cracking his back as he did so. He chugged along through his usual morning routine.

Teeth. Shower. Change. Breakfast.

The same drill everyday. It was a relief to him to keep the same routine. It helped him start his day off right.

As he exited the shower, towel wrapped around his waist, he drifted to the "change" portion of his routine. He checked in on Rylee, not shocked in the slightest to see that she was still very much asleep, now grasping and cuddling his pillow where he had just been laying 10 minutes earlier.

He turned towards his dresser, running his hand through his wet hair, deciding to put on a pair of boxer briefs and black sweatpants, choosing to forego a shirt while he finished drying his hair with his towel on the way to the kitchen.

He tossed his towel across a stool at the kitchen bar and padded over to the fridge, deciding what to make him and Rylee for breakfast, quickly choosing to make omelettes as he grabbed eggs, sausage, and peppers from the fridge. As he turned on his Spotify and got to work, he heard small footsteps tramping across the hall towards the bathroom. The shower then turned on. He was surprised she was already awake. It was only 8:00. But he still took this as his cue to start a pot of coffee.

He had just finished chopping the peppers and sausage into smaller pieces, now pouring the whisked eggs into the pan when he heard the shower stop and the door open. He let her continue her morning routine in silence. Ry was not much of a morning person, so he knew to give her time to really wake up. He turned towards the coffeemaker and poured himself a cup, turning back around to the fridge to grab some oat milk to pour in. He took a sip, feeling the coffee soak into his tired bones. He continued on with his breakfast mission, occasionally sipping at his mug.

By the time he had added in all of his other ingredients to the eggs and folded the first omelette in half, he heard her footsteps come down the hall towards the kitchen. He looked up stifling a smirk at her appearance. She had a whole drawer of clothes here but she still chose to come out wearing one of his black t-shirts and a pair of shorts, as well as her black framed glasses, hair pulled into a messy bun. God, she was beautiful.

He made sure to say so as he greeted her, "Good morning, beautiful." He stopped what he was doing to grab her favorite coffee mug (the one Anthony had made for him as a joke gift with a variety of the stupid faces Sebastian always makes all hodgepodged together), filled it with coffee and way too much creamer for any one human to consume in one cup (but that's how she liked it), and slid it her way across the bar, offering up a kiss as well.

She rolled her eyes at him but accepted his kiss. She sat crisscross on one of the kitchen stools and laid her head down on the counter, hiding her blush and the smirk on her lips. "Morning, Seb." She then sat up and took a sip of the coffee. It was perfect.

They stayed together in the kitchen, no other words spoken, a comfortable silence. Sebastian continued onto the second omelette as they listened to the Spotify playlist continue on, drifting from 'Call Me' by Blondie easily into 'Hungry Eyes' by Eric Carmen. She let out a giggle as she knew this was Seb's go to karaoke song. And of course he didn't disappoint as he began singing into his spatula, thrusting his hips to the beat, and throwing on a pair of sunglasses he must have found on the counter.

As he continued to sing, he slid Rylee her breakfast plate and finished throwing his omelette together. She loved how easy it was to be around this man. They had only been dating for a month and some change but she felt like she'd known him for years. He was so extraordinarily loving, caring, and always carried himself with a little sprinkle of crazy.

Soon, Sebastian's phone rang, causing the tune to cut short and pause itself. He pushed the sunglasses up onto his head as he answered the call, putting the finishing touches on his own omelette.

"Heyyy, Mack...Yeah, I'm finally back. Got..uh.. a few things to handle this morning though," he glanced up at Rylee and smiled, plating his own food. "I'll give you a call back in a bit, k?...alright....uh huh...okay...later man." He laughed to himself as he hit end and Eric Carmen's voice continued serenading through the speakers.

"Whats Anthony up to?" Rylee questioned as she took another bite of her food.

Sebastian shrugged, "Something about hanging with Chris and Daniel tonight." He took a bite of his own food as she looked over at him now coming to sit beside her.

"Sounds like fun, you gonna go?" She asked, knowing Seb hasn't seen them all in a few weeks.

Sebastian looked up at her and then back down at his food almost sheepishly. "I dunno...was kinda hoping we could hang out today...maybe talk about what happened last night."

There it was. She was wondering when he would bring it up. It was inevitable. He deserves to know about it. And so does Lex. And her boss, Johnny. Oh god, work. She froze thinking about how she just completely left work with no explanation to anyone. She put her hands on her face slowly dragging them down to cover her mouth as she closed her eyes.

"Hey. It's okay. We don't have to do this right now." Sebastian said, placing his hand on her back, rubbing small circles.

She sighed heavily taking her hands off her face and crossing her arms to lean on the counter. "No. We can talk now. I've got to explain myself to Lex and Johnny too. I have to apologize."

"No one needs apologies, Ry. Johnny called this morning to check on you. Apparently Alexa explained a bit to him. He knows you well enough by now that there must've been a logical reason for you to just leave with no explanation. He just wanted to make sure you were alright..as do Lex and I," Sebastian admitted, taking another sip of his coffee.

Rylee looked over at him, trying to think of where to start. She decided it was best to just dive right in.

"I was taking trash out to the dumpster in the alley at work, and someone...s-someone...stopped me back there...someone I knew..."

Sebastian was confused but tried to understand. He stayed silent, allowing her to continue.

"I've never told you...which makes me feel awful...but my last boyfriend, Michael, and I had a pretty...bad relationship, especially towards the end...he was...abusive...it started out mentally...emotionally... and eventually got physical." She poked at her omelette with her fork gently.

Sebastian's blood ran cold. His eyes widened as he took Rylee's hand in his. "Oh my god, Ry...." His mind was running a hundred miles a minute. Anger. Sadness. Confusion. Boiling over all at once.

Rylee continued, her hands starting to tremble.

"Thursday, when I picked up that extra shift at work, Johnny said someone dropped something off for me, but when I went out, the guy was gone. I asked what the guy looked like and he didn't get very descriptive but it...it could've been Michael. He had left me a charging cord," she paused but continued when she saw confusion settle on Sebastian's face, "it was my charger, it had my initials on it. I'm pretty sure I left it behind when I moved. I tried to brush it off, but I should've called the police or something then and there. In hindsight, I can see it was a warning. A threat."

Sebastian still looked confused so Rylee reflected back on that time, describing it to him.

Rylee lived in Pittsburgh with her boyfriend Michael. They had been dating for three years. On the outside, they looked like an average happy couple, but behind closed doors it was a different story.

When they started dating Rylee noticed that Michael would make small comments about her appearance, saying she was gaining weight, or that he didn't like her hair a certain way. She always brushed it off as him just not having a filter. Over time he began picking small fights with her, just to make her upset. He would accuse her of cheating though he made it a point that she had no male friends, because he didn't trust her alone with another man. He would call her a liar if she stuttered over an answer, saying she must be lying or it would be easy to answer questions. If she ever brought up concerns to him, he would always sulk around and avoid the topic, saying he was a bad person, trying to guilt her. Rylee never fully noticed all of this until much later in life once she was separated from the situation, but it all led up to their huge fall out.

One crisp, September night, Rylee was packing while Michael was out, hoping to be moved out before he got back, but he returned early and saw all her things in boxes. He reeked of alcohol, though he always seemed to lately.

"What is all this?" Michael asked.

Rylee hesitated, not answering quick enough for his liking. He stalked up to her and grabbed her by the face under her chin. "I asked you a question, Rylee."

"I-I'm leaving... we're done." Rylee tried to say confidently, but she was at a loss with her face squished tightly in his hand.

"I don't think so. You're going to put all this back. And we're going to talk." He let her face go harshly and walked to the kitchen.

Rylee quickly picked up her phone and texted Alexa.

🌻

CALL 911. HELP. AT HOME. MICHAEL.

She stood up and faced the kitchen, "No."

"What did you fucking say?" Michael said calmly, coming back around the corner with a glass of whiskey.

"I said, no." Rylee repeated, trying not to shake.

He stomped towards her, throwing his glass against the wall behind her, stopping right in front of her face. "And why is that?"

"B-because I'm done with this Mike. You need help that I c-can't give you."

"Oh so I need help? You're the one with this anxiety shit. Your little brain probably thinks I'm crazy. But I'm the only one who could ever love you through all of that. Who else would deal with your anxious ass...Always thinking I'm out to get you." He held onto her hand, acting as though he was being gentle and caring, caressing her hand.

"Stop." Rylee said simply, some how managing all this time to hold back her tears. She pulled her hands from his grasp, but he had tried to grab it tighter as she pulled, causing a sharp pain in her wrist. "I'm done. We're done. This. This is done."

He gripped her tightly by the arm, "I decide when this is fucking done." When she tried to pull out of his grasp, he slapped her hard across the face. "I know what's best for you and if you leave here today, you're gonna go out there and die alone," he shook her tightly by the arm again, "do you want that?"

She ripped her arm out of his grasp, "You're toxic Mike. You have been for a long time, I've just never been brave enough to tell you. You take advantage of me and walk all over me and I'm just done. I'm leaving. This relationship is suffocating and I can't do it anymore."

Michael ran his hand through his hair, a grin along his face that sent a chill down Rylee's spine. "Fine. Whatever. I've been fucking Becky from the office for the last year anyway. Go."

Rylee's mouth fell agape, but she stood her ground making it a point to not shed a single tear, though she wanted to burst at the seams. He walked down the hall, into the bedroom and slammed the door. She sat on the couch, finally able to catch a solid breath for the first time in the last ten minutes. She quickly continued back into stuffing the last few things she had left to pack up into a box, hands shaking from her nerves.

She was about to text Rylee to meet her down the street and that calling 911 may have been a mistake when all of a sudden she felt something pull her backwards around her neck. She reached up to grab at the foreign object but couldn't get any purchase on it. She realized it was her iPhone charging cable and it was being held tightly behind the couch by Michael, pulling back as hard as he could, twisting it tightly in a loop like a garrote.

"You think our relationship is suffocating, well here yah fuckin go you bitch."

The cord was stiff and unforgiving as it closed off Rylee's airway. She continually tried to scratch and grab at the cord as well as his hands, gasping for air to no avail. She even tried to scream, but all that came out were small whispered stops and helps. She kicked her feet, trying to move her body, but in the process only flipped the coffee table, sending the glass vase in the middle of it shattering onto the ground. As she continued to kick frantically, she was cut by the glass on the floor. Her vision started to fade to black as she started losing the energy to fight back. Maybe I deserve this, she thought. Just as she was about to let go and give in, she heard a loud pounding on the door, "This is the Pittsburgh Police Department! Open up!"

"What did you fucking do?" Rylee faintly heard Michael growl in her ear. He pulled the cord tighter in surprise, causing her to see stars, as the police used a battering ram to open the door. He let go of the charger as the police poured in, Rylee finally inhaled a deep breath for the first time in probably a solid minute or two. She fell sideways onto the couch, unable to hold herself up from how weak she had become. Her vision was still laced in black, disorienting her, tears now streaming down her face. A policeman ran over to her as the other men ran around the couch and tackled Michael to the ground.

"Are you okay?" The policeman asked her.

Rylee could've almost laughed at the man. Are you okay. What a strange question to ask someone who was just almost strangled to death. She nodded her head, though her neck ached tremendously to do so.

"We have a paramedic on the way up. Just sit tight." He said to her as he watched her like a hawk, looking for any more signs of distress than she already had.

She watched the police haul Michael away in handcuffs, as he spit and screamed at her, calling her a bitch and that everything wrong in his life was all her fault. Trying to sprinkle any metaphorical salt in the wound that he could before he was out of sight. As soon as they left, the paramedic arrived to assess her. He was going to walk her down to the ambulance, but decided to call in the stretcher when he saw how ripped up her feet had become.

Rylee spent the next three days in the hospital after that night. She ended up with a bruised jaw, numerous lacerations on her feet and legs, a dislocated wrist, a bruised and battered neck, and damaged vocal cords, leaving her unable to speak for the next two weeks. Luckily she had Alexa there with her every step of the way during her recovery.

Rylee stayed at Alexa's apartment after she was discharged, sleeping in her guest bedroom. At the time, Alexa was dating Mark, and the two of them helped get Rylee's packed up boxes from her apartment. Rylee wanted to be able to help, but she could barely even look at her apartment building without having a breakdown over it let alone actually walking inside to see the mess that was left behind. A doctor at the hospital suggested that Rylee seek a therapist that she was comfortable with and she did just that. She found a wonderful one not far away who she truly felt helped her.

Michael had been charged with simple assault and spent 90 days in jail. Time passed, a Protection From Abuse order was filed when he got out, and Rylee moved on.

In January of 2016, Alexa and Mark mutually broke up, and Rylee and Alexa finally went along with their plans to move to New York City. They both made it a point to get different apartments, mainly looking towards the future of happy healthy relationships happening in these places they were going to call home. They serendipitously found apartments within a few blocks of each other and immediately moved there the next week.

Now five years later, they're doing exactly as they hoped. They both have wonderful boyfriends in these little apartments they're so very proud to call home.

When Rylee was done focusing on that horrible night, she paused, to let it all sink in for Sebastian. He still had his hand gently on hers, but she could tell he was fuming, his other hand was wrapped tightly into a fist, knuckles white. She wanted to let him be angry quite honestly. She had never had the ability to be angry about it when she wanted to be, and she tries not to be now. She put her other hand on top of his, sandwiching his hand between both of hers and continued.

"I thought moving out of state would be enough, and it's been four years since I've seen him at the court hearing for the PFA. It was set for three years. I never really hid where I lived, worked, you know, he had never gotten that bad to try and stalk me. Apparently that's not the case now..." she paused for a moment, reflecting on last night, she moved her top hand off of his and into her lap.

"So...last night...When I went to take the trash out behind the bar, I wasn't really looking up...I was on my phone. When I did look up, Michael was just standing there...waiting for me in the dark. I jumped a mile and dropped my phone and it just shattered on the pavement. He laughed at me and said I was always so clumsy...He kept saying he missed me. And that he was sorry. And he was different now. And he kept stepping closer, and I kept trying to back up, but I ended up in a corner." She started shaking a bit at the thought, but Sebastian kept a tight, supportive hold on Rylee's hand as she spoke.

"I kept telling him it was over between us...and that I was with someone... and I was finally happy. And he said he knew. That he saw articles about us online. And how you are just..." she paused, taking a breath to try and calm her self, feeling his thumb continuing to rub gentle circles on the top of her hand.

"He said you don't care about me..and that I'm just...just some little fuck toy to use when you're in town..." tears began to build up in the corner of her eyes. Sebastian's heart practically stopped, he felt it sink to his stomach. He was at a complete loss for words.

"He...he put his hands on me....and tried to kiss me, but I turned away, and then he...he slapped me and grabbed my face and said I was just wasting my time here in New York and with you...and that I needed to come back home to Pittsburgh...with him. I kept telling him no, yelling at one point, and he covered my mouth with his hand and p-pushed me against the wall. He told me he'd see me again and then left down the alley."

Rylee now had tears streaming down her face. She had barely felt them start to rain down her cheeks because she was focused on trying not to throw up.

"...I should've told someone then..or called the police or s-something...but all I could think was that I wanted to be home...I'm an i-idiot," she finished, putting her face in her hands trying not to cry more than she already was.