Cut The Strings

Unlikely Friends

"And ever since then, Millie hasn't been the same..." Moxxie finished recounting the tale of his failed, solo mission to Alastor and Husk. By now: Nifty, Charlie, Vaggie and Angel Dust had also gathered around to hear the story, all with matching looks of sympathy.

"So she regularly fails to defend you while you are openly being bullied, even by your own boss and then chooses to make you feel like you did something wrong when you inevitably lash out at her for it?" Alastor calmly clarified as he was able to spot the obvious, gaslighting tactics from miles away.

"Gaslightin', the most common form of mental-abuse..." Angel confirmed Alastor's suspicions with an understanding nod.

"A-And it isn't just at work o-or with strangers but she also does this with her family too!" Moxxie complained further once having his feelings validated had unscrewed the cap of his bottled-up resentment.

"Let me guess: You have to follow a different set of rules than her family does?" Alastor questioned him further.

"Yes! Everyone in her family is a complete and total narcissist! Her brothers are male-chauvinist pigs who treat women like they're disposable! Hell, one of them just broke off his year-long marriage because his wife refused to be his live-in maid! Her parents are judgmental, controlling assholes who favor the youngest sister and her youngest sister?" Moxxie began to rant before releasing a wry chuckle.

"Don't get me started on that disgusting, sloppy, two-faced, shit-stirring brat! If it wasn't bad enough that she kept leaving her shit everywhere and making messes that me and Millie were expected to clean up when we stayed over, she is constantly making up lies to cause drama! She falsely accused one of her own brothers of sexual assault just to get attention and now, he's been ostracized from the family because they just took her word for it without any evidence! Then she has the nerve to tell me to my face that she "loves me like a brother" only to then tell her parents that I make her uncomfortable for simply telling a few sex jokes!

I still don't see what the problem is since the entire family told sex jokes that were MUCH worse than mine! She also lied to her parents about me and Millie talking shit about them just because I asked her to respect our privacy and not just barge in while I'm in the bathroom or trying to be intimate with my wife!" Moxxie let out a deep sigh of relief once the massive pressure of pent-up anger had been released from his chest.

"Whenever I stayed over, I pitched in with chores, cooked dinner for them, bought them things and even did Sally May's makeup but they have always treated me as an outsider..." Moxxie panted from exhaustion as tears had once again begun to sting the sore, swollen brims of his eyes.

"Did I eavesdrop one time? Sure but nobody wants to acknowledge the fact that my gut-instincts about something being amiss were right...I caught Millie's parents trying to convince her that I'm pushy and that she needs to leave me!" Moxxie practically sobbed as fresh tears cascaded along his cheeks. He swore lightly beneath his breath as his salty tears irritated his sore eyes and cheeks.

He did not even bother to wipe them away this time since the skin around his eyes had become so tender from being forced to cry every, single night by his own partner for several months.

"Does your wife have a habit of not respecting your boundaries?" Alastor decided to press further.

"She full-on said I wasn't allowed to set them..." Moxxie confirmed.

"That's fucked up..." Husk acknowledged.

"Just recently, she read my diary to her family, my boss and his daughter then she blamed me for their reactions! I could lose my job for this!" Moxxie then proceeded to vent about Millie's most-recent betrayal.