The Comedown | Luke Hemmings

Seventeen

Trigger Warning: Abuse

-

"HE WAS BEING SUGGESTIVE TOWARD YOU ANNA!" His booming voice echoed through the apartment causing my breath to hitch in the back of my throat as I sunk down further where I was standing. "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHY I HAD TO DO THAT! STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE I'M SOME SORT OF MONSTER!"

I felt a tear escape from my eye, I quickly wiped it away with my sleeve in order for him to not see it. "That's not... That's not what happened..." I stammered, being careful not to speak too loudly so I wouldn't upset him more.

"LOOK AT THIS!" He roared, stomping heavily on his feet toward me, forcing me to back up into the corner of the bedroom, my back now pressing against the edge of my dresser.

His hands were shoved out right in front of my face as he showed off his bloody and bruised knuckles. The closer he pushed his hands, the further I leaned back into the wood.

"THIS IS BECAUSE OF YOU!"

I flinched at his words, his angry presence towering over me making me feel small and intimidated underneath him.

"'No," I spoke up, unable to stop myself as he was beginning to terrify me with his sudden erratic behavior. I had to sit back and watch as he beat the shit out of a guy at the bar just because he tried making small talk with me. "This isn't because of me," my voice was trembling.

He took a step back from me, looking at me in shock because I wasn't just going to let him stand here in my face berating me over something that definitely wasn't my fault.

How did I know it wasn't my fault?

I found out about his little secret...

"I know what you did before we went to the bar," I said as strongly as I could muster up the courage to in that moment. He's never acted like this before and although his behavior was terrifying to me I knew it wasn't the person he was normally.

"What are you talking about Anna?" His eyes were almost menacing to me now, like he was trying to threaten me with just the way he was staring, but I couldn't help noticing his pupils.

Extremely dilated, the whites of his eyes almost entirely bloodshot as if he hadn't been sleeping for weeks.

"I know what you did..."

"I didn't do anything. I don't know what you're trying to pin on me, but whatever it is I didn't do it."

I stormed past him, leaving the room as quickly as I could while heading straight for the bathroom.

"Anna!" He called after me knowing exactly where I was going and what I was going to get.

I pulled the medicine cabinet door open forcefully, various bottles inside rattling as I reached for a very specific bottle.

An empty bottle from an anxiety medication prescription I ran out of a long time ago.

I only took notice of what was in its place when I went to finally clean out the cabinet earlier that day, a job long overdue.

"Really Eric? Really?" I questioned in a panic as I began to push and twist at the child-protected cap, his body now blocking the doorway as he watched in distress what I was getting into. The cap popped open and I let it fall into the sink as I plunged my fingers into the bottle, pulling out a small ziplock bag filled with a white, powdery substance.

"I-I can explain Anna, I swear it's not what it looks like," his panic grew as I caught him, his demeanor changing almost instantly.

"Oh really?" I snapped back, throwing the baggy down onto the floor. "What is there to explain? This explains everything!"