TW: Physical abuse
Now you may be thinking, wtf author??? I clicked on this book for happy things??? Why is there a warning for physical abuse??
Because, dear reader, sometimes before we can experience true happiness, we must experience true pain.
Anyway yeah dont read if physical abuse triggers you 👍
••••
It rained.
Curt could barely be bothered to notice.
For all he knew, there could have been an apocalypse happening. He didn't care.
All he could care about were the words on his phone screen:
I dont love you anymore. I'm breaking off the engagement.
And just like that, everything, every memory, every kiss, every bit and piece of love in his heart, were wounds.
At first he didn't believe it. They were just words- words didn't have any meaning, really, right? Alas, he pierced himself on that double edged sword. Every "I love you" had meant something, so these words had to mean something. This- this was real. There was no use denying it.
He wanted to cry.
But he couldn't.
He was feeling everything and he was feeling nothing all at the same time. It was all a mumbled mess and he lost himself in it, falling into the void of his own mind without any knowledge of how to escape. He felt empty. He felt overwhelmed.
He didn't feel sadness so much as he felt the loss of Owen's love.
And he wanted it back. God, he wanted it so bad.
But he had to respect Owen's wishes. If Owen really, truly, didnt feel that way anymore, he wasn't going to push it because that would just hurt them both. And Curt didnt think he could take anymore hurt.
So he decided to take a shower. To gather all of Owen's things that were strewn about, that didnt matter at first because they were always at each other's places anywyay. To put them in a box. To take them to Owen's place. To look him in the eyes and say goodbye.
It would be hard, but he had to do it.
The shower was cold. It was nice. Grounding. Every drop of icy cold water kept him from receding into his own mind. His body was numb by the time he was done, but it was worth it. Step 1 accomplished.
So many things. He realized so many things weren't his, but Owen's. He realized he might need several boxes.
He paused as he reached a squeaky toy meant for Susan. He wouldn't see Susan ever again, would he? A fresh wave of sadness rolled over him as he remembered that the dog he had come to think of as his own wasn't his at all.
He wiped his tears away quickly. Now wasnt the time to cry, now was the time to be productive. To get things done. So he could look Owen in the eyes and say goodbye.
Soon everything was packed away.
Now it was time for Step 3.
Owen's place.
He didnt dare put his music on.
Too much of it would remind him of Owen.
Every love song was tainted. Owen's name was printed in between the lyrics permanently.
Every sad song was too real right now. He didn't want to show up to Owen's house looking like a mess.
Every other song he had danced in the living room to with Owen. Every other song he had screamed out the car window with Owen. Every other song he had shared with Owen. He had shared everything with Owen, was prepared to share his life with Owen, but things dont always turn out the way they're supposed to.
So he just listened to the rain pound on the windshield.
He parked the car on the side of the street, unbuckled, and stepped out of the car. It was still raining, but not as much as before. Curt opened the passenger's side door and grabbed the first box.
The walk up to Owen's door was a familiar one. He paused on the doorstep. This is where we first kissed, he thought. After a wonderful first date, which was all cliques and awkwardness, they finally kissed each other goodbye on the doorstep. And it was amazing.
Curt blinked away a couple tears. Now was not the time.
He knocked on the door three times, ignoring the doorbell because he knew Owen hated the sound it made. He waited.
Shuffling could be heard behind the door. Suddenly, it swung open to reveal Owen.
Curt dropped the box in shock.
A black eye. An ugly bruise on his jaw. A couple bandaids covering his nose. Owen looked like he had been crying, too. When his eyes landed on Curt, an expression of shock washed over him.
Curt's hands flew to Owen's face before he realized what he was doing.
"Oh my lord, Owen, what happened?" He whispered horrified, stroking the bruise on his jaw gently. Suddenly he remembered that everything that had happened and let his hands fall, blushing.
"You weren't supposed to come here. " Owen whispered, slowly closing the door behind him as he stepped out into the drizzle.
"I have all your stuff. I figured you'd much rather have it back then me buring it or some other corny shit." Curt shrugged, still staring at the wounds on Owen's face.
"I thought you would burn it. I thought you'd be angry. How are you so calm?" Owen asked quietly.
"Because I love you." Curt answered honestly.
"What?"
"Because I love you. And I want you to be happy. Even if it's not with me. I want you to have the best, and God knows I'm not it."
"Don't say that," Owen whispered, tears springing to his eyes. "Don't say you didn't make me happy. You were the best goddamn that ever happened to me, Curt Mega."
"Then why-" Curt's voice cracked and he cleared his throat and blinked away a couple tears before trying again. "Then why don't you love me anymore?" His voice sounded soft and broken- and you could tell by how Owen looked it had shattered his heart.
"No I- it's not, I just, I couldn't let you get hurt. I was living a fantasy and it crumbled and I couldn't let you get hurt because of it." He crossed his arms and looked away.
"A fantasy? Is that what our relationship was?"
"No! I was living a fantasy where I thought my parents would leave me alone, but my dad found me, okay?!" Owen yelled, tears spilling out of his eyes. "My dad found me. And he was mad."
Curt's eyes widened. "Did... did he do that to you?" His eyes traced over the bruises.
Owen's silence was deafening.
"Oh my God, Owen, is that why you broke up with me?"
Again, silence.
"Owen?"
"He said he would hurt you." Owen finally sobbed out. "I couldn't live with myself if he hurt you." The dam finally broke, tears poured out of his eyes and sobs racked his body. Curt opened his arms slightly, wondering if Owen would want his comfort anymore.
Owen collapsed into his arms, gripping him tightly and mumbling "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" over and over again.
"It's okay, you're okay," Curt murmured, stroking Owen's hair. "You were scared. It's fine."
"I still love you. I never stopped. Not for a second." Owen confessed into Curt's shoulder.
"Then let's grab Susan and whatever you need and go home."
"Okay. Okay." Owen pried himself off Curt and wiped his eyes. "My dad's supposed to be back in an hour, so we should hurry."
They took the boxes and packed them to the brim with everything they could.
They put then back into the car.
They walked Susan into the car.
And then they drove away.
They drove home.
"I'm sorry," Owen repeated, "he surprised me and scared me. I didn't know what else to do."
"It's okay, I forgive you. You did what you thought you needed to do. But you don't have to push me away to protect me. Together, we can face anything," Curt responded, pulling into his- their driveway.
They gathered everything and took it inside, Susan following happily behind them.
"Such a good boy, Susan," Curt praised, smiling before letting them both into the house.
The house was so peaceful.
They put everything in its place, tidied everything up, before finally relaxing on the couch. They cuddled up next to each other, a blanket thrown over both of them, and Susan stretched across both their laps.
"So... are we still getting married?" Owen tentatively asked.
"Duh." Curt replied bluntly. "Just because your dad is an abusive asshole doesn't mean I'm giving up on our wedding."
"Oh thank goodness," Owen sighed in relief and leaned into Curt.
Susan then leapt off the couch, barking at the window.
"What is it, boy?" Curt shifted to go look, ignoring Owen's noises of protest. He walked over to the window before beaming over at Owen.
"Quick, Owen, come look!"
"What is it, love?" Owen stood up and joined Curt at the window. Once he saw, he too, was smiling.
Snow.
"I hope it snows at lesst two feet!" Curt excitedly said.
"Curt, that's highly unlikely." Owen deadpanned.
"We'll see," Curt smirked.
"Oh, want to bet on it?" Owen raised an eyebrow.
"Winner gets to decide the location of our honeymoon!" Curt added.
"You're on!" Owen reached his hand out, and they shook on it.
It snowed 3 feet that night.
••••
And the dad got arrested dont worry
I'm sorry this was more angst then fluff but I dunno I liked it
Also it's the sequel to Autumn because I'm still in love with that universe. Who knows, maybe there'll be a Summer?