Chapter Text
Aubrey barely even registered the sound of the paper being torn to shreds in her own hands. Didn't even matter, anyways, the act was done. She tore up Kel's one shot at reaching Hero, his ability to get away from her for even a moment. Was she meant to smile at what she had done? Or to hate herself for having ruined Kel's life even further? Not like she had any time to think anymore, as she heard the door opening behind her. It seems she made more noise than she had wanted to.
"Aubrey?" She heard in Kel's voice, as her head and body whipped back and around to meet his eyes. She couldn't help the smile the pricked at her lips, knowing that she would have him right here with her for much longer felt so blissful. And yet Kel did not seem to think the same way. Made sense, seeing the past. after all, who would be happy to stay with the one who sodomized you against your will a while back? Only a complete fool. Kel's eyes were locked onto her hands for some reason... oh. The plane ticket which barely was in one piece anymore. His way out.
Kel's eyes twitched in what could probably only be described as every little piece of his patience that was left being completely shattered apart... not like he had much left ever since that big reveal anyways. He stared down at her, his eyes widening as his breath destabilized.
He couldn't believe it. Aubrey was so adamant on destroying his life that this seemed like some sort of cruel nightmare now, born from some deranged thoughts that should have never been in existence anyways. First she was harming him in his sleep, breaking his hand and leaving cuts all over him, then she started touching him every night, to the point she even full-out straddled him and left herself... Kel wanted to gag at the very thought of what she had done. He looked at her stomach and felt sick to his own. And now here she was, having torn apart his ticket to SOME sort of freedom, to see his brother Hero again. Kel didn't even know what he wanted anymore. His lungs fought for breath, his eyes felt damp, and yet something in his mind was shouting at him to... hit her? It feels wrong, and yet every single part of his arms and legs were basically begging him to come out and fight.
"No, that's wrong..." He thought.
"Hasn't she done worse to you already?" He received as a response. Kel felt his knuckles clench tightly, gripping onto the doorframe so hard it ended up being slightly crushed. Adrenaline was coursing through his body already, his mind spiralling down more and more. He doesn't want to hurt her because of their past... and yet she's done so much to him over the course of under a year that it makes him sick. When he was finally actually happy, after the truth had been revealed, getting into a healthy relationship with Mincy... well, healthy-ish. Ever since he learned of what Aubrey did, he's been treating her wrong... It's Aubrey's fault, isn't it?
Yeah... it's all Aubrey's fault. Every single second of it. She's the reason why he isn't happy with Mincy anymore. Aubrey did this. Kel isn't able to sit still anymore thanks to what she did. Aubrey did this. He can't tell anything to his parents because they won't believe him. Aubrey did this. His hand was broken all those months ago. Aubrey did that. Aubrey... Aubrey... AUBREY... AUBREY...
Kel's barely breathing properly, his mouth is hanging open as he heaves in air. Aubrey looks at him, she looks tense. Extremely tense.
...Why the hell is he looking like that? Aubrey thinks to herself for a moment, as if she can already FEEL every single little thought tormenting Kel at the moment. She looks at him, it feels like any moment he's going to come out and pounce onto her to rip her to shreds. Sure, this felt better than his trademark perma-smile, and yet this was unsettling. It feels like they've hit a turning point, and this time it's not in Aubrey's favor. She slowly sets herself straight up, tries to approach... but her legs could barely move herself forwards. Her body was pretty much shouting at her to get away, which was bad as the only proper exit was now being blocked off by Kel.
Okay though... this can't be that bad. After all, his parents are here, he knows it wouldn't be a good idea make too much noise despite how it's late at night. No need to be that worried, he knows how bad of an idea it can be to mess with his parents. She should be safe then, right?
So why does it feel like if she moves even an inch, she'll be dead?
"Listen. Kel. This'll be for the better, alright? You get to be with me and your baby mo-" She says, trying to maybe reason with him somehow, not entirely realizing how being with her is the LAST thing he could ever want, and the reminder of her pregnancy was even worse.
"I don't care." Kel finally said back. His tone was so sharp and cold it almost felt like another person was talking.
"But... why no-"
"WHY DO YOU THINK?" He yelled out, not even caring about his parents anymore. He out his hands on his face, before he swung them down while scowling, his arms now splayed out to his sides. "You've RAPED me in my sleep! I don't care if that kid in your stomach is mine or not, I DIDN'T WANT IT TO BEGIN WITH! YOU'VE TORN MY LIFE APA-"
Aubrey dashed up, throwing her hand over his mouth before he could get out more works, more desperate to keep him down than afraid. Although for some reason, her legs felt weak as she was on the floor out of nowhere... and her jaw hurt like hell... She looked up, as she could see Kel with his arm out, across his shoulders at just the right distance to have punched her-
Did Kel... Did Kel just punch her in the face? She could barely believe it. Besides, she's taken hits before, this is nothing new, so why did this one hurt so much? Maybe it's because she's been sleep deprived recently, and not exactly trying to keep herself in shape. She looked up at him, his eyes unfocused as if not even he knew what he just did. Although she placed a hand on the floor, lifting herself back up after a moment of struggle. She balled up her fists, anger welling up inside her... and yet she still feels uneasy, like someone was watching her.
Why did that feel so nice? To have struck her like that? Kel didn't know. He knew it was wrong to strike another, VERY wrong to do something like that... and yet why did it feel so GOOD? He saw Aubrey get back up, and yet no part of him wanted to apologize. If anything, he just had enough. He needed this catharsis. He needed this RELEASE. Kel got his own arms up, his shoulders squaring off as if he was filled with the muscle memory of thousands of fights he's never fought. He swung his lift out, it was big and unrefined, as Aubrey moved to dodge- and yet she wasn't fast enough anymore. This second hit sent her reeling again, pain shooting into her system like a lightning strike.
Kel felt his fist come against her face, the solid feeling shooting into his own arm, almost comforting him knowing that he's stronger than Aubrey at the moment. She tried to swing back, but Kel was more than fast enough to duck the strike, springing up like he was about to hit a dunk like he's done so many times in basketball, only this time clocking her chin upwards rather than slamming a ball into a hoop.
Aubrey could barely even keep herself straight, her head was hurting like crazy, her body felt like it was coming apart, her vision unfocused. She stumbled as Kel threw another hit into her, his form being... sloppy, yet devastating. She would be able to take this normally, but now she couldn't even see these hits coming anymore. Aubrey stumbled onto the floor, her legs couldn't hold her up.
"Don't stop. She never did." Was heard in Kel's head, as he fell down onto her, placing a knee on her stomach, which made her cry out in pain... obviously. To shut her up, Kel just hit her in the face again. Then again. He was hitting her so hard, he could feel blood on his hands... he didn't know if it was his own or if it was Aubrey's. He didn't even care anymore either. He just kept on swinging. Aubrey quieted down after a while, her face covered in this red liquid. Kel didn't care. The disgusting sound of his fists slamming onto her face which were followed closely by blood splattering across the room comforted him.
Although soon enough, he was tired. Kel couldn't move his arms anymore. His lungs fought to fill themselves again, just to throw one more hit. Kel got up though, his arms slack and hanging down as he walked off to the bathroom, as Aubrey tried desperately to stay awake still, as if just trying to make sure she's alive. She curls into herself, tears streaming down her face, yet she couldn't bring herself to be mad at Kel for this. She deserved this, anyways.
She did ruin his life, basically. Kel deserved this release. Aubrey wanted to deny this, justify it as "Love". But she couldn't anymore. It was impossible. She clutched her stomach, trying to comfort herself, thinking that atleast her baby could still be alive, despite all the pain she's feeling across both her head and her entire body thanks to Kel's relentless onslaught.
Meanwhile in the bathroom, Kel turned on the lights... his hands and some of his forearms had a disgusting coating of red all over them. He looked into the mirror. Some had splattered onto his face too. He stares at himself. He hates what he sees. Kel's face looks so empty. So, so empty... he looks miserable, even. Although, one could say that the truth finally came out. It's not like he was in the best mental state recently anyways. After all, he did basically lose everything... and someone mentally well wouldn't even come close to doing what he just did. How would they? WHY would they? Kel wants to reach out and smash the mirror into little shards, but his arms refused to move to strike again. He lazily washed himself off, not like he had much energy to do so anyways.
He cracked the door open again, walking into his old bedroom... and he saw Aubrey curled up. So she moved. That means she isn't dead.
"Finish the job." Kel heard in his head. He scoffed at this, feeling appalled for having even THOUGHT of this. He's not a bad person, right?
Oh, who is he trying to trick at this point. He just beat his old friend down into the ground. He probably broke her jaw and her nose... and did so much more he doesn't even want to think about at the moment. Safe to say, he's feeling disgusted with himself. He goes back into the bathroom, grabbing a rag, turning on the lights in the room, spending a good portion of time just cleaning off all the blood. Good enough excuse to also focus on something other then what he just did.
And especially good time to ignore how this all felt oddly right... what's wrong with him? That's what he's been thinking about non-stop for the past few minutes. Good people don't beat people down. Good people forgive, right? Normal people even. Why the hell is HE so different?
Kel didn't dare look at Aubrey. Partly due to guilt, partly to hatred, partly to regret. He just pummeled her. Sure, she instigated this with her... nightly routine, but she didn't deserve this punishment... did she? Who is Kel to judge?
He walked down the staircase, sitting down onto the couch that served as his bed these past days. Kel held his own head in his hands, trying to come to grips with himself. His leg was bouncing on the floor, tapping his foot on the ground almost impatiently. The grip he had on his head was tight, as if he was trying to force himself together physically. His eyes were unfocused, darting around the area. How was he meant to do anything now? He just beat the shit out of Aubrey, his childhood friend, and despite how obviously she had destroyed what semblance of comfort he had, did she really deserve to be beaten down and battered like that?
"Of course she did. She never asked if you deserved this." Kel's mind rang out again. "Please... just shut up..." He muttered, as if the intrusive thoughts were someone else's.
"You know it's true. She wronged you so much. She deserved this. Everything was her fault." He heard again, Kel's grip on himself mentally loosening and physically tightening. "I said shut up..." He thought again. He heard his heartbeat pounding against his chest still, his body feeling like he should go up those stairs with a knife to drive it down that slut's che-
Kel slammed his fist against the couch, not really being able to do much of anything damage-wise thanks to the recent exercise he did with his behated and now despised roommate. He grit his teeth tightly, grabbing his blanket that was left on the couch as always, wrapping himself up with it. He shuts his eyes, trying to sleep somehow, to leave all this complex thought for a more energized self.
Thankfully enough, his eyes lulled shut as his body left his control. Atleast he still fell asleep as quickly as always. Maybe even better than usual, knowing that Aubrey most likely won't dare do anything to him at the moment.
Although, some deep part of him held onto hope.
The hope he can do this again sometime, ofcourse.