I was sitting in my room, just minding my own business, but a knock on the door disrupted my thoughts. The knock was urgent, and when I still wasn't at the door 5 seconds later, whoever it was was clearly not happy with me not being the Flash as they knocked again, but more aggressively. I swung the door open, ready to give them a piece of my mind, but was greeted with a very angry Seth. Before I could say anything, he invited himself in and slammed the door shut, grabbing me and shoving me against the wall, making me cry out.
"Seth, what's wro-" he cut me off by kissing me: hard. Nothing romantic at all, no passion or love, just anger. The second he stopped I was ready to give him a piece of my mind, of course, it would've been easier if he wasn't kissing my neck and gradually taking off my top. "Seth, fucking stop! I don't want to do it tonight." This only seemed to anger him as he stopped, grabbing my arms tightly and glaring at me harshly.
"What on Earth is wrong with you?! I buy you gifts, I support you, I fucking give you love and this is how you repay me?! Look at yourself, sweetheart, you're a fucking mess that clings onto anyone that comes your way. For me, loving you is a complete burden. If I wasn't here, then you can be sure that nobody would ever fucking love you. You're lucky to have me, so start showing a little appreciation."
"But... Karma, he loved me..." I was on the verge on tears, it couldn't be true, could it? It would make complete and utter sense. I mean, look at me.
"Oh really? And where is he?" How do I respond? Surely he's not right, he can't be... I have to have something appealing that would make someone other than him love me...
"Look, Seth, why don't we sit down and talk. What's gotten you so mad?" Maybe if I reason, maybe then he will understand. He doesn't mean what he's saying, it can't be true, can it? He's just angry... Right?
"Shut the fuck up, you just cling onto anyone that comes your way. Think of it, you clung to Gray until I came along, you're just a pathetic, useless, clingy, annoying whore."...he's right.
"...You're right, I'm sorry. Please forgive me,"
"That's what I thought. Come on, I'll make sure you can't walk for a week, princess." I followed behind him, head hung in shame. This is what I deserve.

A few days later~
I walked into the studio, my thighs and chest sore from past events. A red scarf was tied around my neck to hide the marks made by Seth previously. When I got in, I noticed everyone was ready to play, but there was no Seth, just Aaron, Royce and Ren.
"Guys, where's Seth?"
"Oh, we had to kick him out... He's always been a wild card, but he's been getting out of control lately... It wasn't healthy for him and we tried to help but we kinda fell out..." Royce nervously scratched the back of his neck after responding. Putting two and two together, I suddenly realised what had happened.
"Say, did you guys kick him out on Tuesday evening?"
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Women's intuition." the guys laughed as I got my stuff ready, tuning my guitar and plugging it in to the amp. before telling them I'm ready to go.

After band practice~
I met Gray at the HoundPit's Pub, which was only a block away, I immediately saw him standing by his car.
"Hey. (y/n), I thought you'd never come... Let's just go straight home today, there's something I need to talk to you about." he was smiling, but there was a serious tone to his voice that immediately told me this was important. I just nodded, getting in the passenger seat.
The second we got home, he locked the door and sat me down on a high stool in the kitchen, Staring at me as if he was analysing everything he could see in great detail. "It's hot in here, why don't you take off your scarf?" he urged, almost as if he was accusing me of something.
"I'm fine, thank you. Now, what did you want to talk about?" I smiled at him, but it only got a stern look in return.
"We're alone, you can let out your wings. I know it's been awhile and you feel more comfortable when you do." I just nodded, letting the wings slither through the small cuts in my back and spread out, making me groan at the release of tension in my muscles. "Okay, then. Now that you're comfortable and there's no unnecessary tension in your muscles, I'll ask you the questions. This is important, so I want you to answer honestly." his voice and face was still stern, a very unusual characteristic for my happy-go-lucky and carefree friend.
"Gray, are you okay? This isn't like you... It's kind of weirding me out."
"Has Seth seen your wings yet?" he ignored my question, immediately firing his first question.
"No, you and the people that were in my class are the only ones..."
"Good, don't let him see your wings... I'm scared of what he'll do... Next question, what's under your scarf?"
"Nothing, I'm just cold."
"Then take it off."
"I'm going to bed, goodnight." I waved my hand dismissively, walking away. That is until he grabbed my wing and dragged me back painfully, forcing me to sit down. He ripped the scarf off of my neck, revealing the torture conducted on my skin by my boyfriend.
"...I'll clean up the wounds." he got up, heading to the first aid kit. "I can't believe he did this to you... Next time something like this happens, I want you to come straight to me, okay?" he smiled reassuringly at me in an attempt to comfort me.
"You're joking, right? Why would I leave him? There's no reason to. I'm fine with this, it's what I deserve. He loves me, and if this is the best way to pay him back for that then I will gladly accept it. If you don't like it, then... We can't be friends anymore." he grabbed my shoulders and stared directly at me.
"(y/n), are you kidding me?! This is fucking abuse, not what you bloody deserve! YOU CAN'T BE FUCKING SERIOUS!!!" I couldn't believe what I was hearing, Gray has never raised his voice or sworn at me before...
"Okay, I'm sorry. You can keep the apartment, I'm sure Seth wouldn't mind if I stayed at his place for awhile. Goodbye, I hope life does you well." With that, I left the apartment, getting into my car and driving to Seth's house.

10 minutes later~
I inhaled deeply, knocking on the oak door before being met with the smiling face of my boyfriend.
"Hey, (y/n)... What brings you here at this time? It's pretty late..."
"Me and Gray had a falling out and I need somewhere to stay... If you don't mind, would it be okay if I could, y'know, stay here." I hopefully looked at him and his smile grew.
"Of course! You've already learnt that I've got a pretty big bed, sleeping there should be fine. Come on in, you're always welcome here, babe." he ushered me in and I took off my jacket, placing it on the coatrack.
"Thanks, Seth. It really means a lot." I felt him wrap his arms around me, his hands playing with the hem of my shirt before starting to lift it up. My hands immediately went to stop his as I started to feel uncomfortable with his actions. "Seth, not tonight. I just fell out with my best friend, this isn't exactly great timing."
"You really are unappreciative, aren't you? Why don't you just go and fuck him instead, then. I bet it's not the fucking first time, is it? You've probably been cheating on me for ages, haven't you?" his nails dug into my sides and I soon felt blood start to trickle down from the newly made cuts.
"Seth, stop... You're hurting me..." I managed to whimper out, trying to pull away his hands and get out of his grip.
"I'm hurting you? Since when did that matter? You're just another pathetic whore that clings onto any piece of affection she gets, why don't I have my way with you and you can cling onto the fact that I wanted you during that time. How does that sound?"
"...I'm sorry, it doesn't matter. Please, don't be too harsh."
"That's what I thought."

Approximately 1 hour later~
I curled up in a ball in the corner of the room, shivering. My loving boyfriend was asleep, smirking and mumbling in his sleep. Up until now, I thought that everything he did was fine. I knew that it was weird how possessive he was, I knew he treated me like an object, I knew that we weren't like other couples, so why did I stay with him? Simple, he told me he loved me. Only one other person had ever said that to me, and that person will never say it to me again, and all because I ran away. If I knew it would've turned out like this, I never would've left. Hell, if I knew it'd turn it like this then I'd have made sure brother never got kidnapped.
No matter how much I wish for it, I know that this will never change. There's only one thing I can do, it probably won't change anything but I need to know. I need to talk to the reason for that nagging feeling at the back of my head. Picking up the phone, I click on the number and press call, hearing the phone ring thrice before it was picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Karma, it's me."