Part One: Shatter the Glass Kale Matthews sighed as he entered the apartment he shared with his boyfriend, Ryan Leiham. Today had not been a good day, and the rest of the week didn't look that promising either. Tucking a strand of drenched hair behind his ear, he quietly shut the door behind and began to pull off his soaking raincoat. It had started raining shortly after lunchtime, and he was soaked just from walking the short distance between the parking lot and the apartment complex he lived in. Already, he felt the beginnings of a cold as his head pounded in time to the beating of his heart. His day at the office had been aggravating, with his co-workers annoying him to no end. After nearly eight months of living together, his relationship with Ryan was spiraling downward. That meant his job was affected considering he worked for Ryan in the International Relations Department of multi-billion dollar Leiham Corporations. He hadn't spoken to his friends for nearly two weeks, not since their last argument about his relationship with Ryan. Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he was beginning to consider his friends' urgings to break off his relationship with Ryan despite how much he loved the other man.

Kale turned the corner into the living room to be confronted with the harsh countenance of his angry, possessive boyfriend. Ryan stood with his hands on his hips, glaring at Kale from the center of the room. Judging from Ryan's flushed face and slightly unsteady stance, he had been drinking. Kale knew from experience that Ryan was dangerous when drunk, often becoming violent and easily angered. Tall and muscular, with close-cropped brown hair and smoldering brown eyes, Ryan had always been the dominant one in their relationship. Ryan enjoyed controlling Kale's life and Kale hated arguing, instead going along with Ryan's demands to avoid conflict. Kale was the exact opposite of Ryan, short and slender with muddy blonde hair down to his shoulders and murky blue eyes. Kale sighed in resignation as he waited for the argument that he knew would come.

"Where have you been?" Kale winced at the harsh note in his boyfriend's voice. Ryan had always been jealous of Kale spending time with others. To appease his love, Kale had limited his time with his friends. He rarely left the apartment anymore unless he was with Ryan. Every time he went anywhere by himself, Ryan accused Kale of cheating on him with another guy. Ryan didn't understand how unwaveringly loyal Kale was to him, even defending Ryan from the often-true accusations of his friends. Frankly, Kale was getting tired of always having to defend himself to his boyfriend and Ryan to his friends.

Kale plastered a fake smile on his face, trying to calm Ryan down a little. "I had to finish up some work at the office. Andrew dumped a giant project on me that he insisted on having done before tomorrow morning. You left to go to a meeting before lunch, so I didn't have a chance to tell you I would be working late. I tried calling a couple times, but no one picked up." Kale guessed that Ryan had went with a few of the other execs to one of the local bars after his meeting this afternoon, which would explain why no one had been home. Ryan had probably gotten home shortly before he had.

Kale's smile vanished as Ryan lifted him off his feet by his shirt collar. His face was now close enough to Ryan's that he could smell alcohol on his breath. Ryan shook him roughly as he yelled in his face. "You're lying to me! You've been fooling around with Andrew behind my back, haven't you? I bet you think I'm some kind of idiot, huh? That I wouldn't figure it out?"

Ryan's loud voice cut through his pounding head like a knife, every word and accompanying shake sending a new lance of pain through his skull. "It's not like that," Kale replied, trying his best to sound soothing and to keep from panicking. "There's nothing between Andrew and I. I barely even know the guy. I've never even spoken more than five words to him outside of anything work-related. Besides, he's married with five kids. You're the one I'm in love with, remember. Only you and no one else."

Before he could say anything further, Kale felt himself violently thrown back as something impacted with his face. He gasped in pain as his shoulder connected with the wall behind him, rebounding to land painfully on the floor. Moaning in pain, he carefully pulled himself up until he was kneeling. Raising a shaky hand to his left eye and flinched when his eye throbbed in pain at his touch. "You hit me," Kale said accusingly.

"Yeah, and you deserve more than that, you back-stabbing little whore. I'm not going to let you get away with making a fool of me." Ryan glared down at him angrily for moments before knocking him flat again with a kick to his stomach.

Kale cried out in pain as Ryan descended on him in a flurry of fists, raining blow after blow on him. "Stop it, Ryan. You're hurting me." Feebly he struggled to escape, just barely managing to stagger away from Ryan after a few moments. He stared at Ryan in shock from across the room, his grip on the back of one of the plush living room chairs the only thing keeping him on his feet. "What are you doing?"

Ryan approached Kale menacingly. "I'm not letting you get away this time." Kale felt the color drain from his face as he stumbled away in fear. "I'll teach you to fool around behind my back." Kale stepped away from the support of the chair and screamed as pain shot through his right foot. He fell backward, thinking that he must have twisted something after Ryan threw him into the wall. "You are MINE do you hear me, no one else's." Kale could only watch, helpless, as Ryan closed the distance. The last thing he remembered was hearing the crash of shattered glass and someone's screaming.

*****
Kale groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. His entire body hurt unlike anything he ever remembered. Blinking, he slowly opened his eyes to gaze dully at his surroundings. He was lying on the living room floor among shards of glass and wood. Undoubtedly, the china cabinet they kept near the entrance to the dining room was broken beyond repair after Kale�s impact with it. Kale found he was able to pick himself up off the floor with a minimum of pain if he moved slowly and carefully. He staggered to his feet, leaning against the wall for support and trying not to put any weight on his left foot. He felt cut and bruised all over, but his left eye and right ankle were two fiery points of pain that outshone the rest of his body.

Kale looked around the room forlornly at the broken, bloody shards littering the floor. Standing there in a daze, Kale quietly came to a decision. He was weak, hurt, and frightened. He had never been more afraid for his life, yet he felt an eerie calm descend upon him as he made up his mind. Slowly he made his way to his bedroom, glad that Ryan was nowhere to be found. Pulling a pair of small suitcases from under the bed he had shared with Ryan for the eight months they had lived together, Kale gathered the few belongings he felt he could rightfully call his. Sad how one�s entire life can be packed away in two tiny little suitcases, he thought to himself. Not bothering to clean himself up, he carefully pulled on his shoes and coat before reaching for the doorknob to exit the apartment for the final time.

The door opened as he was still reaching for the knob. Kale started a little as he came face to face with Ryan. Kale watched within his impassive, uncaring shell as Ryan�s expression changed from surprise to anger. He was beyond fear anymore, he felt nothing.

�Where do you think you�re going?� Ryan practically sneered at the smaller man facing him.

�I�m leaving,� Kale replied emotionlessly. He bent down slightly to pick up his suitcases and waited for the other to move from blocking the doorway.

�Oh, really?� Ryan�s voice sang as he leered down at Kale. Reaching out he grabbed Kale�s arm, making the other gasp as his grip painfully squeezed a fresh cut. "You have no place to go and little money, remember. How long do you think you'll last? You're nothing without me to take care of you."

Kale looked at the other with glazed eyes. �Let me go, Ryan.�

Chuckling, Ryan released his hold as he pushed Kale backwards, causing him to stumble into the doorframe. Ryan casually brushed past him into the apartment, leaving him leaning against the door. �Go ahead, leave. It�ll be amusing to see how long you last before you come crawling back, though you probably won�t last more than one day by yourself.�

Kale turned to look at the other in sadness. �I thought you loved me,� he whispered brokenly, more to himself than anyone else.

�Love?� Ryan�s voice lifted in amusement as he turned to face Kale, smiling broadly at his own private joke. �Whatever gave you that idea? I never loved you. Why waste my time?�

�Then why? Why pretend? Why act like you cared?�

Ryan laughed out loud. �It amused me. I was just using you as the cheap little whore you are. Other than that, you�re useless.�

Ryan�s words cut through his emptiness, echoing through the thoughtless void inside his head. He felt nauseated, sick and betrayed. Turning, he left the apartment without a word. Somewhere inside of him, something shattered but he wasn�t quite sure what. Ryan�s parting words hit him just before he could close the door.

"Don't bother to come to work tomorrow. You're fired."

Trembling with suppressed emotion, Kale closed the door behind him and left.

*****
Brian Timeberlake looked up as he heard a hesitant knock on the door. Running a hand through his short black hair, he glanced at the clock above the kitchen sink to check the time. It was nearly midnight and he had no idea who could be at the door. His three friends, Seth Anderson, Laura Morgan, and Cheryl Peirson, were sitting around the kitchen table eating pizza and chatting. A violent storm raged outside the kitchen window, pelting it with heavy raindrops. He couldn't think of anyone else who would stop by this late at night. Pushing his chair back, he made his way to the door. The knock was repeated a second time just before he opened the door.

Brian was greeted with the sight of his friend, Kale Matthews with his hand half-raised in preparation for another knock. Kale's hair stuck to his body like the rest of his soaked clothing. His normally short height was diminished further by the defeated slump to his shoulders. Kale's left eye was almost swelled shut and there were numerous other cuts and bruises visible on his body. Kale's murky blue eyes refused to meet Brian's hazel eyes, staring instead at point near Brian's feet. At Kale�s feet were two suitcases.

"What the hell happened to you, man?" Brian said in shock. He reached down and grabbed Kale's suitcases before ushering his dazed friend into the apartment. Gasps of surprise echoed through the room as they made their way into the joint living room and kitchen. Brian frowned as he noticed that Kale was leaning heavily against the wall for support. Their friend Laura was out of her chair in an instant helping Kale to the sofa. Seth took the suitcases from Brian to take back to the bedroom which had once been Kale's room before he had moved in with Ryan. He saw Cheryl coming from the kitchen with the med kit they kept under the sink for emergencies.

Brian sat on the floor next to Kale's feet, pulling Kale's right foot into his lap he began to inspect his foot for injuries. Brian was in his second year of residency at a local hospital and used to treating Kale's occasional injuries and aliments, though this was worse than he�d ever seen his friend before. Kale cried out in pain as Brian accidentally touched a sore spot on his ankle while trying to discover the extent of his friend�s injuries. Brian silently thanked whatever gods were out there as he concluded that Kale�s ankle was only sprained. With a little rest, he�d be fine in a few weeks. Reaching behind him he pulled supplies from the medical kit to wrap Kale�s ankle. Laura was sitting next to Kale, trying to coax information from him with little success. Cheryl was on Kale�s other side, wordlessly cleaning the cuts on Kale�s face. Brian felt Seth�s quiet presence seated behind him on the coffee table, handing Cheryl equipment from the med kit.

Laura pushed her short blonde hair behind her ears in a gesture of annoyance as she tried to get a response from Kale. She had been protecting Kale since the two were children, and she hated seeing Kale get hurt. They all hated seeing Kale get hurt, but they had known it was just a matter of time until Ryan hurt him. They had been expecting it, but it was a shock nonetheless in it�s severity. Laura held Kale loosely around the shoulders as she murmured comforting words to him. "Kale, honey, speak to me. Tell us what happened. It�s okay, really. I�ll protect you.�

Kale looked at them, blinking as if recognizing his surrounding for the first time. Brian�s heart ached at the lost look in his friend�s eyes. Raising a hand hesitantly to his face, Kale felt the tears that he didn�t realize had fallen. Looking at each of them in turn, Kale shook for a moment before turning to sob into Laura�s shoulder. Between broken sobs, Kale managed to relay the night�s event.

Index | Next
Finished May 30, 2001
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1