Lullaby

By Alaricnomad

-- Prologue --

He stared, unseeing, at the pallid walls of the bathroom around him. He remembered vaguely how he had gotten here. He remembered locking himself away in a bathroom stall, collapsing onto the tilted floor, unable to hold any longer the strain of his own breaking heart.

His body shook, trembled as he choked back another sob, squeezing his eyes shut against the threat of additional tears, his face wet from past offenders that stung against flushed, heated skin, the taste of them and the salt of his cold sweat bitter against his lips. It was far too much to handle, this uproarious tumult of anguish keeping such a tight grip around his heart, squeezing tighter and tighter until he could scarcely breathe. He wanted to scream, he wanted to rage, he wanted some form of release from the torment, the god-awful torment of his emotions, but no matter where he tried to run, they always found him again, and to fight was useless.

An image of her fragile, broken form lying in the bed, the blank, dead look in her eyes as she shut him out, shoved him away as he tried to reassure, pushed into his mind. His body shuddered, his legs weak and rubbery-feeling as he shakily lifted himself to his feet, leaning heavily against the wall as he unlatched the lock and almost fell on his face as he tumbled out. He landed heavily against the sink, grunting as his stomach harshly impacted with the porcelain and it was all he could do to stay upright.

As he struggled for some semblance of balance, he caught a glance at himself in the mirror, and his attention was caught, unable to tear his gaze away from the mirrored image. He looked tired…he looked forsaken…he looked abandoned…

"This is your fault!"

"Get away from me. I don't want you anywhere near me!"

A shrill, strangled cry tore from his throat, and his fist came crashing into the glass, shattering, splintering his reflection into a million broken pieces…so now the reflection was the same as the original, broken. He shook and trembled violently, unable to hold it back. He stared into the broken mirror- stared into the shattered pieces of his life. He buried his face in his hands, "…it's broken…" he whispered hoarsely, "...and I can't fix it…"