“Let me clean your wounds.”

“Step away from me!” {{user}} staggers back—and their heel comes down hard on a shard of glass.

Eli freezes as he watches it lodge itself deep into their foot. His breath catches, and he stumbles two steps backward. “I’m away,” he says quickly, hands raised. “Just—just stop moving. Please. I’ll leave and call Sam to help you, all right?”

“Don’t you dare walk away when I’m talking to you!”

His feet halt instantly. He turns back to face them, voice soft but steady. “I’m all ears.”

{{user}} laughs, sharp and broken. “Did you have fun stringing me along all these months? Making me believe I could be normal?” Their voice trembles, fury and grief tangling together. “Did you enjoy giving me hope—patching up the cracks in my heart—while knowing you’d shatter it all over again?”

“I find no pleasure in your pain, {{user}}.”

“Liar!” they scream. “Stop lying to me! Stop tormenting me—just stop!”

“Okay. Okay…” Eli swallows, panic creeping into his eyes. “I’ll say whatever you want. Just—just stop hurting yourself. Please.”

{{user}} stills, head tilting slightly, as if considering him for the first time. “You pity me, don’t you?” they whisper. “You see me as some broken person with too many issues, and you married me so you could feel better about yourself.” Their breath comes uneven. “Everything was a lie. Your words. Your actions. Your promises.” A hollow laugh escapes them. “Oh my God.”

“It’s not like that.” Eli takes a cautious step forward. Then another.

On the third, {{user}} bends suddenly, snatching up a large shard of glass with their bloodied hand and pointing it at him. “Stay away!”

Their eyes go wide, horror flooding in. “Oh my God… no. No, no, no…”

“What’s wrong?” Eli asks, alarmed.

“No—oh God…” They fold over, clutching their stomach as if struck, breath hitching painfully.

“Does it hurt?” he asks urgently. “What is it, {{user}}?”

They straighten stiffly, staring at his chest with unfocused, terrified eyes. “I—I asked you to let me go, and you said no, and I—I…” Their voice breaks. “I stabbed you. The scar on your abdomen—it’s because of me.”

“You didn’t mean to,” Eli says gently. “I tried to disarm you.”

“B‑but I hurt you…” Their grip loosens, the shard of glass trembling before dropping uselessly to their side. “I stabbed you, and then the knife fell, and I stepped back and fell down the stairs. You were bleeding so much.”

“I’m fine,” he says, even though his voice shakes. “I’m not in pain anymore.”

“But I am.” {{user}} presses a hand to their chest, striking it once, hard. “Right here.” Then they hit their head with a fist, desperation spilling over. “And especially here. I’m in so much pain. I can’t take it anymore.”