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Consumed

All Around Me

All Around Me

Dec 14, 2023

     Cane washed the dishes as Yvette re-bandaged her hand. He thought about what he was doing and that little bit of anxiety was almost gone. His thoughts were filled with her as he replayed the scene with her. He had forgotten the last time he ate a home-cooked meal with someone. Had anyone ever cooked for him, he felt like someone had, but this was the first time he felt a warmth behind it. He then remembered an odd memory he felt he had long forgotten. 
     He was in the middle of two adults as his small body was sitting between them. The man, who he assumed was his father, kept pointing and shouting that he refused to care for "that thing". "He's five and he hasn't spoken a word. Hell, he hasn't even smiled", his father yelled. His mother cried in anger, "It's not my fault. I didn't want to have him in the first place". Cane only looked up at the screaming match and saw as it turned violent. His father lunged forward trying to strangle his mother and his mother attempted to claw at him. 
     Cane moved aside and watched as the fight concluded with his mother bludgeoning his father to death with a brass statue. His mother then walked over to Cane and grabbed his tiny hand. She led him outside and carefully buckled him into the car seat. She then got into the car herself and began to drive still covered in blood. As they drove, Cane stared out the window. He saw as the scenery changed. They had a few stops here and there, eating on the way. As the mother ate, she always got something for Cane and just tossed it at him each time. She would always look at him with a little bit of fear and contempt. They began to drive again and finally, they parked in a driveway in the dead of night. The house was not familiar to him but it was nice to see new places.
      Cane's mother then unbuckled him and carried him to the doorstep. As she looked at him she couldn't help but caress his head, but she couldn't bring herself to smile. Cane could feel her shaking even though it was not cold outside. She knelt and hugged him as she cried, "You shouldn't have been born". She walked away and as she made it to the curb of the house she looked back. Her eyes went wide as her son began to wave and finally said his first word, "Goodbye". The shock sent her stumbling into the street, her final words being, "You stupid kid, why didn't you say something earlier? as she smiled through her tears.  She was then run down by an oncoming car. He could still remember her body twitching on the pavement, but he couldn't feel sad, he couldn't feel much of anything. 
     Cane are you alright, you look a little pale". Cane felt a warmth on his cheek as he came back to the present. "No, yeah. Everything's fine, I just remembered something odd". Cane continued and began to dry the dishes. He felt like this was the first time he ever felt something real. He didn't have to act to be interested in what Yvette was saying. It was odd to feel like your heart was beating on its own. He then remembered his dear fiancee and her crying face. He understood why she felt the way she did now or thought he knew. He was always uninterested and distant and he never hid it. He felt like it was a chore to act perfectly in public, but at home he just let go, going through the motions of eating, listening, and being with his fiancee and catering to the image she wanted. 
     He remembered how they got together. They worked at the office. She could be described as sunshine. She wanted to befriend Cane and so he did. He honestly thought she was beautiful, but that was it. He never really talked much about himself, but he let her talk all she wanted. He found out about her dream of traveling, volunteering wherever she was needed, and learning about new cultures. He enjoyed the one-sided conversations they had and it was refreshing to not need to talk. He would learn about how to interact with other than Damien and how to navigate chatty people. But, as they spent more time together, she said she wanted more. Cane agreed but was straightforward about himself, "I just want you to stay by my side, nothing more". She misconstrued this statement as romantic, but he was just being blunt, all in all, she promised with a smile on her face. She soon learned what the statement meant. Cane was never moved to go beyond what was half of the relationship. If she cleaned he cooked, if she placed clothes to wash he would fold, If she bought groceries, he would put them back in their place. But when it came to the emotional burden of a relationship he never gave her a joke, an anecdote, not even a fight. When she would bring this up he would reiterate what he wanted, she would get angry and step away. She tried to bring others into the issue, but everyone always saw him act lovingly and normally which caused her to get angrier, so she tried to work from the inside. But as she tried to make him act differently he resisted. He didn't like others telling him what to do just because they didn't like it, it made him feel ill. 
     Soon months turned into years and Cane asked to marry her out of the blue. The timing seemed right and seemed like she was expecting it. She thought that with this display he was on the path to change, but, things stayed the same and even got slightly worse. He was getting tired of playing house, at least she promised never to leave. However, she broke her promise in the end. Having her slowly rot from the inside was the best course of action he took, because, due to her infidelity and her death, he was led to what he felt was his one and only.
     As he thought of then and now, he could see what he was lacking. It wasn't that he was emotionless, it was just that he just didn't like anyone. Others expected so much of him while he was content with them just never leaving him. But now, with Yvette, his heart was opened, and his curiosity was peaked. He looked at her as she finished wrapping her hand without a care in the world. He felt he could commit the most horrid of crimes and she would still forgive him because she loved him that much. The problem right now was having her admit it.

     The duo got into Cane's car and drove to the park. Yvette looked out the window. She tried not to think about last night's events, but it was tough to forget getting stabbed. Her side received a few stitches too, but didn't bother her as much as her hand. She felt sorry for the girl she didn't even know the name of. She felt like she would be getting a call soon from the police. 
     They soon arrived at the park and saw Yvette's car. Yvette was about to say her goodbyes, but, was interrupted as she heard a familiar voice, "Yvette? Yvette is that you? I just saw you all over the news, are you okay?". Yvette looked back and saw a face he didn't want to see again. She struggled to put on her usual smile as she greeted the person she desperately wanted to be a stranger. She saw he was accompanied by two others, whom she assumed were coworkers, "Julian, it's been so long. What are you doing here?". Julian stepped forward and was uncomfortably close to Yvette, "Oh I was just roaming around with some friends. I told them I knew the girl from the news, but I never thought I would run into you, " He smiled a giddy smile, but his eyes quickly darted to Cane. " And who's this, you know how jealous Silas gets when you're around other men". Cane was about to speak out, but Yvette intervened, "I left Silas quite a while ago and to add to that he's been missing for about two months. I thought you would have known this with being a close friend of his". Her expression was indifferent as the air turned on Julian. He made an award face, but the tension was alleviated by Yvette herself. She felt she could finally breathe and her usual soft and sympathetic smile reappeared, "I'm sorry to throw such a bombshell on you. You were overseas until now and just came back, correct?". Julian nodded. " I didn't mean to let you know about your friend like this, but I do hope he's okay. Oh, and I feel like I'm being hella rude today. This is Cane, he's a dear friend of mine. We were just on our way to walk around. I don't want to waste your time so I won't keep you, but it was nice seeing you again". Cane felt her hand grab his arm. He smiled and nodded as they both walked off. 
     As they gathered some distance, Yvette held on to Cane's arm. Cane held on as well. "You okay", he asked. Yvette kept looking forward as she gave a simple answer as a slight smile appeared, "Of course, you were right there with me".
padronmaria10
Monotonesheep

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#manipulation #romance #mystery #trueloveontapas

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A mysterious woman and a man in mourning encounter each other in a park. Sparks fly as their allure draws them in, never knowing exactly what either person is, but speculating similarties. Wanting to be accepted and seen, they find common ground as they try to open up to the idea of love again. As they try to unravel each other and expose themselves little by little, will they be able to lay themselves bare, or will they meet a tragic end?
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30 episodes

  • The Rain Woman and the Umbrella Man
    Episode 1 The Rain Woman and the Umbrella Man
  • Man on My Mind
    Episode 2 Man on My Mind
  • Meeting in Laughter
    Episode 3 Meeting in Laughter
  • Understanding a Stanger
    Episode 4 Understanding a Stanger
  • Emeralds
    Episode 5 Emeralds
  • Step By Step
    Episode 6 Step By Step
  • Making Friends
    Episode 7 Making Friends
  • Can't See In My Head
    Episode 8 Can't See In My Head
  • The Sound of Breaking Down part 1
    Episode 9 The Sound of Breaking Down part 1
  • Mine All Mine
    Episode 10 Mine All Mine
  • Lost Connections
    Episode 11 Lost Connections
  • Holiday Lights
    Episode 12 Holiday Lights
  • Previous Encounter
    Episode 13 Previous Encounter
  • Woman on my Mind
    Episode 14 Woman on my Mind
  • A Peek Inside
    Episode 15 A Peek Inside
  • All Around Me
    Episode 16 All Around Me
  • New Found Hand
    Episode 17 New Found Hand
  • Unwanted Attention
    Episode 18 Unwanted Attention
  • Lovely Night
    Episode 19 Lovely Night
  • Starting Over
    Episode 20 Starting Over
Ep. 16 All Around Me

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All Around Me

All Around Me

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