Mental Abuse

When Glen speaks, his words always drip like acid in your ears. He laughs and the sound is sharp and painful, like spikes being drilled into your chest. Sometimes you shout at him to leave you alone, arguing and fighting for the barest inch of ground. Other times, most times, you curl up and cry as he erodes your will with verbal lashes.

When you venture out of your house--and this you rarely do, save for work--he's always there with you, jeering at the people around you. His insults never are clever, either. He spits vitriol at every single human you dare to look at. So you never look at anyone for long.

When Nico speaks, you can almost feel the weight of each word. He never speaks much. He often watches as Glen tears you apart, letting you fight your own battles. To make you stronger, he says, and you know he's not the altruistic type. But when you're on the edge of the void and you're staring into the cold emptiness, he'll yank you back with stern kindness.

Once, you allow Nico to take control for a time. He's gentle about it, and he follows the terms of the agreement. As soon as he's not needed, he retreats and you're in control again. But he has one condition. Don't tell anyone, he says. If you do, he threatens to hurt you.

You argue with Nico, unwilling to be manipulated by him. He becomes furious. You've never seen him angry before. His words hammer into you and leave you shaking, but you still hold your ground, experienced in fighting from all the times he stood by and allowed Glen to rip you into shreds. Nico finally relents, reasonable despite his harsh fury.

Glen gradually loses interest in you as you start to fight back more effectively. And Nico spends less and less time with you after the argument. You don't need him, though. Maybe it was a mercy that he never fought for you. You're not dependent on him. And he has other charges who require his company more than you do. Finally, you're free.

@wabisabi

AN: I have schizoaffective disorder, type depressive. It mostly manifests itself in auditory hallucinations who try to convince me they're spirits.