Goodbye, Apathy

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 Song Title: Goodbye, Apathy by OneRepublic
Content warning: strong language

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Kevin's eyelids popped open before his alarm clock had the chance to wake him from his sleep. He smirked contentedly, knowing that he had outsmarted it once again.

He began his morning ritual by stretching, putting on his favorite slippers, and fixing a hot cup of coffee to start his day. He walked into the living room to find his wife hunched over the computer, furiously typing away.

"Christy, why are you up so early? What are you typing?" he yawned. Kevin peeked over Christy's shoulder with great suspicion, which made her guard the screen protectively.

"Well, Sims of the News is looking for journalists, so I'm sending in my application with a sample article about the history of mummies in ancient Al Simharan times."

"Sweetie, I respect your historian background, but Sims of the News is a pretty scandal-based magazine. Isn't that a little too dull to use as a submission?"

"Well, I had a meatier story in mind, but someone won't let me use it." she scowled.

"I'm sorry Christy, but I simply can't let you do that. Anyway, I have to hurry up and get ready. One of my patients still isn't responding to treatment, and she's refusing to talk to anyone." Kevin walked up the stairs to retrieve his outfit for the day as Christy glared in his direction.

"I'm going to get to that story, one way or another." she mumbled.

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"Bonnie, will you please talk to me?"

 "No." she whispered weakly. Kevin couldn't help but smile slightly at her determination not to speak to him. For such a broken spirit, she still had a little fire in her. He sighed quietly as he observed this empty shell of a woman, unable to reach out to anyone and bound by sadness and doubt.

"You're barely eating, Bonnie. I can see your bones." She shrugged weakly and closed her eyes.

He wished he could do something, but there was nothing he could do if she didn't want to help herself. Every day, Kevin sits there for hours with Bonnie, hoping to pull something out of her, but never had such luck. He watched her as she pulled herself up from the ground and sat up on the couch. She shivered slightly, and held her frail arms close to her body.

Bonnie stared at him wordlessly with cold eyes and dried tears on her face. He could only imagine what she was thinking, and how she felt at the moment. Alone, afraid, betrayed...

"You've been here for a week now. Why won't you talk to me?"

 She sighed loudly and put her head in her arms.

"You ruined my life." she whispered harshly.

 "One could argue that I saved your life. Don't be ridiculous, Bonnie. I'm just trying to help you. I'm trying to get you through this. I know you're in a lot of pain..."

"You know nothing of my pain. And who says I need your fucking help, anyway?" she snarled.

"So be it. If I'm not needed, I'll just go."

Kevin got up from his chair and walked towards the door, seemingly unaffected by Bonnie's outburst. Before he opened the door, he checked to see if Bonnie had moved her head.

She hadn't.

With a sigh, he walked out of the room completely and returned home for the day.

 With Kevin gone, Bonnie felt less constricted and suffocated. She quietly and slowly lifted herself up from the loveseat, and wandered around the room. As her eyes glazed over the obnoxiously muted tones, a certain something caught her eye.

Her medical files. A picture of a creepy man she could only assume to be her great great grandfather was pinned onto the file, along with the Pinciotti dissertation Kevin had referred to in a previous session. She sat down and read it, but was disappointed by the lack of new information.

With all these things happening to her and so little information on it available, Bonnie began to wonder why her family was so secretive. And little did she know, she would soon find out.

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 "Hey, I'm home." Kevin chirped. He then grew suspicious as he saw his wife deeply engrossed in a book, and silently prayed that it wasn't some sort of Pinciotti-related biography.

"Hi Kevin. How was work?" she asked mindlessly.

"It was okay...certainly challenging. How's your book?"

"It's great."

"Have you heard back from them yet? It's been a week..."

"They said I was one of the three writers in consideration." she answered in a monotone voice.

"Oh, cool." Kevin wondered why Christy was acting so distant, and wondered if she was indeed studying more on the Pinciottis. "Well," he thought to himself, "Maybe I could guilt her into admitting it."

"Christy, thank you for not using your Pinciotti story. I realize it could have done a lot for you, but..."

"No problem," she interrupted. "Just remember that you owe me." Kevin smiled appreciatively and wrapped his arms around his wife. Maybe he was wrong about her intentions after all.

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"This is wrong."

"I know."

"No, I mean it. I shouldn't even be here."

"I love you."

"What the hell? We haven't spoken in a year and you say that you love me?" Are you drunk, or high on bubbles? What is it with you?! I'm trying to be mature for once in my life."

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here because I missed you, and for some inexplicable reason, I'm drawn to you. And now I"m sitting with you in this dingy motel to try and sort my feelings out."

"What have you got so far?" he asked. Ella sighed as she sat up and leaned against his chest, feeling his breath tickle her neck.

"You're familiar."

"Mm-hmm."

"You remind me of the life I had in Bridgeport, but most importantly, you remind me of home. I miss home, and that's why I miss you."

"That's the only reason?"

"Were you expecting another reason?"

Ella rose to her knees, and Eric quickly followed. He grabbed her lightly by her waist and looked her in the eyes pleadingly.

"I love you. Please stay."

"Don't be stupid, Eric-"

"Please, just stay with me tonight. I won't try anything, I swear." she gently ran her fingers through his hair, and sighed wistfully.

"Even if I believed you, how would I explain it to Jordan?"

"Say you spent the night with a girlfriend, I don't care. Just give me this. As closure."

"Fine, I'll stay." Eric smiled and closed his eyes, feeling Ella's cool hands on his cheek. She smiled back and kissed him gently on the forehead, while staring at his face.

Once again, Ella had made her life more chaotic than it needed to be by falling for a man she shouldn't have fallen for.

Except this time, she didn't care.

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