Chad gasped in pain, but Romeo didn’t care.He tightened his hold, using both hands on Chad’s throat.Chad’s eyes were wide, watering in the porch light.Romeo closed his eyes, not wanting to see the light leaving them.
There should’ve been euphoria, but there wasn’t.
Chad pushed against Romeo’s chest, and when that had no effect, he struck Romeo’s face, but his slaps were weak, useless.
Chad dropped, using all his strength to pull himself down, and to the right.Romeo lost his balance at the move and lost his grip too.He knocked into the car as Chad scrambled across the ground.
“Romeo,” Chad croaked.His throat sounded wrecked.“Stop it.”
Romeo pursued Chad, rolling him onto his back with his foot.“Can’t.”
He dropped down, knee on either side of Chad.
“Yes.You can.”
“It needs to be done.”
Chad slapped his hands to his own throat, covering it from Romeo.“Stopit.”
Romeo yanked at Chad’s wrists, trying to get him to let go.
“Why are you doing this?Why now?”
“I can’t let you do this to me anymore.”
“Do what?”Chad asked.
“Have this ...this control over me.”
Chad’s eyes widened.They were pink from where his blood vessels had burst.Romeo had done that.He closed his eyes not to see the damage.“Just shut up,” Romeo pushed the words through gritted teeth.“Just shut up and die like the rest of them.”
“I’m not like the rest of them.”
Chad wriggled but couldn’t move with Romeo straddling him.
“And control, Romeo?”Chad blurted.“Who’s controlling you right now?It’s not me.It’s not you.You don’t want to kill me, I know you don’t.”
“You know nothing.”
“You’re angry with me.I’ve hurt you.I didn’t mean to, I—”
“Shut up,” Romeo growled, covering Chad’s mouth.“You won’t let me strangle you, then fine.”He pinched Chad’s nose closed.“There’s other ways to kill you.”
He held fast as Chad thrashed his head against the concrete.“You left me.”
Chad stilled, his eyes were searching.
“You left me again.”
Chad tried to shake his head but Romeo didn’t let him.
“I didn’t know if you were going to fling yourself off another bridge or if you’d just vanish into the night and not come back.”Romeo’s eyes burned.“The sun, Chad, the fucking sun.It doesn’t rise when you’re not with me, that’s what I found out these last few months.It’s cold, it’s lonely and it never-ending.It’s just me and the darkness in my head and I hate it.”
Chad’s hands slipped from his throat.Romeo knew he was fading fast.He shut his eyes against it, scrunching them up tight.He didn’t want to see Chad go, didn’t want to witness the life leave him.
“I could handle that before, before I knew you, but not now.You put a heart in my chest.Youdid!And you broke it.You may not have meant it, it may not even have been your fault, but it hurt worse than anything, and I can still feel it.”His bottom lip shook.“I don’t want to feel it again.I don’t want you to have the power to do that to me.I’d rather...I’d rather do it myself.I’d rather break my own heart so you can’t ever do it again.”
Chad gripped Romeo’s wrist, but it was a feeble hold.
