She's not blind. Not like he is when his glasses have been broken or lost, and as irony would have it, they currently had a very distinct crack running along the right lens, and the nose was bent so far it looked ready to break clean off. It was becoming too common for him to have to ask her to help him bring them in for another repair.

There were many other things she wished she could repair instead of his glasses. The static on the television, the clock that seemed to run too fast, the plate she'd broken that still lay in two pieces that were shoved in the back of a forgotten cupboard.

But what hurt Teto inside thet very most was knowing she couldn't repair Ted.

How many times had he come home with a bloody nose? With scratches and bruises covering his face? How many times would she need to prepare him a warm bath and gently scrub away at the blood on his chest?

How many punches was it going to take for his boyfriend to be satisfied?

Ted was a tall and mean looking person to many, but she knew better. Teto knew for a fact that he was actually scrawny beneath the build his blazer lied to the world about. He wanted to be able to protect himself, but this was his boyfriend. His boyfriend who knew his weaknesses, his way of doing things. His boyfriend who thought he was just a puzzle to be picked apart piece by piece.

It didn't matter how many times Teto tried to tell him that he needed to get away, the boy just wouldn't listen. Instead, he continued crawling back to the male with the short blond hair, the seductive-yet-dangerous smirk, the name he cried out whenever he felt a cruel punch to the face.


"Smile."

Punch. Punch. Slap to the face. Fingernails to the cheek. Punch.

He won't give in.

"I said smile."

Slap. Slap. Slap. Down on the ground.

"What's wrong, Ted? Aren't we having some quality time together? You missed me this morning, didn't you? Was I in your dreams?"

Fingernails again, all over his face. Scratches near his eyes. His nose is bleeding now, one nostril. Punch. Now the other is bleeding too.

"You know this would be over if you would just smile, don't you? C'mon, just smile. For me?"

That voice. Voice like honey. Voice like sugar. Voice like vomit freshly purged.

Punch. Punch. The distinct sound of glass cracking slowly, painfully.. Teto will be mad about that.

"How about you cry then? Will you cry? Come on already, cry!"

Punch.

"Cry!"

Punch. Punch.

"Do it already, damn it!"

Scratches on his throat. Blood dripping out of his nose and onto his pants. Hands around his neck.

"So you won't cry. Then smile, won't you? Just smile and I'll stop, okay? Is that okay, Ted?"

Stopping with the hitting. Picking up the collar of his shirt. Nothing. He won't give in, he won't give in.

He can't.

"...I guess you don't want me to stop."

Clench tightening on his blazer. Fist pulled back in waited aim.

He has to give in.

He must.

A smile, bitter smile, horrid smile. Drawn across his face. Fake smile, smile of wanting and pushing, loving and loathing.

Fake smile meets with twisted smile.

"That's better."

Letting go of his blazer, letting him fall to the ground. Letting him suffer.

"Now say my name. Say it like you love me."

"..."

"...Say it. I'll start again if you don't."

"..."

Reaching for the wad of cloth he once held.

"Len."

"That's right. Say it again."

"Len."

"LOUDER."

"LEN!"

He's screaming it now, over and over again.

"LEN! LEN!"

Maybe someone will hear him if he keeps saying it loud enough?

"LEN! LEN! LEN!"

Tears forming in darkened pink eyes. Tears of betrayl, deception.

Love.

"I love it when you say it that way, Ted."

Sickening tone. Sickening place. Sickening lips pressing against his own.


She hates him. She wishes he were dead so that Ted wouldn't have to suffer anymore. Maybe if he was dead, then her brother could look at life with light in his eyes again. Maybe then he could find someone who wouldn't treat him like a slave.

Maybe he would finally be happy.

But he's not going to listen to her because he says that he loves Len, that he just gets out of control sometimes. That he's sorry later and that he is the best boyfriend he's ever had. She knows Len is making him say it.

She saw the wire sticking out from beneath his shirt like a sore thumb. A message that she had better quit filling his head with facts or the blond will make it a personal mission to make sure she never speaks another word to him.

Good. She wants to see him. If anyone is going to be the one to get rid of him, it will be her. It will be her that gets revenge for it all.

For making Ted feel like he has nothing left to live for in the world.

For destroying the confidence she once saw beheld in her brother's eyes.

For reminding her each and every day that even if she can replace the cracked lens with a sparkling new one, even if she can simply bend the nose piece back into it's original state, she can not restore the happiness that lived at one time in Ted's heart.

Teto knows that she can not fix him.

As for his boyfriend, however, she knows exactly how she will fix him.