Shackles of Yesterday

A/N: I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, I could pay off my student loans.

Chapter One: Broken

Jellal Fernandes stood in shock as the sound of glass shattered to the left of his head. She thought he had been cheating again despite her knowing his every move. He always told her where he would be and who he would be with even though she never told him about any of her plans. He sighed at her tantrum and began to walk away from her to get a broom and clean up the mess. He didn't get far before she lunged at him, trying to grab his cell phone.

"Give me your phone now, Jellal," she demanded. "I want to see your text messages."

He had no idea why, but he complied with her insane request. He had nothing to hide, but he knew her. She would twist anything she found to make it look like he was cheating. He would apologize for nothing and the cycle would start all over. He had nowhere to go in this city without having to watch his back. She isolated him from everyone he knew and was monitored constantly. He watched her go through his phone and her eyes darkened.

"Who the fuck is Lucy?!" She hissed, "Are you fucking her, Jellal?!"

Jellal stared at the woman before him silently wondering how stupid she could be. She had met Lucy before she started isolating him. Lucy had been dating his friend Natsu for about three years. She only asked Jellal for ideas to surprise Natsu for his birthday. He replied that Natsu liked dragons and sent her a couple of links to websites with small dragon sculptures that she could look at for ideas. That was the end of the conversation. They never flirted; there were no inappropriate messages between the two.

"What are you talking about, Minerva? You're looking at the messages," he replied calmly. "She's dating Natsu. You met them while-"

"Don't play with me, Jellal," she interrupted. "I've seen how you look at her! Don't think I haven't been watching you!"

She flung another glass towards him and he barely managed to duck as it crashed against the wall. He knew she was projecting onto him for something she had done, but calling her out on it wouldn't work well for him. He knew what was going to happen next. She was going to play the victim. It happened every single time.

"Jellal, I'm sorry," she started. "This wouldn't happen if you stopped talking to your friends. They don't like me and you never defend me when they say mean things. Please stop talking to them so that we can be happy."

He didn't even flinch at her change in demeanor. It was too tiresome to deal with and he quietly swept the pieces of broken glass. He heard her footsteps and hated himself as he accepted her embrace and kiss on his cheek.

"I wish I wasn't such a screw up," she continued. "I know you love me, but you have to stop making me angry."

He kept his hands at his side as she hugged him just waiting for her to step away so he could clean. He knew what he had to do, but he had no idea why it felt so difficult. He felt he deserved her treatment and didn't deserve to be happy. He felt that only she would love him and if he left, he would be alone. Jellal felt her step away from him and watched her walk into their bedroom. He didn't see it, but she smiled behind her tears and quietly closed the door.

'I can't keep doing this. I have to get out,' he thought while putting the last of the broken glass into the trash can.

Minerva sat on the bed with her phone and scrolled through her contacts. She had Jellal wrapped around her finger. He would never stand up to her. Her finger hovered over a contact before she clicked to send a message.

Meet me at the hotel tonight. He won't suspect anything

She clicked the send button and waited for about a minute before a reply came through letting her know that the meeting place was okay. She gathered an overnight bag sniffling as she heard the door open. Jellal stood in the doorway watching his girlfriend pack a bag to go stay over at Angel's house again. She had stayed there more often and he didn't have the guts to question her without facing her rage. He walked into their bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror, cringing at the man staring back at him. His lip had been split and he had scratch marks on his arm and face from her hits.

'At least I don't have a black eye this time,' he teased himself in disgust.

He began cleaning his wounds and bandaging them so that he could hide them under the long sleeve shirt he would now be wearing until they had healed. He used makeup for the ones on his face and would think of an excuse for his split lip. Once he finished, he walked back into the room to see Minerva leaving.

"Heading to Angel's?"

"Yeah, I need a girl's night," she scoffed before slamming the front door.

He looked out the window and watched her as she hailed a cab and got in. The cab pulled off and he sighed in relief. Jellal reached under the floorboard, grabbed his laptop and plugged it in. He went to reach for his phone and put his face in his hands realizing that she took it with her. Seething, he booted up his computer and opened the secret email account he had to keep in contact with his friends. His hands shook in embarrassment as he started a new email to Natsu. He never thought he had to ask his goofy friend for help, but his situation was dire and would soon be a matter of life and death.

Natsu,

I need your help. I know you get motion sick, but please come to Oshibana Town with Gray. Book a room at the Eisenwald Hotel. I will try to survive the next two days, but please hurry.

Jellal

He sent the message and tapped his fingers impatiently before giving up and turning to walk away from his laptop. As he reached the doorway he heard a ping and nearly raced back. It was a reply from Natsu and he eagerly opened it. He had been surprised the man was still awake but thankful for a quick response.

Yo. I don't know what kind of emergency you have, but Gray and I are on the way. We will be on the first train in the morning and we're bringing Gajeel just in case extra muscle is needed. I'll send you another email once we get our room number. Be careful, man.

Natsu

Jellal calmed his heart rate and shut the computer down before he stored it back under the floorboard. His chance was coming to escape, but something told him it wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. How would he tell his friends his girlfriend had been beating on him for the last three years? They'd probably laugh in his face like normal men would. He was ashamed of himself for letting this happen. He kept making her upset, but never knew how to fix it so he stayed quiet and let her rage. His eyes burned as he remembered the first time he caught her cheating and how he felt he deserved it.

Two and a half years ago...

He had sent her a message telling her he would be late as his boss needed someone to finish a contract. He mentioned all the details and said it shouldn't be more than an hour.

"Hey," he said into the phone. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to be a little late coming home. Mr. Vastia asked me to stay behind and compile a contract for a potential client. I shouldn't be more than an hour."

He heard shuffling in the background and a muffled voice, but thought it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Minerva giggled a bit before clearing her throat and speaking.

"Okay hun," she started. "Call me when you're heading home."

The sound of a dial tone filled his ear and he rubbed his temples. Something wasn't right about their conversation, but he figured she just had the girls over. He mulled over the outline of the contract he was to prepare and began typing on his computer to get it finished quickly.

At his home, his girlfriend Minerva looked at the phone with a grin before turning back to the man beside her. He ran his hand down her side and behind her knee before he spread her legs apart. She gasped at the touch of his fingers between her legs and wrapped them around the stranger's waist. He held her close and thrust inside as she released a laugh at her actions. There was silence through the room aside from the occasional grunt and moan and she thanked Mavis for the fact that the bed made no sounds. She could hear the sounds of skin slapping together and he rolled them both over so that she looked down at him. He chuckled at her appearance and gripped her waist as she began to move above him.

Jellal saved the contract and pushed himself away from his desk to gather his things and go home. He was thankful that he could walk the distance as he needed the fresh air to think. Working overtime physically exhausted him, but sitting at home emotionally exhausted him. He had no friends in this town and Minerva refused to let him visit or keep in contact with his friends back in Magnolia. She was insecure about his friendships with Lucy, Juvia and Levy despite them all being in relationships, but she wouldn't hear him when he told her there was no attraction. He loved those girls like sisters and couldn't have been happier for them. Minerva wanted him to cut contact with all of them including their boyfriends and after an argument he finally had. He was isolated from everything and everyone he'd ever known and he had done it because he was scared to lose the only girl that ever loved him. He stopped in front of their home and sighed in defeat before opening the door.

Minerva and her stranger were still in bed and he watched her as she entered the throes of her climax with a loud cry.

"Alistair!" She cried out, feeling her body tremble and jerk in pleasure.

The black-haired man beneath her chuckled and flipped them over again so that he could find his own release. He thrust into the cheating woman a few more times before throwing his head back in release. Minerva held him close to her chest and sighed contentedly before tensing up at the doorway.

"Minerva," he started slowly. "What were you thinking?"

Jellal stood in the doorway shaking with silent fury as he watched the man scramble off of her. He threw his clothes on and dashed by Jellal in slight embarrassment. There was nothing he could say to the blue-haired man to ease the rage inside. Once the front door closed, Minerva stared at him and the look she held had no emotion.

"You're always working. I thought you didn't love me! You never touch me anymore," she cried. "I've been feeling neglected, but I can never tell you because you're never home!"

He rubbed his head and approached the bed as his rage dissolved into sadness. Jellal pulled her into an embrace and stayed there for a while. He never realized how his constant work affected Minerva and whispered apologies into her ear. It was his fault she strayed. He would do whatever it took to make it up to her. They could work through this.

Jellal retreated to the living room and tried to take his mind off of what was going to happen. He knew he should have left, but he wanted to make the relationship work. He felt bad for neglecting her and told her he wouldn't do overtime so much. He thought everything had been going well except for her fits of rage because of whatever she had been feeling. He became her punching bag physically and emotionally. There was no one he could talk to and she made sure of that. He couldn't talk to his friends without her getting upset and if he wanted to go out somewhere with fellow workers, she assumed he was cheating on her. Each time he wanted to leave, she threatened him by putting a razor blade to her wrist and making little cuts before he gave in and came back.

"This has to stop," he mumbled quietly.

A/N: This is the first time I've ever written something like this. It saddens me to write it, but Jellal will be happy. I welcome your feedback with open arms!