the 5 stages of (my) life
summary: he was everything. there was no before or after him. it was just him.
pairing: bucky barnes x f!reader
words: i think 7k?
warnings: thoughts of loneliness, depersonalisation, mention of depressive symptoms, a lot of bad words at some point, implicit descriptions of sex. i wrote this to be pure angst, idk if i got it, we'll see, you'll tell me.
note: i was watching Grey's Anatomy today and a specific episode about a couple inspired me to write this. it's too inspired by that so thank you Grey's! i don't know if i got the angst i wanted, i hope i did. i actually wrote this just with suffering on my mind. anyway, hope yall like it!! (English is not my first language so sorry for any mistakes!) also, I uploaded this at half past one in the morning so I didn't have time to edit the quotation marks, but tomorrow night I'll make the text look much nicer!
thank u for reading!
You never thought things would go this far.
"I'm not going to stand here and watch you risk your life because you're incapable of expressing your feelings. I'm not worth being put through this."
"You're talking about my fucking life! Why do you want to take control of all the shit I do now? Fuck you."
"I can't believe how fucking insane you've become."
You never thought things would get worse like this.
"I gave up a lot of things for you and you know it!"
"You make it sound like I forced you to. I never asked you to give up your life for me!"
"Exactly, that's the damn problem! You've never asked me to do anything, you've never asked me to do anything, I've just done all this stuff on my own trying to cope with a relationship that's become… one-sided!"
You had heard for a long time how a great many people had said that their best relationships had started with a flame. You couldn't count on the fingers of your hands the number of times you've heard someone say that the best relationship is the one that is always alive, where they keep the flame burning.
But what if it's not a flame? What if it all started with a fire?
You'd heard a lot of things about love, about life, about attachment, but you'd never really experienced it, and you couldn't know how, with the lifestyle you led, your reactions would be when you finally had one. Although, honestly, you didn't expect to ever have one after so many disappointments and abandonments; however, there was one thing that was common about love, that you had heard everyone say: it comes when you least expect it.
But the moment came and, after that event, you considered that your life had only five stages. Only five truly remarkable things that had brought you to the eternal extreme of misery. There was nothing before, there was nothing after. There was only him.
1
You had seen that man, by far, about seven times in the last month. He had a stern look on his face, as if he was in a constant staring match with someone inside his head, or as if he was someone completely drained of emotion, who had lived and felt too much and was tired of it.
Or maybe he was just unfriendly.
Every time you went to therapy, within the last four weeks, you met that man.
The two of you always waited, sitting across from each other in the narrow hallway, trying fiercely to avoid each other's gazes. Or well, you tried not to meet his too much, sometimes it really felt too heavy. Then he would be called first and, more often than not, he would come striding out with his hands clasped. If his vibe was too strong for the session, your therapist never tried to point it out. When he left, the doctor would appear behind him with her typical half-smile calling you by your last name, even though you had asked her not to do so several times.
The other times, which were not so common, the man actually took the time to look serene. You even thought you saw him give you a nod in greeting once, but you couldn't be completely sure of that.
You had never spoken to each other, you were just two strangers who happened to be in the same place at the same time of day at certain times of the week. Still, sometimes, when his eyes met yours, you felt like you were looking into a mirror.
Anyway, you had never spoken to each other, until one day you decided to change that, just because what was the worst that could happen?
"After a while it feels like you have no reason to come, don't you think?"
The man turned his head, and it was the first time he saw you out of volition. His clear eyes moved in an almost imperceptible way, analysing something about you, your face, your clothes, your posture. He looked like a predator ready to strike, but he didn't count on you being a very, very chill gazelle.
"I don't know if you can relate, but it's been really hard for me to come these last few times. I think my only motivation is to come here to have a battle with you of who can go the longest without seeing the other for 30 minutes even though our feet are almost touching?"
You thought you heard a snort in response. Mmm, it wasn't much, but worse was nothing.
"You could just not come," he replied, more crudely than you expected, actually surprising you because you didn't expect him to even pay attention to you.
"Yes, I could," you agreed with him, your gaze drifting to the white tiles, "Anyway, I don't have someone who really cares that I'm okay."
You twisted your lips in a very conformist gesture, and dismissed your attempt at conversation as a failure. Indeed, what was the worst that could happen? That the man would think you were pitiful. But what does it matter? He is a stranger. He's the only person you see regularly besides your therapist. Why should you care that the conversation didn't work? You shouldn't expect the opposite. At some point he'll stop going, he can't be as bad as you. When you least expect it, it will just be you in that narrow hallway again.
"Therapy can be very counterproductive for people who are alone."
You looked up when the man spoke again. You didn't know if you were seeing wrong, but his gaze wasn't as hard as before. He seemed… sympathetic.
"If it makes you feel any better, you're not alone when we wait in this hallway."
You didn't answer him. You watched him as if he were a fly swatted on a wall. You didn't know what to say. What was that supposed to be? Words of support? From a stranger? And what was supposed to be a response to them? That man had flipped the table on you, catching you off guard, and that didn't make you feel very good.
You watched him even after a while in silence, when he had already looked away, his head was down and he had focused on other things. You didn't know what your scrutiny was about; you didn't know whether you were looking for a lie or a mockery, a truth or a ruse. You didn't even know what it was all about. But what does it matter anyway? He's a stranger. He's a stranger sharing that narrow corridor with you. A stranger. A stranger who gave you a few words of support. A stranger. It's a stranger. He is a person.
You shook your head, suddenly regaining your composure. You ran your hands over the fabric of your trousers several times, up and down, down and up. Constantly. About ten times.
You didn't know if it was just you, but you felt suddenly obfuscated in that corridor. As if the walls had invisible hands closing around your throat.
You didn't really know much. You only knew that after the doctor called the man, James, you would never again take the liberty of speaking to strangers as if they were acquaintances, especially those in therapy.
But your mind went blank when James stood up and, before he left, looked at you as if it was something he had planned to do. As if he really wanted to do it. As if he had intended to…
No.
No more.
2
It didn't work.
Of course, it goes without saying that it didn't work.
How could it work? You saw him at least twice a week. And you were weak. Too weak. Too weak. Extremely and potentially vulnerable to suddenly hitting people who gave you a little affection and understanding. You were vulnerable to hitting people. You were vulnerable to ending up in therapy. You were vulnerable.
So what didn't work? Trying to limit your conversations with James to looks. Over the next three weeks, he seemed to have made it his mission to try to keep you company. Did he have any idea how uncomfortable that was for you? But you weren't going to tell him, how could you? Apparently the man wasn't a grumpy, mean looks machine, he was definitely a person who was getting some therapy. He was a person who understood your situation because he had to go through it himself. He was a person. He was a stranger.
Mostly, at that moment, you remembered the conversation that had led you to be in that coffee shop. It was strange. You felt alien to yourself, to your surroundings, but you tried to keep your mind enlightened so you wouldn't freak out.
"You look different."
"We saw each other three days ago."
James twisted his lips. "That's no excuse for not noticing that you look different."
You took a deep breath.
"You really made it your business to talk about something every time we see each other. Did you get tired of me beating you in the staring duels?"
"I'm just trying to get you back in therapy."
"By harassing me with questions?"
"By turning me into a person who cares."
You frowned. The constant knot in your chest was starting to become more and more unbearable. You felt the food from that morning in your throat.
"You'll get the opposite."
James pursed his lips and held up his hands.
"Hey, are you doing anything on Saturday?"
That had been the first time. Yes. Completely out of the loop, somehow you'd agreed the first time. And maybe it wasn't as bad as you'd hoped. Or maybe it was. You had no idea. Just as you had no idea how you had ended up in the same situation for the fifth time.
Fifth time? My goodness.
"You're particularly quiet today," James' face suddenly materialised in front of you.
At what fucking point had he arrived?
"I'm always quiet."
"Not as quiet as today. Are you okay?"
"What are we doing?" you blurted out suddenly. You didn't even process the words in your head until you saw the man's face contort in confusion.
"What are we doing?" James repeated your question, "We're having coffee in a coffee shop."
"You're a top notch clown, you know that?"
The man let out a laugh, and you watched his shoulders move in time with his breaths.
"We're just sharing time. Don't freak out."
"Sharing time?"
"Yes, sharing time."
"I don't think I've shared time with someone in a long time."
"That's not bad. It's good to share time with yourself."
You twisted your lips. You stared at the bubbles in your coffee, still steaming on the table.
"I had to learn to share time with myself," you looked up to see him with his head cocked to one side, a gesture you had learned to associate with his absolute attention to your words. "You've shared time with yourself?"
James nodded.
"All the time, to tell you the truth. I can barely escape myself."
You smiled at him. The constant knot in his chest seemed to have subsided for now.
"I guess we both got to learn."
The man raised his glass of black coffee, tilting his head, "It's the hazards of the job."
Yes, that was definitely what it had to be about. The things that constantly occupied you outside of coffee shops and therapy. Of the things that occupied your head so that you didn't delve into your intrusive thoughts, even though sometimes they seemed to come alive and present themselves in the faces of the people you saw in your daily life.
Undoubtedly it must have been because of that night job. It wasn't a job you loved, it was a job you imposed on yourself to try to make yourself feel better at night when you were trying to sleep. It was a duty. It was a task you couldn't refuse. Too many people had already died for you to give up. You had nothing left.
Many people said it was the job of a vigilante; other people said it was the job of a criminal. In the end, what did it really matter as long as it left you with a clear conscience?
Your therapist knew, but you didn't know if James knew. If he was aware of it and preferred to overlook it to have coffee with you. Or if he knew and preferred to ignore it so as not to ruin things. Or if he knew and pretended he didn't so you wouldn't notice he was doing it all out of pity. Or if he didn't know.
Honestly, you didn't know which was worse.
Sometimes you thought things were better when you were just strangers in a narrow hallway. Sometimes you thought it would be better if you didn't have to make an emotional commitment to him, even though you knew you were already doing it; unconsciously you were doing it.
You had always believed that it was better to be alone. Not to have company. Not to share time with someone you could potentially lose. It was easier to get the job done when you got home and didn't have to answer a text or remember that there's someone waiting for you to text them that you got home safe and sound.
"Hey, don't overthink it."
James' voice broke your concentration. You focused your gaze on his face, suddenly feeling oblivious to the whole scenario.
"You don't have to give it a name, or even think about it. If you really, from the bottom of you, didn't want any kind of company, don't you think you wouldn't have come the first time I asked you?"
"Are you saying this is what I want?"
"I'm saying that you're a person who's used to being alone, but you don't have to be if you don't want to be."
"You're an enigma."
James smiled. "Thank you. I think the same about you."
But it was true what he'd said, you were thinking too much. One of the things your therapist kept telling you was to try to stop living in your head. Acknowledge your surroundings, feel every sensation and take in every possible smell.
It was difficult when the reason you wanted to be in your head all the time was the same reason that all your senses were perceiving at the same time.
But you tried. You felt the wood of the table and the warmth of the coffee cup, you took in the smell of caffeine and James's perfume, a little piney and citrusy, you savoured the coffee left in your mouth from the last time you took a sip. Slowly you tried to bring yourself back to that moment, to focus on your present and, sadly, to acknowledge that you were in a coffee shop with James Barnes.
It was something you constantly shied away from. To acknowledge that you spent time with him. With him. That he deliberately chose to spend his time with you. That you, intentionally, decided to spend your time with him. With the one who started out as a stranger. A person. A friend. A…
No.
3
It had been a while since you had decided to stop closing yourself off to all the possibilities life had to offer. Sometimes you didn't recognise how you got to that point, but other times you felt something close to pride for allowing yourself to go that far. And, really, it could have been one of the best or one of the worst decisions you had ever made in your life.
You spent weeks trying to deny James coming into your life, but the moment you opened the door to him, you had only gone up.
You didn't know you missed the company of a friend on sleepless nights and confessions. You didn't know you longed for the warmth of a lover until hours passed and you couldn't tear yourself away from each other. You didn't know you wasted time denying the feeling. You didn't know that you needed to take a few days off from the exhausting work you had set for yourself. You didn't even know that the work was exhausting.
When you were able to recognise all those things, you were also able to recognise that you had been living life on the edge. You were constantly exposed to everything before you met James. Exposed to danger, to death, to loneliness. You were living too fast because you felt you had no time, that at any moment you would run out of time and you wouldn't have done enough.
And then you finally decided to give yourself a break. From everything. Absolutely everything. Everything.
You moved in with James.
Yeah, definitely.
You took turns shopping. You took turns doing the dirty dishes. You took turns cleaning the flat. It felt like perfect harmony; like suddenly everything was in its place and it seemed like nothing could go wrong from that point on.
"Wait, wait!" you exclaimed with laughter. You moved your body off the bed, the peach-coloured sheet covering your body. You tried to stretch to reach for your mobile phone on the nightstand but James' hands around your waist prevented you from moving too much.
"You can answer that when we're done," the man purred, his hands straining, but not too hard, to pull you back onto the bed.
"Hold on a moment, James Barnes," you mumbled back, when you finally reached for the mobile phone and let out a triumphant laugh.
Vanessa Lennox, you read on the screen, as you felt James cling to your back.
"It's Vanessa," you told him as you unlocked the phone to check her messages.
"Vanessa texts you all the time."
"I know."
"All the time."
"That I know."
"These nights are supposed to be for us. She's not asking you out, is she?"
"No, no, she's…"
I'm in trouble. Can you come over?
"She's all right."
I can't, but I'll write to Tommy. He told me he was watching today, he must be near where you are.
"Are you sure?" you felt James' breath on the back of your neck, as his lips began to touch the most sensitive parts of your back.
"Yes…" you replied in a whisper. "She's going to be fine."
"Then stop turning your back on me," James spoke, his breath colliding against the small of your back. You arched unconsciously. "Look at me."
You inhaled air sharply, leaving the mobile phone locked to the side of the bed. You let James's hands guide your movements until you were trapped in his arms, his chest pressed against your back.
"You're bossy sometimes, has anyone ever told you that?"
"Only you, to be honest."
"Yeah, sure you have," you smiled incredulously.
You stirred until you could stand face to face with the man you shared a bed with every night. His light eyes quickly met yours, and his hands squeezed each side of your waist.
It was getting a little chilly. There were nights when you didn't know how you could stand to be so long without clothes under those sheets. It was easier for James, the weather didn't affect him as much as it did you at the moment. You shivered as a chill ran through your whole body, from the tips of your toes to the crown of your head. You pulled your body close to his, settling your head where his neck and shoulder met.
"Maybe the window is open," you heard him say.
"You know I always close the windows all over the flat before I go to bed."
"Okay, then we'd better figure out a way to get you warm."
As he finished speaking, the man moved, lowering himself from his position until his head was at the same level as yours. His eyes smiled at you as your teeth unconsciously flickered from the cold your body felt. His mouth also stretched into a smile, one of the many smiles you had learned to love. It was a very homely smile. The kind of smile that only you could see, that only you could see, that only you could see. It was a very domestic smile. It was the smile.
"Do you want me to get the other sheet?"
"No," you answered quickly. "I'm fine. We can proceed."
James let out a laugh. His eyes grew small from the flex of his cheeks as he laughed. You saw every flex and line of his face and it was like a balm to your mind.
It wasn't long before the man, in the midst of his smile and that feeling of ecstasy, brought his face close to yours and kissed you as if he hadn't kissed you in years.
Kissing James was like touching heaven. It was like being at peace after years of constant war. It was a great, vast, calm ocean. It was the absolute silence of tranquillity. It was like a great rest after years and years of travel. With his kisses you could begin to believe that you would never be alone again. With his kisses you didn't feel alone. With his kisses you believed it was possible to never be alone again. With his kisses you lost the fear of accepting him unconditionally in your life.
With his kisses, you lost the fear of loving him.
You loved the way he cradled the side of your face when he kissed you, every time, without fail. You loved the way he would start slow, soft, so tender, then fill you with passion and control your mouth without weariness or fatigue. You loved the way he then moved his hands all over your waist to the curve of your buttocks, as if he was admiring every millimetre of your skin through his touch. You loved the way he made love to you afterwards, sometimes so subtle and sometimes so out of control.
To have James was to have the best of everything at the same time.
"Are you getting up early tomorrow?" James asked as he pulled away from you. When you saw his eyes, his pupils were dilated and his breathing resembled yours: quickened and eager.
"No."
"Good."
He kissed you hard.
"Because you're not leaving this bed until Sunday."
4
James had begun to accept occasional missions that Fury gave him. You never agreed. No matter when or where they asked you, you would never have agreed to it. But clearly you couldn't just keep him in the flat until the idea was out of his head. You had thought about it a few times, but… no.
You tried to adjust to the fact that he wouldn't be around as much as before, but it was very difficult. It felt as if you had been given the most delicious candy in the whole world, left to treasure it, to savour it a little at a time, to get used to having it next to you, only to have it ripped away from you without warning, totally unprepared, leaving you to realise that everything was really out of your control. You didn't have the candy in your domain, you had been allowed to have the candy and then it was taken away from you.
"Try to concentrate," you heard Vanessa's voice.
You looked up to find her watching you from the roof of the building across the street. You felt a strong desire to rip the communicator from your ear and stomp it to dust with your boot. It was strange. It was a feeling of constant anger that you didn't know how to control. You were constantly angry except when James came to the flat.
"I'm focused."
"You better be," Tommy spoke up, "because my life depends on it."
"You shut your mouth and focus on not losing sight of the target."
"Vanessa, remind me why I agreed to do this."
"Because you're a great friend who supports absolutely everything we do."
Friend. At what point did you start to consider someone a friend? James was your friend. You thought you considered him that. Your partner. Your friend. James was your boyfriend.
"And you're totally unconditional to us."
A friend is unconditional. James is your friend. He's your partner. Friend. James is unconditional to you?
"I have to start working on my boundaries."
"No, our friend needs to start working on her temper. She doesn't get the required amount of sex a day and she's already starting to freak out."
You frowned.
"So you consider your friend's problems to boil down to sex alone?" you snapped at Vanessa, not avoiding the sour tone with which your words came out. You couldn't help but take it personally. Was that being an unconditional friend? Or being a friend?
"No," she replied quickly, "You know I didn't mean it that way. I was joking."
You hummed a nod, downplaying the words. Playing it all down. Because it didn't really matter, it was so silly to get angry about it. And it was very strange for you to get angry about it. You didn't even used to have relationships close enough to allow yourself to get angry about something they said about you. That was the big example of why you didn't do it.
"The target is moving. He's heading for the nest," Tommy spoke again, his serene tone bringing you back to the topic that was truly important. "Do you see him, Vanessa?"
"Got it."
"Good. Just move into the room towards… Wow, who's that? Who the hell's in there?"
"Damn," Vanessa mumbled.
"Wait a minute."
"We can't wait that long."
"I know," Tommy exclaimed, and from his exasperated tone you could imagine how he was running his hands through his hair repeatedly.
"What the hell do we do, Thomas?"
"I told you to wait!"
"We can't wait, dammit!"
"Wait."
"Thomas, I'm going to-"
"Hold on."
You peered through your binoculars. The large panes of glass surrounding the flat where the target was located didn't let you see much inside. The room the man was in was not as well lit, but you had gone in well prepared.
Finally you could see what the others were seeing. The man had entered the room he was supposed to enter, but there was another man in there with him. And, as far as you could see, they had made themselves comfortable. It didn't look like the other man was going to leave any time soon.
"Let's do it," you spoke, breaking the silence, giving voice to the only option they had that neither of the other two wanted to say.
"Are you insane?" Tommy exclaimed through his teeth.
"We don't have a choice. We declare it a red zone and end the mission."
"We don't even know who that man is," Vanessa interjected, her voice unsteady as she was unable to acknowledge that you were right, hesitating because you were running out of time.
"That's what the red zone is all about."
There was a moment of silence. You knew they were both considering it, the idea had been in their heads since the man entered the room, but their moral compass was much stronger than yours.
"He could be an innocent person," Tommy tried to justify not making that decision.
"How innocent can he be sitting there with the target?"
"And how do we know he's guilty?" Tommy exclaimed back.
"We're wasting more time discussing this," Vanessa spoke again, and you could breathe in her deep inhale before she said, "I think we should do it, Tommy."
The man cursed through his teeth.
You looked through the binoculars again, and both men were still inside the room.
You heard a beep on the communicator and then a steady static. Someone had changed the channel.
"I'm relieving myself as mission leader. You're in charge," it was Tommy.
"What?"
"I can't do this."
"Thomas…"
"I can't make this decision. Just… just do it."
You heard the beeping again and then it was Vanessa saying, "Thomas, what the hell are we going to do?"
"Vanessa, aim for the target," you ordered as you began to open the case next to you, just in case a situation like that arose.
"What?"
"This mission has been declared a red zone. We're going to proceed according to protocol."
The woman didn't speak again.
Nor did she say anything when you had climbed down from the rooftops and found yourselves in an alleyway in the middle of the buildings. You were waiting for Thomas, your guns already stowed in the van.
"He relieved himself," Vanessa spoke after a while, and though it sounded like she wanted to ask a question, it sounded like a statement.
"Yes."
Vanessa shook her head in an affirmative gesture. She didn't say anything else. She leaned against the concrete wall with a blank stare.
Your mobile phone rang inside the van.
"Is that Thomas?" your companion asked.
You moved closer to look at the device's screen.
James.
"No."
You took the mobile phone and moved away from the woman's figure, further down the alley. Your heart was racing, it was out of control. You had been waiting for that call for days. You had spent sleepless nights waiting for one measly message. You had taken hundreds of missions just so you wouldn't have to endure sleeping in a bed alone. You felt like your body had been frozen until that moment, until that call, and finally….
"James? Are you here yet?"
A woman called your name on the other end of the line.
"Bucky arrived a couple of hours ago."
Your feet stopped walking.
"And the mission went well?"
Silence.
A beeping and constant muttering was all that answered you on the line.
"Is James okay?"
"He's stable. He suffered some injuries. We lost communication with him in the last few days and we thought that…"
You couldn't quite remember when you had arrived at the old Avengers Complex. Your body moved automatically and your vision was so blurred that you had no idea how you could get through the crowd without bumping into someone. It was all very strange. You spent months convincing yourself that it would never happen again. Ever since James accepted those damn missions, you spent weeks trying to convince yourself that nothing would ever go wrong. That his kisses would always be there. His reunion kisses were the best, they were a wellspring of calm that washed away all the anxiety that consumed you alive during the days when you couldn't hear from him.
You had already made up your mind that it would never happen again. He promised you that it wouldn't happen, that you wouldn't have to relive that heartbreaking feeling one more time.
And he broke it.
You wanted to be relieved to see him. You wanted to be happy to know he was alive. Bruised, but alive. You wanted to hold him, to stay with him and never let him go again. But you just stood there in front of his stretcher. And he didn't try to make you come closer either. He saw it in your eyes, you knew it. He knew it.
Seeing him on that gurney made you angry. It aroused your anger that this man had broken the promise he sealed with so many kisses. You felt so much disappointment that your chest had become a bottomless void of a feeling of impersonality. You didn't want to be there. You didn't want to go through it. You preferred to think that you could overlook it. You should overlook it. Why didn't you overlook it? You could live in ignorance, pretend to be the perfect girlfriend. Everything could be easier for both of you, for you, if you just ignored all those feelings and took this situation as a normal person would.
But your knees gave way to your tears and crashed to the floor. From the corner of the room, you could see your body shake in uncontrollable weeping. You didn't know why it hurt so much, if he was alive. You didn't know the reason for the agonising pain, if he was there. And yet, your face contracted in incalculable pain. It was as if he had died on that stretcher. It was as if you had been called to come and acknowledge his corpse.
And you knew James knew, because he hadn't said anything since you arrived. He had done nothing but watch you.
There, from the corner of the room, you could see him crying with you.
He knew.
You knew it.
5
The mission was simple.
Infiltrate, seduce, accompany, lull, kill.
But simple doesn't always end easy.
Since James had returned to the flat, he had vowed never to go out on any mission again, under any circumstances. And, indeed, he was keeping that promise. He was spending as much time at home as before.
But you weren't.
Every time James tried to talk to you about that mission where he might have died, you went into a kind of shell where you shut yourself off from all communication and fled from that place to one where you felt more at ease. More in control.
You got so tired of running away that you decided to start investing that time in something that would actually pay off. You started accepting missions with Thomas more often than before.
You knew James was trying to understand you, he was trying as hard and as willing as he could. Sometimes you would arrive and there would be dinner for you in the fridge or in the microwave. Sometimes you'd see your clothes piled in a corner of the yard suddenly neatly folded and smelling decent. Sometimes you'd walk into the bedroom and find little presents on top of the nightstand, right next to your side of the bed.
You knew James was trying.
But you also knew he was getting tired.
Weeks passed since you first came in and he was waiting for you sitting on the couch. It was a very hectic night, with too many questions and not enough answers. Sometimes you arrived and the flat was lonely. Sometimes you arrived and there was no food. Sometimes you arrived and there was only screaming.
But it was easier that way. You'd already felt what it was like to almost lose him, you'd already experienced that overwhelming emotion that had been with you so much in the past, and you knew, beforehand, that if it happened with James, there was no way you'd get out of it alive, so it was easier this way.
So it was easier that way. He'd walk away on his own, you'd forget about him, and you wouldn't have to suffer if he ever died.
Die.
James would die one day.
But not a day when he was with you.
So yes, you did spend a lot of time away from home.
Maybe you really should have thought twice before deciding that this was the best option.
You knew you dreaded James' death, and the loneliness that followed his passing.
But you had no idea how panicked you would be at the thought of your own death, after meeting him.
Because you would forget him, and that would be fairly easy for you, but he wouldn't forget you. And he would suffer, much more than he was suffering since you didn't come home.
"What the hell happened?" you remembered hearing a voice.
You couldn't be too aware of your surroundings lately.
"It was a simple mission," you heard another male voice.
"It was supposed to go well. She was supposed to call us if things got complicated."
You remembered little of being in the hospital.
You remembered a lot of James sitting in an armchair next to your gurney.
You remembered a lot of his silence.
You also remembered when, some days, you were awakened by his cries and had to pretend to be asleep so as not to interfere with his suffering. Because, ever since that accident happened, ever since you could remember what happened after that, James had become wary of his feelings. He wasn't as expressive as he used to be. And you didn't have the slightest idea what to do.
You couldn't believe that before you could get to the point where you could tell how each other was doing just by listening to each other's breathing, and after that you couldn't even meet each other's eyes by accident.
You were two strangers again.
You were losing him. You knew it. Every day that you went without doing something, without talking to him, without showing a hint of remorse for what you'd done, was a day closer to being completely alone again.
And you didn't even show it, but it was painful. Seeing him shut down like that, seeing him lose the sparkle in his eyes when he looked at you, realising that he lost the will to try… knowing that you took away his will… it was all too much.
Really, you never thought things would get this bad.
"What are you doing?"
You didn't think they had gotten this bad, until one day you came to the flat and saw a suitcase in the room full of his clothes.
"I'm tired."
Those were the first words he'd spoken to you in days.
"And I don't have to put up with this anymore. So I'm leaving."
You knew it was going to happen, but for him to say it like that…
"You're leaving?"
James turned to look at you. His icy expression paralysed you.
"Are you still surprised?" he blurted out gruffly, and continued packing his clothes.
You just stood there in the doorframe, watching him move as fast as if he had a coal-fired engine in his chest. As if he couldn't wait for the moment when he could finally get out of there.
"Really…" he spoke suddenly, "You've really gone weeks, weeks, without speaking to me no matter how many times I've tried to talk to you, and you decide to do it now just because you're watching me leave? That's what I needed to do to get you to react?"
You didn't answer, you just watched him, your mind blank. He was angry. Irate, rather. And you knew he was absolutely right, but you couldn't do anything about it. You couldn't do anything about it because things were going your way. If James went away, if he went away hating you, he wouldn't suffer in the future when you died and you could forget him in peace. That was the best thing. The only good thing you could do for him: keep him away from you.
"Don't you think I deserve an explanation?"
Yes, you do.
"No."
"No?" he repeated incredulously. "I know I made a mistake. I made a mistake in accepting those missions. I told you, I did it countless times. And yet, all those countless times you chose to turn your back on me."
The man watched you, his eyes filled with pent-up emotions that he finally allowed to overflow.
"I tried to understand you. I really did. I gave you your space. I tried to do whatever you needed because I knew it was hard for you, but it was like… trying to water a cactus daily. Everything I did seemed to have the opposite effect."
You're right. You're absolutely right. I'm sorry, I was overcome with fear and panic. I got carried away. Please don't go.
"You didn't even give yourself a chance to listen to me. Not once. Do you have any idea how all that made me feel?"
Yes, you must have felt very lonely. Abandoned. Despised by me. It was my fault. I shouldn't have let it all go so far.
"Do you want me to call a taxi?"
Of all the things you longed to say, that was the only thing your mind allowed to come out of your mouth.
You saw him sketch the sternest look of disbelief you'd ever seen. But you also saw pain, extreme pain at the rejection of your words.
"Are you fucking kidding me? How can you be so cynical?" James exclaimed, his face contorted in anger and helplessness. You cringed a little at the shout but didn't move away from him as he came striding towards you in long strides. "Tell me, did you even care about me? At any point in this… relationship, was anything you gave me real?"
You half-opened your lips to answer, but could not formulate the sentences you knew would comfort his heart.
Yes, absolutely everything was real, all my love and suffering was real.
James walked away, and you didn't know if it was possible that his face could look even more downcast.
Your hands were shaking with helplessness. He was still there. You could still try to save him. Why didn't you? Why? Why? Why?
"How can you be so fucking expressionless? How can you not be in pain… for this? How?"
"You're going to be fine," the words escaped your mouth before your mind could process it.
The man turned to look at you.
"You really are…" he raised his hand and gripped it tightly, swallowing his words and turning back towards the wardrobe to start throwing his things into the suitcase.
Suddenly, he let out a scream. And then a cry.
"I swear, if you'd just tell me no, I'd stay."
He looked at you. His tear-filled eyes met yours and you knew that would be an image that would haunt you to death.
"I would stay… I really would, but… I still can't believe you are so foolish. The first thing you did when you left that hospital was to go back to another mission. How could you care so little about your life? How could you care any less that I care about your life?"
I care about my life even more since you're in it. Don't go.
"It's just work," is what you replied.
"No, no, no…" James hummed with laughter, but his face lacked grace. "I'm definitely not going to stand here just watching you risk your life because you're incapable of expressing your feelings. I'm not worth being put through this."
"It's my life, James."
"But you made me part of your life! I'm here! We're supposed to share our lives together. Why is it only about you now?"
"It's supposed to be my choices…"
"But why can't I be a part of them?" James exclaimed loudly. Your mind clouded over, and even though all you wanted to do was apologise from there until the end of time, you had too much pent up anger because of that very inability to say what you truly thought.
You're right, I am unable to express my feelings. I am sorry. Don't go away.
"You're talking about my fucking life! Why do you want to be in control of all the shit I do now? Fuck you!"
"I'm not trying to control anything, goddamn it! I just need to know…"
"No! You don't need to know anything. You don't need to know anything about me. We're here and you're packing your bag. You have no right to know anything."
James let out a snort.
"We're here and you still can't talk to me. I can't believe how bloody insane you've become."
"Just go."
Don't go.
"This is bullshit."
James finished throwing all of his clothes into the suitcase. You watched his every move, every flex of his body, every grimace on his face, every flick of his hair, how his fingers clutched at the things he took, how his scowl didn't lessen one bit. You watched and watched. It was all you could do.
You leaned against the doorframe and watched him take his anger and pain out on his clothes and his suitcase. It gave you a strange kind of feeling to see him like that, something that felt mildly familiar but you couldn't put a name to it. You wanted to turn things back. If you could turn back time you would, and every single thing that went wrong you would fix.
But would you really? Did the problem really go back to when things with James started to go wrong? The problem was you. You were the problem. You couldn't talk, you could only think, you could only repress, you could only suffer. Only you, you and you. Only you because you were alone, because you had always been alone and there was no reason to believe that could change. James lied to you, that was the reason he was leaving and you had no reason to stop him. He had to go. If he didn't want to go through that, he shouldn't have lied in the first place. If he didn't want to go through that, he shouldn't have asked you out in the first place. He shouldn't have met you. He shouldn't have spent time with you. You shouldn't have stopped him.
Stop him.
You should stop him.
James closed the suitcase.
"I did too much for this relationship. I gave up too much for both of us. I gave up everything I was for this relationship. I gave up too much for you and you know it!"
You narrowed your eyes and began to approach him in rapid strides. He towered over you by several inches, and there was a time when you loved that, but now you hated that he could see you that way. He had always seen you that way. So small…
"You say that as if I forced you. I never asked you to give up your life for me!"
"Exactly, that's the damn problem! You've never asked me to do anything, I've just done all this stuff on my own trying to cope with a relationship that's become… one-sided!"
You walked away.
"Just… leave now."
Please leave before I tie you to this flat and never let you leave again.
He wanted to say something else. You knew he wanted to say something else. It was obvious he hadn't said half the things he wanted to say. But he didn't.
He took his suitcase and left.
He really left.
He walked past you, not caring that the brush of his shoulder against yours almost made you fall. He passed you and walked straight to the exit, slamming the door hard on his way out.
He was gone. He was gone. He was finally gone. He was really gone.
Now you were alone. You were alone again. That's what you wanted, wasn't it? You'd done a lot of things in the last few months to make him go away, and he was finally gone… but then why weren't you satisfied?
Why did you want to run after him? Why did you want to go and kiss him? Why did you want to stop him and beg him to forgive you?
Who did he think he was to deserve that after what he had done?
But… what had he done?
No.
What had you done?
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Anonymous9837 Not seeing new messages? Click here to correct.
Anonymous9837:
22:17
While an IMALIVE Volunteer is joining this chat, please take a moment to read this disclaimer. If your chat disconnects unexpectedly, it may be caused by wifi network connection issues, so please log back in and start a new chat. IMALIVE chat is for those who are thinking about suicide or are in distress. If you are having trouble seeing new messages or typing, please select - Click here to refresh - on top of the chat window. If you or someone you know is currently in the state of medical emergency, please dial 911 or your local emergency number for an ambulance. The volunteer will not be able to locate you without your help. If you wish to speak to someone on the phone right now, you can also call 1-800-SUICIDE(784-2433) or visit befrienders.org to find your local hotline. Please stay online while the next available volunteer is connecting to the chat....
Alex:
22:18
IMALIVE Volunteer joined the chat.
Alex:
22:18
Hi, my name is Alex. May I ask your name?
Anonymous9837:
22:18
Hey there. I guess Elise, that's my real name.
Anonymous9837:
22:18
I don't know, I feel silly doing this at all. I guess first, how are you?
Alex:
22:19
It sounds like you're worried about being judged
Anonymous9837:
22:19
Well, I'm mostly worried about being whiny, honestly.
Anonymous9837:
22:19
Like... I don't know, I'm not in an immediate place where I'm going to hurt myself, honestly
Alex:
22:19
Why don't we start with what brought you here today
Anonymous9837:
22:20
I just know if I don't talk about it or at least let someone know I'm having bad thoughts that it'll swell into a pretty crappy place later.
Anonymous9837:
22:20
Well, I guess just... My life's in a real weird place. I'm on medication but I've been off it for a few days, back on it again. I've been in therapy for close to a year but my life just seems to be getting worse.
Anonymous9837:
22:20
I think I need to get a new therapist or something, or at least talk to her about improving our sessions. But it's tough.
Anonymous9837:
22:21
I also know that we're at a place where it's like... There's not too much more she can do for me in a lot of ways.
Anonymous9837:
22:21
And I guess that's scary.
Alex:
22:22
It can be very discouraging when you feel the help you're getting isn't helping. It sounds like this is adding extra stress to your life at a very bad time
Anonymous9837:
22:23
I wish I had something that was more unknown to me or had some big revelation about why I'm all dysfunctional, but. I don't. I feel like a car that's been taken apart and clearly you can see things aren't working right, but somehow you can't get the pieces to fit back together right. There's not much more to do than just trash it, you know?
Anonymous9837:
22:23
And yeah, it's demotivating. It took me a long time to go to therapy again, I mean I went through a bunch of therapy as a kid and none of it was too much help. I took a chance with it again recently and it's just been...
Anonymous9837:
22:24
I guess a lot of it has been useful, at the very least I can say I'm working on it, but I just want to be... Not even "fine", but just better.
Anonymous9837:
22:25
It's hard to imagine a year ago that I was nearly a functioning person, but. I guess it's a real shaky support that keeps that facade going, things were clearly going wrong.
Anonymous9837:
22:25
Sorry, I feel weird not asking again, how are you?
Alex:
22:26
No need to feel weird. We are here to work with you and focus on how you are doing
Anonymous9837:
22:26
Well, thank you.
Anonymous9837:
22:27
I'm in my late twenties and live with my mom and brother... Our house isn't big enough for everyone so we ended up with me in the basement, but in the last few months I finally decided I couldn't take it anymore and moved upstairs, even though that means not having a room and sleeping in the living room.
Anonymous9837:
22:29
And it's been a rough adjustment. I can't get myself to take care of my messes easily as it is, so combine having a small house where I don't have a room, things build up, people get upset. I've been out of work since last July, I had some financial fortune to get by but I fucked that up pretty badly and I'm broke again, but I just... There's no way I can hold a job. My therapist and I are working on SSI but it just... takes a while, and it makes me feel like I'm a brat.
Anonymous9837:
22:30
My mom's disabled, physically, so it's like. I feel like I'm making an excuse for myself when I should just be having a job. I've worked before for years, but I just can't. I mean I can barely keep myself showered, or bother to eat, even though I'm a fat sunnovabitch because I rarely leave my house.
Anonymous9837:
22:30
So it's just... Things get tense. I don't want to be a burden on anyone.
Anonymous9837:
22:31
The answer seems to be that it'd be easiest if I weren't here, but aside from it being a scary idea, I know that'd be a lot of shit my family would have to go through.
Anonymous9837:
22:31
But I still think about it a lot, and it's upsetting.
Anonymous9837:
22:32
I just want to be left alone, honestly. I feel like most of my life I haven't had any chance to just "be". I want to exist but just barely, I guess.
Anonymous9837:
22:33
I've been working on it, it doesn't look like it, but I have been. I'm just not well, physically and psychologically. Today I started an herb garden, I'm raising them from seeds, hopefully they work.
Anonymous9837:
22:34
I try to take my dog out, I got a FitBit so I can be mindful of my movement. But as soon as I do these things, people think I'm shirking important things, but... I need to do anything I can now, because otherwise I just do nothing.
Alex:
22:34
You sound very invested in your recovery. It can be tough feeling like a burden on people, but it sounds like you have a family that you care about and that cares about you. So it sounds like at some point in the past you felt you were doing better, but you now feel yourself spiraling in a downward direction. You're not sure if it's the move to a less private living situation, or the medication or if you should try seeing a new professional and it sounds like all these factors are really overwhelming you
Anonymous9837:
22:35
I fantasize about running away a lot. But I have a dog who I feel like I need to be there for even though my family would take care of her, and I have a 20 year-old cat... And I don't want to ditch him.
Anonymous9837:
22:35
Yeah, that all sounds fair. I mean, it's a long history of dysfunction, I can't even tell you my family history and growing up.
Anonymous9837:
22:36
I guess the one good thing about therapy is I'm finally so tired of mourning my past because I just can't be bothered to talk about it anymore, which is saying something, because it's been the only thing I can discuss with any passion for a while.
Anonymous9837:
22:37
But now I'm just like, "here I am," and it's crappy. Like, that's done. There's nothing I can do that I haven't already to try and compartmentalize and digest it better. But I'm still messed up and now I'm an adult and nobody can fix it for me.
Anonymous9837:
22:38
Some days I feel okay. But I just... I'm tired all the time and I don't care about anything, the only thing that I actually feel emotionally responsive to is when I'm upsetting people.
Anonymous9837:
22:39
I tried to move into my dad's a number of years ago after he told me there'd "always be a place" for me with him, and he knows things have been awful, and he's a lot to blame for it. But when I did, he suddenly didn't have room, which sucked. It kind of felt like I finally went to make a huge change in my life even though I was scared and ultimately was told, "nah." Like... Idk.
Anonymous9837:
22:39
I just keep thinking I need to get out of here, and the only feasible way I can imagine that is to not exist anymore.
Anonymous9837:
22:39
But that's a whole mess to itself.
Anonymous9837:
22:40
It's a good thing I'm anxious about what happens after you die, though. A lot of the time that's the only thing that keeps me here-- I guess that's true for a lot of people, but still.
Alex:
22:41
There really is no easy fix, which can make things seem hopeless. Elise, have you been thinking about suicide?
Anonymous9837:
22:41
Oh sure, but that's nothing new. I think about it pretty constantly, but I'm not going to enact it.
Anonymous9837:
22:42
I walked in on my mom readying to kill herself when I was thirteen and decided I didn't want to do that to anybody.
Anonymous9837:
22:42
But it's still a thought, and it's one of those things where it's just... Super depressing to realize that's what you'd kind of like to do.
Alex:
22:43
But you haven't thought about how and when you want to kill yourself and you're able to stay safe while we continue to chat?
Anonymous9837:
22:44
Yeah, I'm okay. That's why I'm talking now, so I don't have more of these thoughts later. I took an Ativan recently and I'm getting pretty calmed down in addition to that. I'm not in any danger to myself now, but. It's preventative, I guess.
Anonymous9837:
22:45
I've never really thought /how/ I'd kill myself, they all seem pretty creepy. More of what would happen after, which I guess is less dangerous.
Anonymous9837:
22:45
(my ativan is prescription, btw, I don't use it often but I do have it officially for when I need it)
Anonymous9837:
22:46
I just kind of needed someone to talk to so it didn't stay in my head and chest and get into Bad Territory.
Anonymous9837:
22:46
I just hope I'll be Okay someday. I keep thinking I'm about to get to the final corner of this maze but it just keeps goddamn turning.
Alex:
22:47
Ok. Well Elise, what else do you think would help you right now? It sounds like having someone to talk to has helped with the stress a bit
Anonymous9837:
22:47
And it's tough, too, because you can't see all the progress you've made in these situations. But that's the depression talking.
Anonymous9837:
22:47
and yeah, it has, I'm getting pretty relaxed again already, so thank you for that.
Anonymous9837:
22:48
I think I need to contact my therapist and discuss making our appointments more constructive, and contact my doctor to start finding a psychiatrist I like. My recent one retired.
Anonymous9837:
22:48
Which sucks, I really liked her.
Anonymous9837:
22:48
I need to keep on my SSI application... And just keep working through my list of to-do's, since every one of those I complete makes me feel like I'm doing a little bit better.
Anonymous9837:
22:49
I guess for right now I should get something to eat or drink and do little things, maybe just fold my clothes while I watch a movie, and probably write in my journal.
Anonymous9837:
22:50
And maybe tonight I'll go for a drive for some privacy and have a good cry-- I've been needing to do that for a while now.
Alex:
22:51
It sounds like feeling like you are making steps toward your recovery is important to you. You have a very well built plan of next steps to take.
Anonymous9837:
22:52
Thanks, I guess it's a matter of me actually doing them, haha. My mom actually is out here trying to get me to talk to her and... I think I should, I don't mean to cut off from you so quickly, but I'm calmed down and I know there are people out there in actual danger.
Alex:
22:52
Would you like someone from the IMAlive Team to follow up with you? That follow-up would be via email, a few days after this chat.
Anonymous9837:
22:53
Mm... I think I'm okay, actually-- Or, would that be just a check-in, I guess?
Anonymous9837:
22:53
Sure, you can contact me at *********@gmail.com, I guess.
Anonymous9837:
22:54
Gives me something to keep working on myself for so I can reply with positive news, haha.
Anonymous9837:
22:54
Hopefully!
Alex:
22:54
A check-in. Ok Elise a member of IMAlive will follow up with you. In the meantime, be good to yourself smiley
Anonymous9837:
22:55
Thanks so much, I really appreciate you listening to me.
🙂
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