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Bandaids
by Or By The Sea
She keeps thinking of bee stings and skinned knees and the way her mother always smelled like Chanel Number Five as she soothed away all the minor hurts of childhood.
(He told her once that Chanel smells like old money and desperate need for social validation.)
She has always thought there are two ways to hurt. One is fast and harsh, but quick to heal. The other is slow and agonizing before the final admission of defeat.
(Her mother always had to rip the bandaids off for her.)
She cant walk away, and he cant walk at all so they silently agree to suffer slowly. She doesnt admit that its guilt thats forcing her stasis, so she masks the lie in half-truths and tells herself its love.
(He wont admit he still needs her.)
Shes angry, maybe as angry as he is, but she doesnt talk about it. It comes out in passive aggressive flashes sometimes, but never when hes in the room. His anger is far more justified than hers, so with him, she stays silent.
(He pushes too hard, and vituperative words give way to raw vitriol.)
Its six months before its finally too much for her to take: the hatred, the silence, the screaming, the pain. He plays Ravel while she packs the last five years into boxes, and she whispers that shes sorry as she walks out the door.
(Theres no bandaid to fix betrayal.)
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Legal Disclaimer: The authors published here make no claims on the ownership of Dr. Gregory House and the other fictional residents of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Like the television show House (and quite possibly Dr. Wilson's pocket protector), they are the property of NBC/Universal, David Shore and undoubtedly other individuals of whom I am only peripherally aware. The fan fiction authors published here receive no monetary benefit from their work and intend no copyright infringement nor slight to the actual owners. We love the characters and we love the show, otherwise we wouldn't be here.
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