Gabriel

Gabriel sat on the edge of the couch, tears mixing with the blood on his face and smearing his hands which he had crammed into his eyes. His button down shirt was now pulled and ripped and the table lamp now shattered on the carpet floor, the broken pieces glimmering like the water that filled Gabriel's eyes. The shadow of the rapidly setting sun covered the silent room like an eerie fog, the dark grey chilling him. His muffled cries echoed throughout the small apartment, stopping and dissolving at the front door.
Gabriel sniffed and wiped his eyes, the right one already hot and beginning to swell. Collin had been gone for what seemed like hours and where he went Gabriel didn't know, but every groan of the couch and sigh from the wind sounded like Collin's heavy footsteps, making Gabriel wince. He thought about leaving, going somewhere, anywhere, and not coming back until Collin was dead asleep, but he couldn't. No one would understand.
The back of Collin's hand had came down so hard on the side of Gabriel's face that he saw lights and his ears muffled. His head first fell against the lamp, then the tiled kitchen floor with a loud thunk, and a dull pain shot through Gabriel's' skull and into his neck and back. Gabriel's' heart pummeled his chest as his lungs quickly grasped for air, a scream crashing in his throat and coming out weakly as a squeak. His arms and legs were shaking so violently they were useless in helping him get up. He felt his stomach jump into his throat and the bitter taste of vomit filled his mouth as Collin kicked him in the stomach. Gabriel's eyes watered and he felt all the blood rush to his head, setting his face on fire. He tried to breathe and immediately winced, a sharp stab pulsing from his chest. Gabriel made a feeble attempt to block the next kick with his arm, but this made things worse. He felt it wrenched away from his face and then saw Collin launch his fist at his eyes and nose, the latter breaking with a dull crunch. His lips slammed against his teeth and a thick, metallic taste spread over his tongue. Gabriel turned on his side as Collin's fists became more and more red, and Gabriel could feel the stickiness of his own blood peel from his face as Collin pounded him again and again. Gabriel spat dark red and felt himself slip into unconsciousness, the pit of his stomach becoming his own black hole and swallowing him. The familiar numbness was begin inning to go into effect, and Gabriel was all but too grateful to welcome the darkness.
And now, here Gabriel sat, an unknown amount of time later, his body too tense and sore to even move. It was all too familiar, and yet each time it felt like the first, the fear never failing to rise and rob Gabriel of his sanity. Every breath made his very core ache, but he knew he couldn't just sit there.
Gabriel lowered his hands from his eyes and slowly rose from the couch, his bones creaking groaning like a loose door hinge. Bits of glass crunched under Gabriel's' shoes as he slowly walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. The tungsten light hurt his eyes as he looked into the mirror, the left one throbbing and starting to bruise purple. He sucked his bottom lip and was thankful to note that Collin hadn't knocked out any teeth this time. Fresh tears began to roll down his cheeks as he surveyed his face. His right eyelid was a deep red and had covered half of his eye, and his lips and had swelled and were now a bluish-purple, almost black. There were deep cuts scattered across his yellowing skin, probably from the bits of glass that he fell on top of. Gabriel turned the faucet to the sink and let the water heat up, letting his fingers glide through the warmth. Gabriel pulled at his tattered shirt and peered at his torso, the pale flatness now replaced by bruises and welts. His skinny arms shook as he began to lift the remains of his shirt over his head, the sting from the cracked rib pinching the inside of his chest. Gabriel threw the shirt in the trash can looked in the mirror again at the form of what was supposed to be a man. The cuts on his face felt deep enough to cut the word out of him until there was very little, if any, left. Standing at 5'7'', weighing a buck eighty-five, Gabriel felt tears push their way into his eyes. His legs turned to jelly and he collapsed to the floor, his sobs echoing off the walls of the small bathroom. He could barely stand to look at himself any longer and felt that he would gag. His cries made his head split and throb, turning his body into a trembling mass of flesh. Gabriel squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to push out the memory of Collin's enraged face, his lips curled back in a snarl, his eyes bloodshot with anger and fire. It was the last thing Gabriel saw before he went unconscious.
Gabriel wrapped his arms around his shoulders and huddled, trying to give himself enough strength to at least stand and clean himself up. A hiccup was beginning to leave his throat when he heard a loud click, and then the creaking of a door.
Gabriel scrambled to his feet, his legs still feeling like jelly. He gripped the edge of the sink in terror as he listened to the floor creak beneath the newcomer's footsteps, going from the living room to the kitchen. He heard his name.
Gabriel stood in the bathroom, staring at the closed door, no answer coming from his mouth. He heard his name called again, this time closer. Gabriel shrank back from the sink towards the shower, his heart slamming against his chest all over again, has breath getting short. He gripped the shower curtain tightly and squeaked out a reply as his boyfriend slowly opened the bathroom door.