Break

I know this place. I hate this place. The closest thing that I can compare it too is purgatory. Every object that enters this land retains a white hue, to blend in the white everything. Literally just how Heaven or purgatory worked in cartoons; this is that place. The scene always changes. Sometimes it’s my room. Sometimes it’s a school desk. Sometimes it's the inside of my car, driving out into an endless white abyss. And other times, it’s just a table and a few chairs. But while the scene changes, the characters always remain the same. Me, myself, and I.

This time, it was just the debate table. Faint, gray coffee rings stained the table. I was sitting across from the one in white, as well as the one in red. The one in white had a soft, distant smile on his face. His eyes twinkle in the source less light, and he looks as me fondly, like a compassionate father would. But he is still no more than me. But the one in red can’t be bothered to be at this meeting, He hates is; despises it. Every moment he spend here, debating with the norm and the good is that much less time he can spend rattling his vile. He sits there with his elbows on the table, head in his hands. He looks between Good and me, as his body shakes as he bounces his foot underneath the table.

"What are we going to do about him?" I asked them. "This relationship won't work."

"He knows this." Good replied, folding his hands in front of him on the table. "He knows that the path he is on is not the one he is supposed to be on. You just need to help him; no more."

"Oh forget that." Bad retorted, throwing himself back in his chair as he spoke. "She's a bitch. Can you two morons not see that?! She's a little asshole! She's only here because he can't do better!"

"Now now," Good calmed him, "we can't say things like that. Those are just assumptions."

"Well Captain Mediator, assumptions are worth taking into consideration!"

"True, but they aren't worth assuming as truth."

"Just, stop." I interrupted.  "Both of you. You're both right. We need to take the assumptions into consideration, but we can't think anything of them."

Good sat in his chair, calm, but he was looking through me. The one in red stood up, and rested his hands on the table, peering down at me. His eyes were red.

"You better think about this for a little bit longer." He hissed, leaning in closer to me. "You know what I'm thinking. Forget the idiot over there. You know I'm right. You know that she's hiding something. You know it. And how would you feel if it turned out to be right, but you never reached out to tell the guy who needed it most. You would have known all along that she was lying. But you didn't do anything about it."

His words were evil, but they were alluring. The rest of the world faded away. I could still see the one in white. He was still looking through me at whatever was behind me. But his mouth was moving; forming words that I couldn't hear; Bad talked louder. I looked between the two of them. The red eyes looking down at me were now gleaming. I can't ignore his words. They're too alluring. And even then, I only want to believe them because it will keep him safe. Safe from her. The world came back, and I could finally start to hear the words from the one in white.

"You're not listening."

"I know." Said Bad, grinning.

"You're going to do what he told you to do, no matter what I say. But think about what will happen after the fact. After you do what I know you're going to do."

I didn't want to listen to his words anymore. I began to rise out of my chair to walk out into the void. He needed to know. I needed to tell him. Now.

"He'll be broken." Good said simply. I stopped with my back turned to the table. "You've been through heartbreak before. The least painful, and he most painful. It hurts either way. This will ruin him. Not forever, surely, but for a long time. He won't be the same. And it will be your fault."

"No it won't." I returned. "Because I'll be there for him. When it happened to me, I had no one to turn to. It was in high school, so surely I didn't go to my family. But I didn't have friends then to turn to for help. He will, because I'll be there!"

"Give it more time!" He yelled back. "You're letting the other one take control, again! You know deep down that this is wrong. If you go to him and tell him these things; that she's a liar and that she should be called out on all of her wrong doings, it will backfire in your face!"

"How do you know that?!" I screamed back, finally turning back to the table. "None of us know that. But Bad is right! What if she is a liar? A cheat? A scam?"

"You forgot 'waste of time,' don't forget that one!" Bad chimed in, leaning bad and grinning in his seat.

"Fine!" Good finally screamed back, getting up from his chair and walking off in the other direction. "See if I care! We all know what's going to happen! This will backfire! Don't come crawling back to me when it does!"

I watch him as he walked out into the void. He grew fainter as he walked away. Bad was watching him too. He was now hunched over the table with his hands folded. He was biting his lip, his leg was still bouncing beneath the table. Finally, Good vanished.

"About time." Bad mumbled, reaching into his pocket and grabbed a box of smokes. He grabbed one to put up to his mouth, and then held out the box to me. I shook my head, and he shrugged and mumbled more underneath his breath.

"You better not be lying here." I told him. He held the lighter to the end and puffed on it until it smoked. Then he leaned back in his chair again with the cigarette cradled in his fingers.

"When do I ever?" I said before he took another drag. "You don't trust people. You can, but you'll just get hurt in the end.

"But I trust him."

"Whatever. I mean, I guess you can, but whatever."

"But what about her?"

"Don't trust her. Why bother?"

The world began to fall away. This debate was over. It was time. I'm going to tell him everything. Everything that I can think of. He'll understand.

...

...

...

It's too bad that of the two, Bad talks louder.