Imagines and One-Shots (Book Three)

Pages and Paragraphs (Cody Carson) - Part 2

requested by little-kimmy

a lil continuation blurb bc someone wanted a part 2 even tho it took like 15 years lmao

Warning: Mention of emotional abuse

~

One year later

Anyone who said they enjoyed arguing with their partner had to be either lying or seriously messed up. It was hard to fathom how someone could look at their partner and just pick a fight about seemingly nothing or get some sort of thrill from making the other person feel bad over something pointless.

Or maybe you only felt that way because of your boyfriend's past.

To his credit, Cody had been getting better. He was a lot more vocal about things he'd like to do for date nights or what he'd like to eat for dinner or what he wanted to watch on TV, now realizing that he should never have been reprimanded for those opinions in the first place.

But there were still times where he'd recede back into the mindset his ex-girlfriend had put him in.

The two of you hardly ever fought, so it was rare to see that behavior from him anymore. You would bicker a tiny bit here and there – he would throw his clothes at the hamper and miss and then not pick them up or you would leave an empty water bottle somewhere – but it was never anything huge.

So when Cody started a full-blown fight about another bottle on your nightstand, you were understandably surprised.

But if he wanted a fight, you were happy to give it to him.

It was a regular fight – he argued about the things you did that annoyed him and vice versa. Neither of you were yelling, really – just over-exaggerating the eye rolls and the sarcastic comebacks. So it really threw you off when he took a picture of the two of you from the table nearby and slammed it face down, causing it to slip onto the floor and to shatter.

"Cody!" you shouted with your jaw dropped, rushing over to pick up the broken glass before someone stepped on it, "I know you're mad, but did you really need to do that?! It's just a goddamn water bottle!"

"I didn't mean to..." his voice lowered drastically, making you look up at him.

"Why do you do that?" you rolled your eyes, "Why do you do something that makes me upset and then when I yell at you, you start acting like a kicked puppy?"

"I don't-"

"Yes, you do! You do it every time!" You were practically begging for an answer at this point, but Cody's next statement nearly broke you.

"I am a fuck up..." he whispered, more to himself than to you.

"Cody..." you breathed out, slowly standing up, "I didn't say that..."

"B-But you want to!" he didn't even try holding back his tears anymore.

You thought back to the few times you would argue before and he would immediately retreat into this state of feeling guilty even if he wasn't the one at fault. You remembered Marshall briefly telling you about his ex and the way Cody reacted the last time you brought her up and you knew that's who was in his head now.

"Cody..." you repeated a bit more slowly as you made your way to him, doing your best to avoid the rest of the glass. Cody flinched slightly, but didn't move from his spot.

You placed the photo on the table where it used to be in the frame just before you got to your boyfriend. You cautiously brought your hands up to his cheeks and wiped his face with your thumbs. He opened his eyes to see a mixed expression of confusion and concern on your face as you barely stroked his cheekbones in the hopes of calming him down.

"What did that girl do to you?" you murmured.

"What girl?" he asked lowly.

"You know what girl, Cody," you said softly but firmly at the same time.

"You wouldn't understand," he sniffled, his hands finding the bottom hem of your shirt so he didn't have to look at you anymore.

"Then help me understand," you shook your head, "I get that it's a hard thing to talk about, but I can't help you unless you let me in."

And so you both went back to the couch so he could explain everything.

He told you about the fights and the countless hours he would spend trying to convince his ex-girlfriend that he would change even though there was absolutely nothing wrong with him in the first place. He told you about the times she would make him sleep on the couch and the times she would give him the silent treatment until he figured out what he'd done wrong that time.

By the time he was finished, he was curled up in your lap with his head on your shoulder as you ran your fingers through his hair, pressing soft kisses to his forehead every now and then.

"You know I'm not her, right?" you asked softly, your voice slightly muffled due to your lips being pressed to his head. Cody shifted, looking up at you. You carefully wiped his wet cheeks, not wanting him to think you were going to hurt him. "Sure, we get mad and we fight and we say things we don't really mean, but that's not gonna change how much I love you. I'm never gonna be that girl, Cody," you promised him, "Never." He looked at you for a moment before hugging your waist tightly and burying his face back in your neck.

And maybe it would take a lot longer than you both hoped for for him to get to the point where he gained back that belief in himself.

But you would both get there together.

~

inspiration: "Pages & Paragraphs" by Set It Off