A Different Slice

46 - Trapped (Kieran)

Content warning: This chapter contains three paragraphs of suicidal ideation about halfway through (right after 'they're better off without you'. There is no attempt, and the character talks himself out of it within those three paragraphs. I've also changed the story rating to mature for this reason. 

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Kieran's stomach muscles tensed as he drove toward Naomi's work. The sky darkened to a washed-out blue topped with a ceiling of dark gray clouds. The city's odd bad batch of purple-hued streetlights had clicked on as well, adding more cool colours to the evening.

After discussing the timing, Jake agreed to help Kieran tell her about his past tomorrow morning. It wouldn't be fair to bombard her with that after a long day at work. Jake assured him that the worst-case scenario, where she screamed she never wanted to see him again, was quite unlikely. However, he hadn't said impossible.

A deep breath soothed some nerves and jittering in his hands.

Naomi loves you. She'll understand. Maybe not at first, but with time.

He parked in the strip mall parking lot outside her work. As she stood out front, he double-checked the truck's clock to see if he'd run late. Only 9:05, and she usually needed more time to get ready. She was arguing with a guy in a jacket who looked like... Oh shit; it was her ex. Kieran jumped out of his vehicle and hurried toward them as she was fidgeting and tapping her feet like she did when she was upset.

"Leave her alone," he called out.

"Right after you do, Mathieu."

Kieran's blood morphed into icy sludge as he froze. Only his heart beat loudly, thumping enough to drown out the traffic. He turned to Naomi, but his hesitation had cost him her trust. It showed in her wide, watery brown eyes. She stepped away from him and toward her ex.

Fuck, she knew. And her ex, of all people, had told her. Why hadn't Kieran confessed instead of saying he loved her? But he could still fix this.

"Naomi, I planned to tell you tomorrow morning. I swear. You can ask Jake."

Her shoulders shook, and she closed her eyes. He advanced toward her, longing to hold her and ease her worries, but her ex stood between them.

"Take one more step and I will come at you with everything I've got. It's sickening you're at it again, preying on vulnerable women. One wasn't enough for you, or were there more?" Greg had puffed out his chest and clenched his fists, ready to fight.

The guy believed what most people had even after the verdict was given. Naomi's posture was crumpled, but she didn't radiate hostility as she glanced between Kieran and her ex.

"Naomi, it sounds bad, and trust me, it was much worse to live through. But I never hurt Katy, and I would never dream of hurting you," he kept his tone as soothing as possible.

"Innocent people don't get accused of murder!" Greg growled the last word.

"Yes, they do. That's why we have a judicial process, one that determined I was innocent." Kieran gritted his teeth until pain shot through his jaw. Her ex needed to leave. "Naomi, I loved Katy, and I never hurt her. I'm not capable of that. Do you think I'd hurt anyone? I've never even raised my voice at you."

Naomi was still silent, fidgeting with her hands, and staring at her feet, but her pit bull of an ex was amped up for a fight.

"The arresting officers thought you were. You two fought in the days leading up to her death, and you stood to gain the property you purchased together."

"Naomi, a jury and judge declared me innocent, because I am innocent. Couples fight. We were moving and stressed after dealing with my mother, who you've fortunately never met. We made up that night and celebrated with too much liquor, and she..."