"What the hell is this?" He repeats, staring at me.

Words, sentences, excuses, everything leaves my head. All I can do is stare at the computer screen as if in a trance.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," I can tell he's fighting to stay calm; his eyes close briefly with the effort of it.

"It's not what you think," I say quickly.

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" He says, in a dangerously quiet voice.

"Kai you can't honestly think that I'm cheating on you."

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" Kai shouts, jumping to his feet. "Go on Ara tell me."

"Because I can see why it would be easy to think that he's arranging a hotel for me and him, due to the way he's written it." I say calmly. If I can just stay reasonable and quiet then everything will be okay. "But it's not like that; in fact it's far from the truth."

"Then what is the truth."

I open my mouth and then close it. I cannot, I point blank refuse to ruin the surprise right now.

"You should trust me Kai," My voice wobbles, "You should trust that it's not like that."

"Are you serious?" For one wild instance I think he's going to burst into laughter. But instead he does something much worse.

Picking up a glass from the floor he throws it will all his might against the opposite wall.

"Kai!" I scream. "Stop it!"

"Do you have any idea how much I have given up for you?" He spits, "The things I've had to go through?"

"Kai calm down please."

"And for what? So you could mess around with a guy?"

"Of course not, Kai I like you!" I beg, "No one else!"

"Liar!" He roars, and with a swipe he pushes the fruit bowl on the counter into the same fate as the glass against the wall. At that moment I know there is no reasoning with him, he's seduced by complete anger and nothing I say will get through to him.

"I'm leaving," I say, getting my bag, "I'll come back tomorrow when you've calmed down."

"Yes leave," Kai throws his hand towards the door, "Run to Yunho; run into his arms."

"Why are you being like this?" I cry, fighting to see some of my old Jongin in him. "What's happened to you?"

"You've made me like this." He throws a punch against the wall. He's breathing heavily and it's almost as if he's obscured by a cloud of anger. "Meeting you was the worst..."

"Don't say that." I say quickly. "Don't say things you don't mean."

"How do you know what I mean and I don't mean." He shouts again. "You don't know anything about me. Nothing." All of a sudden his anger seems to disappear and he looks at me, tortured. "I thought I could trust you Ara. I thought we were going to be together forever."

"You can trust me." I grab the front of his vest and force him to look at me. His eyes are swimming with emotions. "I don't understand why you got so angry quickly, you didn't even give me chance to explain. Yunho is just a friend Kai."

"Why did you hug him earlier?" He says brokenly, "I saw you both."

"When?" I frown.

"In that empty corridor at college."

Suddenly I realise. After Yunho had been saying he could help me with accommodation I'd given him an impulsive hug. Without thinking I drop my gaze.

"He just helped me with something." I mumble.

Kai reels away from me in disgust and sends a kick into the wall.

"Why Ara," There are tears in his eyes. "Why couldn't we just be happy together? Why did you have to do this to me? To us?"

"I didn't do anything!" I scream.

"Don't ing lie." In his rage Kai grabs my shoulders and pulls me close to his face. "Don't you look me in the face and lie, don't even ing dare."

"You're hurting me Kai." My voice leaves as a terrified whisper.

Instantly he let's go and goes back to taking his rage out in his apartment.

"I'm calling Suho Kai."

"Go on run to him as well," Kai spits, "And while you're at it run to Chanyeol as well. Have a go with all of them actually."

I can't find my phone anywhere. In desperation I pick Kai's phone up. His wallpaper is a picture of me, him and Saja at the park pulling funny faces. I can't believe this is happening, I actually can't believe.

"Hey Kai what's up?" Suho answers happily, expecting it to be Kai.

"S-Suho are you busy right now?" I stammer. There's another smash as a plate breaks.

"Ara? Is everything okay? What's that noise?"

"Everything is fine," I try and stop crying and make my voice calm.

"I should have known!" Kai is shouting, "When I came back to college and he stood there all smug looking at me like I was an idiot."

"Is that Kai?" Suho sounds beyond confused. "Is he shouting? Did something just smash? Ara what's happening."

"If you could just come quickly Suho." I sob "Then everything will be okay."

"Let me talk to Kai." Suho says firmly.

"K-Kai." I attempt. "Suho wants to speak to you."

Kai looks at me as if I've lost my entire mind. He takes the phone out of my hand and smashes it dead against the wall.

"Kai!" I gasp. "Why did you do that?"

"Funnily enough I'm not in the mood to speak to anyone."

"You're being really childish and immature." I shout. "Do you think this is how people sort things out? Smashing their apartment to pieces when they misunderstand?"

"So this is my fault?" Kai whispers "if you hadn't gone around sleeping with other guys-"

"You think we slept together?" I can't even get the words out.

"That time when I saw you before college, you were on the phone to him right."

"No!" I shout, I actually wasn't I was on the phone to Kris, but of course I can't tell him that.

"What were you talking about? How much you enjoyed it? How much he made you scream when he ed you?"

My hand acts on it's own accord and delivers a stinging slap to his cheek. I've never felt so angry in my life and there's a realization in Kai's face that he's crossed the line.

I turn away from him and go towards the door, wanting needing to leave but he beats me to it and stands in front of the wood.

"Get out of the way Kai." I say, not even looking at him.

"No." His voice is emotionless, I can't tell whether he's angry or ashamed or neither.

"Get out of the way." Suddenly I'm screaming and punching his chest. "Get out of the way, get out of the way I don't want to see you anymore or speak to you. Do you know how unhealthy you are for me? You go missing for weeks and then when you come back you have the audacity to accuse me of cheating? Are you stupid?"

He doesn't answer, just stares at me silently. He lifts a hand to wipe my tears away but I flinch away from him.

"Don't even touch me." I say in disgust, "I don't even know who you are."

I run into the direction of the bathroom, intending to lock myself in there until Suho comes. I slam and lock the door seconds before Kai reaches it.

"Open the door." He says quietly.

I don't answer. I crawl next to the toilet seat and sit with my knees drawn up to my chest.

"Ara. Open the door. Answer me."

I fail to do so and as a result there's a thump as he kicks the door.

I bury my head in my knees and put my hands over my ears…

"Remember what we practiced?" My Mother says. She's crouching down on the floor beside the desk I’m hiding under. I nod.

"If the shouting becomes too loud I have to put my hands over my ears and imagine a story."

"That's my girl," My Mother kisses my forehead, "My beautiful strong girl. And remember to stay here okay. No matter what. Mummy will be okay and she'll come and get you after."

"Promise?" I hold out my pinky finger.

"I promise." She smiles. Her eyes are a shiny brown. Now I know they were shiny from tears. She gets up and brushes down her dress. Before she has chance to leave the room, the door flies open and I see big black shoes stride in.

“Darling, I was just coming to you.”

"I've been hearing strange things." My Dad says.

"What strange things?" My Mother’s voice is light. She moves closer to the desk where I’m hiding, shielding me from view.

"It seems as though you've been messing around with men." My dad says,

"Darling that's crazy, you know that's not true" My Mum gives a shaky laugh and attempts to take his arm but he lashes out.

"The first time I heard it I dismissed it as rumors. As nothing more than jealous women trying to rip our marriage apart. But I'm hearing it again and again and it's really pissing me off."

"Darling," Her voice shakes.

"So I'm going to teach you a lesson about what happens to my wives who think it’s okay to sleep around."

"Darling I haven't been..."

"I'm not asking if you have or you haven't." His voice is disgustingly calm. "I'm making sure you know the consequences in advance. Now strip."

There's silence.  My Mother’s fists clench, the veins standing out stark against her skin.

"Let's have this conversation somewhere else." My Mother says firmly.

"I'll decide where we have this conversation." His voice rises slightly. "And we're having it right here. Strip."

There's the clink clink of heavy metal.

"It'll be quicker if you just do as I say." He says.

My mother's hands are trembling as they reach up. Next thing, her dress shimmers to the floor. Then her underwear. All I can see are her pale legs and small feet.

"I haven't been cheating," My Mother attempts, but her words end abruptly and a chocked scream leaves her lips. My eyes widen in terror as I see the tip of my Fathers belt, coiling against the floor like a black snake. I instantly put my hands over my ears, but my eyes refuse to close. There's another choked scream and my Mother falls to the floor. There are two angry red welts running across her back like train tracks. There's a snake like whip sound and the belt comes crashing down again. This time my Mother's body overpowers her determination to be silent and the scream is full of agony. I press my hands tighter and tighter over my ears but I can still hear it. I can always hear it. It’s as if a part of my body has recorded that scream and the off switch is broken...

"Kai?" Suho's voice brings me back to the bathroom. "Kai what the hell is going on?"

"Ara won't come out of the bathroom." Kai says, out of breath from kicking the door.

"Why is everything in your appointment smashed to pieces?" Chanyeol's deep voice is bewildered.

"Me and Ara had an argument." Kai says quietly. There's silence. Then:

"An argument?" Suho says. "Must have been a pretty bad argument for you to smash everything in your apartment Kai."

“I lost control a bit,” Kai admits.

“Chanyeol take Kai to my house and wait there for me.”

“I’m not leaving-”

“I think you’ve done enough Kai.” Suho says quietly.

“You don’t even know what happened-”

“Tell me, did Ara smash anything in that apartment?”

“No.”

“Not one plate or glass?”

“No.”

“So that was all you then?”

“Yes.”

“Chanyeol take Kai to my house and wait for me there.”

“Hyung I don’t want to leave.”

“To be honest,” Suho’s voice instinctively rises and he immediately controls it, “I don’t care about what you want at this moment in time. This isn’t about you.”

“Hyung.”

“You’re starting to test my patience Kai.”

Silence.

“I’ll wait outside but I’m not going to your house.”

I hear the sound of footsteps walking away from the bathroom and then Suho’s familiar kind and gentle voice.

“Hey Ara it’s just me. Open the door?”

I unfold myself from my sitting position and reach for the lock on the door. Suho’s face is pale with worry and his face falls sadly when he sees the state I’m in.

“Oh Ara,” He sighs.

“Oh Ara,” My Mother sighs, drawing me into her arms. I lay my head against her broken and bruised skin. She rests her forehead against mine, her brown eyes huge and so sad. She uses the pad of her thumbs to wipe the tears off my face. I use my fingertips to brush the tears from her cheeks too. Then we clasp hands tight, hiding our tears. Tomorrow my Mum will put on a pretty dress and a bright smile and no one will know anything. This is just one more secret to keep.

---

(Just to make it clear, the parts in italics are flashbacks to when Ara was younger.)

A/N: I can only apologise again for this being so late! I shall try my very best to update more often! I hope this chapter was worth the wait and thank you so much for sticking around and waiting for me! Tell me what you think :3