I sympathize a little with both of them; Isabel for holding a towel and asking for him to tell her to go away and Rusty for telling her that he wants her to stay, and for Rusty telling her to keep it off the face-And I think that she might want him to tell her to stop...

Not that she would remember to, but it might be a relief.

I wonder sometimes if the abusers can be victims too. Not that the victims aren't victims but rather that the abusers have the horror to live with themselves.

Sometimes.

Your poor story here needs more nourishment reviews.

And now, obviously, I have to review this one. :)

Sighing for the AU of “And Away” because we know how that one goes and really, Rusty should be sitting under a coconut/banana tree with Danny but here, he doesn’t run. And yes, she’s horrified at herself and yes, he loves her. Still want this relationship explaining to Danny.

Agree with Maia about how well you write the “inside the head” view. Never easy and you do it effortlessly. All the jealousy and the volatility and the rage and the love that is screaming inside her at what she does. And while I feel sympathy for the being cheated on the first time, just as I did in “And Away”, there is no justification for what she does.

Hate that it becomes routine. That this becomes their life, this cycle of hurt and hate and love and forgiveness. Hate that the steps to Isabel hitting him grow shorter. And sigh because Rusty will understand the crazy and will love her in spite of it all. Sigh for him knowing her moods just like he knew his dad’s in mtc but what’s different here is that he wants to stay and he wants her to stay. But she’s not the future that’s right for him.

And of course the echo with “Keep if off the face…keep it where I can hide it.” Aargh, she whimpered.

Ouch. This was... disturbing. I mean.. very good, but very disturbing. It's not usual we get to see this side of the story. The monster's side. Seeing why and how it really affects them. That they truly do feel sorry. Only not enough. Not nearly enough. The monster has feelings, it feels pain. But still a monster.
I can imagine how it would require writing down. Wouldn't want to have this stuck around my head.
Thanks for sharing
Maia.

Hey there!

It's a long time since I've been here (and even longer, that I reviewed... ;-))
But I have to tell you, I really liked that one. Especially the "Fight Club" quote
at the end really got me!

Well done, just as usual!

Wow. This is an Isabel that's...really difficult to deal with. But I can definitely see Rusty reacting this way, especially in the context of More Things Change, if this is meant to live in that 'verse, which I mostly assume things do unless explicitly told otherwise. I hate that Isabel keeps blaming it on him, but he'd probably blame himself some too, and that's just not okay. All I can hope is that at some point Danny will figure it out and find some way to help.