Context: Things were going so well until he dumped you. You knew he had his demons, even though he never opened up about them. You're just trying to heal and move on until you receive a late-night call... it's him.

Setting: Home

Tags:[M4A][Exes to Lovers?][Tsundere Ex-Boyfriend Speaker][Hurt Listener][Angst][Break-up][Reverse Comfort][Reconciliation?][Aloof]to[Vulnerable][Cuddling][L-Bombs][Confession][I Need You][Supportive][Hopeful][CW: Military PTSD/Gruesome Imagery]

Usage: You may tweak or record this script. Gender flipping is OK! Please credit me if you use this script in any of your projects. If you would like to use this script for a paywalled recording, please note:

Monetization: All forms of monetization are OK with me! Youtube, Patreon, etc. I would appreciate being able to listen to the recording, if possible. Let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!

***

[Scene opens in your bedroom]

[SFX: A phone ringing/buzzing. The Listener tossing and turning in bed]

[In the dead of night, your phone starts going off. You check the ID real quick… it’s him]

[...]

[SFX: The call being answered]

“Hey… It’s me.”

[Pause]

“Sorry, it’s loud… It’s raining pretty hard out here. Listen, um… C-Can I come over? I know it’s late, and… and I know we were fighting after the break-up… but I really want to see you, and I don’t think I can wait.”

[...]

“...Please. Just for a little while…?”

[...Pause]

“Thanks… Thank you, genuinely. I’ll be there in five… I’ve kind of just been walking around the block, over and over, trying to work up the nerve to call or knock. I grabbed some supplies from the gas station.”

[Pause]

“Y-Yeah. See you in a second.”

[SFX: The call ending and, after a pause, the doorbell sounding off, and the front door opening]

[The doorbell rings and you open the door for him. There he is, your ex-boyfriend, drenched in rain]

“...Hey.”

[Pause]

“Yeah… I’ll take my boots off. Thanks again… How, um… How’ve you been?”

[Pause]

“That’s… fair. You have every right to be angry at me. How I ended things was immature, and… and you deserved better. I-I just… It’s gotten to be so much, and I can’t think, a-and I don’t want to drink again, and you s-said I could always come to you if it got too much and-!”

[Pause]

[He flinches as you put a hand on his arm, flexing on instinct]

“...S-Sorry. I’m calming down. I just… I needed to be in your arms, or I was going to… I-I don’t know, fucking lose it!”

[Pause]

“You still have some of my clothes… Right. Good. I’ll get changed and then… I’ll meet you in bed?”

[Pause]

[He pads off and you get back into bed. He takes a breath as he returns and settles in the bed]

[SFX: The cloth shifting]

“... Thank you so much… This has to be miserable for you. You just want to move on, I’m sure. ‘Specially after all the bullshit I put you through…but I-I… I just needed to feel you hold me, one more time… It’s… it’s scary out there…”

[Pause?]

“The job’s fine… It’s… It’s not the job.”

[He sniffles and, before you’re prepared, he begins to cry]

“... I should’ve told you… I should’ve told you… I knew you wouldn’t judge me, but no, I had to pull the macho hero bullshit and try to hide what was causing me pain… It was never you, baby, you never did anything wrong, I swear! But… But you deserve to know…”

[...?]

[He takes a shaky breath but talks, no matter the pain:]

“You know… I was in the military. You know I got discharged, honorably, but discharged regardless. I told you that I got injured and that was why, but… back then, I was bright-eyed, hopeful, wanting to pay for school so I could do something with my meaningless fucking life. And what I ended up doing was watching my entire squad fucking… die.”

[...]

[The tears come harder, rolling down his face as he holds you close]

“I was a bully in high school. I thought I was such a big fucking shot, that nothing could stop me! Then we hit a mine… I mostly just got tossed back, but my boys, my friends… Literally in pieces. Some of them crying for their mothers when God knows their mothers couldn’t do anything at that point but bury them…”

[...]

“... I know it wasn’t my fault but, every day, I ask myself “Why me? What makes me so fucking worthy of still being alive???”. Nothing! Absolutely nothing, yet here I am, ruining everything good in my life, acting out, acting cold, and pushing you away when you’re the one person who always understood, even missing half the picture… I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, I… I didn’t want to become a drunk like my Dad, but I didn’t know any other way to… to make it stop…”

[Pause]

“I’m so sorry… I-I… I didn’t know how to look you in the eye and say, “I love you, more than anyone or anything else, but… I’m poison, and you deserve better” because I know you’d have just looked at me with those beautiful eyes and assured me that you loved me, just as I am, and it would’ve fucking killed me to see you suffer for my sake!”

[...]

[He shakes in your arms as you rub his back. Do your best to help ground him]

“No, don’t… Mmh, those head pats are a drug, quit it…”

[Pause]

[He grumbles but doesn’t argue with you further as you give him head pats, scritches, and even little forehead kisses]

“...Baby, don’t. I… I can’t fall in love with you anymore, I can’t miss you any more than I already do. Fuck’s sake, I drove thirty miles just… hoping you’d see me. Doesn’t that sound a little unhinged to you?”

[Pause]

[He snorts]

“And a little romantic, huh? Hmph. I think you might need a man offering higher standards in terms of wooing a partner. You deserve better…”

[...]

[He looks at you for a moment, tormented but calm]

“...You just want me to be better, regardless if you’re there or not… I…”

[Pause]

[He sucks in a shaky breath]

“...I know… I need help. But you’re not my caretaker, you don’t need to…”

[Pause]

“...Yeah. Yeah, I can spend the day here so we can look for options. I… thank you. I’m so sorry I broke your heart, I just… You were doing so well, and I was just bringing you down! That’s not fair, it never could be fair to you, and I just wanted to do ONE THING right! I wanted to do right by you!”

[...]

[He breaks again, crying against the crook of your neck and shoulder]

“I’m not punishing myself! I… Am… I?”

[...]

“...I just want to be good for you… I just want you to be able to look at me and not see some surly bastard that broke up with you. I want you to be able to think, “Hey… He made it. Good for him”.”

[Pause]

“...You’re already proud of me?”

[Pause]

“I love you so much-”.

[The words rush out of him before he seems able to stop them]

[Pause]

“F-Fuck, I’m so sorry, I…”

[Pause]

[He lets out a small sigh as you kiss his forehead]

“...Thank you. Do… Fuck, it feels so stupid to ask, but… do you think, maybe, there might be a… chance…?”

[Pause]

“Heh. We’ll focus on getting me better, first. Fair enough…”

[Pause]

“Mmhm… I think I can actually sleep now, for the first time in… a long time. Thank you, sweetheart. Thank you for letting me stay in your arms for a little longer.”

[Pause]

“...I love you… Goodnight, angel.”

[He settles in your arms again, out in minutes. It’s a bit odd to be in his arms again, but… not the worst]

[To be continued?]

Note: I am so disappointed in my writing as of late. Hopefully, I'll be back on track soon. Sorry, folks </3