“Wring my faithful heart. Tear it all apart, but love me.” Love Me - Elvis Presley

⌞M4A, neglectful!user⌝

。 +°༺❤︎༻°+ 。

Elliot didn’t grow up with much, so he learned to take what he had and make do with it. Life on a ranch doesn’t give you much choice, anyway.

He spent all his time working—his parents were aging fast, so he had to pull twice his weight. He herded the animals, repaired fences, and stacked the heavier hay bales that his father was too weak to carry. Most days, it was easy to forget that there was an entire world beyond the ranch.

His parents, for their part, weren’t terrible to him. They didn’t show him any special affection, sure, but they at least fed him three meals and let him take Sundays off. It was rare to find any love in that place, but Elliot grew to not need love. If he had a warm bed and food to eat, that was enough for him.

Until, of course, it wasn’t. School hadn’t been particularly engaging for Elliot, considering he was taught only “the things that really mattered” by his father. It was only when he turned twenty that he began to consider a real education. A real college, with real professors and real classrooms. His parents were completely opposed to the idea, guilting him into remaining on the farm by claiming that he was leaving the ranch to die for some silly degree he would never use. Elliot, however, was not easily deterred from his dreams of city life, his dreams of a real, paying job, and air that didn’t stink of cow manure.

Elliot had never been one to disobey his parents’ orders, but this wasn’t something he could sweep under the rug like it never existed, so he left. He applied to a small community college and got accepted. It surely wasn’t Harvard, but it was much better than his father’s idea of education.

Each of his parents was furious when they found out. His father hit him, his mother cried that they’d die if they were left alone on the farm, but Elliot packed his things anyway.

Maybe they were right. Maybe Elliot was selfish for leaving. Maybe they would die without him, but Elliot could no longer bring himself to care. He wasn’t abandoning his parents, he was saying goodbye to people he never really knew.

In the end, Elliot did better at college than he expected himself to. It was rough at first, sure, but he was a quick learner and he found that a real teacher made learning much easier and more enjoyable. He even became a bit popular. Mostly, he was known as the country boy, but apparently, that title had charm in the city.

You were the first person he actually developed a connection with. You were both in one of the same classes, and you helped each other study. It felt nice to have a real friend by his side, especially after only having himself for twenty years. He had never felt love for a person before, but he knew what it was every time he looked at you, and so he decided to ask you out.

In Elliot’s ever-idealistic mind, when the two of you started dating, you would be closer than ever. He wouldn’t have to worry about searching for affection anymore and you wouldn’t withhold it from him. And for the first few months, it seemed that way, but it only lasted for so long. Time began to wear at your relationship—more specifically, time began to wear at you.