Something inside her shattered at the realization. She might be screwed up, but she wasn’t a doormat. Her stomach clenched and anger lashed through her. She’d been a fool to think Jack cared about her. She wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
A small zap of energy shot out of her palms, and shot through the passenger seat in front of her, creating a small bullet size hole.
“What the fuck, lady?” The driver screeched to a halt, and pointed at the door. “Out.”
“I’m sorry.” She handed the man a twenty. He sped off before she had the chance to shut the door.
A shiver raced down her spine. If she’d been sitting in the opposite seat, the driver would have been dead. She pulled her hood tighter around her face.
You’re broken. No matter how hard she tried to feel otherwise, she always came back to that one single truth.
Chapter 29
Sitting in Nan’s apartment, Zoe picked up her phone, and scrolled through Jack’s texts, before powering it off completely. Let him worry. She didn’t care anymore. At least that was what she was going to tell herself until it became the truth.
She gave a weary sigh and curled up on Nan’s bed, afraid to close her eyes. What if she had another nightmare? She wasn’t just a risk to herself, but to everyone around her. Numb to everything except the constant pounding in her skull, she stared up at the ceiling.
A small noise came from the kitchen. She froze. Another creak, and a shadow crossed the hallway wall.
Someone was in Nan’s apartment.
The hard rush of adrenaline rushed through her system. She conjured a small vortex of fire and let it hover in front of her. Carefully, she followed the sounds out towards the living room. She tried to adjust the intensity of the vortex so it was strong but not lethal. Taking a deep breath, she blindly threw the energy into the room.
The shadow dropped to the ground, panting.
She conjured more energy and was about to fire it when Jack’s voice echoed through the darkness. “Zoe, stop.”
Her fingers curled to extinguish the energy, but after a second thought, she let the vortex fly, hitting its target square in the chest.
Jack buckled over and groaned.
“What the hell are you doing here, Fialko?” She flicked the light switch.
He caught his breath and grinned. “Sucking in your essence.”
“I want you to leave.” Zoe clenched her hands into fists, ready for another blow. It had felt good to blast him.
Jack raised his eyebrows and held up a hand in supplication.
“Why are you here?”
He stood, shook off the effects of her blast, and crossed the room. “Diane called me.”
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?” She hissed in a breath when a fresh bout of anger gripped her throat.
“I’m sorry.” He reached for her hand.
“Sorry?” She shook off his grip with a sharp motion, which caused a frigid breeze to blow through the small kitchen.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know Jack. Figure it out for yourself. I got enough problems of my own without adding yours to the list.”
“Diane said you were pretty upset.”
She gave a small, tight laugh, and tried to stay calm, but all she could see was Jack hooking up with the picture-perfect doctor. His hands slipping through her perfect, platinum hair.
“Did she mention how she was the one who broke down in tears?”
