Lifting my leg, I drove my foot into his stomach. “I don’t believe Ifucking asked you.”
Coughing, crimson dripped from his lips, but Matthew didn’t move. “I know. If you need to hit me, that’s fine. I fucking deserve it.” And there it was, the resolve in his gaze that made Matthew a ferocity on the squad. Once determined, it was limitless.
“You want me to kick the shit out of you?” I scoffed, cracking my neck as I bent down, gathering a handful of his collar.“Fine.”
Holding him in place, my fist greeted his face time and time again, the sound of cracking cartilage and bone filling the space. The viscosity of his lineage became detectable on my knuckles, chest, and face, but I didn’t fucking care.I didn’t care. Not when they so willingly tossed me to the side as if I hadn’t mattered, as Ineverhad.
Arms wrapped around my waist, hauling me a step back from Matthew before I could get another hit in.
Oren.
Fucking Oren.
He maneuvered himself against my chest, clinging to me with every ounce of strength he had. He was fucking blocking my path.
Shoving him away from me, I lifted my arm, backhanding him with a force that rivaled a punch. “Don’t. Fucking. Touch. Me.”
Tears welled in his eyes, but that determination, the stubbornness I’d once fallen in love with, remained. “Okay… Okay, I won’t touch you.” He lifted his palms and took another step back. “I’m here for you. We’re both here for you… but I know we fucked up.”
“Yeah? Do you? Because you both attempted to brush it off as if it were nothing! As ifIwere nothing!”
Matt grunted, pressing his hands into the floor for leverage, but he faltered. “F-Fuck. I know.”
Oren nodded. “I know… I know, and it wasn’t right.”
“After what we fucking established with one another. The promiseswefucking made.” My chest heaved, tears welling in my eyes, but I forced them back. “You,” I locked eyes with Oren, my throat bobbing, “you went against it all.”
He let out a sob, his head nodding in agreement. “I did… I fucking did, and it was a mistake.”
“No, Oren…” Matt sniffed, lifting his arm to attempt to swipe the blood from his face. “You followed my orders. I thought… I thought it was best.”
Scoffing, I shook my head. “You didn’t bother taking my feelings into consideration when you made your decisions, so sitting here shedding tears is beyond pathetic. Following orders or not, Oren holds a title that he could’ve leveraged. He neverhadto obey your command, because you are not thecommanderof this goddamn squadron. So stop making fucking excuses. If sympathy is what you’re looking for with me, you won’t fucking find it.”
“No… No sympathy or forgiveness,” Matt answered. “He didn’t have to, but we told him you’d be okay once the plan was unveiled. It waswrong, and I leveraged our friendship.”
“And hebelievedyou, after everything heknewabout me.” Rolling my eyes, I clenched my jaw tighter. “Just… fucking forget it. Get out of my goddamn room.”
“No. We can’t forget it, because it was wrong.”
Oren’s sniffles filled the space, his hands wiping the wetness from his cheeks. “I did… I did believe them, and nothing I can say will change the fact I did what I did, but I can’t leave you. I don’t want to.”
“Suppose you should’ve considered that before you took a knife and drove it through my fucking chest.” Lifting my arm, I pointed toward the door. “Get. The. Fuck. Out.”
Oren shook his head, his fingernails digging into his arms. “N-No.”
“I will not repeat myself, Valens.”
He shook his head, reaching into his back pocket to reveal a singular photo and the cross he used to wear around his neck. Tossing the necklace onto the table, he unfurled the photo of my family, taped together and worn in spots. “This is your family, Thorne, and you would’ve done anything to protect them.”
“If this is some fucked up form of justification for the level of hurt you instilled upon me, you can shove it up your fucking ass.”
“No. No, it’s not.” Oren took a breath. “I just wanted to give this to you. I-I found it in my room under some of my drawing papers and forgot to return it.”
“Cool. Thanks.” My expression remained unchanged, brows lifting. “Now get out.”
Handing it over, Oren helped to collect Matt from the ground, his arm pressed against his nose to keep it from leaking any crimson. “O-Okay. I’ll… I’ll come by later.”
“Don’t bother,” I stated, walking them to the door. “Our relationship was nothing more than a waste of time. There’s nothing left to fucking salvage.”
