“See you around. Say hi to Aaron for me.”
She turns, pulling her phone out from her back pocket again. I stand there, unmoving as I gaze after her, and just before she rounds the corner she looks back…her eyes locking onto mine. I capture the sight of her in that very second like a picture, tucking it safely away in my mind.
Something shifts. My bones feel it the second it occurs, as if it flips my entire world upside down and I am instantly taken by it.
There is no denying it.
I’m obsessed, and I won’t stop until Zoe is mine.
1
DOMINIK
What does a heart sound like as it shatters? Everything else makes itself known upon impact; every other collision or breakage echoes with resounding noise. The crashing of metal, the splintering of glass, or the thud of a puck against a stick, all announce their presence with a cacophony. But when a heart breaks, it’s eerily silent. It’s as if the universe itself holds its breath, acknowledging the painful moment.
A moment of agonizing silence.
Maybe it’s the haunting stillness that makes it more unbearable.
And I’m standing in the aftermath of it, staring at Zoe sitting in my closet, her beautiful face contorted with pure disgust as the truth finally dawns on her.
“You’re sick. A sick fucking freak.”
I’m losing her with each passing second.
You’ve already lost her.
The thought of a world without her completely breaks my heart.
I can’t lose her. I won’t.
“I need to leave,” Zoe whispers to herself.
I stand frozen in place, not knowing what the hell to do right now.
“Please don’t.”
I’m trapped in a nightmare.
I can’t let her walk away from me again.
“How could you do this to me?” Her voice cuts straight through my heart.
Rushing over to where Zoe is sitting in the closet, I get down on my knees and crowd her. Cradling her face in my hands as her eyes remain shut, tears cascading down her cheeks, dropping one after the other.
Tears caused by pain I’ve inflicted on her.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. You have to believe that. It’s never been a choice when it comes to you.”
As I watch her fall apart in my hands, fresh tears well up in my eyes. I can’t remember the last time I cried. It might have been after I finally came to terms with the fact that my father was never coming back, that I wasn’t enough for him to want to stay. Or maybe it was the time I left Boston, knowing I couldn’t see Zoe again. I left my heart that day with her in Boston.
In both instances, I’d cried to release the suffocating emotions, and when it was over, I felt numb, as if nothing had happened.
My father abandoning me altered my brain chemistry.
Pain like that always changes you. Sometimes, it’s overnight, instantaneous as the cracks settle in. Other times, it can take minutes, hours, days, maybe even weeks to realize how different things are. Until one day I looked in the mirror and didn’t even recognize myself.
It’s been a long time since I’ve cried, but sitting here, watching the woman I love sobbing over pain I’ve caused brings me to tears. I don’t bother concealing them as my thumb wipesaway her wet cheeks only for new tears to replace the ones I dried.
