“Get away from me!” I roar.Hold me.“I don’t want your pity!”
He’s shaking as hard as me, fuming as he clenches and unclenches his fists. “I’d never pity you, Win,” he says, voice low and dangerous. “Not when I know how fucking strong you are for surviving that and everything since.”
He doesn’t mean it. He can’t mean it.
“Get out.”
He doesn’t move. “I’m not going anywhere.”
It’s a lie. He’ll leave me now that he knows the truth.
Please stay.
“You’re better off without me.”
Huffing through his nose, he arches a brow. “Bullshit.”
He’s making this impossible.
“I’ve already done exactly what you said I would the day we met. I ruined someone’s life.Yours.”
The corner of his lips lifts in a sad smile. “You’re right, but also wrong. Because yeah, you did… but Iwantedyou to.”
I shouldn’t have left you. I should’ve told you. I should’ve kept our promise.But I am, and always have been a coward.
“Get. Out.” Two whispered words: one vicious command.
Stubborn and relentless as the sun, he won't listen.Go. I can’t stand to be this exposed. Let me exist in perpetual misery alone. No. Please don’t leave me. Save me from this pain.
Before I can stop myself, I’m tossing a grenade directly at his heart.
“I don’t need you.”
The bitter taste on my tongue turns acrid. I don’t want to watch but I can’t look away as the lie lands.
This is it.
I’ve destroyed everything.
53
Remy
Ican see through it now— Win crying out for me from within the fortress he built to survive. I recognize it because I've been there before. It's a reflection. A two-way mirror. Our brains are complicated things. They’re conflicting and confusing even without the added trauma and illness. For years, I’ve struggled in therapy and school to understand the madness that overtakes me despite my best efforts. But in the pursuit of answers, I’ve equipped myself with the ability to understand him too.
“You said I was too sick to be what you needed,” I murmur, stepping toward him. He's vibrating, frantic grey eyes tracking my every move. “As much as it kills me to admit, I was.”
He’s silent.
My heart twists.
But he’s listening. Not running. Not arguing.
Stay with me, love.
Another step.
“Back then, I put you on a pedestal. You swept into my life and made me question everything while somehow answering everyone of those terrifying questions.” Choking on a wet laugh, I rasp, “Falling in love with you was as easy as it was inevitable. You wereperfect.”
