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Floppy ginger hair and a boat tattoo on one of his shoulder blades.

Luke.

Anger floods me, and I push open the door to his room. It slams against his dresser, creating a crack in the middle.

“What the fuck, Luke?” I screech, tears already forming in my eyes.

“Shit,” he curses as he scrambles off the redhead.

She looks like she’s seen better days.

But then again, so have I.

She pulls the quilt up, covering herself as she shoots to a sitting position, a smirk painted on her lipstick-smeared lips.

“I told you to stay in your fucking room!” he yells, covering his penis with his hand.

“Well, excuse me for being curious as to the banging on my door!” I yell back. “Why would you do this?” My voice is smaller this time, tears now streaking down my face. They shouldn’t be. Luke has hurt me enough times that I should be thankful this is giving me a way out.

But I love him.

“Clearly you’re not giving him everything he needs, darling.” The redhead chimes in from beside him, a smug grin still on her face.

My mouth scrunches as I use every effort to not let the sounds of my sobs out.

“I’m leaving you, Luke. You don’t have a say in this anymore,” I let out through gritted teeth.

The sadness is dissipating, morphing into anger. Something that’s been brewing inside me for five years.

“No the fuck you’re not,” he snarls, getting out of the bed and taking long steps towards me.

He grabs my neck hard and pushes me up against the wall. My head collides with the plasterboard, and a shooting pain explodes all over my head, stars covering my vision.

“Ow,” I sob out.

“I told you, you’re not fucking leaving me. Ever.”

The pain sears through my head, making me dizzy.

“You can’t just sleep with other people and expect me to stay,” I whimper.

He slams me into the wall again, and my vision blacks out momentarily. I’m pretty sure there’s blood trickling down my neck. I don’t know; I think I’m losing my sense of feeling. He squeezes my neck, cutting off my air.

“If you ever interrupt me again, I’ll shoot you” —he digs a finger into my chest—“right here. Then I’ll fuck your dead body into the ground.”

“It’s not like you haven’t threatened me with that before,” I force out. My head feels so, so light. His freckled face is blurring out.

“Declan,” Luke shouts, making me flinch from the sudden sound in my ear. I try to bring my arms up to his, but it’s no use. I have no energy.

Footsteps sound up the stairs.

Multiple.

I think.

“What’s up?” a male voice asks.

Luke lets go of me, and I flop to the ground on all fours, desperately trying to inhale any air that I can get.