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The monstrous rage continues to fuel me, drawing his blood. Splitting the skin above his brow. Bruising his face. Neither of us is winning. But we both might lose her in the end.
“Jonathan, don’t!” Emma screams.
It only takes a second.
The retraction of an arm—my elbow colliding with her jaw.
The shift of his eyes, crying out to her as she falls.
The full force of my strike connecting with his temple—his eyes roll back.
He crashes against the wall and slides to the floor.
“No!” Emma’s anguished scream rattles the windows.
“Evan!” She kneels beside his slouched form. “Evan, can you hear me?”
I never intended for this to happen. He took his focus off me for a split second because I’d inadvertently hurt the girl he loves. And… fuck, I made everything so much worse.
“Let me take a look,” I say with a note of remorse. I bend to reposition him onto his back.
“Don’t touch him!” Emma snarls, shielding him with her body. “You don’t get to touch him!”
“Emma.” It’s my turn to plead. I gently set a hand on her back. She knocks it away.
I take a step back.
“Don’t you dare,” she seethes with so much hatred it nearly knocks me over.
“Emma, please,” I placate softly. “I lost it. I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.”
“No you’re not,” she shouts, spit spraying. “Don’t even say it. This is what you do. This is what we do. We hurt people.”
I blink through the one eye that hasn’t swollen shut.
“Look what we’ve done!” Emma sobs into Evan’s chest. “We’ve hurt so many people.” She caresses the bruise on his cheek.
He remains motionless.
“Don’t say that. We’re the ones who’ve been hurt, Emma.”
Maybe she’s right.
We hurt because it’s the only thing we know. It’s familiar. And we’re always prepared for it. It’s the only way we know how to survive.
Emma’s laugh is cruel and cold. “No, Jonathan. We’re just as bad as they are, with our lies and deceit. We destroy people’s lives.”
I open my mouth to speak, but her barbed tongue cuts off my words.
“And you. You’ve killed people. You’re not any less of a monster than your father.”
Then she steals the air from my lungs.
“It was anger and pain that drew us together. That’s our bond. Not love.”
And fills me with ice.
“I don’t love you. No one could ever love you.”
