Page 26 of Obsession

“Riot, I --” I began, but he cut me off, his vulnerability shining through the cracks of his merciless facade.

“Or do you think you can change me?” he asked. “Will you try to save me like she did? But tell me, Hollis… what will you do when you fail?”

My breath caught in my throat as I took in the pain etched across his face. As much as I wanted to deny it, I couldn’t ignore that my feelings for Riot went beyond fear and fascination -- there was something deeper, more dangerous lurking beneath the surface.

“Riot, I don’t know if I can change you,” I admitted, my voice trembling. “But I see something in you that isn’t just darkness and violence. There’s more to you than that. Maybe it’s not that you need to change, and only that you need someone to accept all of you.”

His eyes searched mine, a glimmer of hope breaking through the stormy clouds of his soul. For a moment, it felt as if we were standing on the edge of a precipice, teetering between redemption and damnation.

“Will you stay with me, Hollis?” he asked, his voice raw and vulnerable. “Even knowing what I’ve done -- what I’m capable of?”

I hesitated, my heart pounding as I considered the enormity of the decision before me. Could I really love a man like Riot? A man whose very existence was entwined with death and destruction?

No. It wasn’t a matter of whether I could because I already did. I’d fallen for him despite everything. Or perhaps because of it.

“Riot,” I whispered, reaching out to touch his scarred cheek. “I can’t promise that I won’t be afraid… but I won’t leave you.”

As my hand met his skin, something shifted between us -- a connection illuminated by the faintest glimmer of hope. We both knew the path we’d chosen would be fraught with danger and despair, but there was no turning back now.

For better or worse, our fates were intertwined.

I felt Riot’s grip on my arm tighten, as if he was trying to hold onto something that was slipping away. I wondered how long he’d waited for someone to see and accept him. Crash and Kane did to some extent, but the fact they couldn’t accept my role in Riot’s life meant even they only saw part of him.

“Riot, you don’t have to prove anything to me. I see you -- I see the complexity beneath the surface.”

“And you’re the only one who ever has. So don’t you dare turn your back on me now.”

He released my arm abruptly, and I stumbled back. I knew he was hurting, but the ferocity of his emotions frightened me. Did I really exist in this man’s world, or was I merely a pawn?

“Riot, I’m not turning my back on you,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “But I need you to trust me too. Can you do that? I’ve done everything I can to show you that I’m not going to leave, that I want to be here with you. And yet, it still seems like it isn’t enough for you.”

“Trust? You think it’s that easy? After everything I’ve been through, everything I’ve done? When has anyone ever given me a reason to trust them?”

“What about Crash and Kane?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I don’t think any of us completely trust one another. How could we?”

I could see the desperation in his eyes -- the primal need for acceptance, for understanding. And despite my fear, I knew I couldn’t leave him.

“I’ll stay with you, Riot. But you have to let me in. You have to stop pushing me away when things get tough, or you start feeling emotions you aren’t comfortable with.”

He stared at me for a moment, as if considering my offer. Then, with a sigh that seemed to carry the weight of a thousand lifetimes, he reached out and pulled me into his arms.

“Okay,” he murmured, his voice softening with vulnerability. “I’ll try… for you, Hollis.”

And so we stood there, two lost souls clinging to each other in the darkness, each trying to find solace in the other’s embrace. I didn’t know what the future held for us, but for now, it was enough to know that we were not alone.

“You know, I’ve never experienced love,” he admitted, his eyes searching mine for any trace of judgment or pity. “I don’t even know what it means, really. But I do know this -- I can’t live without you, Hollis. You’ve become my obsession, my reason for existing.”

His words hung in the air between us, raw and vulnerable. I could see the uncertainty in his eyes, the unspoken fear that I would reject him now that he’d laid his heart bare. I took a deep breath, swallowing down the lump that had formed in my throat.

“Riot,” I said softly, reaching out to touch his arm. “I think… I think that’s how you feel about me. That’s love, isn’t it? And I… I love you too.” I saw the hesitation in his eyes, the way he fought with himself over whether he should believe me or run the other way. “Maybe love is just a word. But whatever it is, I know I care for you, Riot. I don’t want to leave your side.”

For a moment, he stared at me in silence, his eyes filled with a mixture of disbelief and gratitude. “I never thought I’d hear someone say that to me.”

Had his parents never said they loved him? No, probably not. Considering what they’d done to him, I wasn’t sure they’d known what love meant. It made me think perhaps he’d been born this way through no fault of his own. Even if his parents hadn’t done unspeakable things to him, eventually, the monster within would have emerged.

“Riot,” I whispered, my voice barely audible in the dimly lit room. “Let me show you something different. Something… gentle.”

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