Page 58 of Not Your Hero

“You knew the door wouldn’t open.”

“And you think the window in the kitchen would be my next choice?”

“What are you doing then, Emerson?” I’m growing angrier. Is she trying to run? I don’t mind the chase, and she already knows that.

“I burnt the toast, Gannix. It smells in here,” she explains, waving toward the counter. I walk closer and see the burnt toast sitting on the plate before looking back at her. She sighs and walks past me to the counter, grabbing the burnt toast and throwing it away.

“I had them sealed,” I tell her.

“All of them? What if there’s an emergency?” she asks, looking at me over her shoulder.

“There won’t be.”

“You can’t know that.”

“And you can’t run,” I inform her. She turns to face me, crossing her arms over her chest in one of my t-shirts and staring at me.

“Is that what you thought I was doing?”

“If you opened that window, what would you have done?” I ask her. She chews her lip for a long minute but doesn’t say anything, which gives me my answer.

I shove off the wall and turn heading back toward the living room as she follows behind me.

“What the hell would you do, Gannix? If you were in my position?” She yells behind me. I keep walking, not listening to her, until she grabs my wrist and stops me. Now, I slowly turn to face her, looking at her hand on my wrist before looking at her face.

“I would stop trying to run.”

“Why?”

“Because you don’t know what’s out there, Emerson. You don’t know where the fuck Gary is!” I yell this time. I see her flinch, but she knows what I’m saying.

“I’m not afraid of him.”

“You should be.”

“Why?”

“Because he kidnapped you and tried to kill you!”

“So did you. Should I be afraid of you, too?”

“Yes!” I jerk my arm away from her and turn to walk away, but she doesn’t let me get that far. She shoves at my back, causing me to stumble before she moves around to stand in front of me.

“You want me here, but you also want me to be afraid of you?”

“No, Emerson. I don’t want you to be afraid of me, but you should be!”

“Why?”

“Because I’m just like him,” I remind her. She shakes her head and presses her hand against my chest.

“You’re not like him.”

“I am like him. You said it yourself. I was going to kill you, Emerson.”

“But you didn’t.”

“But I was going to! You know what? You’re smart for trying to run from me because you never know what I’m going to do to you.”

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