Page 14 of Slay All The Way

The way he looks at me makes my skin crawl. His eyes, once warm and full of love, are now void of any real emotion. I feel thefury bubbling inside me, a mix of disgust and heartbreak I can’t hold in anymore.

“Don’t you dare try to gaslight me!” I yell. “You’ve been cheating on me for months, lying to my face, making me feel like I’m not good enough, while the whole fucking time I’ve been trying to fix this. Fixus.” My voice cracks on the last word, the weight of my words hitting me.

Mark crosses his arms, his jaw tightening in that infuriating way he does when he’s about to say something cruel. “Yeah, well, maybe if you weren’t so goddamn clingy and actually put out more often, maybe I wouldn’t have to find someone else.”

That hits like a punch to the gut. My breath catches in my throat, and for a moment, I feel like I’m drowning in my own rage. How could he say that? After everything we’ve been through, after everything I tried to hold onto? This is how he blames me?

“You son of a bitch,” I mutter, my voice low and shaking with barely contained fury. “Maybe if you weren’t such a manipulative, narcissistic asshole, I wouldn’t be turned off by the sight of you. Then, maybe I’d actually enjoy fucking you instead of it being a goddamn chore. Get out. Get the fuck out of this cabin. I never want to see you again.”

For a brief moment, I expect him to storm out, to leave like he used to when we’d fight back in the early days, when we still had a chance to salvage what we were. But instead, Mark steps closer, his eyes darkening in a way that sends chills down my spine. The man I once loved is gone, replaced by this cold, cruel stranger.

He grabs my arm, pulling me hard enough that I stumble forward. The shock of his sudden aggression makes my head spin, but more than that, it solidifies the truth I’ve been denying for months. He’s gone, completely and irreparably.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he snarls, his face inches from mine. “We both know I paid for this fucking waste of time trip anyway. Besides, you have no one else but me. God, you’re pathetic, Alaska. You really think anyone else would want you? I was doing you a favor by staying this long.”

His words sting like salt in a wound, each one cutting deeper than the last. But the pain quickly morphs into anger—an uncontrollable fury that burns hotter than anything I’ve ever felt. How did we get here? How didheget here?

I try to pull away, but his grip tightens, fingers digging painfully into my skin. “Let go of me!” I shout, shoving him back as hard as I can.

Mark stumbles, but it only seems to enrage him more. His eyes flash with anger, and before I can react, he shoves me. Hard.

I hit the wall with a thud, pain exploding in my shoulder. Tears sting my eyes, but they aren’t from the physical pain—it’s the betrayal, the realization that Mark was never who I thought he was. The man who once adored me, who fought against becoming this power-hungry version of himself, is dead. And in his place stands someone who never cared.

“I’m done with you,” he spits, his voice dripping with venom. “I’m done with all of this.”

He turns and storms out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him. The cold air rushes in, but it’s nothing compared to the icy rage swirling in my chest. My entire body is shaking—anger, frustration, and sadness blending into something raw, something dangerous.

I sink to the floor, my hands trembling, my breath coming in ragged gasps. Tears finally spill down my cheeks, but they aren’t tears of sadness. They’re tears of fury. Of frustration. Of betrayal.

I thought I could be enough. I thought I could make him love me again. But all I was to him was an afterthought, a convenience he could toss aside whenever he wanted. The memories of the man he used to be are shattered, replaced by this heartless version who only cares about his status, his image, hisfuckingpower.

The silence in the cabin is deafening. I sit there for what feels like hours, my mind racing, my heart shattering piece by piece. The version of Mark I loved is dead. He’s been dead for a long time—I just refused to see it.

But somewhere deep inside me, there’s a new feeling taking root. Something darker. Stronger.

Mark won’t get away with this.

8

JOHNNY

Merry Axe-Mas - Ice Nine Kills

I’ve been watching.

I’m always fucking watching.

From the moment that pathetic waste of flesh,Mark, touched her, I knew it was only a matter of time before I stepped in. He’s a cancer in her life, poisoning the purity that isAlaska, my little snowflake. Finally she’s seeing just how fucking toxic he is. How undeserving of her he really is. I will free her from him, and when I do, she’ll see that she was always meant to belong to someone better than him. Someone like me.

Me, and no one else.

The wind howls through the trees, the bare branches creaking like bones in the bitter night. Snowflakes swirl in the air, drifting lazily down to the earth like an addict coming down from a high. Coating the forest in a clean, white blanket. Its untouched.

Like her. But not for long.

Not after tonight.

`My Santa suit rustles as I move, the thick fabric clinging to me, heavy with the weight of that stupid fucks dried blood. It’s been a day since I took that scumbag’s life, but seeing as I’ve barely left the woods, it’s not like I have anywhere to clean up. Now, it’s just a symbol of what I am—her protector, but also, her fucking reaper.

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