Page 50 of Meet Me at the Metro

I’ve heard John speak vicious, temperamental words in the past but never saw that viciousness turn physical. I never experienced fear being in his presence, but right now, isolated with him in this state, terror bubbles up inside of me and threatens to melt every last shred of my courage.

“El, sweetie. Please just—just hear me out. We’ve been through too much for you to throw us away like this.”

“You’re actually hilarious. I didn’t throw shit away.Youdid when you decided to sleep with my best friend. Do you not see how fucked up that is?”

“You won’t even hear me out,” he hisses.

“There’s nothing to hear out.Absolutely nothing.”

“There is. There are two sides to every story—to every relationship. You left me behind in shitty Georgia while you were out here, in London, having the time of your life. It was supposed to be the two of us, El. If you would have stayed, none of this would have even happened.”

“Don’t you dare try to blame me! Coming here hasn’t been easy. Missing you, friends, and family back home hasn’t been easy. The truth you can’t seem to admit to yourself, John, is that you cheated because you are a jealous, insecure asshole.”

“I dare you to say that again,” he growls, so close that I can feel his hotbreath on my skin.

I try to subside the panic boiling inside of me and snarl, “Get the hell away from me.”

“Or what, Eleanor?”

“Get. The. Fuck. Away.”

John startles me when he squeezes a tight hand around my jaw and wrenches my chin to look at him, his expression contorted with rage. My crutches fall, clattering to the floor as he presses the back of my head against the wall. Every muscle in my body quivers, but I do what I can to stay calm despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins and making my every thought incoherent.

“Listen,” he breathes, his chest rising and falling angrily. “I know I fucked up a little. I know, okay? But I can’t move on, I can’t. I won’t let you get rid of me this easily. We’ve been together too long for that. We have something so special.”

“J-John, please.”

“Stop shaking, El. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You’re hurting me right now,” I grit between my teeth, tears welling up in my eyes.

“I tried calling and texting you, but you wouldn’t answer, so I knew I would have to tell you this in person. I tried finding you as soon as I flew in, but I didn’t know your new address. This city is just so big, and well, I—I’ve been accepted atGildenhill.”

“What?”

“I got accepted for the late fall semester,” he smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll be here for the remainder of the school year. We can work out all this bullshit between us. It can be the two of us here like we always dreamed.”

“I don’t want to work things out.”

“You always forgive me. What makes this time any different?I love you, Eleanor. We’re supposed to be together—is this not proof of that? Do you really think it was just some coincidence that I got accepted? If you ever truly cared about me, you would work with me on this.”

I’m trembling beneath his still-firm grasp, my body gradually growing numb with undiluted fear in the long seconds thatpass.

John finally reads my discomfort and releases his hold on me. “I’m so sorry.Here.” He bends down and picks up my crutches. “I hate when we fight. You should think about what you’re doing before you end this.”

Think about what I’m doing?

“Get away from me!” I cry, pushing him back. “Get away!”

“Eleanor,” he sighs, attempting to brush his fingers against my wet cheeks.

I swat his hand away. “Don’t touch me!”

“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched you like that. Don’t be mad at me, please. I didn’t mean it. I just—I can’t lose you.”

John tries to reach for me again—tries to wrap me in a gentle embrace—but I shove him so hard his feet stumble against the concrete.

“I said, get the fuck away from me!”

---