Page 270 of The Sinner: James

What?

Dumbfounded, I stare at him, bleeding inside as if a sword just cut through me. I slowly shake my head, my tears raining on my chest.

“Don’t do this to me, James.”

His jaw locks again, his eyes spewing sheer fury as dark pain floods his words.

“You could’ve said ‘no’ to me in New York. And to them as well. There. That was your choice. The choice you'd thought you'd never had. It was always there, but you had never looked for it. You didn’t even think about it...”

A bitter smile tugs at his lips as he continues.

“You could’ve given me a chance, and I would’ve taught you how to tame me and live with me. How to make me yours. But you didn’t want to do it because you'd never even thought about it.”

I crash onto the couch, my face buried in my hands, silence falling between us.

“Get out,” I say coldly.

Nothing moves for a few moments. I hear a soft rustling as he takes a step in my direction. I leap out of the sofa, my arm pointing to the door.

“Get the hell out!”

He doesn’t move an inch.

“I need to pack my things and leave,” I say in a frosted, hollow voice.

“Where do you go?” he asks, baffled.

“New York.”

“There are no flights.”

“I’m not flying.”

“Rain?”

Without a word, I walk by him and swing the door open.

“Get out,” I say, my voice filled with icicles.

The wall in his eyes crumbles.

“You can’t drive to New York.”

“I can do whatever the hell I want, and nobody can stop me.”

“I can put you on a plane in an hour.”

“I don’t want your plane or your hotel. Get... the... hell... out.”

He stops by me, glass crunching under his shoes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice his stare.

“Out, James.”

I slam the door shut as soon as he steps out. A moment later, I scream out my frustration.

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