Page 86 of Dead Love
“You already said your goodbyes the day you let them take me.” The rage pooled behind his eyes and I forced the tears away. Did he hate me already, then?
“I’m sorry,” I said.
He sneered. “If you’re sorry, then go to the grave.”
“What?”
“Yours.” His eyes burned a hole right through me. “Ours,” he added in a quiet voice.
I didn’t know what to say. It wasours,the plot he had picked for me.
But I had to do what was right. And that meant letting go.
“I can’t,” I whispered.
He threw his chin to the side. “Fine,” he said. “Go on. Live your life. Arrange your flowers. Decay in a house with a white fence that you look past and wonder why nothing ever feels like it did when we were together. Why you’re so damn numb now. And you can go fuck yourself while you’re at it.”
My stomach hardened. How could he dismiss me like that? It wasn’t like it was easy to let go, and yet he still had so much hatred inside of him. Hatred for me. My shoulders sank, but I stopped myself. This time, I forced myself to feel it. To understand that this anger was justified. Vincentwasungrateful. He had hurt me, and I had hurt him too, but I had gotten his freedom anyway.
But I didn’t have to stand for this kind of treatment anymore. Neither did he.
“You have a second chance,” I said, my voice stern. I lifted my head, my face heated with fury. His nostrils flared. I locked eyes with him. “You need to let go,” I moved my hand between us, “of this hatred you have for me. This jealousy you have of my family.” I leaned in closer. “No one is perfect. Not us. Not me. Not even you. Focus on your art. Follow your passion. Do something good with your life.”
“That’s easy for you, isn’t it? All you have to do is smile pretty for your mommy and daddy and then everything falls into place like they told you it would.”
Tears blurred my vision, but I wasn’t going to let his words get to me.
“Goodbye, Vincent.”
I turned, walking away. He laughed loudly. “Go back to your tower, princess. I’m sure your queen needs you,” he laughed.
I couldn’t take it anymore. Screw being the better person. I snapped back around.
“You have no idea about anything, do you?” I hissed. I sneered at him, jutting my body forward. His eyes widened. “You’re so stuck inside of yourself that you don’t see that I’m fighting for you.” I turned to leave, but Vincent grabbed my shoulders, bringing me to the edge of the bars so that my face smashed into the metal, and he pressed our lips together. My heartbeat rattled through my body, my knees shaking, and he bit my lips as I trembled, pressing harder into my mouth, forcing me to endure his pain.
“Kora!” my father’s deep voice barked down the hallway. “The hell are you doing?”
The sheriff raced toward us and Vincent immediately broke apart. Sheriff Mike shoved me away and I stumbled backward, catching myself on the wall. I wiped my lip; a drop of blood smeared my palm.
“Don’t you dare lay a hand on my daughter!” my father yelled.
Vincent glared at me. Heat intensified in my lower belly, swelling into a dull ache. Mike kept shouting as more officers came, and Vincent lifted his chin, leaning against the bars, waiting for me to say something.Anything.
“What did he do to you?” Sheriff Mike said.
As I stared at Vincent, the weight lifted from my shoulders. I knew what would hurt him the most.
“He did nothing,” I said. “Nothing at all.”
CHAPTER28
Vincent
By the timeI was released, a headache riled through me. I needed a shower. Sarah swirled around my legs while Bernie leaped over to snatch a slobbery tennis ball, dropping it at my feet. Ulysses immediately grabbed it. I unlocked the door, going into the house.
“Yes, yes, yes,” I said. “Has Catie been taking good care of you?” Sarah barked in response. A warmth flickered through me, but it dissipated quickly. My three housemates were with me again, but the house seemed bigger. Empty. Different from before.
The door to the basement was locked, but I found the key under the floorboard in the studio. The room was stale, and though her things had been scattered about before my arrest, they were gone now. Like she had never been there.
