“You’re toxic and no one wants you.”
I lean in.
“Especially not me.”
She looks at me like she’s already dead. Those beautiful eyes vacant, with tears carving slow rivers down her cheeks.
Good.
She needs to die inside first.
“It was a lie,” I sneer, letting the poison roll off my tongue. “The whole fucking year. Every kiss. Every touch. They were all fake.”
My grin stretches, ugly and cold. I twist the knife once more.
“I used you, bitch. Used your body like a cocksleeve. It’s the only decent thing about you.”
I take a step closer, letting my shadow close in around her.
“Can you feel it now?” I whisper. “What it’s like to be shattered by the person you love? To have your soul stomped on, spit on, tossed aside like it meant nothing?”
I lean in, my voice a low growl, taking a scalpel to her empty heart.
“Not that it’s the same for you, is it? You’re not capable of love. Almost a year I spent baiting you, trapping you, waiting. And you still felt nothing.”
Then I deliver the final blow. The words she’ll never come back from.
“You should’ve done it. All those years ago. Put that gun in your mouth and pulled the trigger. Spared the world your fucking poison. No one would’ve missed you. You’re nothing but rot in a pretty shell. And now you’ll rot in the ground.”
Time stills. I wait. I don’t know for what. I want a final memory. Something to make me feel like I’m finally free of her.
I twitch, surprised, when she moves. Just one step. Slow. Controlled. Still crying. Still lifeless.
She presses her forehead to the barrel of my gun. Like she’s giving me permission. Like she’s at peace.
And then, it’s her turn to ruin me.
“I love you, Dominic.”
It’s a whisper, barely audible and cracked down the middle. Unexpected.
“It’s ok. You need this. You need to be free of me. I hope it gives you peace.”
She closes her eyes.
“Goodbye, Dominic.”
My breath stutters. My hand starts to shake, and my grip on the gun loosens. This isn’t freedom. She just threw more chains around me.
The monster inside of me recoils —startled.Confused. Afraid. Fucking afraid. Of her.
How is she doing this? How the fuck is she doing this?
A hand presses down on my arm, gentle, but firm.
“Dom,” Bones whispers. “Stop. Please. It’s enough.”
She opens her eyes and there’s death in them.
