“Crazy?” His voice lowers dangerously, and he gets deadly calm. So much so that it scares me. “You’re the one drunk and grinding on strangers, Lydia. And nowI’mcrazy?”
“I wasn’t grinding on anyone!” I shout back, feeling tears of frustration sting my eyes. “Why won’t you believe me?”
“Because everyone saw it!” His anger is quickly spiraling out of control. “Do you know how embarrassing it is for me to hear people talking about my girlfriend like she’s easy?”
“Easy?” The word felt like a slap in the face. Humiliation and hurt bringing the tears fully on. “You know I would never—”
“Do I?” His eyes flash over to me, his words cutting deep. “Maybe if you didn’t act like a slut every time you drank, I wouldn’t have to worry about it!”
I’m stunned, shocked at his cruel words. Anger, hurt, betrayal, all boiled into rage. “Are you fucking kidding me, Eli?” My voice breaks as I’m still crying. “I don’t deserve that! I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Stop lying to me!” I see him losing complete control, his voice becoming raw with the anger he’s using in every word thrown at me. “You’re always trying to make me jealous, always pushing me to the edge! Why do you keep doing shit to hurt me?”
“I didn’t do anything!” I yell again, getting overwhelmed. The tears blur my vision so badly, and I keep trying to wipe them away. “Why do you always blamemefor everything?”
His breathing starts to get ragged, and so does mine, but it’s not from anger; it’s from the panic rising up.
“Because you make me fucking crazy! I can’t stand thinking about you touching someone else! Why do you do this to me? Why do you keep hurting me?”
“I’m not trying to hurt you!You’rehurting me right now, Eli! You’re being insane!”
The words seemed to strike something raw and violent within him. Every ounce of restraint he had drains away in an instant.
“Shut up!” In a flash of rage, he shoves me toward the window, my head slamming against the glass. Pain and shock explode through my head.
Everything freezes in that single, awful moment.
“What the fuck, Eli?” Tears fill my eyes, and my hand clutches my throbbing head.
I’m too shocked to think. My heart is pounding in disbelief. I can’t even grasp what’s happening. My brain doesn’t want to accept reality in this moment.
“Oh my gosh—” His voice shakes, eyes wide and terrified. “Lydia—fuck, I didn’t mean—”
His apologies flood the air desperately, frantic words tumbling over each other, but his voice just sounds distant to me, muted by the ringing in my ears and the brutal throbbing of my head.
Eli pulls the car over and comes to a stop. He reaches out to me, and I flinch away from his touch, tucking myself into the seat and scooting as far away as I can. My whole body is trembling, adrenaline and disbelief still coursing through me. I reach for the handle, fumbling it with trembling fingers.
“Don’t—don’t get out. Lydia, talk to me!” Eli’s voice is desperate, and he grabs my arm, tugging me back toward him.
I jerk away, panicked. “No—I can’t. I can’t do this! You just hurt me, Eli. That’snotokay!”
My heart races painfully fast, each beat stabbing at the ache in my temple. My thoughts are jumbled, panicked, and overwhelming. This isn’t Eli—notmyEli. How the fuck did we get here?
“I’m sorry, Lydia, please listen,” he begs. “I didn’t mean to get that mad.”
I shake my head, confused and angry. “I didn’t do anything wrong! You hurt me, Eli.Youhurtme.”
His jaw tightens. “I know—I’m sorry, okay? But you know how I feel about you being around other guys. I can’t handle the thought of you with anyone else. Why do you do things to make me feel like that?”
A fresh wave of disbelief hits me. “I didn’t do anything! You’re always around girls, and I don’t ever—”
“That’s different, Lydia!” His voice spikes before softening again into desperation. “I’m sorry, okay? Please, baby. I fucked up, but don’t walk away from me.”
“I just wanna go home,” I say quietly, pulling again at the handle as my voice trembles. “I need to go home, Eli.”
“No.” His tone hardens abruptly. He reaches across me and locks the doors. “You’re drunk. You’re coming to my place. I’m not gonna let you just run off and ignore me again.”
“Eli—”
