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“Branding you with my name down your spine, taking you like I did that night, it was wrong. I hate myself for hurting you.”
My heart pounds in my chest, the words spilling from my lips like confessions to a priest. “I know I’ve hurt you and scared you, and I can’t even begin to express how deeply sorry I am for that. All I can do is beg for your forgiveness, Summer.”
Still, she remains silent, her eyes locked on mine, never wavering. The room is charged with emotion, the atmosphere heavy and suffocating, but nothing distracts me from Summer’s unwavering gaze.
“Please,” I whisper, my chest tightening with each word. “Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”
Her eyes search mine, probing for sincerity and truth. Her lips part as if to speak, but no words escape them. Time seems to stand still as we hold our breaths, waiting for the other to act. The suspense is maddening, a slow burn that takes over.
Unable to bear the silence any longer, I fall to my knees before her, head bowed low. “I’m begging you, please say something.”
My hands tremble as they hover over the floor, unsure of where to rest. My body aches with vulnerability, and I can feel the weight of her gaze upon me, heavy and unwavering. I am defenseless before her, exposed like a raw nerve.
“Even if it’s just to tell me to go to hell,” I continue, desperation seeping through every syllable. “Anything is better than this silence.”
But still, she remains unmoving, silent as a statue. Her eyes, however, betray a flurry of emotions – confusion, fear, maybe even a glimmer of understanding. And yet, not a word passes her lips.
She’s making me work for it. And so I should.
“Tinks. I know I’ve done terrible things, things that can never be taken back or undone. But I can’t shake this feeling... this belief that we’re meant to be together.”
Her breath hitches at my words, and for a moment, I think she might finally speak. But those hopes are dashed when she merely shifts in her seat, her grip on the knife tightening ever so slightly.
“Ever since I laid eyes on you, I’ve been drawn to you like a moth to a flame,” I confess, my heart hammering in my chest as I lay bare my darkest desires. “And God help me, I know it’s fucked up, but I can’t help but believe you’re mine. That you’re meant to belong to me.”
My words are suspended around us like a thundercloud, thick with intense feelings.
Her silence stretches on, smothering me like a thick fog. My heart races, the sound deafening in the quiet room.
“Please, Summer,” I plead one last time, my voice barely audible as it cracks with despair. “I need you to say something. Anything.”
“Enough.” The word finally falls from her lips, sharp and cold, cutting through the tense atmosphere like a knife. Summer’s eyes flash with something dangerous, something that sends shivers down my spine even as it ignites a spark of hope. It isn’t forgiveness, not yet, but it’s a start — a crack in her defenses that I cling to.
“Prove it,” she challenges, her voice low and steady. Her grip on the knife relaxes ever so slightly, though she doesn’t lower it. “Show me that you’re worthy of my trust.”
“Anything.” Desperation and determination intertwine like a tangled web. “I’ll do anything to make this right.”
“Okay.” Her eyes narrow, the challenge clear in her gaze as she raises the knife, pointing it toward me. “Then prove it.”
And with those words, the air between us shifts. The tension that has been building reaches its breaking point, teetering on the edge of something dark and dangerous — something that could either save us or destroy us both.
As Summer rises before me, knife poised and ready, I have no choice but to face the consequences of my actions head-on and hope that, somehow, I can earn her forgiveness. But as the seconds tick by, the question remains: what will Summer’s next move be?
“Tell me what you want me to do, Summer.” My voice is gravelly with emotion as I look up at her. “I’ll do it. Whatever it takes to prove myself to you.”
“I can’t give you that answer, Ciarán. Where is the challenge in that? Did you cheat on tests in school as well? There is no easy way out. Find a way to prove to me that you’re truly sorry for trying to possess me as an asset, and then maybe, we’ll talk some more.”
With that said, she walks out of the room, leaving me desolate and alone, my head bowed in supplication to the goddess who entered my life so suddenly and who I’ve wronged so badly.
“I’ll make this right, Tinks,” I mutter before I stand up and walk unsteadily out of the front door.
I make it to the neighbor’s hedge before I throw up a day’s worth of alcohol, hoping she didn’t see me do it.
22
SUMMER
Hearing the front door bang shut, I breathe. That was intense. Still clutching at the knife in the kitchen, I throw it in the sink, grateful I didn’t have to use it. If I wasn’t convinced before now, I know he needs me; that there’s a darkness within him I could help him overcome. But at the same time, I fear how dangerous he is and what he’s capable of.
