Nightfall (Devil's Night 4)

He grabbed my elbow and pulled us close again. “Don’t you know you can have anything you want?” he repeated his words from a couple of weeks ago. “I’d hurt anyone for you. Who the hell is it?”

But I just laughed, feeling the tears well. God, go away.

I balled my fist and ripped my arm away from him. “Let go of me.” I glared at him. “Go have fun with your friends. They’re all you really have, so hang on to them. I don’t love you, and I don’t want you.”

The words were like razors in my throat, and I wanted to throw up.

But I stayed steel as fire hit his eyes, and his heavy breath poured in and out of his chest.

“Emmy…”

Jesus, just go! Stop torturing me with everything I wanted and nothing I could have. I’d make his life horrible.

“Leave me alone,” I gritted out.

“You’re pushing me away. Just—”

“We’re just too different.” I backed away some more. “You thought this was serious? You’ve been on half the girls in the graduating class! If I knew that you thought last night was something more, I never would’ve come to Homecoming.”

He bared his teeth. “Stop it,” he bit out. “You hear me? Stop it. Last night was it for me. I don’t want anyone else but you.”

Tears sprang to my eyes, and I forced back the sob in my throat.

God, I loved him. This hurt. I had to get out of here.

I couldn’t be someone he had to take care of. Someone pathetic who would just bring a shit ton of baggage on him that he’d get sick of dealing with.

Drawing in a deep breath, I forced the words out, my stomach wracking with pain.

“I wanted you, too,” I said, my voice hard. “And I had you. It was fun. Even better than the gossip says it is. Now I’m done.”

“Goddammit.”

“I’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone better in bed,” I told him. “That’s for sure.”

Whipping around, he slammed his fist into the lockers, and I stared wide-eyed and hot in my gut as he looked ready to kill.

Yes. Hate me.

Please hate me.

“Such a fucking…” He trailed off, too coward to say ‘bitch.’

My chin trembled.

He turned and looked at me. “You know how easy you are to replace? Is that what you want then?” And he snapped his fingers in my face. “Because it would be that easy.”

My body wracked with jealousy, because I knew it was just a threat, but I still wanted to slice him all the way to hell if he put his hands on any other girl.

But I felt myself getting stronger, feeding off the hate and the pain and the anger.

“Get on with it, then!” I snarled. “And rot in hell, for all I care.”

I stalked off, back to my locker, and left him in my dust, waiting until I’d rounded the corner before I let the tears fall.

I squeezed my eyes shut, sobbing quietly as I started running.

Will.