Page 36 of Point Proven
“To clear my head. Yes. Yes, I am.”
He stepped in front of the door. “No. No, you’re not.”
My jaw popped. “Yes. The fuck I am. Nowmove.”
“No! What the fuck did I do this time? Why… Why can’t you just tell me?”
“BECAUSE YOU NEVER LISTEN!”I snapped, my nails digging into my palms. “Why thefuckshould I keep wasting my time trying to tell you shit when it goes in one fucking ear and out the other?!”
Swallowing the hurt, he nodded. “O-Okay. What else?”
“Nothing else.Move, Oren.”
“No!” he shouted, pressing his palms against my chest. “No, I won’t let you leave until we’ve talked! Until… Until you express what’s going on. I’m sorry if I haven’t listened, but?—”
“If?”Narrowing my brows, I shook my head as a laugh rolled forward. “God, do youeverown up to doing anything wrong?”
“No, sorry. I meant I didn’t. If… If you say I didn’t listen, then I didn’t. I’m addressing it now. I… I just want to know what’s going on.”
“I fucking told you the other night, Oren.”
“Yes, yes, you did. I know there’s a lot you’re going through, but?—”
“Butnothing.” I moved to step around him. “I am not going to keep disclosing shit to you just for you to spit in my fucking face again. I’mdone.”
“But I’m still here!” Oren screamed, slapping his palm against his chest. “I’mnotdone, and you’re clearly hiding shit because of what I’ve done. I take full accountability!”
Every ounce of patience I had shattered, rage consuming my logic. My fist collided with the wall beside his head, and he flinched, the sheetrock crumbling beneath my wrath. “You go outof your fucking way to oppose me, as if it’s fuckinghilariousto test my goddamn boundaries. Youlet me confide in you about what’s bothering me, only to do the exactshit Ibeggedyou notto. I shouldn’t have to fucking beg my goddamnfiancéto respect me.
“You fucking get off on humiliating me in front of everyone, and you did it againtoday!Happy to have Levander as another friend, right? But fuck me and my asks? Right?Right?”Nostrils flaring, I shook my head as a near-manic chuckle tumbled from me. “All it’s been about since that fucking day isyou.All. About. Fucking. You. Oren goddamn Valens and how he nearly died.Only oncehave youbotheredto fucking ask me howIhave processed that shit! HowIprocessed my supposed friends turning their backs on me without fucking question.Only. Once. Oren!”
Tears slipped, but he didn’t dare wipe them away. “That’s… That’s a lot for anyone.”
Ripping my hand free, I ignored the crimson coating my skin. “Go fucking figure. You start crying. It’s fucking whatever, Oren. I’m not doing this shit.”
Stifling his sob, he grabbed my wrist. “I need to bandage this. You’re hurt.”
“Yeah?” Ripping myself away from his touch, I snarled, “You going to work on my heart while you’re at it? No? Okay. I’mleaving.”
“Yes, I will! And you?—”
“No!” Slamming two fingers into his sternum, striations danced across my jaw. “You won’t! Because you haven’t in over a year!”
Coughing, he grabbed hold of me again. “Baby… yes. I always will.”
“Don’t fucking call me that.” The words came faster than I could stop them.
His lip trembled, saltwater coating his cheeks, but he didn’t release a sob or a wail. Instead, he continued to cling to me. “I’m sorry you… you weren’t heard.”
“No, you’re not. Now go gossip about it with your best friend and every other goddamn person you put before me.”
“No! I don’t gossip, and you’re the most important person to me. If you’re hurting, I’m notfuckingleaving!” Wrapping his arms around me, he planted a kiss against my chest, tears soaking through the fabric. “No! No, I won’t let you go, and I won’t let you be alone.”
“Becauseyoucan’t stand the idea of being alone, Oren. This is alwaysabout you!”
“No, because I know you! And there is nothing you fear more than being abandoned. That’s why it hurt when Matt didn’t show. That’s why it hurt when Simon and Liam didn’t chase you. That’s why it hurt when I got hit with the fucking bullet because you… you can’t handle it! You can’t handle the thought of losingme!”
Clenching my jaw to push back against the emotion, I fixated on my anger. “Wow,congratulations,you’ve rememberedone thingabout me.”
