and that’s my gun.”
“Who gives a shit? You’re going to open this door, or I’m going to shoot you,” she yells.
I make a face, disgusted with her behavior. Why is she doing this? “You won’t.”
“Yes, I will, Phoenix. Don’t come closer, or I’ll fucking shoot you.”
I ignore her threats and step closer.
She fires a shot.
Groaning, I bear the pain of the bullet lodged in my shoulder.
“I’m not a liar; contrary to what you think. I think I just proved it.”
“You are a fucking liar,” I say, swallowing away the pain. “You hugged me yesterday. You came to me. You can’t tell me that’s a lie.”
“I just want to get out of here,” she says.
“And you’d do anything for it,” I say, wincing, fighting the anger. “You’d make me believe you loved me.”
“I said I loved you, yes,” she says.
“Are you telling me you fucking lied about that too, huh?” I yell, unable to control my fury.
I step closer, not giving a damn about that gun in her hand anymore. She fucking lied to me, again.
“You said you still loved me,” I repeat. “You fucking lied to my fucking face?”
“I told you what you needed to hear,” she says. “Now give me the goddamn key to the door.”
She manipulated me. She made me believe there was still something left of us, something worth fighting for. “I don’t fucking believe you.”
She stares at me, and I don’t tear my gaze away from her either. I want her to face what she’s done; I want her to see the wreckage she’s leaving behind. I won’t let her get away with this. If she doesn't feel remorse, I’ll make her feel it.
I reach into my back pocket and take out my own gun, aiming it at her the moment she tries to raise hers. She’s too late because I’ve already got my gun locked on top of her forehead. “Don’t make a fucking move.”
Her breathing comes out in short gasps. “I just want to be free.”
“I don’t give a damn what you want. You betrayed me. You lied to me. You fucking put me in jail!” I scream, pushing the gun into her skin, causing a red mark to appear. “Now give me the fucking gun!”
She holds up her hand, but she’s not even shivering as I take it from her and throw it away. Her body is rigid, her eyes cool, her face unmoving. It’s like she’s completely lost the will to care … or to feel. Or she doesn’t allow herself to. All these years she’s worn this mask, a fake face of perfection, and now she’s trying to put it back on again.
“You fucking liar … you don’t fucking love me,” I hiss. “It was all a lie, wasn’t it?”
She doesn’t answer me as I circle her, pushing her forward through the hall.
“Tell me the truth for once!” I growl.
Suddenly, she turns around and grabs my wrist, pulling my arm to the side, knocking the gun out of my hand with a quick jab. She’s fearless, merciless, in a way I’ve never seen her before.
I didn’t know she could do this … fight like a warrior. She’s been hiding her true self from me all this time.
“I didn’t want to do this, Phoenix, but you give me no choice,” she says, kicking me in the nuts.
I bend over from the pain, trying to regain my strength to pull her away from the gun she’s trying to grab. I lunge on top of her, throwing her down on the ground. She’s underneath me, fighting me off with quick punches and nails sharp as knives.
“Get off me!” she screams.
“I don’t fucking believe it,” I growl. “No matter how many times you make me want to believe you don’t love me, I don’t want to fucking believe it. I won’t!” I shove her to the ground as she turns around to scratch me in my face.
“How could I, after what you did?” she screams.
“What I did?” I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
“You tried to have me put in jail,” she yells.
Oh, now I know what she’s talking about. “And instead you put me in jail. You’re just as evil as me.”
“You deserved it after going after me,” she says, slapping me.
I hold her down, grasp her wrists, and pin them to her chest. “I didn’t go after you; I went after your husband. You got in the way.”
“You killed him!” she yells, trying to kick. “I hate you. I fucking hate you!”
The way she