Page 67 of They Are Mine

And this?

This is fixed.

But I’m not quite done.

I glance toward the bathroom.

Then, slowly, I smile.

She needs a reminder.

A warning.

Something she won’t forget.

The bathroom is just as bad as the rest of the apartment.

Makeup scattered across the counter. A cheap, curling iron tossed in the sink. A tube of lipstick sits on the edge.

Bright. Obnoxious.

Red.

Because of course she wears something like that.

Too harsh. Too bold.

Orion deserves someone softer.

Someone who will contrast his hard edges, not clash against them.

I pluck the lipstick from the counter, twist it up, watching the waxy tip rise.

Then, I press it to the mirror and write:LEAVE HIM ALONE.

I drag the letters slowly.

Then, for good measure, I dot the i in ‘him’ with a heart.

Because I can.

Because it’s mine now.

Orion. His loyalty. His peace. His fucking tags.

All of it.

Mine.

I cap the lipstick, place it neatly back on the counter, and admire my work.

A part of me wonders if she’ll cry when she sees it.

A part of me hopes she does.

Because Orion is done with her.

She just needs to understand.

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