Page 40 of You Were Always Mine
And that’s when I break.
My fist flies before I even think, slamming into his shoulder, his smug face twisting in shock. He grabs at me again, rougher, but adrenaline is louder now. Iwrench free, the seat rattling as I shove past him, my knee catching hard against his arm.
‘Don’t ever fucking touch me again!’ My voice cracks through the dark, heads whipping in our direction, but I don’t care.
I stumble down the steps, my whole body shaking, my cheeks burning with fury and shame. The movie’s still rolling on the screen, shadows flickering across my vision, but all I can hear is the thundering of my pulse and the echo of his filthy words.
My hands are shaking so badly I can hardly breathe as I force the doors open into the cold night.
All I can think is — I’d rather face Kai’s obsession than Tyler’s hands ever again.
The night air hits me like ice, but it doesn’t cool the burn under my skin. My cheeks are wet, my chest heaving, and no matter how hard I blink, the tears keep spilling.
What if I hadn’t hit him?
What if no one had been in that cinema?
What if Kai was right all along?
The thought twists cruelly inside me — hotter than the shame, heavier than the tears.
As the cab pulls up, my hands shake so violently that giving the driver the money is a struggle. Music pounds through the walls, lights spilling out of the windows — Kai’s party already in full swing.
I shove the door open, and it’s chaos. Bodies pressed together, laughter too loud, the stink of beer and smoke clouding the air. The floor vibrates under my feet.
And then his eyes find me.
Across the crush of people, Kai stands half in shadow, a drink in his hand, jaw tight, blue eyes sharp and unrelenting. They pin me where I stand — wide and wet — my chest tearing open as the tears I tried to bury spill harder.
For a second, I think he’s going to move, shove through the crowd, drag me out like he always does. But I can’t. I can’t face him, not like this.
I stumble forward, pushing past strangers, my vision blurred, the music thundering in my skull. My feet barely find the stairs, hands clutching the banister as I climb — step after step — until I reach the hallway.
And then I’m in my room, the door slamming shut behind me, my body collapsing against it, the tears flooding out of me until I can’t breathe.
No matter how much I wanted to prove him wrong… maybe Kai was right.
The music thunders through the floorboards, muffled laughter spilling up the stairs, but in here it’s just me — curled on the carpet, fists tangled in my hair, my breath tearing out in broken sobs.
And the worst part is the voice in my head isn’t Tyler’s.
It’s Kai’s.
You made your choice.
You wanted to pretend. You wanted normal.
You don’t make it easy.
My chest splinters around the memory, hot tears soaking my sleeves as the truth claws at me. Maybe he was right.
It was my fault.
I dressed up tonight — tight jeans, a low top, makeup sharp enough to cut. I wanted to look good. I wanted to feel wanted. I wanted to pretend I could be normal — and this is what I got.
I can still feel Tyler’s hand on my thigh, the rough press of his palm, the way his words dug filth into my ear. And I let it happen. I froze. I let him touch me until it was too late, until it took everything in me to fight him off.
If I hadn’t dressed like that, maybe he wouldn’t have tried.
