Page 37 of Devoured

"Yes I can. You're the one that left. You're the one that refused to talk to me. You shut me out. You didn't even give me a chance. I made one mistake and you left. You left me."

"Only because you lied to me!"

"Yes. Because I wanted to be with you. I didn't think you'd want me if you knew how young I was. And I hate that I lied to you."

I tried to take a deep breath. Did she need me to harbor all the blame? Is that what she wanted? Because I already felt like shit every fucking day. I didn’t know how much more weight I could hold on my shoulders. "I know,” I gritted out.

"No. Not because it made you leave me. But because it made us get together in the first place."

The knife in my chest twisted again. "You wish we had never started fucking?" I knew that she wouldn’t have used those words. But I was seconds away from snapping.

"And that's it, isn't it? Just fucking? See, that's the problem. I thought it was more than that. I want someone to love me. Unconditionally."

"And that's what Tyler does? Because last time I checked, taking advantage of someone when they're drunk isn't love." I gripped the side of the counter. I needed it to ground me before I completely lost it.

"And what do you know about love? You're fucking married to a woman that you don't love. You didn't even love her when you got married. And instead of facing it and getting divorced, you just go around screwing students like it means nothing."

"I don't go around screwing students. You're the exception. You know that."

"Do I? Because I don't think I know you at all."

"You know me." I stood up. My fingers gripped the side of the counter harder. "You'll never forget what it feels like to have my rock hard cock deep inside of you. You'll never be able to stop screaming my name."

She glared at me. "I was already forgetting you. Tyler didn't take advantage of me. I told him that I wanted him. I asked him to fuck me."

All I could see was red. "Because you were drunk."

"No! It was because you left me! Because I was numb! You ruined me." Her voice cracked. She turned around like she couldn’t even bear to look at me. "You ruined me."

No.I’d promised myself I wouldn’t do that. The knife in my heart twisted again.Breathe.I didn’t ruin her. She was fine. We were going to be fine. I grabbed her arm and pulled her into my chest. But then I looked down at her lips. The same lips she’d let Tyler kiss. "So it's my fault that you're loose?"

"I'm not loose." She shoved my chest and took a step back from me. "You broke up with me. I was trying to get over you."

"I never broke up with you. I said I needed time."

"I gave you time. Weeks! In order to work things out, normal people usually talk. What was I supposed to think?"

I’m not a normal person. I’m a fucking mess!"That's not how I work through things."

"That's not an excuse. Keep my phone. I'm leaving. I don't want to hear anything else you have to say." She stormed off toward the elevator doors.

"What is wrong with you?" I yelled after her.

She turned back around. "What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you?!"

I got it. This was my fault. Because everything was always my fault. But I’d tried to stay away from her forher sake. And she wasn’t giving me a second to explain. I walked toward her. I was trying to have a conversation with her and she just wanted to run away.Again."Stop acting like a child."

"I'm not acting like a child. Get over yourself."

"I'm trying to talk to you now. Which is exactly what you wanted. You're being immature."

"And you're being an asshole!"

I lowered my eyebrows at the rash comment. We both stood still, staring at each other. And I couldn’t help it. My anger shifted. I didn’t want to look at her lips for one more second and be haunted by her kissing Tyler. I wanted to erase the memory. I needed her beneath me screaming my name.

I was done with this conversation. She was mine. We both knew it. And it was about time I reminded her. "You're infuriating, Penny."

She stared back at me.

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