Part 22 (2/2)
He jolted, then slowly turned around. He looked like a wild man with his bare chest, tattoos, messy hair and dark eyes. She wondered whether he'd shot up on cocaine, because he didn't look completely sane.
”Get out!” he hollered.
His words ran through her like a bolt of electricity, making her muscles jump and twitch with fear. ”P-Please lemme explain.”
”No!”
He started advancing on her. She stumbled out of the room and down the pa.s.sage, his body language screaming at her to get the h.e.l.l out of there, because he looked like he wanted to wrap his hands around her neck and snap it. She squealed as he reached out, but his hand moved past, pulling the pa.s.sage door shut behind her.
Her back hit the door. ”I-I didn't mean f-for this to happen,” she said, her words broken by crying.
”Don't you dare cry.” He hit the door behind her, the reverberations running down her spine.
”You're scaring me.”
”Then f.u.c.k off!”
”B-But, you're holding the door shut.”
His lips twitched, then he took a step backwards. When she didn't make a move, he narrowed his eyes. ”What're you waiting for?”
”I wanna make things right.”
”You can't.”
”But I have to. I love you.”
”No, you f.u.c.kin' don't!” He spun around and headed back into his room, slamming the door behind him.
Beth stood rooted to the spot, both wanting and not wanting to leave, because if she did, she knew there wouldn't be a way back into his life. She was right: he was going to take off, because he'd been packing.
She jumped at the sound of a crash. Loud swearing followed. He had a right to be angry, and to chew her up and spit her out; she just wished he didn't look so scary while doing it.
She headed for his room again, terrified yet determined as she opened the door.
He spun around, his eyes wide. ”You're unbelievable.”
”I can't leave until you understand why I texted your picture,” she blurted out, before she tripped over her words and fell into a blubbering mess.
”Cos you f.u.c.kin' hate me, that's why.”
”No, I said love you, which is why I did it.”
”You're f.u.c.ked in the head even worse than I am if ya think that.”
”But I had to stop you from seeing Carly.”
”You were with my brother!”
”I should've been with you! I love you more!”
”Bulls.h.i.+t. You're a lying b.i.t.c.h.”
”I'm not lying!” She was upset over Ash leaving her, but when Dante walked out she was devastated. ”I love you so much that I'm even willing to risk gettin' hurt.”
He stormed over to her, making her jump backwards. ”Do you think I'm gonna beat you up? That I'm some lowlife piece of sc.u.m like Deano Jones?”
”No.”
”Then say it without flinching!”
”You wouldn't hurt me,” she said, although she didn't believe it.
”But YOU hurt me. You ripped my heart out and spat on it.” He grabbed the neck of her blouse and tore it open, then placed a hand on her heart and pushed her against the wall. ”Do you have a heart in there or are you just a stone-cold b.i.t.c.h who enjoys s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with people's lives?”
”I-I didn't m-mean to hurt you.”
”I f.u.c.kin' love-d you!”
She flinched, the pain in his voice raw. She was wrong; he did hurt her, because he'd accentuated the ”d” at the end of ”loved.” Past tense, present tears, he didn't want her anymore, it was as clear as that.
Her heart thumped against his hand. ”I still love you,” she said, now unable to hold back the tears.
He let go of her and covered his ears. ”Stop saying that!”
She grabbed his arms and pulled them down, desperate for him to hear her out. ”Then explain why I always run to you when you end up in jail, or why I get torn apart every time I see you with another woman. And if I didn't love you I'd still be with Ash and I wouldn't be standing here crying and scared out of my wits that you won't forgive me.”
He stared at her for a moment before speaking, his expression now uncertain. ”If you loved me you wouldn't have risked my life.”
”I didn't know Deano would order a hit.”
”But you know he's violent. What do you think he wuz gonna do? Congratulate me on f.u.c.king his wife?”
”I didn't think about him at all, all I saw wuz you on top of another woman, and all I wanted wuz that woman to be me.”
He jerked his arms away from her. ”How do you think I felt when Ash kissed you? But I didn't go humiliating him or risking his life like you did to Carly.”
”I didn't think!” she screamed, frustration now taking over. ”And he's your brother, you love him, whereas I HATE Carly for goin' anywhere near you!” She pulled off her blouse and threw it at him, her hands shaking badly. She needed to shock him into silence, because she couldn't handle much more of his venom, plus she was willing to do anything to get him, to make him want her as much as she wanted him, and if it meant stripping down to nothing then she'd do it, because he was already stripping her nerves raw.
His eyes widened as she started unhooking her bra. ”What the h.e.l.l're you doin'?”
”Proving I love you.”
”By stripping?”
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