Zane
She walked away, her back ramrod straight, a silent defiance in every step she took. She didn't look back, and for a split second, I felt a flicker of something close enough to disappointment. She wasn't running, but she was retreating, and that was close enough. I watched her go, the scent of her jasmine shampoo lingering in the air. Finally, I thought. I had done it. I'd managed to scare her off. A small, dark sense of triumph swelled in my chest. This was for the best.
My words had been cruel, a calculated, venomous attack designed to push her away. I had laid out my ugliest truths like a trap. I told myself it was to protect her, to keep her in her sunny, privileged world where monsters like me didn't exist. She was too bright, too innocent for the shadows I lived in. Her eyes had been so full of a terrifying cocktail of fear and fascination, and that fascination was what almost undone me. It was what had almost undone me. It was what made me say the unforgettable things, because I knew if I didn't push her away, my possessive urges would swallow her whole.
I ran a hand through my hair, the familiar ache of loneliness settling in. She had called me a stranger, and she was right. We were strangers. I was her brother's best friend, a shadow in her life until today. But the moment I saw her walk out of that pool, everything in me changed. I felt a primal, consuming need to claim her, to protect her, to make her mine. And that was a dangerous path for both of us. My past was a minefield, a history of broken promises and violent acts that I kept locked away. I had warned her I would hurt her, and I meant it. Not because I wanted to, but because I knew I would be incapable of stopping myself from making her a part of my dark world.
The music from the party grew louder as I walk back into the living room. The air was thick with the scent of perfume, alcohol and cheap desperation. I felt a sense of profound emptiness. I had gotten what I wanted--she was scared, she was gone. Yet the victory felt hollow. I found Ethan and nodded towards the door.
"I should get out of here" I said. He looked at me, a question in his eyes, but he knew better than to ask. I needed to get away from this house, away from her, before my control broke entirely.