Possessive Love

“STOP”, Cierra shouted as she leaned forward to catch her breath. Lucas, with his back still facing her, stopped walking.

“What do you think you’re doing?”, she asked. She had grown tired of it all. This time, she would be the one to pull. Lucas dropped his bag as he turned around. He parted his arms and shrugged.

“What does it look like, C?”, he replied, “I’m tired...of THIS. This...back and forth. I’m out”

“No, you’re not”, she said and corrected her posture. Lucas grunted, shook his head and picked up his bag again. She started walking towards him.

“Yes, I am”

“LUCAS”, Cierra raised her voice. She was close enough to grab his arm, which she did and he tried to yank it back. She quickly slapped him. Lucas showed no sign of surprise. He did clench his fist, but didn’t respond. Cierra then tackled him down – the same way he had taught her.

“You don’t get to leave, Lucas”, she said, raising her head. She knew very well how thin, the line she walked was. She knew just how deadly, things could turn if she kept overdoing it. But she had resolved herself and would only accept one of two possible endings.

“Yes, I do. C”, Lucas clenched his jaws, “now get off”

“No”

“Cierra”, Lucas calmly said. Her body began to tremble and she felt it once again. A genuine fear. One, she had convinced herself, would no longer faze her. Cierra couldn’t have been more wrong, barely noticing the tears, running down her face. Her lips quivered and she struggled to speak.

“Don’t...”, she said in a low tone, “don’t leave me”

“Get off, C”

“No. Promise you won’t leave”

“C. Get. Off.”

“Promise me”

Something flashed in Lucas’s eyes and he shoved her off. She hit the ground hard and cried out. Lucas got up and began to walk towards her. Cierra’s instincts begged her to retreat and she crawled backwards, until she hit a wall.

”I know you have every reason to, but you can’t leave”, she continued.

”Shut it”, Lucas calmly said.

”We’ve been through enough”

”Just stop”

”We just need...more time and we’ll soon be–”

”Stop. Stop....”, Lucas raised his arm and she flinched. He began punching around her. She froze with fear.

“DAMN IT”, he roared. His fists were bloody and she cautiously touched one of them.

”Lu...”, she said as a drop of liquid fell on her forehead, accompanied by army. Cierra realized why her sister told her not to go out without an umbrella. Although, none of that mattered as she only watched the person looming over her. All she thought of, was about what was going through his mind.

“Damn you”, Lucas said as his legs gave out and he fell on his knees. He planted his head into her chest and she hesitantly hugged him.

“I know”, Cierra replied, “I hate myself too”

Later that evening, Lucas sat up on the bed. He glanced at Cierra, who looked so peaceful, that his heart began to ache. He ran his bandaged hand through her soft hair. He never could understand how something so basic, calmed his mind. Cierra moaned and he checked to see if she had woken up, sighing as he realized she was sound asleep. He forced himself to smile but failed miserably, recalling the last time he genuinely did. It had almost been a year, since then. That was one of the reasons why he had to leave. There was no other outcome. His heart was nowhere near prepared, but staying any longer would destroy him. Lucas calmly snuck out of bed and began to dress. He checked his bag and jacket to make sure nothing had been taken out. As he walked towards the bed, to see her one last time, he noticed his necklace was missing. Cierra rolled on to her back and he glimpsed it between her breasts. He had no intention of waking her up. “Necklaces do not make the man”, he whispered to himself and left the house. Lucas stopped in the middle of the road and took a deep breath. Just as Cierra opened her eyes.