A rewrite

The characters of our game danced ahead of us as we individually fought against the current of us. In his world he sees innocence, and in mine I see my own deception of him and everyone in this town. I've lied, cheated, stolen, and betrayed, all to avenge some distant memory of a father I once knew. We both see the love pulling us together, two unwilling souls, tethered by pain and hope. If he found out, he would kill me. If I tell him, he would do the same. Maybe my confession would put an end to his longing looks and irresistible magnetic field.

I'll tell him now, because his life is in danger from my choices. I could've forever lived in a world where I did not know him, and may have been happy, but now I could not fathom living a day without a soft easy smile and hardened eyes.

"You need to know something" I say, breaking the silence we keep for company. Normal for us to enjoy the festivities on the sidelines in the quiet, he kept his face straight ahead and flickered his eyes to the side. "Oh yeah?" His mind was distant, and an emotional barrier always hid him away. I wanted to be taken seriously and have his full attention, but his heart will need to soften to reach him. We needed it to be just us. "But first can we go somewhere quiet? My head is pounding." "Of course," he says and flicks his cigarette to the ground. He stands tall, placees his hat on and reaches out for my hand. We walk to the back of the pub and shut the door before separating a distance from each other. I wring my hands and struggle to look at him. His eyes followed my movements. "Well, what is going on? You've been distant all night. I've been watching you know, no man looks at you, no women dares to speak to me, so this can't be about another man."

"Another man?" I ask confused. "Your confession then please, so we can go back to how we were" he waves his hand around, still looking past me.

"I can promise you there is no other man" the anger in his voice upsetting me. "However this afternoon I did have someone propose. Someone you have an aquaintance with. I turned in my resignation and he used the opportunity turn around and ask. When I refused he decided to blackmail me."

"The bartender? Never would've thought he had it in him" he said with a laugh, but the seriousness remained. "Is that all then? Your face is so abnormally pale"

"I have betrayed you from day one. I think in your heart you knew-" "Really the bartender" he interrupts about to go on some tangent.

"No not the bartender. My father was killed by a group of men from this area." I blurted angrily.

He froze and finally set his eyes on me. He turned slightly in my direction, facing me head-on. "I have spent my life for the opportunity to avenge him. And I have. Or you have. But to give me this opportunity meant selling my soul to the army you fight so heartily against. I never anticipated to fall in love, and never believed I would find my mirror in you. Now with my rejection, the inspector has once again set his eyes on you. I've bargained your safety with mine, you will be safe as long as I leave this place. If you kill me now, you would grant me reprieve from a marriage which I do not want. Forgive me for my betrayal, I attempted to play even sides so that no one was hurt. Kill me now or later, my heart belongs to you either way."

He looked at me for a long time, frozen, angry, and thinking. I watched his body move into shock when I confessed, and now see the ice taking over his veins. "What have you done?"

His question asked of what interference I ran in his plots. I explained, "I told them you had the weapons, once the other gangs knew too. I told them about the communist man when he started to become a thorn in your side. I told them about the impending gang violence and when to back down. Worst of all, I told them about the attempt to take Brooklyn."

His jaw ticked and looked past me thinking. "So you've done nothing."

"I betrayed you and everyone in this city."

He paced a bit, lighting a cigarette. "If you do not leave, he will come after me?" "Yes."

"Then you will leave." And with that he stomped out his cigarette and swept out the door, leaving me in the empty room.