The Eastwood Archives is not a place to be crying your heart out after a heartbreak.
No, definitely not when the said public library houses endless rumors of a weird Library Ghost that appears at midnight.
But when Ebony Suarez, a graduating college...
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I've been with him long enough to know that the only purpose of his words is to make you feel vulnerable.
To break you.
To cut you open.
To wound you.
Like a knife carefully plunged into a vital organ, Anthony speaks only to hurt others. I was his favorite person to hurt in that toxic relationship we had. Anthony blamed me for his failures and made himself the hero in the stories he told his friends.
He never gave me a voice.
He never permitted me to speak.
But that was in the past.
"What the hell are you doing here, Anthony?"
I was surprised that I didn't stutter. From the emotion that flashed in his eyes, I could see that he was surprised too. But my ex-boyfriend quickly retaliated by grabbing my wrist in an iron grip and dragging me with him.
"No wonder you have that attitude. Is this your revenge for my cheating, Ebony? Being all cozy and clingy to that asshole?!"
"I don't wanna ever see you again! Let me go right now or I'll file a case against you!"
"Are you just doing this to get my attention? Playing hard to get again?"
I dug my heels on the ground and resisted his force. I could hear the imaginary thread in me snapping when I saw the contempt and amusement in his eyes. It disgusted me to no end. How dare he react like this? How dare he follow me here? This has to stop. I won't let him.
I won't let him do this to me again.
"LET ME GO! STOP RUINING MY LIFE! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
The commotion earned curious looks from the crowd. I clawed at Anthony's hand but I feel like he's gonna break my wrist with the way he's gripping me. Before I could even think of risking a broken wrist just to get away from this monster, Anthony tumbled to the ground.
"She said get away from her. Are you deaf or just a bastard with prematurely developed brain cells that you can't understand even that?"
I can recognize that voice anywhere. As Anthony picked himself up from the ground, recovering from the shock, Ronan stepped in front of me to shield me from any more of his advances. His presence bathed me in inexplicable warmth, a comfort that comes only with a bond that transcends time.
"I can handle myself..." I whispered, in my last attempt to not involve him with me. With the messy parts of my life that he only heard in passing stories during our nighttime meetings.
"Ronan?"
But the resolution in his voice made me believe in so many things again.
"I know you can, Ebony. But if you allow me, I would be more than honored to stand beside you here as a form of support," he softly said. "I know you're a strong person... I've seen it with my own eyes. I just wanna be here to witness you win the battles you've told me about."
