Blood on Roses [COMPLETED]

Twenty-Eight: Finality

"Even as tragedy continued to strike, I never forgot who I was. I hope you won't ever give up on yourself, either."
~ Ashlynne Nolan

TWENTY-EIGHT

I stood face-to-face with Zach in the dimly-lit park.

I found him by his faint scent. He leaned against a tree. The red rings around his pupils blazed brightly, fixated on me. To match the atmosphere, my irises swirled crimson.

Even as I slowly approached him, he didn't move an inch, apparently waiting for me to speak.

"I just want to know one thing," I said. "Exactly why did you start avoiding me?"

Zach exhaled. "Was I not clear enough the other day?"

Yeah, but you were lying. And I only know that because I lived the same day three times. Those days don't exist now, so you'll never have any idea what you would've done.

I recalled the soul-crushing day that Zach made it crystal clear that he wanted me out of his life, but that clearly meant nothing.

"You never mentioned why you began acting the way you do," I slowly started, then re-established eye contact. "You only made excuses on how I read too much into your actions."

"How stubborn can one person get? Why do you insist that I lied?"

"Because that's all you do."

Zach balled a loose fist, but quickly caught himself and stuffed that hand into his pocket.

I wish I knew what he was thinking. Even for just a moment. I hung my head in exasperation and unknowingly produced a request.

Tragic is all it will be. Nothing more.

Before I could open my mouth, I made the mistake of glancing into his eyes––his eyes that possessed the ability to capture every single one of its victims.

"If you want me to repeat everything I said that day, fine. I'm telling you that you mistook a lot of my actions as caring when you were merely a chore to me, some annoying work to get done. You were getting too attached, so I decided to leave, understand?"

After another minute of menacing stares, Zach gave me back my freedom. Half of me thought that I was acting pathetically desperate, but the other half couldn't let go just yet.

"What would you do if a rain shower of anti-vampire arrows shot down at me?" I asked, though I already knew what his answer would be.

"I wouldn't care less if you became a honeycomb from dense arrows," he replied without hesitation.

Lies. Lies. Lies.

I had nothing to say. My only reason for this conversation was two days that ceased to exist the moment I made my wishes.

"Quit giving yourself illusions. This is who I am. I've always been like this. I like being on my own, and you're not going to change anything. You're only going to hurt yourself more if you try to hang around."

My eyes stung, and I hated how weak I was. I forced myself to raise my head and look him in the eyes again.

"I know you want to live an unencumbered life. I was a terrible burden; I get that I was extra weight for you. I'm sorry that I ever thought that hanging out with me was anything more than a chore for you."

Anyone could say words. They were only sounds coming out of a mouth. I got the reaction that I wanted. Zach's wince was conspicuous.

For a while, encompassing silence dawned on us.