Bad guy (REWRITTEN)

Chapter 12

Anna

Go kill yourself, no one wants you here

The words felt like a slow-acting poison, the kind that dissolves you from the inside out until there's nothing left but a hollow shell. I let out a jagged, exhausted breath, pressing my palms into my eyes until I saw static.

"Anna"

I looked up. The sun was dipping low, catching the edges of her hair and turning the dark strands into a deep, honeyed brown. She looked like a photograph—too bright, too gold, too steady for a world this broken. She sat down, her shoulder bumping mine, and for a second, her grin was so wide I almost believed the day was actually okay.

"The vibes are actually immaculate out here" she said, leaning back on her elbows to track a stray cloud. "Don't you think?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't. I was too busy trying to keep my ribs from collapsing. She sensed the shift immediately, the way she always does and her face dropped from 'chill' to 'detective' in half a second.

"Okay, wait. Your energy is completely cooked today" she said, her voice dropping. "What's going on?"

"I'm fine" I lied. It was a reflex, a paper-thin shield I held up out of habit.

She rolled her eyes, but her gaze stayed locked on mine. "Anna, please. The 'I'm fine' act is mid. It's not working on me. Just tell me"

I swallowed hard, the secret a jagged stone in my throat. I didn't want to break the silence, but we'd promised: no gatekeeping the truth. Not from each other.

"Did he... did he get physical again?" she asked, her voice turning sharp and dangerous.

"No" I whispered, my voice trembling. "He just... he told me to go through with it. He told me to end it"

The silence that followed was deafening. I covered my mouth, wishing I could pull the words back into the dark.

"God" she breathed. Her jaw clenched so hard I thought it might snap. "I am actually going to end him. I'm going to crash out on that bitch, I swear"

"Don't" I said, grabbing her wrist. "If you do, it just makes the cycle worse. I can't have you getting caught in the crossfire. I need you here"

She let out a long, frustrated sigh, looking back at the horizon where the purple was starting to swallow the gold. She turned her hand over, lacing her fingers with mine and squeezing hard.

"He's a loser, Anna. A literal worm" she said firmly. "But don't you ever forget that I'm your person. I'm the 1 in your '1 of 1.' You have to stay strong, because I'm not going anywhere. You hear me?"

I nodded, a small, genuine smile finally breaking through the gray. I leaned my head against her shoulder, watching the last of the light fade.

She was the only thing keeping me grounded in a world that felt like it was floating away.