She wanted to die.
He wanted to live.
•••
A hand grabbed onto my wrist, yanking me back just as the train rushed past, before I'd even had time to comprehend whether or not I'd carry out the action. I stumbled back into the person's chest, my hear...
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The sound of Romeo's footsteps following after me didn't trigger me like I thought they would.
Perhaps it was because my brain had learnt to distinguish between Romeo's and His, the milliseconds of difference between the steps and the lighter sound that didn't instantly intimidate me upon hearing them.
I let my hands alternate between the train poles as I strolled down the carriage, steadying my shaky balance on the rapidly moving train. The windows revealed nothing but dark blurs as the train streaked past, making the speckled floor and dull posters seem vibrant and lively in comparison.
I didn't know what made me get up in the first place, or why I decided to walk away from Romeo or why my initial reaction had yet again been to run away. It was all I knew: things got tough, so I would leave the situation – except on this train, I couldn't fully get away. Walking helped to slightly clear my head, diffusing some of the frustration I'd built up during our tense conversation as my emotions fuelled every stride, helplessness and irritation in each step.
"Cassie," Romeo called out from behind me, his voice sounding nearer to me than I'd realised he was, "Please don't walk away from me."
I rolled my eyes, subconsciously finding myself hesitate in my next steps after hearing the earnest tone to his voice. "Why shouldn't I?"
"Because running away from me won't solve anything. It didn't the first time," he reminded, casting my mind back to the earlier memories of tonight, "And it won't now either-" The train jolted as he finished his sentence, causing the two of us to reach for the same train pole at the same time, his right hand ending up on top of mine while his left held the side of my waist to support me while I regained my balance. "You alright?"
The world seemed to stop for a second as I froze at the sudden movement, only able to find solace in Romeo's dark gaze as my eyes met his concerned ones. My mind jumped back to the last time we were this close, zoning in to the pale blue of his lips mere centimetres from mine as they had been before. I flicked my eyes back up to his, about to attempt to find the words to answer his question when my mind relapsed to the events of the nightmare again; my body tense in his arms, completely rigid as I stared back unblinking at him while he tightened his hold on my neck-
"Cass?" The deep velvet of Romeo's voice snapped me out of the memory, my eyes refocusing on his ever-warm ones. "I asked if you were alright?"
I thought I was, I yearned to say, I thought I was over it, but I guess not.
Before I could nod in reply the train ran over a bump again, resulting in me falling back into Romeo's chest as his arm wrapped around me fully this time, my weight collapsing into him as he had no choice but to hold the both of us up. "And that," Romeo started off, the smirk evident in his voice as he learnt down slightly to whisper in my ear, "Is why you shouldn't try and avoid me; fate just wants to bring us closer together..."
