Page 79 of Dark Therapy
“Youthinkyou’re strong enough for this?” I spat, leaning forward, my voice a cruel whisper. “You think you can handle the shit I’veseen, the shit I’vedone? You think you canfixme?” I let out a bitter laugh. “I’ll fucking destroy you first, Millie. That’s all I know how to do. Tear things apart. Break them.Ruinthem.”
But she didn’t flinch. Not even a little. Her steady gaze only made me angrier, made the storm inside me churn harder.
“You shouldn’t have gone through that,” she said softly, her voice cracking just enough to betray the emotion behind her words.
Something in me shattered.Ifelt it, like a wall crumbling, bricks hitting the ground one by one.
Her hand hovered near mine, not touching but close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her skin.
“I know it wasn’t your fault,” she said, her voice trembling but firm. “And I know that you didn’t deserve it.”
I let out a sharp, bitter laugh, shaking my head. “Deserve it?You think that shitmatters? Life doesn’t give a fuck what we deserve, Amelia. It just chews you up and spits you out. And if you’re lucky, you survive. That’s it.”
Her eyes softened, and for a moment, I wanted to grab her, shake her,yellat her to stop looking at me like that. Like I was still worthsomething. Like I wasn’t alreadydamned.
“You survived,” she said, her voice barely a whisper, but the weight of it hit me like a goddamn freight train.
Her hand rose slowly, hesitantly, like she knew she was crossing a line neither of us could uncross. And when her fingers finally touched my cheek, I flinched. But I didn’t pull away.
Instead, Ileanedinto it.Fuck. The warmth of her palm, the gentleness of her touch—it was something I didn’t deserve. Something I never thought I’d feel again. My eyes closed against my will, shutting out everything but the sensation of her hand against my skin. For a second,just a second, I forgot who I was. What I’d done.
“What are you doing to me?” The words came out low, almost a growl, as I opened my eyes and looked straight into hers. I felt raw, stripped bare, like she’d reached in andrippedout the parts of me I tried so fucking hard to bury.
She didn’t say anything, just kept her hand there, steady, like she thought she could keep me from falling apart.
“You make me feel shit Ishouldn’tfucking feel,” I spat, the anger in my voice directed more at myself than her. “Do you get that? You’re messing with something you can’t fuckingfix, doctor. You’re in over your goddamn head.”
Her thumb brushed against my cheek, soft as hell, and it sent a jolt through me, like lightning under my skin.
“I don’t deserve this,” I muttered, my voice breaking. “I don’t deserveyou.”
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes searching mine, like she wastryingto find some sliver of humanity buried under the mess of who I was.
“You’re making meweak,” I hissed, my breath ragged. “I can’t fuckingthinkstraight when you’re around. Can’t even be who I’msupposedto be.”
“You’re human,” she whispered, her voice steady but soft.
“No,” I snapped, my teeth grinding together. “I’mnot. I’m a fucking monster. Ihurt. Idestroy. That’s what I am. That’s all I’veeverbeen.”
But even as the words left my mouth, her hand stayed on my cheek, unwavering, like she refused to let me push her away.
“Why are you doing this to me?” My voice cracked, low and rough, the anger bleeding into something else—something I didn’t have a name for. “Why are you still here?”
“Why the fuck are you stillhere, Amelia?” I asked again, my voice breaking like glass against a wall. My eyes burned into hers,daringher to answer, to say something that would make sense of themadnessswirling inside me.
She shifted, her hand starting to pull away, but I caught her wrist before she could.No. She wasn’t leaving.Notnow. Not when I needed…fuck, I didn’t even know what I needed.
Her breath hitched, and for a second, her eyes darted away. “Damien…” she started, her voice trembling, unsure. She looked like she wanted torun, like she was on the edge of bolting, but I tightened my grip, pulling her closer, forcing her to look at me.
“Say it,” I growled. My chest heaved, the frustration, the fuckingneedtearing through me like fire. “Tell mewhy. Tell me why the fuck you’re still here when you should’ve run miles by now. Why, Amelia?”
Her lips parted, her breath shaky as hell, and for a second, she looked so confused, sovulnerable, I almost let her go. But then she swallowed, her eyes locking onto mine, and what she said next hit me like a goddamn freight train.
“Because you make me feelalive,” she whispered, her voice barely audible, like it was meant for me and no one else.
I froze. Every muscle in my body locked up as her words sank in, each one heavier than the last.
“Youterrifyme,” she continued, her eyes glistening. “You make me want torun, tohide, toscream… but you also make me feel like I’mbreathingfor the first time in years.”