Till Death Do Us Apart

For Life

I pushed those thoughts away, and tried as hard as I could to focus on the blood that had stained the white shirt he was wearing. He was rather too calm for someone one who was bleeding so much, and I moved even closer to him, my eyes holding his.

I could see the cut from the dash in the shirt, and I squinted my eyes. Goosebumps filled my arms, and I averted my gaze, then let my fingers reach for his buttons. The third button came off in my hand, and then the fourth, and soon enough, his body came into view.

I let my eyes roam him, more out of the need to avoid seeing the wound immediately.

He gave a small humorless chuckle, his eyes thinning. I swallowed hard, then let my gaze fall on the ground. It was a long cut and it kept gushing blood. It definitely had happened not too long ago.

"If I had known you were walking out of that event to get hurt, I would have gone through with it."

I met his eyes now, my chest lightly heaving. I knew it was a rather bold proclamation, one that did not fit the sort of relationship we had, but I would choose anything over seeing him or anyone this hurt.

"That is precisely why I do not like you, Aurora."

I met his eyes, but my fingers rested right above the cut, his heart beating under my fingers, his blood staining them.

"Why? Because I chose to be kind?"

He laughed. "No. Because you make it hard to ignore how below human I can get."

We sat there, my eyes searching his for a more in depth explanation, more of an insight into him. Maybe I will understand why he did what he did. Why he was the way he was. Why he had chosen to scar me like that, like I should have had no choice but to oblige him.

I gritted my teeth, then slowly stood up. I searched for a first aid box, and found it in the lower compartment of the small bathroom shelf, and I slowly made my way back to him with it.

Now that I let my eyes actually watch him, I could see another scar. This one was right below his heart, and whatever had gone in there had only missed his heart by an inch or even less.

It was a round, dark scar, even though slightly faded, probably from time. But I had an inkling of the only thing that could be so precise.

I sat back, ignoring it. I knew it was not my place to ask. Not my place to pry into his body, his business. I got the cotton swabs ready, then gently started to clean off the wound.

He said nothing as I worked slowly around the wound, the other scar begging for my attention. But I refused to give it.

I raised my eyes to him, and he was watching me intently, his breaths low, his eyes expressionless. Or maybe he did have an expression, just not something I knew how to read. Just not something he would let me read.

I sighed again, then continued dabbing at it. The cotton swabs quickly gathered on the floor, and I moved to push them away.

"Back then..." I said, my eyes now trained on the floor as I reached for the bottle of spirit. "You stepped on me so much because I was kind?"

He gave a small chuckle. "No."

I moved to wipe the wound, but my curiosity simply won't let me. "Then?" I asked, hoping now he would let me really know, instead of the half answers.

"Because you were easy to step on."

I felt tears sting behind my eyes, my chest heaving with anger and a bit of hate.

"I didn't deserve any of that."

"Maybe," he said, his voice low and close. I hated to look up to see how close he really had gotten, so I stayed there, the cotton swab in hand, above his wound, motionless, my breath held, my eyes trained on my feet. "But I would do anything to protect myself, Aurora. Even if it hurt you. That's the sort of person I happen to be."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "You chose to be that way. You chose to step on me because you are a bully who derives joy from..."

I didn't finish it before his hand caught mine, then pinned me backwards, my back hitting the bed, my eyes wide. He hovered above me, his shirt falling back a little, his eyes wide as he let them dart across both of mine. His hair fell between us, and I swallowed, my heart thumping in my chest.

"I wonder what hypothesis you have come up with now that I chose to get married to you."

I swallowed hard, a tear drop escaping my left eye. "Let me go."

"Exactly. Exactly, Aurora. Because once father showed me that picture of you, I...I knew even after eight f****d up years, I still can't let you go. And you sure as hell are not going to some other man out there when I have enough money to buy you, Aurora." He gave a small laugh, but his eyes were dark, intense, and when he looked at me, I knew he meant every single word he said. Every single word he had just left out there, between us.

"What are we going to do, Aurora?" He asked, my name darting off his lips like arrows. "You are stuck with me. For life."

I swallowed, as he let go of one hand, then let his hand hover between us. A small unsure expression passed the depths of his eyes, before he passed his thumb over my left eye, wiping the tear away.

He did not give me enough time to register the gesture, before he got off me, his shirt still open, and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.