Falling for my Enemy | ONGOING

Ch. 43 - "I want you."

"Go to hell."

I looked past him to see Joshua's worried face. He struggled against their grip, and his eyes met mine. I could tell that he was beating himself up over it, but this isn't his fault.

Sebastian grabbed me quickly by the throat once more, tightly, and he lifted me off the ground. My lungs were on fire, and I could see darkness creeping on the edge of my vision.

"No! Sebastian please! No!" I heard Joshua's yell.

Right before the darkness overtook my vision, Sebastian let me go. I fell to the ground, gasping for air as I held my throat.

"Leah look out!" Joshua yelled, but it was too late.

Sebastian's boot hit me right in the stomach, causing pain to erupt throughout my body. I screamed in pain. He did it again and again and again.

I snapped back to reality, and I decided to go ahead and get a hot shower to make myself feel better. I washed my hair and body at least twice before I got out of the shower. I wrapped the towel around my body, and I brushed my teeth. Then I opened the bathroom door to see Joshua sitting on the end of the bed.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am, Annie," Joshua said, standing up from the bed. I didn't even hear him come in the room. He had a couple bruises on his face and his lip was busted.

I held the towel, tightly, around my body so he wouldn't see the bruises on my stomach. "It's not your fault, Joshua. It's not even that bad."

Joshua shook his head,"Please don't lie to me."

"I'm not. It could have been a lot worse," I argued, trying to assure him that I was okay.

"Leah, he hurt your fucking hand, ribs, and almost choked you to death. How much worse could it get?"

"I could be dead," I said, quietly, as his hands held my face.

Joshua kissed the top of my forehead before looking down at me.

"I won't let that happen. I thought that I could get us out. How naive was I? You were beaten to hell and back for me even trying to get help. I don't even know how you can look at me."

"It's not your fault, Joshua. I wish you believe me. I love you. What do I need to do to show you that?" I asked him as he took a couple steps away from me as if I was a disease.

"I know you love me. I love you even more, but I hate myself for what has happened to you. You are in this mess because of me. You can't deny that. If you were still with Asher, you would be dancing the night away at fucking homecoming not trapped in a house with a fucking psychopath who beat you," Joshua exclaimed, running a hand through his tousled hair as he sat on the end of the bed once more.

I took a step forward, and he shook his head as he said,"No. Don't even try to talk me out of this. You were always destined to have a happy ending with the guy that would buy you flowers before every date, would be the guy that everybody in the town loves, would be the guy who treats you respectfully, ask your father for his blessing to marry you, would buy you a big, beautiful home that one day will be filled with kids, and so much more. I wasn't. I am destined to be the guy that is always bad news, the guy nobody likes, and the guy who will spend the rest of his life alone. We were never suppose to be together.  Our worlds don't collide."

That's not true.

He doesn't actually mean this. He just doesn't realize that this can happen. Just because we are from different worlds doesn't mean we can't be together.