RAGE (BWWM)

36

"Rowan?" Amira stumbled after him, unable to see as he stalked down the dark hallway. Although her surroundings were very familiar, she was still afraid of running into something or accidentally tripping over her feet.

"Rowan?" She called out again, searching the nearby wall for a light switch.

"Ro—"

"What, Amira?" He came out of nowhere and flicked on the same switch she was looking for.

"Why are you moving so fast? Can you just stop and talk to me for a second?" She asked, staring up at him.

The car ride from the event was excruciatingly uncomfortable. Amira tried to coax Rowan into calming down before they got into the car, but that only seemed to make him angrier. She ended up staying silent the entire ride, but now that they had arrived safely, Amira was done walking on eggshells. Rowan was undoubtedly upset, but Amira wanted to talk to him. She wanted to know what she could do to ease his mind.

"She shouldn't have touched you," he said, referring to Vivian.

"I know, and I appreciate how quick you were to defend me, but I've never seen you act like that. What happened?"

"You wouldn't understand," he shook his head.

"Try me," Amira encouraged, but Rowan only pulled away.

"No, Rowan," She reached out to grab him. "Please, just talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about. I lost my temper, that's it."

"But that was more than just you losing your temper. You wanted to hurt her."

"Yes, because she hurt you."

"But she didn't, Rowan. I'm perfectly fine," Amira said, showing him her arm. She even turned it in different directions to show him that no mark was left behind. Yes, her arm felt tender earlier, which caused her to rub it, but now it was fine.

"Vivian was more of a nuisance than anything. Her words were aggravating at times, but they were just words. Her petty attempts at asserting dominance over me didn't work, Rowan. She did not hurt me in any way, and I had everything under control," She tried to explain.

Amira was entirely grateful for Rowan standing up for her, but she also felt uneasy thinking about how he went about doing it. Amira figured that Vivian must have struck a nerve for Rowan to go off the way he did. It had to have been something she said that added fuel to the fire; what else could it have been? Amira knew the flame had already ignited before Rowan found Vivian, but what happened after that—during the time she was frantically searching for him?

"What exactly did Vivian say that triggered such a reaction out of you?" She questioned, hoping to hear any form of an explanation from him.

Amira waited for Rowan to give her anything, but he promptly ended their conversation by walking away. She huffed in annoyance before following behind him, a little tentative as he practically tore out of his clothes. The silence between them was loud, and Rowan proceeded to ignore her as he went to take a shower.

His disregard for her presence irked her, and Amira was deeply upset by the time he finished dressing.

"Rowan?"

"Does it look like I want to talk?" He spoke rudely. It was evident that his irritation had yet to subside, but his tone was uncalled-for. To Amira, it felt like a slap in the face. It hurt, and she was beyond fed up with the whole situation.

Not only was it frustrating trying to talk to someone as guarded as Rowan, but it was also exhausting. Vivian said some very interesting things about Rowan—things Amira couldn't even bring to his attention because he wouldn't talk to her. And maybe Rowan needed more time to cool off, but why not just say that instead of dismissing her so rudely?