The Mechanic

Chapter Thirty-seven - "Coffee in the Morning."

"The Mechanic"

Chapter Thirty-seven

'Coffee in the Morning.'

Scene...

Continuing

Demi's POV

He started speaking first, as if he knew the very moment the line connected. I just listened, my heart frozen at my idiotic move. 

"You think I won't find her?" His voice was angered; I could tell he was gritting his teeth. "You think you can just come into my home and take the love of my life like it's easy? Demi is going to come back home and I don't care what some shithead of a mechanic has to say about it. She is mine. She owes me everything. And I'll be damned if I let an asshole like you keep me from being in her life. I will come for you."

"No," I whispered, tears springing to my eyes. Then, again, louder. "No."

"Demi?"

"You leave Joe out of this," I demanded, my voice taut with anger. "You can't hurt him."

His tone suddenly changed, his voice warranting pity.

"Demi, how could you leave me?"

"Don't! Don't you do that," I demanded, standing and pacing the room. "Don't pretend like I did this."

"You left!"

"You were hitting me! Are you serious?!" I could feel myself trembling; I couldn't tell if it was out of rage, or sheer terror. "You were manipulating and controlling every part of my life, to the point where I became so afraid of you that I couldn't even control myself. Do you really want me to live like that? Scared of you?"

There was a pause.

And the second the moment ended, I wished it never had.

Wilmer dropped the pity act quickly, his voice shifting right back to frustration with almost too much ease.

"Frankly, Demi, I don't care what you want." He took in a slow, almost sadistic breath, and let it out in a gust. "I care what I want. And I want you back. But you were cheating on me. In my home. With that mechanic. And you allowed him to come back into my home, wielding a gun, to take you from me." As I heard him take in another breath, I realized that he might have been smoking a cigar; something I'd only seen him do once, on the day his mother died. 

When he was severely angry.

When he was losing grip.

"I'm not letting you go that easily, Demi. Not after that. Not after the way you hurt me."

My mind began to whirl, trying to find anything to say that could change his mind.

"It didn't have to be like this," I reminded him, my voice shaking with tears. "And it still doesn't. You - you can't hurt Joe. You can't hurt him."

Wilmer chuckled sarcastically.

"Oh my God," his voice was low; pissed. "You love that asshole, don't you?"

"Wilmer, please, I-,"

"You know, for the longest time, it had only been you, Demi. You were all I wanted in the end." He paused, taking another puff of his cigar before continuing. "But now? Now that I know you love him?"

"Will, just don't. Please, I'll do anything, just -,"

"He's done."

The line went dead, and at the same time, so did my heart.