Unrequited

The longer I looked at him, the more my anger simmered beneath the surface. He had an innocent face, one that seemed incapable of causing harm, yet he took a life. My fists clenched tightly as I felt my frustration boil over. In a moment of loss of control, I punched him hard across the face, and I watched as he wiped the blood from his mouth, his expression a mix of shock and something deeper.

“Why would you do something so terrible to someone like Mr. Collins?” I asked, my voice laced with disbelief, bracing myself for what I knew might be an empty response.

He responded slowly, “I guess you don’t really understand what’s going on, do you?” I scoffed at his nonchalance.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, folding my arms defensively as I tried to read him.

He looked at me, his eyes revealing a hint of pain. “The person truly responsible here is your dad. He exploited a poor man’s situation and forced him into committing murder.” His words struck me like a punch, and in a moment of raw emotion, I shoved him against the wall, gripping the fabric of his collar as chaos erupted in my mind.

“Don't feed me that nonsense! What the fuck are you talking about?” He managed to push me away and straighten himself out, a disturbing calmness settling over him.

“Listen,” he said, his tone shifting to urgency, “we’re both in this together. If you let the cops arrest me, I’ll expose your dad, the one who made all of this happen. I have proof—a recording. Or, you can let me go now, and I promise you’ll never see me or Olivia again.”

I wanted to dismiss his claim, to shove it away as mere lies, but a nagging feeling in my gut suggested otherwise. My father’s sudden rise to fame, his apparent indifference to Mr. Collins’ death, and the way he seemed to avoid any conversation about it—everything was starting to make a twisted kind of sense. “Why is this happening?” I thought, grappling for control over my racing thoughts.

“Have you thought about how Elian would react if he found out the truth about your dad?” His words lingered, and my heart sank. “If I’m arrested, it’s a losing game for both of us. I’ll provide the evidence, and your dad would be implicated. Plus, Elian wouldn’t look at you the same way ever again.”

He stepped closer, invading my personal space, and I felt paralyzed by an overwhelming mix of emotions. “I know you love him,” he whispered, the weight of his words suffocating me.

In that moment, I sank to the floor, running my fingers through my hair as despair washed over me. “Just get the fuck out of my face”I managed to seethe, and before I could say anything else, he slipped away into the shadows.

Moments later, Elian and the police arrived. Elian rushed to my side, concern etched on his face as he knelt beside me.

“Where is he?” a police officer asked, scanning the area.

“I lost him,” I replied, feigning disappointment as they moved off in pursuit, making calls to the FBI.

“Hey, Kay, what’s going on? You look pale,” Elian said softly, his voice filled with a worry that tugged at my heart.

“I’m fine,” I replied, forcing myself to stand.

“Do you really expect me to believe that? I know you're lying,” he persisted, his eyes searching mine for the truth.

“I said I’m fine, just... let me be,” I insisted, feeling the walls closing in.

“Kaelin, you’re not fine,” he countered, stubbornly refusing to back down.

Frustration bubbled over, and I snapped, “Shut the fuck up, El, just leave me alone!” The words came out harsher than I intended, and I felt a swell of tears threatening to spill, but I wouldn’t let him see that vulnerability. I stormed out, climbed into my car, and lit a cigarette, a single tear escaping the corner of my eye as I wrestled with the chaos of my emotions.