4
531words
Owen grabbed my arm.
"Hit me! Do it! Punish me! I deserve it!"
He started to drop to his knees, aiming his forehead for the floor.
Before he could connect, a hand shot out and caught him.
Evelyn pulled the trembling Owen up and turned a cold face to me.
"The dead are gone. Things are just things. Don’t torture the living over objects. Owen knows he messed up."
Evelyn's tone was flat, dismissive, as if this were a minor inconvenience, and I was the one causing drama.
She shielded Owen protectively.
"Leave him alone. He feels awful enough."
I couldn't speak. Words failed me.
Once again, Owen played the victim, and instantly, I was the villain.
From the stolen watch, to the missing painting, to the shattered wedding photo... and now him invading my home, wearing my clothes, destroying the last thing I had left of my mom.
And Evelyn was still telling me to forgive and be the bigger person.
The ringing in my ears got louder. My throat tightened. My fingers trembled, betraying my crumbling composure. I looked at Owen, still fake-crying in Evelyn's arms, and snapped.
I lunged forward, grabbing a fistful of Owen's hair, and slammed his head sideways into the wall.
Before he could recover, I kicked hard behind his knee. He crumpled, hitting the floor with a thud.
"That," I snarled, pressing my foot firmly on his leg, "isn't how you apologize." I yanked his head down and smashed his forehead into the hardwood. CRACK.
Owen screamed. Blood trickled down his brow. "That’s how you say you’re sorry!"
I roared, my own vision blurring with rage. I gripped his hair again, ready to slam him down once more. Evelyn seized my wrist, her grip like a vise, forcing me back. Her eyes were dark with fury. "Let. Go." she commanded.
"Not a chance!"
I spat back. Evelyn grabbed my other arm, pinning it, and started prying my fingers off Owen’s hair, bending them back. Pain shot through my hand. I winced, but she ignored it, relentlessly forcing my grip open.
"Don't push it, Liam!" she warned.
"Push it?"
I laughed, a harsh, bitter sound, glaring at Evelyn. "The difference between people and animals is that people think. They have a conscience! They don't just blindly protect someone because they’re obsessed!"
"Since you've chosen to protect Owen!" I yelled, ignoring the agony as she wrenched my fingers.
"Fine!" With a sickening tear, my fingernail ripped clean off.
Blood welled instantly.
Using the blinding pain and Evelyn's momentary shock, I raked my broken nail down Owen's face—deep, from cheekbone to jaw.
The sound of tearing skin mixed with Owen's shrill, agonized scream. His face—the one he loved posting all over social media—was now ruined.
"It's called Karma!" I shouted over Owen's hysterical shrieks.
"And Evelyn," I met her horrified stare, "this is what you get for underestimating me!"
My voice dropped, cold and lethal.
"I was never harmless. You should have known that by now."
"Evelyn!" I declared. "You've officially pissed me off!"
"Let me be clear—I won’t stop until I destroy you both.”
