She tackles me, and this time I don't hesitate before overpowering her, easily tossing her on her back on the mattress. I straddle her, pinning her arms above her head and watching her chest rise and fall with each angry breath she takes.
"I never meant to hurt you," I hiss at her. "Believe it or not, I loved you."
"Loved," she spits out, laughing bitterly. Her expression changes suddenly, and her eyes fill with tears. "Loved, Dexter. What happened to us? It was supposed to be forever."
I stare her down, not knowing what to tell her, not knowing how to make it better. There's really only one answer - only one reason I don't want her anymore.
And her name is Pandora Oakes.
"You deserve everything bad that's ever happened to you," Lily Anna hisses at me now, vicious and pissed off. "You deserve it all, Dexter. You deserve to die."
"Calm down," I hiss when she tries to fight me off. "Just fucking calm down for one second..."
She raises herself with strength I'm not expecting, and her lips are on mine. She's kissing me, stealing from me, devouring me, but I pull back, flattening her body against the mattress.
"Don't you dare," I tell her coolly.
"You're mine," she spits out.
"Not anymore."
"Always!" She stomps her feet like the fucking brat she is.
"Not anymore, Lily Anna. Not anymore."
"I hate you. I fucking hate you!" She's having another one of her temper tantrums now, moving restlessly on the mattress while I do my best to restrain her before she hurts us both. "I'll never forgive you for what you did to me. Never, ever, ever, Dexter!"
I let her get it all out. I don't say a word until she stops resisting. Then, I let go and stand up, watching her curl up into a ball on the mattress and start sobbing. The sight and sound both break my heart, but I don't know how to make it better.
"I'll pay for your ticket to Wildwood," I tell her. "I'll give you anything you want. If you want to go meet your... biological parents, or stay here... just tell me."
"I want you." The words are a broken whisper, and even though I know they shouldn't hurt, they cut fucking deep. "Why can't I have you?"
I stare down at her. "Because I'm not yours anymore."
"Don't you want me, Dexter?" She trembles, sitting up and spreading her legs wide for me. She's not wearing any panties. "Don't you want this?"
"Close your legs," I growl. "Now."
She disobeys, staring right into my eyes as she starts touching herself, rubbing all the sensitive spots on her body that used to drive me fucking insane with need.
"Tell me you don't want me," she whispers. "Tell me you don't want to fuck me..."
"You need to stop."
"And you need to start telling the truth... Admit you want me, Dex... Admit it, just fucking admit."
I stay stubbornly silent. A minute passes, and the rage in her boils and boils until she shoots up, fingers dripping with her own juices as she stands before me, a beautiful fury.
"You really don't want me anymore?" she demands, and I shake my head vehemently. Something changes inside her then. Her shoulders pull back. She seems detached, eager to strike where it hurts most. She’s calculating. Cold. And I know whatever she’ll try to hurt me with next will fucking sting.
"Maybe it's time you find out the truth, then."
"The truth?" I knit my brows together in worry.
"About your parents."
My hands form fists. "You mean that your father fucking murdered them."