He stared me in the eye, then leaned in and said, “You murdered someone, didn’t you?”
His voice was a mere whisper, but it struck like a sucker punch to the gut.
I didn’t respond and his smile became smug.
“I can’t fucking believe it,” he said. “Your eyes are a dead giveaway, mean and dangerous. Henry was right. You’re the same Caleb Wolfe. Does Willow know? That the man she’s chosen as her boyfriend is a killer?”
It took everything inside of me to hold back my temper, but I did. Oh, I did.
“Bradley, is everything alright?” Sandra called out.
“Yup, everything is peachy.” Then he addressed me. “I’m going to give you a week to come clean to Willow, and break up with her quietly. Otherwise I’m going to tell her everything I know about her lover boy convict.”
I lost it. I’d never taken well to threats and this one had come at the worst time possible. All I wanted was to mind my own business and make a life with Willow and I couldn’t because of all these privileged shits standing in my way, trying to spoil it for me all over again. He was the last fucking straw. I grabbed a fistful of the limp coward’s shirt and dragged him with me towards the bathroom. I was so pumped on adrenaline he was as heavy as a blow-up doll.
“Hey!” he shouted, his feet trailing along behind him and panic edging his voice. ‘Hey!”
‘Caleb!” I heard Willow yell outside the red fog in my head, but I couldn’t change my direction. Not now. Someone had to pay for my pain. I threw him into the bathroom, kicked the door shut behind me, and locked it.
Then I turned to him, and the useless turd began to crawl backwards. His eyes glittered like a terrified rat. I grabbed him once more, and slammed him hard against the tiled wall.
I couldn’t speak, my heart was burning with that much frustration and anger.
“What are you going to do?” he cried out, his shaky voice betraying just how much terror he felt.
I heard Willow’s voice outside. As if from far away.
I shut my eyes and forced him to the ground. I tried to rein in my temper. I really tried. It didn’t work.
“A-Are you going to kill me too?”
I lifted my gaze to his. Veins were bulging down his temple, and his entire face had turned dark red. He was just a few inches shorter than me, so no doubt the seemingly effortless way I’d handled him must have come as quite a shock.
“If you are so sure I’ve killed someone,” I said through gritted teeth. “Then why do you keep pissing me off? Do you want to be next?”
“I do it because of Willow!” he spurted with trembling lips.
I smiled at him. “You act like you know everything, but you know absolutely nothing.”
“I’m not scared of you,” he told me, his eyes bulging with fear. “I’m going to tell her what you’ve done. Exactly who you are.”
He truly never learned. I gave him a dead-eyed stare. “After you’re done, make sure you a dig a hole to bury yourself in. What’s more Willow will still be mine and you’ll be gone. Forever.”
“Are you threatening me?” he blubbered through trembling lips.
“Nope,” I said and took a step towards him. Immediately he froze with fear. I picked him up and he began to squeal. It was going to ruin the tiles, but I was paying for the renovation anyway so I swung him like a bat into the adjacent wall and let him go. He began to melt to the floor. At that point, I had to let it go. A) I had made my point and B) Willow was pounding on the door hard enough to break it.
“Caleb! Caleb!” she shouted desperately.
I felt even more furious at what this bastard had made me do in front of Willow. I kicked him once and turned around to leave, but again the shit stopped me with his words. “You don’t deserve her,” he mumbled. “How could an animal like you even think of being with a girl like Willow?”
Those words nearly pushed me over the edge. Again. But I clenched my fists and crouched down next to him. His body was twisted and lying in a strange angle, no doubt he was in too much pain to rise.
“And you think you do?”
He didn’t have the guts to respond.
I stared into his eyes. “I might not be worthy of her but I deserve her, more than anyone else in this entire universe. I gave up everything for her, and I’ll continue to do it over and over and over again. What about you? Can you do the same? Will you do the same?”
“Yes, I can and I will,” he said.
His answer maddened me. He was a liar. I knew without a doubt he wouldn’t go to prison for years and years for her, let alone what I was about to do for her. I drew my fist out, and when it landed brutally on the side of his face, blood and spit spurted out of his mouth and stained my knuckles. His scream of pain reverberated around us and beyond. Then he passed out.