Listen for the Lie

by Amy Tintera

“If you slice it like this there’s so much blood, let’s kill—” Shit. The voice is back. Shit. I’d hoped that by pretending it wasn’t happening, the voice would fade away again. It had been so quiet since I left Plumpton.

“Apparently I enjoy a good fake-marriage trope. This is something I’ve just discovered about myself recently.” I barely resist the urge to laugh, but my lips twitch.

I try very hard not to imagine murdering them by grabbing a bottle and smashing it across their skulls, but it’s difficult when they bring their own murder weapon.

I try not to smile. I swear to god, I try not to be the asshole that I am, but I utterly fail.

“I should have controlled my temper,” I said softly. I should have just cried. Taken the hits and crawled away to show my scars. I should have been a better victim. The truth doesn’t matter if you fight back.

Men don’t protect us, not really. They only protect themselves, or each other. The only thing men ever protected me from was happiness.”

In the end, life is just sweatpants and children who resent you and all your choices. But no one wants to hear that.

“Lucy.” Ben leans forward, peering at me. “What are you thinking about, when you do that?” I snap. “I’m thinking about killing you,” I say.