Inevitable Destruction

by Marie Ann

I bet Dominik always knew he would be the cause of his own destruction, but little does he know, ever since his father murdered mine, it was inevitable.

“I’m going to hell for this.” His thumb brushes my aching pulse hammering away in my throat.

“I’ll meet you there,” I croak out just before his lips slam onto mine.

It’s always only ever been about Dominik and my unpredictable desire to destroy him. Only now, I think he might’ve destroyed me, too.

“He never wanted me,” I croak. “I was used, again.” My voice cracks, and I wince at how pathetic I sound, but I’m unable to stop the words cascading off my tongue. “I’m not worth anything to anyone. Just a means to an end—or f-for fucking re-revenge.” I’m unhinged with hiccups and sobs fueled solely by unrequited love. “Oh-oh, God. Fuck, I lo-love him.”

I may not have been much when he got his hands on me, but whatever was left, it’s gone now. Fucking obliterated.

“I hate that I love you, that you made me fucking need you.” His voice is oddly clear despite the hoarse cries he’s been exuding.

My heart stops, along with my breathing and my rapacious thoughts. Ice fills my veins at rapid speeds, chilling me down to the fucking bone.

“Without him, there is no me. Not anymore. Not since he made me need him, too. Love him, too.”

I can feel it—the calamity just underneath the surface, the inevitable destruction our love brings. “Nothing’s ever tasted so good,” I tell him as my tongue flicks along the slope of his sweat-slick neck.

“Don’t leave me,” I whisper, hating the way my voice breaks, the irony of my words not lost on me.

“I’m not, Rhett. I promise.” He brushes my hair away from my face as it tumbles forward.

“I’m obsessed with you, Dominik. I crave your touch, desperate and wanton for me, and your taste on my tongue is unlike anything to ever spill into my mouth.” I brush my finger down the nape of his neck, my knuckles bumping the bill of his hat, before circling around to his cheek.

“I ache for you, beauty boy.”

“I ache for you, too. Everywhere.”

“It’s so I never forget the destruction that’s inside of me, and the chaos I’ve not only caused, but endured. It’s a painful but necessary

reminder to keep pushing forward through the pain because I deserve love. Your love.”

“The destruction isn’t just in you, beauty. It’s in me, too. But when we’re together, something happens, and we steal pieces of each other and take them for our own. We’re cataclysmic together if we’re not careful. It’s already been proven once before.

“But if there’s one thing I know with absolute certainty, it’s that you deserve love, happiness, and contentment—more than anyone I’ve ever met. So, I will do everything in my power to make sure you get it.