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He grabs my wrists and pins them against the passenger door. His body cages mine, breath hard and fast.

I stare at him, hating myself for thinking better of him.

But the way he glares at me…

“Are you high right now?”

He blinks. “What?”

I lean closer and notice his dilated pupils. It takes a second to register that he left me at the trailer to go get high, so I yank my hands out of his grip, furious. “You’re high. You left me at that trailer to go get high.”

He pins me harder, kissing my lips. I bite the hell out of his bottom lip, but he doesn’t flinch. Motherfucker, he’s not just high––he’sgone. So now we’re playing a game. I make him hurt, and he doesn’t feel any pain or give any fucks.

I push him away from me, but he pulls me closer.

“You’re going to listen to me, Lexi.”

“No.” I wipe his blood from my mouth with the back of my hand. “You need to listen tome.”

I force my arms down, breaking his grip. My wrists burn where he held them.

“I don’t do this,” I say, each word deliberate. “I don’t fuck with people who get high. That was the whole point. That was thedeal.”

“Lexi—”

“The deal’s off.” I reach for the door handle. “You’re done. We’re done.”

He grabs me before I can open it.

“Touch me again and I’ll break your nose,” I say, voice steady despite the panic clawing at my chest.

He releases me. Leans back. Then he pulls off his shirt.

I grind my teeth, looking away. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Look at me.”

“No.”

“Lexi. Look.”

I turn—and freeze.

His torso is covered in bruises. Dark purple, almost black in places. Fresh. Recent. The kind that come from fists or boots or something worse.

I hesitate for a moment, looking at a broken masterpiece.

Dark purple. Almost black in places. Fresh enough that the edges are still swollen.

“What happened?” The question slips out before I can stop it.

He’s watching me. Waiting for something—sympathy, maybe. Concern. The same girl who cried over her brother in the hospital.

That’s not who he’s getting today.

“Oh.” I lean back against the passenger door, crossing my arms. “Did a drug deal go bad? Someone finally kicked your ass instead of the other way around?”

His jaw tightens. “Lexi—”