CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Where the Clinic Ends25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlARkQGx3Q
(Matteo’s POV)
He stood in front of the clinic for the last time.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5C5iN8VLAj
It looked smaller now.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmXXC3zmMiN
Almost harmless.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLBgHIoy1k
Like a place that hadn’t broken people inside its walls.
But he knew better.
He had become this place once.
And now… he was going to destroy it.
She was in the car.
Watching him from the passenger seat.
No words.
Just eyes full of silent understanding.
He held the key in his hand.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGRiOTiIF3x
Then dropped it to the ground like it was poison.
Inside his jacket: a flask of lighter fluid.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vzaDJijUJ
A Zippo.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnDWtKhMQh
And an old, burnt patient folder with his name blacked out.
He walked inside.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Room by room, he poured it.
On the desk where he used to take notes.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvnAOV7FFE
On the couch where women wept.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTwiUrPcPA
On the floorboards that creaked from too many secrets.
And finally—on the bed in the back room.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaLDBIsMXgP
The bed where she first told him "I’m not here for sex."
He lit the match.
Dropped it.
Watched the flames kiss every inch of his sin.
He walked away as the smoke curled into the night sky.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpTObDayfG
Didn’t look back.
Not even once.
She rolled the window down.
Said nothing.
But when he opened the door and got in beside her,25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡelLWeruVi8
she reached for his hand.
He didn’t speak either.
But he held it back—25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfDzDcyKAT
like it was his anchor.
Five hours on the road.
They didn’t talk about the fire.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJvNcOmlqiC
Didn’t talk about where they were going.
Instead—
They stopped at a gas station.
Got fries.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeF6M5f1wIW
Ice cream.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhEPMFzWU1
Water bottles.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ672MCeScw5
And a pack of mints.
By 3 AM, they were at a roadside motel.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVT4AxuutB
Cheap.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbGJDw3wlq7
Quiet.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUQGJR0QRD
With flickering signs and a vending machine that didn’t work.
He paid in cash.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQJ2vyvi3W
No ID.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2AUs1LUw0
No trace.
The room was cold.
She took a hot shower first.
He followed.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLd8cQ397b
Stepped in behind her.
Didn’t touch her at first.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgU8yFLK2ui
Just watched the water trace her spine.
Then—
“Do you regret this?” he asked against her neck.
She didn’t answer.
Just turned.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59Pfos21UG
Pulled him down by the jaw.
And kissed him.
It wasn’t gentle.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV1SLJCs7RT
It wasn’t soft.
It was claiming.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeR4zIQmf9v
Raw.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFig7YXvbpK
Wrecked.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWkCJTPT7G
Needed.
Like two souls trying to forget what the fire had burned away.
Hands on backs.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDQsvacTmM
Fingers in wet hair.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1uwGLz5Jw0
Moans swallowed between lips.
Water dripping.
Steam rising.
Bodies pressed.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwH1p5CIf0J
Flesh remembering flesh.
“I don’t regret you,” she whispered, trembling.
“Then don’t leave me,” he choked.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
They made love like sinners begging to be saved.
And for once—
It felt like they already were.
ns216.73.217.11da2
