CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Where the Clinic Ends24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS99CvxAbFo
(Matteo’s POV)
He stood in front of the clinic for the last time.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnMJ6V0XKy
It looked smaller now.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjaZ81djBCq
Almost harmless.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuQwaNbGqi
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi6zwJbImwa
Then dropped it to the ground like it was poison.
Inside his jacket: a flask of lighter fluid.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKVI8KzTF7
A Zippo.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGm5gfHtVu
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprHpsHoapl
On the couch where women wept.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBc6vRB1P2
On the floorboards that creaked from too many secrets.
And finally—on the bed in the back room.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzlkNRZ3TJ5
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9kLXUKHLY
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,24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJUvEbzR91
she reached for his hand.
He didn’t speak either.
But he held it back—24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO4ukS7NqoU
like it was his anchor.
Five hours on the road.
They didn’t talk about the fire.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Hx079n0Gq
Didn’t talk about where they were going.
Instead—
They stopped at a gas station.
Got fries.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfTrpxpL1ZZ
Ice cream.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcO3Z3Gorf1
Water bottles.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2eP20PHGq
And a pack of mints.
By 3 AM, they were at a roadside motel.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25XLqm8J5K
Cheap.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7FgQPYkI6
Quiet.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZXNV8YZLd
With flickering signs and a vending machine that didn’t work.
He paid in cash.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaBezrufT1a
No ID.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbzcjpS3u8
No trace.
The room was cold.
She took a hot shower first.
He followed.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO35dpbTk2I
Stepped in behind her.
Didn’t touch her at first.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFD8cMfMi3g
Just watched the water trace her spine.
Then—
“Do you regret this?” he asked against her neck.
She didn’t answer.
Just turned.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSDi69ghuY
Pulled him down by the jaw.
And kissed him.
It wasn’t gentle.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY7wpubRM3O
It wasn’t soft.
It was claiming.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkky9g8Y5H
Raw.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDdXfRVqss
Wrecked.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOKkpAW2Ur
Needed.
Like two souls trying to forget what the fire had burned away.
Hands on backs.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVxuaIWZyd
Fingers in wet hair.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYfXCBGb3Nc
Moans swallowed between lips.
Water dripping.
Steam rising.
Bodies pressed.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XSu968CBt
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
