CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Where the Clinic Ends14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWzNvcyRFb
(Matteo’s POV)
He stood in front of the clinic for the last time.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrVdgOaPMYk
It looked smaller now.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIV8gNrZr45
Almost harmless.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVrPUl4EnM
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAI8wqhwenp
Then dropped it to the ground like it was poison.
Inside his jacket: a flask of lighter fluid.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3sU8jxsbA
A Zippo.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8g2YqFWy6
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgeiCeLBLx
On the couch where women wept.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5CVEAy2cwz
On the floorboards that creaked from too many secrets.
And finally—on the bed in the back room.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvWmej5LvIx
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqewioiRmO8
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,14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ1QGDvI41t
she reached for his hand.
He didn’t speak either.
But he held it back—14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhe9gk6ySEg
like it was his anchor.
Five hours on the road.
They didn’t talk about the fire.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnfe7eidb2k
Didn’t talk about where they were going.
Instead—
They stopped at a gas station.
Got fries.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESAtpKl7zb
Ice cream.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBufYVMQfDi
Water bottles.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7q8Es0mfJw
And a pack of mints.
By 3 AM, they were at a roadside motel.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Z1sVuIJpE
Cheap.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnjuHgwBPr
Quiet.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqynp3hV40
With flickering signs and a vending machine that didn’t work.
He paid in cash.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAswSQPyLW6
No ID.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4SUb4RXo63
No trace.
The room was cold.
She took a hot shower first.
He followed.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGDHFAvSksc
Stepped in behind her.
Didn’t touch her at first.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ifYs1PSjV
Just watched the water trace her spine.
Then—
“Do you regret this?” he asked against her neck.
She didn’t answer.
Just turned.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulp6nrTkeh
Pulled him down by the jaw.
And kissed him.
It wasn’t gentle.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImFzAxXrq2
It wasn’t soft.
It was claiming.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf8i3RNdXjQ
Raw.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplRWHktdXH
Wrecked.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0WxE3C5tt
Needed.
Like two souls trying to forget what the fire had burned away.
Hands on backs.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rs6fmDrnc
Fingers in wet hair.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXrdzHyLAg
Moans swallowed between lips.
Water dripping.
Steam rising.
Bodies pressed.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8LvwHi1FA
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.
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