Free Until Forever by E. L. Todd

pussy.” I grabbed his head and slammed his face into the wood. “I’m going to kill you. Your last moments will be as a damn pussy. You think hurting a woman makes you strong? Well, I’m about to remind you how weak and pathetic you are.”
    Cassandra opened the door to her apartment and covered her face when she saw all the blood. It was smeared against the floor from his desperate fingertips. Zander tried to scramble away but I stepped on his broken fingers again.
    “ Ahhh!” He screamed loud enough to break my eardrum.
    “Mike, stop,” Cassandra said.
    “No way,” I said with a laugh. “This is way too much fun.” I kicked him hard in the ribs, making him moan in anguish.
    “You’re going to kill him,” she hissed.
    “That’s the point,” I said with another laugh.
    “Mike, stop,” she said firmly. “He gets it.”
    I turned to her, giving her a glare full of hatred. “He gets it? I’m going to kill him? What the hell do you think I rushed over here for? To politely ask him to leave you alone? Forget it.”
    Zander made a run for it while I spoke to Cassandra, dashing to the fire escape. I moved to chase after him but Cassandra grabbed me.
    “Let him go.”
    I twisted out of her grasp but didn’t pursue him.
    “I don’t want you to get into any legal trouble, Mike.”
    “You think I care about that?” I spat.
    “You don’t deserve any trouble because of me,” she said quietly.
    I put my hands on my hips and caught my breath. “Are you okay?” Now that the danger was over, I stared at her face, seeing the features I stared at so many times. With an empty heart that lacked love or empathy, I felt nothing. She was just some woman who broke my heart.
    “I’m fine.”
    I massaged my knuckles, feeling the ache. “Why was he here?”
    “I don’t know. I haven’t taken anyone back to my apartment, not even Zeal. He probably found out we weren’t together anymore and hunted me down.”
    “Pussy,” I muttered.
    We stood there awkwardly. There wasn’t much left to say. I didn’t belong here.
    “Thank you for coming,” she whispered. She looked at me with eyes full of emotion. I recognized the look. I’d seen it so many times.
    “You can call me for anything.” I looked at the wall because I didn’t want to see her face anymore.
    “I didn’t meant to bother you…”
    “It’s fine,” I said immediately. I looked down at my shirt and saw the blood. “Well, I should go.”
    She didn’t say anything.
    “If you don’t feel comfortable staying here, I can get you another place.”
    “No. I’m not going to run,” she said simply. “I refuse to live in fear.”
    “Will you be okay here tonight?”
    A slight smile formed on her lips. “I think you scared him off pretty good.”
    “If he’s smart, he won’t come back, “I said darkly.
    Silence descended again.
    “Bye,” I said. I turned away.
    “Mike?”
    “Hmm?” I looked at her, just wanting to leave.
    “I miss you.” Her eyes were heavy with emotion. I saw the moisture build up.
    I couldn’t do this. She already snapped my heart in half like a piece of firewood. And now she was pulling this shit again. Did she want to get laid again? Well, I wasn’t interested. Wordlessly, I walked down the hallway and disappeared. I wasn’t an idiot that could be strung along like a chump. I didn’t have any emotions to entice. I was done with her, over her, and I didn’t feel anything for her. But it still pissed me off that she tried to pull another stunt. I headed back to my apartment so I could get laid, not thinking about the blonde that broke my heart permanently.
     
    “When the hell are you going to quit?” I asked after another night of good sex.
    “Soon.” She pulled her clothes on, hiding her pierced navel.
    “When the fuck is soon?” I lay on the bed, still naked.
    “I have to put my two weeks in.”
    “Strip clubs actually implore those rules?”
    “I’d prefer not to burn any bridges,” she said as