Chapter 4: The End

6 ½ years ago

Amira flopped on to the couch, a Corona bottle in her hand. She threw her feet up on the coffee table and threw her head back, closing her eyes. Ten minutes later, the front door flew open and Vince walked through, slamming the door shut behind him.

He threw his keys on the couch, barely missing her, and continued into the kitchen. Ami looks into the kitchen and watches as Vince searches through the cabinets, retrieving a bottle of whiskey. He twisted the top off and downed a long swallow, grimacing at the fiery burn traveling down his throat.

She stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. "You wanna share on your whereabouts for the last couple of days?" She asked, snatching the bottle out of his hand and throwing it into the sink, glass shards flying everywhere. Vince leaned against the counter, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Don't fucking start," he mumbled, his words clearly slurred. Ami shook her head softly. "Don't fucking start what, Vince? Bitching about how for the last week I've only seen you once? How last week you blew your whole entire paycheck on your latest drinking binge? Or maybe it's the fact that we're supposed to get married in three weeks and I'm already plotting against you?"

Vince flipped around and faced her, grabbing on to her arms roughly. "Maybe if you kept your legs open more and your mouth shut, I would be able to stand to be near you for more than two minutes at a time," he snarled at her, throwing her into the counter and leaving the room.

Amira lunged the beer bottle at him, hitting him squarely in the middle of his back. "You want to throw shit you little bitch?" He yelled, turning around and lunging for her. Amira ran into the bedroom, but wasn't quick enough.

Vince grabbed on to her hair, dragging her to the ground in front of him. "How many times did you fuck him, Amira?" He spat out, ripping her shirt off of her torso. Ami clawed at the floor, trying to get away from him. He jumped on top of her, positioning her between his legs. He was panting heavily and she was crying silently. "How many times?"

"How many times did you drink all your pain away and leave me in the dark, Vince? How many times did you hit me and then leave to go fuck her, Vince? We could be here all night," she spat out, clawing away at his torso. He struck her in the face, her bottom lip busting open and pumping out blood.

Amira sobbed loudly and Vince stared down at the woman in beneath him. He took a deep breath in before getting off of her and walking into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. Ami jumped off the bed and picked up a duffel bag that was lying in the corner. She followed him into the bathroom, finding him sitting on the edge of the bed. "Get your shit and go."

Vince stared at the floor, a razor blade sitting between his fingers. She threw the bag at his feet and yanked the medicine cabinet door open. She began throwing bottles on the floor, panting heavily. She glanced back at him, surprised that he was quiet and lifted an eyebrow slowly.

"What the fuck are you doing?" She asked, walking over to him slowly, kneeling in front of him. Vince shook his head softly and sobbed. "It's better this way. That way we don't suffer at all," he whispered. She shook her head and brought her hands to his face, forcing him to look at her.

"I need you to listen to me, Vince. I need you to forget all the bullshit we've been through and focus on us and our future," she whispered, wiping the tears off his face. Vince nodded and stared intently at her. "When we met we were nobodies, Vince. My father used to rape me as a hobby and your father used to use you as a punching bag. We've been through so much shit together, so don't tell me you're going to give up so easily when we are finally free from our pasts and we are just a step away from being truly happy," she whispered.

Vince shook his head and placed the razor blade on the sink counter. "I don't understand any of it, Amira. Why are we like this?" He asked. "We're both fucked up inside Vince. You drink and push me away to make yourself feel better and I run around looking for the love that I want from you. It's just a matter of time before we self-destruct."

He stood up, startling her and walked to the other side of the room. He picked up the duffel bag and began filling it up with his products. Ami stood up from the floor and glanced at him, a scared look on her face. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm packing. I think we should be apart from each other for a while. We should figure some things out on our own," he said, walking into the bedroom. "The hell we are," she yelled, following him into the bedroom and yanking him around. "What the fuck? Three minutes ago you were kicking me out," he replied.

"Yeah but that was me fronting. It always goes like that. I kick you out, two days later I'm ironing your shirts again. That's how it works. You don't actually pack shit and leave," she yelled, snatching the duffel bag out of his hand. "Amira, don't do this," he begged.

Amira pushed him and growled. "You are not walking away from this Vincent. This is me, Amira. You're best friend since we were 12. We have been by each other's side for the last 8 years and I don't expect you to walk out on me when were getting married in less than a month," she said, throwing the bag across the room.

"I'll tell Let and Mia to come get my stuff tomorrow," he said, walking to the dresser and pulling out a shirt. She walked over to him and snatched the shirt out of his hands. "Why the hell are you doing this, Vince?" She asked. "I'm fed up, Amira. When we're not fucking, we're trying to kill each other. And one day we'll succeed and by then it'll be too late," he said, snatching the shirt from her hand and sliding into it.

Amira shook her head and tugged softly on her hair. "So what am I supposed to do? You're all I've known my whole entire life, Vince. How am I supposed to go on?" She pleaded, tears running down her face. "Don't make this any harder than what it is already. I'll send you money. You can keep the apartment and the car and the rest of the crap we own," he said.

"Like I fucking care about that stupid ass car of yours and this shitty ass apartment. I care about you, you fucking raving lunatic," she yelled, walking into the living room. Vince followed suit, grabbing her and forcing her to face him. He kissed her passionately, his lips smashed into hers. His tongue searching for hers and his teeth clashing with hers.

They broke apart, panting heavily. Vince threw his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him, his face resting in her hair. "I love you Amira, always and forever," he said, his hand roaming up her spine, resting in the middle of it- where a tattoo rested. V.

---

Vince left the house that day and never looked back. A week later, Letty and Mia showed up for Vince's belongings and found the apartment empty. Five boxes lay in the middle of the room along with an envelope and a pair of keys.

The girls set the envelope and the keys apart and opened the boxes up. Three boxes contained Vince's clothing and belongings, while the other two contained Amira's wedding dress and other wedding preparations like invitations.

Mia and Letty looked at each other and shook their heads softly. They packed the boxes into their car and drove off towards the house. Vince glared at the envelope and the keys as Letty passed them to him and threw them on his bed, willing the world to swallow him up whole.

Later on that night, Vince sat in his new room, a small bedroom that Dom had given him in the basement and glanced at the envelope. He opened it up and found Amira's engagement ring, their airplane tickets for their honeymoon in Italy and $20,000 in cash- Vince's share of the money they had saved for their wedding. He sighed softly and a tear slid down his face.

To him, this was the beginning of the end.