Hello again! This chapter may be triggering for many reasons (illness, violence, etc.), so beware. Read on and enjoy!

Mya- I think you may be right about another confrontation taking place… Thanks for your review! I'm glad you still like the story =)

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Despite her exhaustion, Beret remained resilient upon the following sunrise. She was unable to stop Caliban from forcing more strawberries down her throat, but she refused to let her tears break free. Only when the creature left the cabin to get more firewood did the girl finally let go.

The little droplets ran down her face in miniature streams. No matter how much she wanted to hold it back, Beret didn't have the strength nor will to do so. Her entire world was caving in around her at an alarming rate. She could feel her body getting weaker with every passing hour, and the only true companion she'd ever had was refusing to accept the truth. Though unable to blame Caliban for his ignorance, Beret couldn't pretend anymore. She wouldn't act like everything would turn out all right, not even for him. Judging from the way he'd been treating her, there wasn't hope for anything other than a lousy completion of her life.

I'm afraid to die, but I'm so much more afraid of him. He hasn't frightened me this much since I first saw what he looked like…

Suddenly, a stinging ache swelled within the girl's belly. She barely had enough time to lean over the side of the bed before vomiting all over the floor. Whenever she thought she was done, a bit more came out. Once it finally stopped, Beret let out a few coughs. Despite the acrid taste in her mouth, she was glad her stomach was empty. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her. However, with her having been sick on a big portion of the floor, it would be impossible to hide it, even if she was strong enough to move that quickly.

Before she could think of what to do, Caliban entered the cabin and placed a large bundle of wood onto the ground. It didn't take long for him to notice the evidence of what had just happened. Beret almost expected him to show pity, but was shocked when he turned to her in anger.

"What have you done?"

The girl wasn't given a chance to respond. Slamming the door behind him, the creature spoke again.

"You've wasted an entire meal! How could you do that to yourself?"

At this, Beret was pushed further towards her breaking point.

"What…? You think I chose to get sick?"

"Your stubbornness doesn't make it difficult to believe."

"Enough." The young woman held back her tears as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Is this how you want me to spend my final days?"

"Stop saying that! Never say those things again, or I'll…"

Caliban cut himself off, a hint of regret evident in his face. But Beret was suddenly overcome with a desire to hurt him back.

"You'll what? Kill me, like you did her?"

The creature froze as if he'd been struck. He wasn't proud of what he'd done to Brona, and he thought Beret knew that. It was hard to tell if she truly believed he would do the same to her.

"Because that's just what you do," Beret continued, her skin flushing with anger. "Isn't it? If someone doesn't treat you like royalty, you kill them and move on to the next person."

Caliban was unable to look away from the girl. Seeing the pain in his expression, she found the courage to keep going.

"You left me for dead on the streets, even when I did obey your rubbish commands. I suppose that wasn't good enough for you. But it couldn't have been good enough, since I was never anything but a free fuck lesson!"

"Beret, we've talked about—"

"Shut up!" she barked, trying to hide the sharp pain in her gut. "I'm tired of your excuses. I'm tired of you!"

Beret was really trying to hurt him now. Part of her hoped he would either kill her or abandon her again.

That's all right. If I can finally be allowed to pass on…

Despite his growing anger at her words, Caliban had a guess as to what her true intentions were. Looking around the cabin, he saw the crate of jars and approached it. He was done playing into the girl's infantile nonsense.

Eyeing the strawberry jar in the creature's hand, Beret recoiled as he stepped towards the bed.

"Get away from me, just let me die!"

"Stop," Caliban snapped, grabbing her arm and yanking her towards him. "Do not make me force you again."

Suddenly, Beret snatched the jar away from him and hurled it across the room. It shattered against the wall with a loud crash. Caliban stared at the broken glass as Beret mustered enough strength to rise to her knees.

"You selfish troll!" she yelled, no longer holding back anything. "Fuck you!"

Something snapped within the man. Without warning, he turned towards the girl, reeling his open hand while doing so. Beret didn't have enough time to cry out as her cheek exploded in pain. She wasn't all that taken aback by the sting, as her mother had dulled her to such assaults years earlier. If anything, she was angry, and also a bit pleased. Maybe he would finally end it for her.

However, Caliban had other ideas. The moment he'd lashed out, he was hit by a tidal wave of remorse. He hated himself for hurting her in such a manner. If he weren't all she had left, he gladly would have ended his own life right then and there. Moving carefully, the creature climbed onto the bed and pulled the weeping girl into his arms.

"I'm sorry," he whispered painfully, trying to halt her squirming. "Beret, I'm so sorry. Let me—"

Before he could react, Beret's fist crashed into his face, sending a stream of blood from his nose. The young woman wriggled out of his significantly loosened grip and rolled off the bed. She started crawling towards the broken jar, dragging herself through her vomit while doing so. Upon finally reaching her goal, she barely had enough time to grab the largest glass shard as Caliban pounced.

Beret couldn't think about hurting herself while grappling over the shard, so she turned on the creature. Caliban winced as his forearm was slashed, but after several agonizing moments, he was able to disarm the girl. But she wasn't ready to surrender yet. The adrenaline rushing in her veins gave her enough might to ram her knee into her assailant's side. The moment his hold slackened, Beret crawled towards the door as fast as her body would let her. She knew she wouldn't make it, but she was to far gone in her madness to stop.

Sure enough, Caliban tackled her from behind just as her fingers touched the door. He rolled her onto her back and pinned her down with his weight. Despite her obvious defeat, the girl continued to struggle, which pushed the creature over the edge.

"Stop it!" he shouted, banging the floor right next to Beret's head with his fist. "That's enough!"

With her last remaining bits of energy, Beret uselessly pushed against his chest.

Stop scaring me and just kill me!

Overcome with fury, Caliban grabbed her head in both hands and restrained her shoulders with his elbows.

"I told you to stop it!" the monster roared in her face.

Beret couldn't stand to look into those blazing eyes for another second. That side of her companion was more terrifying than anything she'd ever encountered. She didn't think he'd ever unleash that part of him again, but upon being proven wrong, she was entirely overcome. The tears immediately began to gush from her eyes, and there was no stopping them.

The girl's weeping wasn't just for fear of the creature. She was indescribably petrified of her fate beyond the physical world, if such a thing even existed. What if she was meant for everlasting torment? Or worse…what if there was nothing but eternal oblivion? Her life hadn't been very long up until now, and the idea of it going from everything to nothing was unthinkable.

And Beret truly didn't want to leave Caliban behind. She was frightened for him, but the thought of losing her one and only source of joy was equally unbearable. Even though he'd been awful to her for the past day, she knew it originated from his own fear. There was something almost childlike about him, as if he wasn't familiar with the concept of death.

This isn't going to get better…why can't he see that?

She continued to cry, not daring to squirm anymore. To her surprise, the hands grasping her head moved to gently cup her cheeks. The young woman tentatively opened her eyes and stared into the subdued yellow ones, which were now filled with their own tears.

OOOOOOOOOOO

For the first time, Caliban saw all of Beret's suffering. He despised himself for thinking less of her, for thinking she was giving up out of laziness. While she had indeed given up, it was due to the futility of trying to live. Of course she didn't want to die, of course she was afraid! But in his self-centered mindset, all he cared about was hanging onto her for the sake of not being alone.

How could I have done this to her?

The creature felt such shame, more than ever before. Had he really thought she was dying just to spite him? While he was used to people trying to distance themselves from him, he knew Beret would never do that. They'd been through too much to turn against each other now. Caliban thought his sense of entitlement had vanished a long while earlier, but the events of the previous couple of days proved him wrong. He was still a selfish brute who thought his lonliness gave him the right to take what he wanted.

No more…never again, I promise!

The miserable mortal beneath him was dying, and she was hurting. If he had anything to say about it, her final days in this world would not be filled with pain. He would do everything in his power to comfort her, to meet her every want and need.

If she is to feel any more pain, I will not be the cause.

Caliban moved off of Beret and carefully wrapped his arms around her, lifting her into his lap. The weeping girl struggled a little bit, but he refused to release her. He rubbed her back with one hand while resting his face in the crook of her neck. As seconds turned into minutes, Beret no longer wanted to struggle. She didn't have to hear anything from the creature to know that he finally saw things for what they were. After a few moments, she let herself relax in his embrace. It wasn't long before they were both crying.

OOOOOOOOOOO

The young woman's sickness had stained her dress, so she took it off and allowed her lover to wash her again. He was very gentle with her, taking extra care while dabbing the dried blood from her lip. Beret insisted on returning the favor. Caliban wasn't quite as hesitant with removing his clothes, and the feeling of being bathed by someone other than himself was actually quite nice. The girl's insides burned with guilt as she cleaned the blood from his arm and nose. However, Caliban saw right through her and pulled her against him.

"I deserved it," he breathed, tenderly kissing the faint bruise forming on Beret's cheek. "I still deserve worse."

"No, you don't." She ghosted her fingers down the long scar on the creature's torso. "Neither of us does."

Upon carrying her to the bed and pulling the covers over them, Caliban pressed a light kiss against the girl's lips.

"What can I do?" he nearly begged. "What do you need?"

"For now, just…hold me. Please."

The creature quickly complied, gently drawing the smaller form into his arms. She responded by leaning against him and breathing in his scent. There was no more talking for a while, as they both wanted to enjoy the calm before the storm hit.

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Let me know what you think.