AN: Hello! It's been so long since I've published anything, it feels good to be back! I've had a variation of this story floating in my head for a long time now, and I had to share it with some VA fans.

I am fascinated and obsessed with Greek mythology, I don't claim to be an expert at all and that's all the information I'm willing to share at this time. This story begins with every fanfics author's favorite starting point - after the church scene in Spirit Bound.

**Rated M for adult sexual content, swearing, violence, etc.**

The story is original, at least my version of it is, but all characters belong to Richelle Mead.


Prologue

16 July

Dear Diedre,

It's been too long, and I have too much to tell you. It would be nice to really talk to you again. This letter is just for me, but the sentiment is still there.

Here's the deal. I have a glass of wine and I'll write until the wine is gone.

Where to begin? I'll get to the current disaster next time, I need to distract myself now from a situation I cannot control with things I haven't processed from my past.

That was pretty good, huh? You would be proud of my emotional consciousness.

Let's start with the event that led up to this: a strigoi was transformed back to their original state. It was him, Diedre. I brought him back. He has his soul again, no matter how obstinate he is on that issue.

In all my plans to save him, I never really thought that far ahead. I didn't want to have expectations and get my hopes up, then it would be like I'm losing him twice (stayed tuned).

Let's recap. I had just graduated and gotten my promise mark and then I was stripped of my position next to Lissa, all within two weeks. Of course, this is after everything that happened in Russia, which I still need to tell you about. A lot of my friends and good people had died in front of me at that point and even more people were starting to see me as a liability.

At that time my ex-lover was killing innocent people and I blocked an opportunity to end it, to end him. The only thing that kept my head up was the thought of seeing him again, as I remembered him. Don't I sound like such a fool?

I can't say that I would do it differently. As Dimitri sat in jail, and people debated whether he was alive or undead, I was ready to leave it all behind and run away with him. Leave Adrian, leave Court, and yes, even leave Lissa, despite my promise to stay. If Dimitri had wanted me then, we would have been gone in the night, and no one would have found us.

You would call me impulsive, but it didn't feel like an impulse, it felt like instinct.

When he came back the way he was, broken and full of self-loathing, it shattered the dream I had made up. He won his life and for that we're all that much richer, but I can admit I wanted him for myself.

Let me be clear about something, I am not used to not getting the things I fight for. When I fight, it's to win. Dimitri didn't want to run away, let alone with me. He didn't want to be near me at all. It was a hard pill to swallow but I had no choice but to back down.

After we spoke in the church, I locked myself in my room, wanting to scream and cuss him out of my system. It was like he was still living in me, I could literally feel things under my skin, wrapped around my muscles and bones - at least it felt real. This is the part where you'd come in and use the word 'psychosomatic'. Yes, I was listening.

For days I ignored pleas from Lissa and Adrian to see them. I left my room only to get food. I feel better knowing that no one saw how I felt in those moments.

I was losing so much, and willfully throwing away the rest. I know I'm responsible for a lot of the pain and suffering between my friends.

In a lot of ways I wasn't ready to forgive Lissa and her thoughts in my head turned to poison. It wasn't the first time I wished our tie was severed, but you know how complicated that is.

And then there's Adrian, who I was willing to leave at a moment's notice, but... I didn't. I'll tell you more about that later. There are even tarot cards involved.

Lissa and Adrian are just the tip of the iceberg. Okay, that's not fair, they actually make up a big part of the iceberg, but that's how the saying goes. I don't even want to get into the other stuff, not right now. I just know you'll love the story of how I met my father. Honestly, Diedre, you won't believe it.

I finished my wine, but before I go, I need to tell you that I'm sorry.

I would never have skipped my last appointment it if I had known it was my last chance to see you. I was told that you were defending students till the end, you always had a fighter's spirit. I think that's why I trusted you so much. I was so preoccupied with myself that I didn't notice when you were announced as one of the missing. Diedre, I didn't know you were dead until four days later at the mass funeral. I am so sorry.

Until we meet again,

Rose


CHAPTER I - I HATE THIS PART

The Pussycat Dolls

I know this is the part

Where the end starts.

I can't take it any longer,

Thought that we were stronger.

All we do is linger,

Slipping through my fingers.

I don't wanna try now...

(Two days earlier)

"So… I have to ask you something, for Dimitri," Liss mentioned shyly as her fingers played with the rim of her glass, creating a soft ringing tone. I felt apprehension through the bond. She knew what it meant to mention his name, and Dimitri wouldn't ask for something from me if it wasn't important.

My shoulders dropped. We had been having a nice conversation with our dinner until then.

Forgiven, but I haven't forgotten how Lissa defended Dimitri against me, creating a fissure between us that's still healing. Somehow I resent her for her relationship with my ex, but I'm also glad that he has someone like her in his corner at the same time.

We sat on an outdoor patio of the only vampire-run Michelin worthy restaurant on this side of the Atlantic. It was my favorite restaurant at Court, probably anywhere, but I never outright asked to come here. I enjoyed the recommendation to come here more than I let on. Liss offered to pay, she knew it was the only way I could afford to be here.

The place had a modern industrial style. In Virginia the nights could be drastically colder than the day, but tonight was so warm it was almost muggy. We were surrounded by dormant gas lamps with string lights hanging in neat rows overhead. The napkin on my lap was made from a material thicker than my jeans.

"What's that?" I asked as casually as I could manage. I took a sip of the virgin cocktail in front of me to convince myself that I felt casual.

I was still riding a violent roller coaster of emotions when it came to that man. I hate him for leaving me, hate him for hating himself, I have nightmares of a twisted version of him… or I miss him like crazy and I do things to myself thinking of him, panting and pretending it's his hands on me. When all was said and done and my body felt cool with sweat, I'll feel ashamed for the intensity I just felt. I lay in bed and coast through loneliness for a little while, then something triggers another lap of hatred.

"Viktoria wants to come to Court, but the apartment they leased to Dimitri is too small, he doesn't even have a proper couch. He wanted to put her up in a hotel but she asked to stay at your place."

I put the glass down with a thud.

"Viktoria asked to stay with me?"

"Yes, you have enough space, she mentioned you've shared a bed before." She took me in. "Why are you surprised?"

I remembered the venom in Vika's voice, and, putting myself in her shoes, I don't blame her. "We had a fight before I left."

She waved a hand. "I'm sure it's in the past."

I shook my head. "I didn't even say goodbye."

"Well she wants to see you now," she said kindly. "Is that okay? You have a double and Dimitri only has a single, not that she would want to share with him. There's always the hotel."

I smiled, for the first time today, it was genuine. "No, she can stay with me." I don't remember the last time a surprise felt this warm.

"Wonderful, Dimitri or Viktoria will reach out with more details. Dimitri told her to fly into an airport in DC I think he's making her go out there so he has a chance to see the city. He'll pick her up from the airport, but it's such a long drive to Court. They might just stay out for the weekend. Is that okay?"

"Why would I care if they go see DC together? You know history tours and Po Boys aren't my thing."

"Po Boys are from New Orleans. And no, I mean, is it okay that Viktoria will be here anytime from Friday to Monday?"

I shrugged, "That's fine. It's not like I'll be hard to find if I'm at work. I would let her have her own key but I only have one."

"Okay! Good, this is working out perfectly." My gaze wandered over to Serena, who remained Lissa's guardian even after the attack at the birthday dinner, even after Dimitri's men killed Grant. I wondered how she felt about Lissa's undying support for him. To her credit, she never once said something bad about Dimitri.

"It's too bad it's only the one sister coming, but the others have the babies… Anyway," she said, looking at her watch, "I should be getting back to the palace now. Will I see you again this week, for a movie or something?"

"Yeah, sounds good. Later, Liss."

She offered me another smile before leaving cash on the table and walking off with her new guards. Her dress swished around her legs as she left. I finished my food and studied the crystal glass and the absurdly sturdy napkin in front of me. I chased away an errant thought about being buttered up. A waiter dressed in crisp white cleared the table and even bowed his head to me. I didn't want to think I was that bad when it came to Dimitri. Besides, this was about Viktoria.

When I was done eating I went back to my place. I didn't have my phone with me at dinner, so I retrieved it from the spot where it lay abandoned on my bed. Two unread messages from Janine. Four from Abe, which was two less than a red flag from him. One from Adrian, and a new one from an unknown number.

I clicked on that one and all it said was 'Thank you.'

I chewed on my lip to chase away a smile and added his new number to my contacts.

I put the phone down without reading the other messages.

I'm a bad daughter and a bad friend. No matter how much I think about responding, I don't. Everyday passes with not enough hours, and even if I sleep for 8 hours, I wake up tired.

Lissa recommended therapy, again, and Christian backed her. Adrian mentioned it once, I snapped at him, and he hasn't brought up any changes in my aura since then. My aura is probably sickly looking, it probably stinks. It feels like a cold, without the sore throat and runny nose. Just constant dreariness.

These past few weeks have been a blur of the same routine. Wake up, conditioning, work, go to the gym, then I watch movies until I fall asleep. If I don't work then I clean, obsessively. The days I work I churn through my room like a tornado, snagging articles of clothing and swapping the contents of my gym bag, leaving piles for me to deal with on my days off. Some mornings I wake up with Adrian in my bed. He doesn't try to coax me out to parties anymore, so he comes to my place to watch TV and makeout with me when he doesn't find other plans at Court.

Once Lissa noticed the shift if my mood, she's been trying to be helpful, but moods can't be healed with magic. She's the only one that can send me messages after I've turned my phone off, the only one I was never successful at isolating myself from.

I connected my phone to the bluetooth speaker and turned on Good Times by RIIKI as I undressed and began my nightly routine. The apartment was immaculate, but it had no personality. I didn't know what I was going to be doing in the next few months, or where I would be living, so there was no point in decorating and making this place my home. It remained dressed down like an Airbnb.

More and more I would think of where I would settle down. Living with the Belikovas triggered some desire in me. I saw what a home with a family looked like for the first time. I had never had that before.

The next song up was Getting Older by Billie Eilish and I sang along softly. I put on a pair of shorts made from a light material and one of my best oversized shirts for sleeping. I put my hair up in a loose bun and padded to the bathroom to wash my face.

"Things I once enjoyed

Just keep me employed now

Things I'm longing for

Someday I'll be bored of."

The water had just started to warm when there was a knock at the door. I sighed and turned off the tap before meandering slowly to the door to let the verse finish.

"It's so weird

That we care so much

Until we don't."

I paused the song with my phone and swung the door open.

Adrian flashed me a devil-may-care smile. Unexpected, but that's how Adrian rolled. Maybe I would have seen it coming if I bothered to use my phone as more than just an iPod.

He was in a pleasant mood tonight, he didn't smell like alcohol or cloves, either. "Little dhampir," he leaned down and I closed the distance between us for a brief kiss.

"Are you busy?" he asked, his mouth still close to mine.

I laughed, "Busy at this time of night?"

"I want to get out of here." His grin widened and he was not being subtle about looking at my lips.

I relax into his embrace and lower my voice. "And go where?" The last time I left Court's wards was to go to Alaska.

"I don't care, anywhere. Let's just get out of here for a while."

I step back and gesture at myself, then look at him. "Let me change."

He was still dressed from whatever dinner he came from, he looked like a college fraternity pledge. His collar could be smoothed down a bit, and I resisted reaching out to adjust it.

His smile is sly, "Why would you need to change?"

My gaze dropped to my chest. "I like that shirt on you," he added.

The shirt had fit it's previous owner like a glove and now it's practically a sleeping gown for me. It showed the sigil of St Vladimir's, which wasn't all that special to me. This shirt was special because it's one of the things I had taken from Dimitri's room before the school packed up his things and shipped it all to Baia. The other shirts I'd taken had cyrillic writing on them, but Adrian hadn't seen those.

"At least let me put on a bra."

"If you insist."

I laugh again and escape with the garment into the bathroom. Adrian is waiting for me in the combined bedroom- living room. When I step out he looks me up and down.

"Let's go for a drive, we can watch the sunrise."

I smile softly, walking forward slowly and link my arm in his, "I like the way you think, Ivashkov."

I slipped on sandals and we walked down to the garages where Adrian kept his red Audi A4. Adrian offered a keychain with no key and a valet went to retrieve the car. It was a less ostentatious choice than I would expect from him, but only slightly.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I buckled myself in. Adrian's car was pristine, and still smelled like leather. He told me once he gets it detailed once a month, which is about as often as he drives it when he's at Court. Fast food wasn't allowed in his car, to my dismay. Neither was smoking, thankfully. At least he had sense about it.

"Doesn't matter, maybe we can just drive around until we get tired. I haven't seen enough of you lately, I want you all to myself for a while."

There was usually something in the way of us. Either it was Liss and Christian or his mother. Or it was a man not physically present but an unspoken thought on both our minds, filling up space and keeping us at a distance. Right now, it was only us two.

"Then you have me, let's go."

He flashed his grin again and headed in the direction of the mountains. The range was about an hours drive from Court, but each second of the view approaching it was breathtaking. My eyes remained glued ahead of me as we chatted.

The mountain was covered in lush forest, protecting and hiding all sorts of creatures that lurk there. The range is so vast that the trees seem small in the distance, but I knew up close it was a labyrinth I wouldn't be able to escape. The colors shifted dramatically and sudden in some places and gracefully in others, both on the rock surface and the trees. How many people had gotten lost while trying to leave the hiking trails, how many people's bodies are still there, just waiting to be discovered? It was beautiful and consuming.

Adrian caught me up on the parties he'd been to in the last week. I realized that I hadn't seen or talked to him in the past five days. I didn't have much to catch him up on. I started watching a new show, it's pretty good. I like the cast.

Adrian refused to do a kegstand, but then he was talked into it. I tried to read a book that a movie I liked was based on, but I couldn't get into it.

My boyfriend was the guest of honor at a royal banquet, which I didn't even hear about until then, while I was watching the Hunger Games and eating only boiled chicken breast or bread and butter with cinnamon for my dinner for days on end, until Liss took me to the restaurant.

When he explained how he didn't invite me because it was a boring event with his stuffy cousins, all I could say, pathetically, was "Oh."

Driving between the walls of rock was a little nerve racking, especially seeing the street signs warning us of falling rocks. Luckily, most of the drive was only accompanied by rock on one side, with a wide open landscape on the other.

Adrian's hand messaged my exposed thigh and as we got closer to the mountain his hand traveled higher up my leg. My fingers lazily drew circles on the arm that reached for my leg.

Adrian spotted an outlook point and pulled up to park the car. Purple as soft as the inside of an orchid lined the horizon, marking the early phase of sunrise. Miles away, Court would be turning in for the day. He took my hand and we watched the colors of the sky change without breathing a word; Milk & Honey by Billie Marten played softly on the radio.

A pair of hikers ambled past us with large backpacks and several other containers strapped to them. They passed a joint between them, and seemed dirty enough to have slept here last night. They made eye contact with us and nodded as they walked past.

A couple songs later the sun had fully risen in all its July glory. Adrian and I had to look away from the brightness, so we looked at each other. The golden rays brought out the vibrant gemstone hues in his eyes and highlighted his auburn locks.

He was beautiful, and for the first time I noticed how perfectly straight and even his nose was. His features were so symmetrical, not marred in any way, like his face had been carved from stone and had been preserved from the elements. I would be content to stare at him all day. I couldn't help the urge that I wanted to touch more of him, and the hooded look in his eyes told me he wanted me the same way.

We hadn't spoken much lately, not knowing the right words to say to each other; each time we opened our mouths we ruined the moment. When we talked I didn't enjoy his company nearly as much as the moments I could just admire him quietly.

I saw a thought forming on his lips, but before I could let that happen I leaned forward and crashed my lips on his. He reached for my arms and I felt my body waking up to his touch.

Would the spark ignite this time?

Being with Adrian didn't feel the same as when I was with Mason, yet I had the same problem with both men. I'm left to wonder if I'll have this problem with everyone that's not him. And I like kissing Adrian. Right now, it's more than nice. The only vice he's interested in today is me.

As the kiss grows more intense, Adrian's hands drift from my arms to my torso, brushing against my breasts through layers of fabric. I leaned toward him even more, so my breasts were pressed against his chest and out of reach of his hands.

I want to continue, I thought. It's been so long and that's all I could think about sometimes. It didn't feel like it did the first time, but maybe it's not supposed to. Maybe it will never feel like that again.

His hands are around my back and travel down to grasp my hips, he's turned toward me with one knee up on the seat. We're usually kissing on my bed, and kissing him upright gives me a new perspective. Like, until this moment I hadn't noticed that he doesn't ever play with my hair. He doesn't cup my face with his hands and pull me in.

I wish he would.

Instead he keeps his arms around me. On my bed it's just one arm slung across me lazily, and that feels comforting. But here, both arms snake around my back as his hands dig into the flesh of my lower back.

He's covering me, he's keeping me close. It's like a cage.

I wasn't leaning in to the kiss anymore and he senses this. He pulled away but only dropped one arm. "You okay?"

I try to chase away the intrusive thought, but it's already stuck.

This entire time I had been focused on what made Adrian different from the others, one in particular especially. I didn't want to see similarities, but now the thought won't dissipate.

Adrian is another person who wants to possess me. To own me, to be entitled to more than I want to give. Like a certain Strigoi I'd known. He'd even bitten me, on several occasions.

I'd been keeping him at a distance, and he respected that. But I was keeping everyone at a distance. I wondered what he would do if I invited someone back in that wasn't him.

Why am I thinking like this?

The mood was already ruined before it got a chance to take off. Besides, inside his car with the sun shining right on us was not the place for our first time together.

I smiled and nodded.

"Tired?" He asked softly.

I nodded.

"Okay," he seemed disappointed. He gave me one more peck before releasing me. He sat back and put his seat belt on. He kept one of my hands in his as he drove. He started talking about a trip he wants to take with me, but my mind was somewhere else.

The warmth of the early sun on my skin was already strong even through the glass. It was going to be a blistering day. I focused on the warmth, allowing it to ground me while I sorted my head. I'm just overthinking, it's normal to have a couple rough starts, or several... Adrian squeezed my hand and I responded like a reflex.

This was not the first time I thought of either version of him when I was trying to get things going with Adrian. It's sad when I think of the Guardian. It terrifies me when I think of the Strigoi. When I think of them, I can't help but draw comparisons to Adrian.

Halfway on the trip back he asked if he could stop by mine after dinner at his parent's place on Saturday. That was one invitation I was not upset to be passed up for.

"Sorry, I think I'll have someone over that night."

Adrian laughed from deep in his chest, the longer it went on the crueler it felt. I slapped his arm. "Hey!"

He coughed as he tried to control his laughter. "I'm sorry," he sputtered. "Why don't you and Lissa just sleep at her place? Much bigger."

I scoffed. "It's not Lissa." Ass.

"I have other friends."

He blinked, genuinely surprised, and I wanted to smack him again.

I braced myself and released a breath. "It's Viktoria."

"Viktoria who?"

I sighed through my nose. What other Viktoria was there? I had told him the stories of my time in Baia, I told him that the Belikova women are my friends. I ready myself for the explanation and, annoyingly, brace myself again.

"Viktoria Belikova."

He jerked his head a fraction, like he had caught the scent of something rotten. He's silent for a beat.

"Belikov's youngest sister?" Each word is punctuated.

Ah. There's his memory. How convenient of him.

"That's the one." I responded curtly. I look out the window, the view is a lot less impressive on the return to Court, and I'd have to look in Adrian's direction to get any glimpse of the rolling hills that reached out like living extensions of the mountains behind us.

"I see. You always liked her the most. A real partner in crime." He said flatly. He was taking this even worse than I could have thought. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

I waited. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of asking him what was bothering him. I waited a long time for him to continue but we sat in poisonous silence until I broke. I was annoyed but wanted to make peace.

"I haven't seen her in a long time." I said defensively, and then with forced brightness, "You'll like her."

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. "How long is she staying with you?"

"I didn't ask."

"You didn't ask?" he repeated incredulously.

"Because it doesn't matter how long she stays," I said slowly. "She's always welcome."

"And her brother will be there."

I shrug. "I'll probably have to see him, but they'll hang out somewhere else. Can we just drop this? I'm really only going to see Viktoria at night when she sleeps there."

He scoffed, "Like he wouldn't be lurking around. I'm supposed to be okay with you hanging out with the cradle robber and his sister?"

My jaw dropped. He stopped using that cruel name after Dimitri was turned, I hated it as much now as I did then. "What the hell Adrian, stop calling him that! You know it's not like that."

"No, Rose. It is like that and you know it!" The anger was rolling off him. All those weeks of avoiding the topic blowing up in our faces. I began to see how serious this fight was, how adamant Adrian is right now. I felt my own anger flare up, not taking kindly to the accusations being thrown my way.

I didn't feel so ridiculous for feeling caged in earlier.

"Who's idea was it that the sister would stay with you?" he asked demandingly.

"Viktoria's."

"Really?" his tone full of doubt and accusation.

I sighed, "Yes, Adrian. Really."

He chewed on that for a minute.

"She's trying to set you two back up."

I threw my hands in the air. This relationship should have ended the night I looked behind me one last time before leaving the private masquerade and I caught Adrian looking at me from behind his mask, defeated and bitter. We never spoke of that night.

"Well? Why would she want to stay with you and not her brother?"

"Adrian, his place is smaller than a shed. She wouldn't fit." I tried to make my voice the sound of reason.

"How do you know that, have you been to his place?" He shot back.

"No! God, I heard from Lissa. And it's not like that! Viktoria is my friend, Sonja and Karolina are my friends. Olena took care of me and loved me when I needed someone to help me off the ground. I'm doing this for them."

"Keep saying that, maybe it will become true."

I knew I had made my choice the moment I ascended the stairs with Mikhail to go to the cells, and I had been denying it since. I'm denying it still, just a little longer, just because an honest fight is what this relationship deserves before it dies.

I threw up my hands, "What is your problem, huh? Stop making everything about him. I'm with you and he's history, okay?"

"He's not history, Rose. That's my fucking problem! You're still in love with him. JESUS!" He roared and smacked the wheel with the heel of his hand. I don't remember ever seeing him this angry.

"I'm not-"

"Don't lie to me! I see your aura, so don't fucking lie to me."

"This is ridiculous, you said so yourself my aura is all over the place."

"I think I know how to read them, Rose. You've been fucking depressed because he's not with you, and you look like a bitch in heat when you're near him."

I gasped, stunned into momentary silence. Even Adrian blushed, abashed at his words and the viscous tone they were delivered with.

That's what he saw when he looked at me. Everything that I'm carrying, every struggle that I've kept to myself has been visible to him this entire time and all he cared about was my lingering feelings for Dimitri. I felt a mean scowl grow on my face. I'd make him regret his comment. The anger boiled and turned my defensive words to the words he provoked.

"Okay yes" I spat, reaching a breaking point. "I love him! I'm still so freaking in love with him." Lies that carry truths taste something like relief when they leave my mouth.

"I think of him when I'm with you. Is that what you want to hear?" I could feel tears stinging my eyes, and I couldn't stop the next words from leaving my lips. "How could I not? You're just a spoiled brat, who can't get anything done without a servant to help you," I practically growled.

Adrian looked like I had struck him, which made me hesitate. I stopped with an outright attack to him, but I was still full of derision for Adrian at this point and I didn't understand how he could be cruel like this.

"He died, Adrian." My voice sounded scratchy. "We didn't break up, he didn't leave me, he died for Christ's sake! You don't fall out of love with someone who dies. It broke my heart. And then he came back and-" The earnestness of my plea is what nearly broke me.

"Yes and why did he come back? Because you brought him back! You're my girlfriend and you still did everything you could to get him back! You left me out of the plans and made me look like an idiot in front of my cousin." His finger jabbed in the air at me, punctuating his words.

"I was trying to save his soul! I didn't do those things so I could get back together with him."

Silence.

"Well what was I supposed to do, let him remain a Strigoi?" I yelled, "Kill him when I knew there was a way to save him?"

Adrian didn't say anything, which was answer enough. In that moment I felt disgust for him that I didn't know I could feel.

"I don't want to do this anymore," I said with quiet conviction.

"You haven't tried," his voice was full of venom.

"Fuck you. I have tried! I've been trying with you for a long time." I felt tears streaking down my face at this point, with my teeth still bared.

"No, you just call me your boyfriend while you do whatever you want, including spending time with an ex that you're in love with."

"I don't know what you-"

"I'm not done. You used me for money and now you use me as some placeholder. You just wanted someone to be there and make you feel special in case things didn't go your way with Belikov."

The bits of truth were harsh and they pierced me. I never wanted to see his perfectly shaped face again, I might add a point of interest to the flawless surface.

"I did try. I have to try every day that I'm with you, and sometimes you make it so fucking difficult. I never used you. You were the one who bribed me into dating you. You call Dimitri names but you're the one who pressured me into a relationship I wasn't ready for. I'm done, Adrian! I'm not doing this anymore."

I sat back in the seat and crossed my arms, intent to stay silent until I could get out of this car.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adrian look at me, his face contorted with hatred, a look I'm sure I mirrored. I heard the tears in his voice, "You're a bitch, you know that? You didn't even try to be a good girlfriend." I rolled my eyes and shook my head, fighting off my own errant tears. I looked in front of us in time to see that we were veering into oncoming traffic, where a semi sped straight at us.

"You know I could've been-"

"Adrian, ADRIAN!" I shrieked and frantically pointed in front of me.

Adrian snapped his head back to the road and turned the wheel just in time to move away from the truck. He overcorrected and we spun out, the sound of the truck's horn became distorted as it drove away and we changed direction suddenly. We went off the road completely and the last thing I saw was the view of the world turned upside down.