"Fight Me" - one character fighting with/or against another.
"You need to keep your fat mouth shut. Dom doesn't need your pessimistic bullshit right now."
I matched Bernie's glare as we stood in the freezing cold of Port Farrall. It wasn't my idea to have this conversation out here but she was overly protective of Dom and had misunderstood me. Now she was going to try to finish the argument when we should have been scouting the perimeter. Damn, I hated this woman.
"Look, all I'm saying is, it's not normal," I replied. "You blow your wife's brains out, you tell someone."
"It's not a pretty story, Blondie. Dom knows we're here. He'll find a way to cope."
"Why, because he has Marcus? That's like talking to a brick wall. Yeah, very encouraging."
She stepped closer and because we were nearly equal height, she was almost intimidating. I wasn't a pushover. The only thing that scared me about her was her knife work—otherwise, she was a fragile old bitty.
"You better warm up those ears and listen good, Damon Baird, because I am never going to repeat myself on this subject again," she hissed. "You do not invalidate anyone's trauma. You don't turn their mourning into your joke. You offer an arm for support and wait for them to process, and then you damn well be there to help them pick up the pieces. You don't force them to talk about it—and I swear to God if I catch you laying hints just because Dom doesn't approach you and your little arse feels left out, I will skin you alive, boy. Do I make myself clear?"
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. The venom in her voice was real, but I'd already made my stance clear; I wasn't afraid of her. I didn't plan on pestering Dom to talk; it just wasn't healthy to internalize that shit. It wasn't healthy that the most empathetic man I'd ever known suddenly didn't want to talk about his feelings.
But because Granny looked ready to have a stroke, I gave in. This time.
"Yes, ma'am," I sneered.
She knocked the butt of her Lancer into my chestplate and I flinched at the sudden noise. "Learn to grow a fucking heart, Blondie. Then you'll understand."