Lucy did not listen to him as she continued moving forward. It was silly, he knew, but some demented part of Cobra's brain seemed to truly believe that if she moved out of sight, she would be gone forever. So it screamed at him, with a desperation he knew all too well. To make her acknowledge him just one more time. Otherwise, she may never turn around again. And for some reason, that terrified him.
So he did the only thing he knew how to get what he wanted: he used force.
A hand clasped around Lucy's elbow, causing her to nearly fall flat on her back if Cobra hadn't been behind her to steady as she stepped backward. In an instant, Lucy whirled around with a glare. "Let go of me!"
"Lucy, I-I…," despite having caught her, whatever words Cobra thought to say felt like sand in his mouth. The spark of anger was still there, although now it was buried beneath a measure of panic, desperation, and a hint of the uncommon guilt slowly mixing into a concoction of anxiety. So many different things he wanted to say sprouted up in his mind that whenever one appeared, soon two more differing meanings would take its place. He had her, but he had no idea what to say to her. What were just the right words that would make her stay?
And before he could make up his mind, she hit him with some of her own feelings, only without using words.