âLeave me alone!â she said, trying to get around me and through the door. I grabbed her by the arms and forced her to look at me.
âYou want to tell me what the hellâs going on with you?â I asked, furious.
She looked back, and I could see her eyes were hiding something dark, yet she smiled at me joylessly.
âThis is your world, Nicholas,â she replied calmly. âIâm living your life, hanging out with your friends, and feeling like I donât have a care in the world. Thatâs how you are, and thatâs how Iâm supposed to be, too,â she said and stepped back, pulling away from me.
I couldnât believe what I was hearing.
âYouâre out of control,â I hissed at her. I didnât like who the girl I was in love with was turning into. But when I thought about it, what she was doing and she was doing it were the same things I had done before I met her. I was the one who got her into all this. It was my fault. It was my fault she was destroying herself.
In a way, weâd switched roles. She had shown up and dragged me out of the black hole Iâd fallen into, but in doing so, sheâd wound up taking my place.