“Winter, you only know a fraction of the shit Hayden pulls. He has always tried to take what’s mine—”

“I’m not yours!” she yells through the door.

“Yes, Winter, you are—”

The door whips open, making me take a step back. Winter grips the frame with one hand and holds the door with the other, probably maintaining her control over it so she can slam it in my face again.

“What is this? Why do you even care? You succeeded…” She shrugs. “You fucked me. You broke through my hard exterior and made me feel for you. Congratulations, you got what you wanted. What do you want from me now, Aleck?”

The question burns hot on the surface of my skin. It swirls around me and, more than the fear of her asking it, my muscles tense at the thought of answering it.

What do I want from Winter Sommers?

“That’s what I thought.” She scoffs, taking a step back into her room, the hollowness of her closing me out again swallows me.

“Everything,” I spit.

She pauses, her knuckles turning white around the edge of the door.

“While we’re here, I want everything, Winter.”

Her hand tenses, then releases the door. Her chest heaves, expanding her ribcage and even then I can’t help but to notice her pebbling nipples. She wants to unfold in front of me, but she’s holding back.

Women are fucking infuriating. I want something, I take it. Assuming it consents to being taken. I don’t understand this whole back and forth game. I don’t understand why apologies are never good enough. Why simple explanations need to be scrutinized and dissected until both parties are exhausted enough to give in or give up.

I don’t understand why all of this turmoil is ever considered love.

“Well, this is an excellent lesson for you to learn, Aleck—”

“Yeah? And what’s that, Winter?”

“We don’t always get what we want,” she says flippantly.

My nostrils flare as I struggle to pull enough oxygen into my lungs. This is the opposite of control. I want to pull Winter into my body, then proceed to fuck that brattiness right out of her. Or hurl my feelings for her off the goddamn balcony and say fuck all of this.

This is what it’s like letting someone flood your life with theirs.

I turn around because I won’t fucking beg, or grovel, or do whatever it is she wants me to do. I stalk back toward my room, feeling Winter’s eyes burning into my back, feeling the weight of each step as I get farther and farther away from her. Realizing that farther away is not where I want to be.

“You know what? Fuck this!” I turn around, narrowing my eyes on Winter’s stubborn golden orbs. “Sometimes we don’t get what we want, but sometimes we do. I’ve spent my entire life believing I don’t deserve beautiful things. As much as I try to believe otherwise, I know deep down I’m still the little rat the Fox’s lifted out of the gutter.”