She made her way across the room towards him, her left hand quivering, almost ready to slap him. She couldn’t believe what just went through her ear and remained. Those three hurtful words.. you never cared. 

It’s been about an hour since they’ve been fighting. It was all past, present and future. No tears streamed down her face the way he had expected. Instead, a mad pouting face slowly began to form on her. “I.. I never cared? Huh? Is that it? You think that I never cared?”

He hesitated, trying to keep his angry, tough face on, and his stance just as strong. And he continued. “Yeah! You never cared! All you wanted was yourself to be happy! It was all about you. Never once was it about me.. or us.”

Slap! There, her hand went. She looked him dead in the eye, and for once, he backed up a bit.  

“How could you tell me that I never fucking cared? Of course it was about us! I didn’t make things happen for myself. Frankly, I don’t give a fuck about myself! It was always about wanting to make you happy. I don’t know what kind of twisted, sick world your head is in, but shit, I cared.” She managed to take a deep breath to calm herself. “If I didn’t care, what makes you think that I would’ve stuck around all these years? I stuck around for you. To be honest, my whole world was always about you. I fell in love with you the first day we met, John. I’ve loved you since then, and I never fell out of love with you. Not once, not even for a little. And I don’t want this to be some kind of sappy, romantic shit. I really want you to just take the time to realize that I did care, and to see if your words were correct. I always have, I always will. God, it kills me how you could just say that to my face.”

She took another deep breath and sat on the floor, knobby knees and all, legs crossed. Lip quivering, looking away. Tears were on the way, as expected. He took a moment, and then sat down next to her. Not too close so that he could give her space, but not too far because he loved her just as much.

“Look. I’m sorry—”

“Don’t bother saying so if you really aren’t. I’m tired of hearing lies from everyone. It makes me feel shitty and not worth the truth.” You could hear the true pain in her voice the way it shook.

“But I am.” He lifted his right hand and took her face in both. The tears finally came out. So much eye contact, he looked her in the eyes and did not move them. 

“I’m sorry. I know you care. And I care, too. I guess.. it’s just that.. in a couple of seconds, I realize that I’m just an asshole who says the wrong things when I’m angry. You should know that I never wanted to hurt you, or make you think of yourself selfish. Maybe I’m the one that’s selfish. But you aren’t. You’re perfect. And I’m sorry. I know you care. Thank you for sticking around all these years. You’re so true and honest to me, and you’ve always been loyal. I love you.” 

Their eyes still locked on each other, he leaned in for a kiss. But she shook her head away from his hands. She made her way up and towards the door. She turned around, her face of pain and guilt. “I.. I don’t even know about this anymore. I’m sorry. I have to go.”