CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Where the Clinic Ends16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFz8doqRHD
(Matteo’s POV)
He stood in front of the clinic for the last time.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQhlQutXtb
It looked smaller now.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLcXDxsSOw
Almost harmless.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WDawqaXml
Like a place that hadn’t broken people inside its walls.
But he knew better.
He had become this place once.
And now… he was going to destroy it.
She was in the car.
Watching him from the passenger seat.
No words.
Just eyes full of silent understanding.
He held the key in his hand.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlciY6I0S8
Then dropped it to the ground like it was poison.
Inside his jacket: a flask of lighter fluid.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQowOEULRDt
A Zippo.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TsV35BMqq
And an old, burnt patient folder with his name blacked out.
He walked inside.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Room by room, he poured it.
On the desk where he used to take notes.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhcbvefJXb
On the couch where women wept.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2I505PLrdf
On the floorboards that creaked from too many secrets.
And finally—on the bed in the back room.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhUhSyGHfti
The bed where she first told him "I’m not here for sex."
He lit the match.
Dropped it.
Watched the flames kiss every inch of his sin.
He walked away as the smoke curled into the night sky.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxmUAybqsk
Didn’t look back.
Not even once.
She rolled the window down.
Said nothing.
But when he opened the door and got in beside her,16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrhcIcptXaX
she reached for his hand.
He didn’t speak either.
But he held it back—16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbS7imzNWWq
like it was his anchor.
Five hours on the road.
They didn’t talk about the fire.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhMu0qirZU
Didn’t talk about where they were going.
Instead—
They stopped at a gas station.
Got fries.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3kSzQybL6s
Ice cream.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfzWZ7Nny3
Water bottles.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv1fgN8pGJh
And a pack of mints.
By 3 AM, they were at a roadside motel.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKnaLZCXQfR
Cheap.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡakpyOsUU4a
Quiet.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyWo9kwZ2S
With flickering signs and a vending machine that didn’t work.
He paid in cash.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpbCK36XXOA
No ID.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf15y2S2dbS
No trace.
The room was cold.
She took a hot shower first.
He followed.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfwU0Bk1I3W
Stepped in behind her.
Didn’t touch her at first.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ94ydhXciF5
Just watched the water trace her spine.
Then—
“Do you regret this?” he asked against her neck.
She didn’t answer.
Just turned.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGSO8z7lHaf
Pulled him down by the jaw.
And kissed him.
It wasn’t gentle.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpx2xXXSfo
It wasn’t soft.
It was claiming.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89CATTafZO
Raw.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb3UhmnNgfK
Wrecked.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMQdkOuEFp
Needed.
Like two souls trying to forget what the fire had burned away.
Hands on backs.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIqC72frgcY
Fingers in wet hair.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXe2LbbQah9
Moans swallowed between lips.
Water dripping.
Steam rising.
Bodies pressed.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGw6czrF02h
Flesh remembering flesh.
“I don’t regret you,” she whispered, trembling.
“Then don’t leave me,” he choked.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
They made love like sinners begging to be saved.
And for once—
It felt like they already were.
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