“I don’t want to hurt you. But I will, if you don’t start listening.”

He wasn’t nice. He didn’t do nice. But she tested his patience every day.

He hated her. Her smile. Her energy. Her CAT. Her fucking stupid cat. Fucking hissed at him from the windows

But then why did his chest tighten every time she waved at him like he was just another neighbor? Why did his pulse quicken when he caught sight of her through those open curtains, humming to herself like the world had never touched her?

He hoped the answer was angina. He prayed it was something clinical, something ugly and finite - an artery clogged, a heart that had finally decided to give out. Because the alternative was worse. The alternative meant she was inside his ribcage, clawing her way into the one place he had never let anyone live.