“I'm trying to tell you I love you.”
"What?" Flecks of anger scattered across Anastasia's face, evidently whipping her head in the boy's direction as the words slipped past his lips. Love her? The thought alone was overwhelming, as if he'd loaded a ton of weights onto her shoulders and she was sinking into the floor at the mere thought. Asher couldn't love her, that was simply absurd. Sure, he'd been there for her and cared for her like no other individual has ever done before –– but it was too dangerous for her to romantically involve herself with someone like him. If her conscience were to ask if she loved Asher, Anastasia would be too stubborn to reply due to the concealed fact that yes, she was madly in love with the person she'd invested her time into and secretly hoped that he reciprocated. But it just wouldn't work, not for two people like them. Not when he was at risk all the time, continuing to fight continuously after Ana begged him not to. Not when he was away so often, disappearing at the most random times only to return with absolutely no explanation whatsoever. Not to mention the heartbreak of Asher picking up and leaving would be far too much to bare, she couldn't afford to be dropped for nothing by someone she truly cared about. And she did care about him, more than she's ever cared about another human being in a long while. Though it wasn't something she could admit to herself, it might not have been something she even wanted to admit to herself. "Get out." she spat coldly, backing up considerably from the male before gesturing towards the door. "I said get out..." Her voice was softer this time around, though she knew that this would be what was best. Him staying would only result in her confessing her own feelings, and setting herself up to be crushed by the boy in front of her. She couldn't afford the emotional damage, not at this time anyway. "I can't –– you can't, we can't." And now she was beginning to stammer, never a good sign when it came to remaining solid in front of others. Anastasia was practically pushing him out the door at this point, heart convulsing as she paled in the face as more seconds passed. "I'm not giving you the power to hurt me, do you understand?" she managed, gasping for a breath of air before finally shoving him out the door and locking it behind him. Face scrunched up in pure defeat, back colliding with the door as she descended towards the floor in a mess of tears and broken sobs.
