"What are you doing here?" I fling back automatically, keeping myself away from him.

"Relax, Kira." His breath smells like a strong liquor as he says this.

He's drunk.

I stride back toward the couch, my eyes stuck on his. He's staring at me intensely, and I shudder at his presence alone.

"Why are you here?" I flap.

"You look great," Jeremy says in a normal tone of voice, my question ignored. "Going somewhere?"

The nerve of this guy!

"Are you meeting your boyfriend?" he adds.

"It's none of your business!" I retort wryly, failing to hold my anger.

He frowns, his eyeballs rotating as though he's trying to remember something.

What is he up to? I steady myself, still holding my cell phone tightly as a reminder of the call I was about to make.

"Oh, I forgot! You've left him in Miami, right?" he asks with a faint smile. Seeing my calm reaction to his theory, he quickly wipes off his delight. "No way! Don't tell me he's in L.A for you." He glares at me briskly, his eyes darkening with anger and contempt.

My heart pounds fast but I stay focused, fully aware that I'm truly in danger with this bastard around me, and alone. I have to throw him out or leave; we can't coexist.

"I was heading out and you're running me late, Jeremy." I pretend to feel no fear by holding my stance confidently, head held high. "First of all, how did you find my address?" I grip my phone steadfastly.

Should I call the police just in case?

"I don't know why I'm here," Jeremy replies carelessly, shrugging his shoulders.

I frown.

Sighing, he glances at me fleetingly and shifts his eyes towards my bedroom, as though he's trying to see if I'm alone.

I feel wary.

"I was somewhere having a drink, and you somehow popped in my head, Kira. I mean . . . Who am I kidding? You're forever in my head like the damn disease in the brain," he says with a tiny laugh.

As he keeps himself busy with the inspection of my apartment, while blurting his nonsense, I take a peek on my phone. Liam's number is still on the screen, a single tap and I can make a call, but Jeremy's attention returns to me at the same time.

I hide the phone behind.

"I think I needed to see you badly today," Jeremy utters softly, his face somehow calm and dejected. Almost tender and harmless.

But no! I shouldn't be swayed with any fake emotion he may exude artfully. He's a bastard—that's all.

"So, are you going on a date with him or something? The blue eyes, I mean," Jeremy inquires after drinking in the sight of me from head to toe.

"I think it's very rude of you to come to someone's house without any notice, don't you think? We don't have any sort of a relationship so I want you to leave, Jeremy." My composure weavers as anger stirs me little by little.

"Oh? I'm sorry about that." He raises his hands up in the air. "It's not my intention to scare you, Kira, because I only came here to talk. I mean it. Do you have issues receiving friends to your house? We used to be friends, right?"

Friends? This guy is clearly sick in the head.

He sighs heavily and strides around my small foyer, taking no long distance from the door. He looks thoughtful, and almost troubled about something. His hair looks messy, and his clothes are not so clean despite being full black.

What's his deal?

Despite everything, he's still a threat to me. With utmost discretion I manage to dial Liam's number and place the phone on the sofa. I inhale softly, hoping he will pick my call on time instead of returning it later.

I just want him to understand what's happening right now.

A nerve-wracking silence fills the room, both Jeremy and I staring at one another. My breath hitches more violently, my brain busy trying to decipher his next move and whatever's on his mind. I have to throw him out but I can't be aggressive, or else he'll find a reason to attack.

I've been here before so I'll handle him the way I see fit. He's a maniac!

"Why not me?" he asks suddenly, his tone of voice calmer than ever before.

"What?" I squint my eyes, confused.

He moves closer and I take a step back, but my eyes don't leave his for even a heartbeat.

"I liked you a lot, Kira. I still do. I tried everything to have you but why didn't you give me the chance? And yet you accepted the guy you've just met in what . . . a week?" He moves again, his gaze distasteful at his last remark.

"Stay right there!" I yell. Automatically he stops in his tracks, eyes shocked. "You move one step closer, I'm gonna scream and have you arrested in no time."

He sighs softly, and for some reason I feel like he's not implying any violence by coming here today as he slowly takes a few steps back. What's happening to him? Did he really come here to talk to me? To have me listen? No, I shouldn't trust him!

He's a crazy rapist, Kira!

"So, tell me, what is it he has that I don't have? Does he fuck you well more than I would?" Jeremy continues, and that is enough to make me lose any sort of consideration I was about to give him in a fleeting moment.

I huff an incredulous laugh. And yes, he does fuck me so damn well.

"What does he give you, huh? I'll give you twice, Kira," he asks desperately, his eyes filled with something overwhelming.

"Do you actually think I give a damn of what you have or don't have, Jeremy?" I ask him, irritated. "I just want—"

"Is it because he is older and rich? I am rich, too, Kira. I can give you everything you want, I swear." Jeremy interrupts, and I really don't understand how his head works at this point.

I think he's so sick in the head.

"You're seriously asking why not you? Really, Jeremy? After everything you did to me?" I'm perplexed at the memory of our most unpleasant encounter back then.

Jeremy takes a deep breath while changing his stance. He holds his waist, looking at ease. "I just needed the chance," he says coolly.

"And since you couldn't get it, you decided to grab it forcefully, right?" I snap.

"Kira, I did what I did because I loved you," Jeremy states in a small, pained voice. "But you kept pushing me away like a nobody! Do you know how it feels like when someone you see in your head and dreams every single day refuses to even want to see your fucking face? Do you have any idea how painful it is knowing she's the only one who can make you feel alive and yet she wants nothing to do with you?" His eyes are bathed in angry tears, his voice painful.

"And so it's my fault now?" I sprint closer to him and halt. "You tried to rape me, you bastard! No, you did it, and you were going to hurt me brutally if I didn't stop you that night! You destroyed my dignity, Jeremy, and you had me confined in that nightmare two years!" Tears of anger and repressed pain spill down from the memory, and it makes me want to stab him repeatedly on his chest. "And you're here singing that you loved me? Fuck, you can't love anyone! You're selfish and heartless!"

Eyes pooled with tears, he quickly runs a hand over his face. He sighs heavily, seemingly regretful and pained. And then he moves while saying, "Kira, I didn't—"

"Don't you dare come near me!" I thunder and he stops. "Do you know what your problem is? You think women are trophies. The more you have them, the more accomplished you feel. The only thing you wanted was to add me to your list, right?"

His gaze falters and his lips part in bemusement. "What do you mean by 'adding you to my list'?"

"You know exactly what I mean!" I snap. Fuck, I hate the fact that I once had a crush on him—or loved him even—but I was always disappointed by him. "You can have all the girls you want, but why are you so obsessed with me, huh? Why can't you leave me alone, for God's sake?" I shout.

For the first time I see remorse in his eyes, and more tears stream down his face. He quickly wipes them off and sniffs. Is he faking everything?

"I don't know why I can't ever forget you." He shrugs, and he seriously looks unsure. "I wanted to be good, I swear. If only you just gave me the chance, I would've dropped all the other girls for you, Kira. I was ready to be the man you wanted me to be. But what did you do? You just mocked my feelings! You only thought of how terrible I was and how too good you were to be with someone like me!"

"That's a lie!" I shout.

I never regarded myself too good as he claims. I simply couldn't stand his personality and behavior in general. Is it a crime to want the best for yourself?

"It's not my fault that I couldn't accept you and all the fucked up stunts you pulled," I answer confidently. "You didn't expect me to put up with your stinky reputation and become one of your many conquests, did you? Well, I'm sorry if you are what you are, but don't put the blame on me for your own issues."

I know behind the playboy he was there was a good-hearted man. He was great when he played with kids, teaching them swimming techniques during my classes. Oh yes, he was a good looking lad with long hair and striking gray eyes. But I need more for a man.

"So, I wasn't worthy enough to even get a single chance? I would've given you anything you wanted, Kira. I'd have taken you places you've never been before. I would have—"

"You know what?" I interrupt, tired of dancing his tunes. "Maybe you should start by growing up and face reality, instead of playing the rich boy who hides behind his big family name and money."

His jaw ticks and suddenly he snaps, "Don't you ever say I'm hiding behind my family name! You-know-nothing-about-my-life!" He lunges fast to where I am, seemingly mad and out of control.

I don't realize how or when, but he manages to grab me.

"Let me go!" I yell and kick his groin as hard as I can.

Fluidly, he frees me.

"Damn you!" he groans in pain, and dangerously his eyes return to me.

Damn him! I scan around and immediately I grab the wine bottle from the table. Bolder than the older version of me, I smash the bottle mercilessly. The red liquid splatters down, and several glass shards clink on the floor. I hold the sharp weapon in my hand firmly.

Shock crosses Jeremy's eyes and his shoulders fall. "Until the end you're treating me like a monster," he mutters, seemingly wounded by my stout reaction.

I step aside, panting. "Because you're acting like one! Now get out of my house before I kill you! You know I do just everything to protect myself, right? That scar on your face will be nothing compared to how I may stab this bottle in your stomach without thinking twice."

Eyeing me so gently, as if I'm accusing him of something he's incapable of doing, he swallows tightly until his Adam's apple bob. I don't care. I just want him gone from my house and my life.

"I thought maybe you'd listen," he says quietly. I narrow my eyes in a confused manner. "Well, if this is the last time we're going to meet, I want to say that I'm truly sorry for what I did back then."

"You're sorry? You?" I stifle a laugh.

How can I believe someone like him?

"Maybe I'm being punished for that," he utters with a bitter laugh, and something tells me that he's being sincere for once in his life.

Is he, though?

"I hope you can forgive me, Kira. I truly do because—"

Siren wails from a distance, cutting him off.

I inhale sharply as the sounds overfills our silent air, and Jeremy's eyes widen.

"Did you call the police?" he asks in a deadpan voice.

Reflexively I glance at the phone on the couch, and he catches on immediately.

"Fuck you!" In a nanosecond he hurls toward me and grabs my hand, twisting it mercilessly until I drop the bottle.

"Jeremy!" I cry in pain as he drags me away, forcefully.

"You betrayed me! I only wanted to talk to you but you called the fucking police! For what, Kira? To say that I wanted to rape you? That I came to do it again?" he yells, and I feel everything moving too fast to even retaliate.

"Jeremy, I didn't call the police! Stop this, you're hurting me!" I cry.

"Shut up! Shut up!" He blocks my mouth and drags toward the wall, where he pushes me harder to face it.

I'm gasping fearfully when I feel the broken bottle pointed at my stomach.

"Jeremy, don't—" I swallow hard. "Please don't do anything stupid. The cops are here anyway so leave as soon as you can," I utter between my hard breaths, hoping to get through his head.

"Shut up, Kira! I'm tired of trying to make you understand me! Now listen, if you make any foul move, if you scream even a bit, I'm going to slit your little tummy, you hear?" he warns.

I try to budge but can't move a muscle as I'm stuck to the wall, with him behind me in the most compromising way. I feel powerless, but I know I'm not. I can get away from him.

"What are you going to do to me?" I ask him, my voice hardly audible. "In any minute they'll break that door and you won't be able to leave. What good will that do to you, huh?"

He laughs cynically. "You think I care, Kira? My life is already over so I give no damn on what those imbeciles can do! You are coming with me!"

Panic strikes inside me. The sirens are louder now, probably wailing from just outside the building, as Jeremy pulls me back with a strangle on my neck and the bottle on my stomach. I stagger through with his steps until we reach the window, where he peeks outside.

"Fuck!" he groans, and I don't need to see to understand that the police are truly here.

While thinking of a way to throw this unhinged man off of me, I say, "You can just let me go and I'll pretend none of this happened, Jeremy. I'll tell them that you've left and—"

"Shut up!" I feel him getting tenser and he starts shaking with anger. "You think you're so smart, huh?" He laughs and sniffs my hair like a mad dog, jerking me harder against him.

"Son of a bitch! You can't do anything other than taking advantage of the weak, can you? No wonder your brother is considered better than you!" I blurt out.

"I said shut up, you bitch!" He pulls my hair roughly.

My scalps flame. I whimper painfully, and it lightens my brain as I raise my foot and step on his. The sharp heel dents through his sneakers and my head knocks his jaw as hard as it can.

"Argh!" he growls loudly, setting me free at once.

"Fuck you, bastard!" I pivot back and knee-kick his balls. As he falls down I run toward the door while panting heavily, adrenaline shooting in my blood like a shrill of cocaine.

But I feel my balance disturbed when Jeremy pulls the doormat. I fall down heavily on the floor, brutally hitting my hip.

"Let go of me!" I throw him random kicks as he grabs my ankle.

"You're coming with me!" He starts dragging me back like a sack, filling my body with agony.

"And you think it's gonna work?" I seethe in pain. As my weight mops the floor I see the same wine bottleneck he was holding earlier. I grab it. "No! Because I'm going to kill you!" I fling my body like a piece of paper and strike the bottle at him.

I slash something, his neck probably, or whatever it is.

"Ah!" Jeremy grunts and I'm free again. "Bitch!" He's about to bolt up as I crawl again towards the door and grab the handle quickly.

Flinging it open, I bump body to body with someone and I fall straight into his arms. From the back of my head I feel something heavy hitting me.

I yowl a loud moan and my eyes meet Liam's.

"You bastard!" is the only thing I hear, followed by a heavy punch, and a big fall of a person from behind me.