Any time I think of her
my jaw locks
and my teeth press
into a viscous snarl
as if I've become some beast

And I would bite
with words I've held tight
sinking teeth into flesh
and getting it where it hurts

Maybe I am a rabid animal
who's too dangerous to trust
but what does that mean when
you're the one who made me this way

He snarls, his lips curling over his teeth. “You’ve pushed away everyone who ever loved you away, and laughed.”

I focused on the dust motes floating between us, willing his words to hurt. Willing for them to sting.

Nothing.

It’s always been nothing.

“It’s a shame I never loved you then, isn’t it?”