“I hate you,” she said
Those words burned through me like a forest fire.
It was a gunshot right to the heart.
Not even my bulletproof vest could stop it.

Those words were worse than anything I have ever heard, any name I’ve ever been called, and any bone I’ve ever broken.
To be the reason for the pain behind her hatred was the final blow.
It broke me. It peeled back any shell I had as protection.
Killed me.

I understood her pain.
Those words haunt me in my dreams.
Seared my ears on the way in and scarred my heart when they hit.
I just sat there wiping away tears
This can’t be real.

I would give my own heart to fix it. I would give her my life to stop that pain.
I hate me too.
That’s what got me here in the first place.