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felt the tears clawing at her eyelids; it was rejection all the same.
"I know you better than you think I do, Chris. You're

running scared. You're afraid you might have to depend on
someone for once-afraid you might have to be responsible for
someone other than yourself. GDd, you're so damned scared!" she
yelled. If she could just get him angry, she could gain the upper
hand and make him vulnerable to her advances. She knew he
would retaliate; after all, he was always a fighter.

His hands dipped into his Levi's to shove the excess
shirttails inside. Tucking his roomkeys in his pocket, Chris
turned to face Caitlin in the darkness of the room.

"Maybe I am scared," he tossed flippantly. "Maybe I am."
Panic sent her floundering for a response. This wasn't
how it was supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to give in-
not Chris. Grasping at straws, she registered the final plea.
"I love you," she whispered against the blackness.
A mocking sliver of light invaded the room and grew
larger as the door crept open.
"Goodnight," Chris sighed tiredly as the door clicked shut
on the enveloping night.

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