The pain tearing through my chest was unbearable. It felt like my heart was being crushed slowly and deliberately. And in that moment, something inside me snapped. Whatever fear I had left burned away, replaced by pure hatred.
I moved without thinking. My hand flew to my pocket, closing around the small knife I always carried for protection. Before my mind could catch up, I drove it forward, straight into his chest. “Go to hell, you f*****g devil!” I screamed.
For half a second, I thought—please, let this work. But he didn’t cry out. He didn’t stagger. He didn’t even flinch. Instead, he looked down at the blade, then back at me…A slow, dark smile spread across his face, calm and almost amused, like I’d just brushed dust off his coat.
He wrapped his hand around my wrist, steady a
