He shook his head before realizing she couldn't see him. "No. I can't do that. Go back to your room, Avice."
Jack was quiet, shuddering slightly as he flopped onto his bed, hating the fear that weighed down on his heart.
Suddenly, she opened the door and entered, shutting it behind her as she sat down on the floor, her arms crossed. "I know you're angry. You don't like this. But, I'm not leaving. I'm sorry."
He had never looked at her quite so angrily before. "First," he said quietly, his voice deadly quiet, "you think I'm cheating on you. You cannot trust me enough to believe that I love you. Instead, you believe that I am taking off my ring so that I can go have relations with someone else." His eyes, normally so warm, were sharp and cold. "Two, when I am practically begging for you to leave so that you can stay safe, you decide that you know better than I do about what is going on with... whatever this is and you ignore me completely." He sat up, looking down at her, choosing his words very precisely. "And now, you are staying in this room, knowing that every second you spend in here gets me more terrified about the possibility of me hurting you unintentionally because of this... thing."
She stood up angrily, her eyes fierce as she went to him, her arms tense as they crossed, leaning in to look directly in the eye. "I have every right to believe you were cheating on me. Do you know how suspicious it is to leave when your partner is sleeping and return with messy hair and a missing ring?" She placed her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow. "You know, this situation reminds me when I tried to break up with you, and I ended up not doing it. When was that? Oh, right. After you *squee!*ing died. I watched from a window as they just tossed you out. I couldn't do a single damn thing about it. I didn't know what was going to happen, especially since that monster was keeping you and I captive. So no, I'm not going to leave, despite what you say. This is.. This barely frightens me after everything that's happens. And you're scared you're going to hurt me? Fine. Be scared. I'm not leaving."
"You don't trust me," he replied quietly, regarding her with a mixture of frustration, anger, and disbelief. "I would never cheat on you. You know that." He stood up, walking around her and heading for the door. "Stay here, then, if you so desire. Be stubborn here. Meanwhile, I'm going to go try to figure out what the hell is going on by myself."
She moved quickly and caught his hand, her voice quieting. "I was paranoid. You have to forgive me.."
She glared at the door angrily before going to his desk and searching through the drawers, eventually finding the letters she had written him. With a frustrated sigh, she flattened the out and set them noticeably on his desk.
Jack went into Natalia's room and slammed the door, locking it behind him. He paused for a moment, looking at the ceiling with his hands on his hips, blinking profusely. He sighed, a sob in his throat, before he went to go sit down on Natalia's cot, covering his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking.
Avice paused, his letters to her catching her eye. She sighed heavily before sitting down, reading them as covered her mouth to remain silent.
