[ She flinched at the sound of the vase hitting the wall. Her hands curled in the fabric of her dress. Her ankle shook but she stubbornly made herself stand, letting him yell because she deserved it. She looked up at him again as he paced back. ]
Because, you care. [ Selina practically whispered it, her fingers moving the fabric back and forth between them. She blinked a few times to keep the water from her eyes. She conditioned herself years ago so she couldn't cry. Tears didn't do anything to fix the world. ] You deserved to hear it.
[ Yes, she screwed up, she got that, and she wished he'd stop saying it over and over. Did he think he was going to get another apology if he kept saying it? It was hard enough for her to say it once.
At the remark about Bruce, she balled her hands into fists and grabbed him by the jacket. She pulled him close against her, glaring up at him. She was hurting, angry, breaking and he had to mention Bruce. Didn't he? ]
He wasn't my boyfriend! [ Selina snapped at him, even if her voice was more broken than angry. As much as she wanted to pull away, she knew the floodgates were open and there was no stopping it now. ] I went back for him. I had my chance to run away and leave all of it behind, and instead I went back for him. [ Her fingers curled into his jacket, making sure that he was standing in front of her and hearing all of it. ] I let him in. I trusted him... and an entire city of strangers was more important to him.
Then you have to walk up and promise that you're going to be there when I need you. You have to make me think that maybe you will be. [ She gave him a cynical smile. Even if the edges of it twitched slightly as she held back something that might have been a sob, if she ever cried. ] I don't let people in, because I don't want to end up needing someone more than they'd ever need me. [ Selina swallowed the lump in her throat as everything inside her screamed at her to stop talking and to run away. ] I don't want someone who is going to protect me, I don't even want someone who wants to die for me. I want someone who is going to fight to come back. [ Her voice broke at the last word and she looked away. ] I was scared, so I ran away.
[ Selina pried her shaking hand off his jacket and stepped away from him, walking to the couch that was in the room. Her hands curled around the back of it to hold her up, moving the weight off her injured ankle as she shut her eyes and tried to put everything back in it's place. Even if she was shaking and felt a raw pain inside, Selina wasn't going to let him see how vulnerable she was. She was more afraid to show that than anything else. Vulnerable people were used then tossed aside when they weren't needed anymore. She promised herself ages ago that'd never be her. She wouldn't be around long enough to let that be her. ]