บท 6: You Push Me, I Push You

Almost the entire time she'd been talking to him, he'd been staring off into space with a dreamy look on his face.

He'd completely zoned out on her.

'How can you tell me how much you're trying and then do this?' she thought, irritated that he wouldn't even give her his attention.

Camille was beginning to grow more and more frustrated. How could their relationship ever work if he was going to continue being like this? Had she not been clear enough?

"Neil! Neil!" she called, interrupting what she had been saying before.

He gave no response, and instead continued to stare into the void.

Camille crossed her arms and leaned back, watching and waiting for a moment. Maybe, he was just waiting for her to finish.

After a few moments of nothing, she turned to the lion with an annoyed and puzzled look on her face, "Can you believe this guy?"

The lion stood and shook his head before pawing at the bars of his confinement, as if to say, "I can't! Let me at him!"

Camille turned back to Neil, who still was not responding.

"DID YOU HEAR ME?! HELLO?!" Camille yelled, waving her hand and snapping in front of Neil, trying to get his attention.

Neil was yanked out of his memories and into reality almost by her command.

He stared at her with a blank expression, "Sorry, I've learned to tune out your annoying voice. What was it that you said?"

Camille's face was red with fury.

Neil stared down at her, examining her from head to do, scanning every little detail.

Where had the girl that loved him more than anything, the girl that he loved so much, gone?

What happened to the Camille that sat in his car that day, begging him to stay? Why had she turned into the woman before him that lit up when she heard he'd be leaving for weeks at a time?

There had been no woman he was interested in taking as his wife, he didn't want to trap any woman in a loveless marriage, so when his father informed him that an arrangement had been made for him to marry Camille, he agreed immediately.

It had been years since they had spoken last, he had changed a lot, and he was sure she had too, but he knew he enjoyed her company, he knew he loved her.

The thought of her being his wife had brought him nothing but joy.

Even now, though she was always arguing with him, he still loved her.

Why had she agreed though? She seemed to despise him, and he couldn't figure out how to get her to love him again.

"I said, let this lion go! I've really had it up to here with you! This," Camille stood by the cage, a safe distance away, as she motioned to the tight living quarters of the animal, "is animal abuse!"

Neil rolled his eyes, "We've already had this conversation. When will you quit? I've already made my decision. It stays here, and that's final."

"I'll quit when you release him or donate him! This cage is way too small and he's constantly on a hard surface! It's probably cold in there too, and do you even feed him properly?! Did you see how quickly he ate that sandwich? I'm sure some of the ingredients in there aren't good for him either!"

The lion stared at Camille, his eyes watering almost as much as his mouth was.

"He's much safer here though. We have air conditioning, and heating. He gets fed enough, when he should, so he can't overeat or starve, and he doesn't haven't worry about anyone trying to kill him either. Isn't that a great life? Never having to worry about being killed or when you'll get your next meal?"

Camille's face was filled with disgust.

"Is that so? Why don't I find a tiny box for you to stay in too? I don't want to hear any complaints when I lock you in a tiny place and take away all of your freedom of choice. In what world is this a great life?!"

Neil's eyebrows furrowed and the corner of his nose twitched with irritation.

Before he could respond, the lion roared loudly, causing both he and Camille to cover their eyes.

Watching as Camille cowered away from the sudden high volume, and his own anger reaching a crescendo, Neil swiftly turned on his heel and marched angrily toward the cabinet.

Yanking out the long black whip, he turned and glared at the lion.

Suddenly, everything else in the room disappeared, leaving only himself and the animal before him.

It was as if his eyes had locked on to the beast as he marched back over to the cage.

He waltzed right up to the bars, passed the recommended safe distance, and raised his arm.

The lion reached a paw out, about to swipe at him, when 'HWIPISH!!'

Neil whipped the lion's arm, causing it to retreat its confines.

"What are you doing?!" Camille screamed out in horror.

'HWIPISH!!'

He whipped its ribs, causing a stream of blood to trickle down.

"Stop it!" Camille yelled out.

He ignored her and raised his arm again, ready to inflict more damage to the animal.

Camille ran up and grabbed his arm, "Stop! You're hurting him! He's the one that's caged!"

The lion roared aggressively; his ears pinned back as he snarled.

He raised his paw, ready to strike.

Neil grabbed Camille by her hair and tossed her to the side, before jumping back himself as the lion's giant paw barely missed contact with him.

Camille grabbed at her scalp, sore from the sudden pulling of her hair. She was shocked, Neil had never behaved so aggressively towards her before, nor had he ever laid his hands on her.

Growing up, he had always been sweet and caring, and served as her protector for many years. Now that he was an adult, he had changed in many ways, but she had thought that at the very least, she would still be protected by him.

Was every piece of the man she had loved before, truly gone?

She stared up at him, confusion written on her face and tears stinging the backs of her eyes.

She wasn't sure why she wanted to cry. Was it because now she was sure there was absolutely no trace of the man she used to love, left? Was it because she was angry or shocked? Or was it because she was physically hurting?

Neil turned to her, his face red with anger.

"Are you an idiot?! Never get in my way ever again! This lion WILL learn to obey me, and eventually you will too. Do you understand?!"

Tears filled her eyes, causing her vision to become blurry.

"Are you treating me like an animal too now?"

Neil glared at her, with a ferocity she had never seen, before raising his eyebrows and scoffing.

"What, so NOW you think animals and humans should be treated differently? Weren't you all about wanting to put me in a cage too earlier? So, animals should be treated like us, but we shouldn't be treated like them? Are we not equals?"

Camille slowly rose from the ground and dusted herself off before she glared at him, reflecting the same intensity he was giving her.

"What kind of evil person have you turned into? How can I marry someone with such a cruel heart? I don't know if I can become your wife."

Neil's eyes filled with an angered flame as he threw the whip at her.

Camille flinched as the item was thrown her way, staring down at it as it clacked to the floor.

He pointed at the lion, his hand shaking with anger and frustration, "I'm going to tame that thing," his finger then turned towards her, "and I'll tame you too. You should feel lucky that I've been respectful of you. I've been waiting for you to come to me instead of just taking you as my own."

"Excuse me?"

"I could've made you my wife at any point. We've been engaged for over a year already! You seemed hesitant, so I've been kind and respected your wishes on waiting to make a date. That doesn't benefit me at all to wait. You agreed to this marriage, but you don't even actually think about it. If you keep pushing me, I'll start pushing you."

Camille stared at him, completely speechless.

There were so many things she was feeling – fear, confusion, anger, hurt and so many more.

Why could he not see that she was trying to work with him? She was trying to communicate and tell him what she wanted, what would make her happy. He was not being receptive to her at all.

As if their constant arguing, her feeling like a prisoner in this workplace, and the lack of warmth between them wasn't enough, now he was striking her?