"I will not water myself down to make me more digestible for you. You can choke."

Cole's POV

Have you ever gotten to know someone so well that you slowly fall in love with all the pieces of them? You admire her strength, her unwavering determination, and her character. But then there's the little things like how the sunlight hits her face in the morning or how her eyes crinkle when she's trying not to laugh. She may be stubborn as hell, reckless at time, and cocky as fuck, but all that is drowned out. That's the person you get to know. And then, she changes and at times it's hard to recognize that same person.

Thanksgiving break was close as we finally reached the Friday before. I asked her to coffee after school. I arrived first and staked claim on our corner table in the back that had a perfect view of the parking lot through the glass front. I saw the motorcycle pull up followed by the jingle of the bell as she walked in. Her eyes instantly met mine and her lips stretched into a tired smile of relief.

"Thanks," she sighed as she took a long sip from the black coffee I got her.

I nodded, "Of course."

"So, when are you leaving? I'm sure your family is so excited to see you-"

"Sydney," I interrupted her and she looked almost taken aback by my grim tone, "We need to talk."

She composes herself and nods.

I take sip of my drink before looking up to meet her eyes, "I don't even know where to start. But you've changed."

A snort escapes Syd's lips, "No shit. Being ripped away from everyone you love and care about and being forced into being an assassin at the ripe age of sixteen will do that to you."

"No!" I snap and regret it when I see the faintest flinch, "No...you've changed recently. You've forgotten all your morals. Everything you stood for. The big five-"

"The big five have just become the big three. And, with any luck, soon they'll only be bad memories," Syd shoots back, clenching her jaw, "And morals don't mean shit here. We all do whatever it takes to survive."

Irritation boils in my stomach. "Syd this isn't you," I exhale to keep my volume low, "You've never been this cruel. We have standards...well at least I still do."

Her gaze turns from heated anger to ice cold in the blink of an eye. She's pissed. Well tough shit. So am I.

With irritating control over her features, she seethes, "Don't you fucking sit there and act like you're any better than me, Chandra. I've been witness to the many decisions you've made that's screwed someone over. The only thing I have close to a moral code is that I don't screw over the people I care about."

"Those were last resorts," I retort as fire spreads in my veins, "Besides this isn't about me."

She takes another annoyingly long sip of her coffee before turning to look at me again.

"Well since you're some fucking saint now let's talk about all the shit you've done," she challenges with a malicious humor in her eyes, "I'm trying to end this nightmare for me and everyone else at the agency. It just so happens that I'm having a little fun with this."

I blink a few times and glance around the room before saying, "This is fun for you? You're sick. This isn't you. This isn't my Sydney, and if you're gonna keep acting like this I'm done."

She shoots me an incredulous look.

"I shouldn't even validate that with a response. How can you not want to end this and pay a little revenge after everything? You're no better than me, asshole," she throws back the rest of her coffee before standing up, "But you don't have to worry because I'm not yours anymore. We're done."

And with that she storms out