Poison [[Eren x Reader]]

Chapter 43

it's still valentine's day in california, so i wanted to publish this chapter today. happy valentine's day <33

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As I sit on my knees on the carpet, I reach for the roll of parcel tape a few inches away from me before digging my fingernail underneath the edge. "Are you sure you don't need help with that?" Eren softly asks as he sits next to me on the carpet.

I pull the piece to detach it from the roll as I place it on one side of a cardboard box. "Yeah, I'm fine," I mutter in a monotone voice while pulling the parcel tape over the open lid until it reaches the opposite end. I rip off the piece before sliding my hand over the tape to smooth it onto the cardboard, making sure that the box stays closed.

My eyes stay fixated on the box on the floor before grabbing a sharpie resting on the carpet, popping the cap off with my thumb as I bend downward. "You don't need to be like that, y'know?" Eren sighs as he watches me write my name across the tape, signifying the last of my belongings that are packed away in the box, excluding my furniture and clothes.

"You don't need to be like that, y'know?" I repeat his words in a mocking tone, mimicking his voice by lowering it a few octaves. I reach for the sharpie cap on the carpet while groaning, frustrated that I have to deal with this in the first place before placing it on the open ink tip and snapping it closed.

It's obvious that Eren's still staring at me as I toss the marker onto the box and shift my body weight to completely rest on my calves. "C'mon, don't do this," Eren quietens his voice as he extends his arm out and I feel the heat from his palm as he places his hand on top of mine. As much as I love him, his voice is annoying me. "This is for you."

I let out a loud groan, angry with the fact that after I poured my heart out to Eren about wanting to stay here because of him, he completely rejected the idea. That was about two weeks ago and even though we still spend a lot of time together, I've been irritated with him ever since. "Are you serious?" I ask while keeping my eyes glued on the letters of my name written across the box, yanking my hand away from his to rest on my lap, "you turned down my idea of us staying together two weeks ago. Do you not wanna be with me?"

"What?" Eren asks, taken aback by my question, "how many times do I have to go over this?' He lifts his arm up once again and I feel his fingers on my chin, gently pulling my head toward him as I quickly shut my eyes to avoid looking at him. "Of course I don't want you to leave, I wanna be with you."

The corners of my lips are tugging into a frown as I listen to the reassurances roll off of his tongue. "Then, why do you want me to leave so badly?' I ask while my voice weakens. I finally decided that I didn't want to leave because I want to be with Eren, but he's the one who's making sure that I don't give up on the life that I've wanted forever.

My eyes flutter open to look at his teal irises, the ones I fell in love with and soon won't be able to look at. "I don't want you to leave, but I'm not gonna hold you hostage here either. Don't give up an education for me. You have a life to live and I'm not going to be the reason you stay here. I love you way too much to see you ruin your future like that."

I let a sigh escape my mouth once again as I say, "but I'm not–"

"I don't want to hear it," Eren interrupts while furrowing his brows, "how long are we going to argue about this? It's been two weeks and you haven't been able to hold a conversation without snapping at me every five seconds."

I ignore him while tugging my head away from his grasp until his fingers release from my skin, placing one hand on the carpet to push myself up. As I stand up, I walk over to the mirror to examine my outfit, making sure that it's appropriate for my plans later. My fingers dig under the waistband of my shirt, lifting it up and looking at my black swimsuit underneath my clothes.