"Cyrus, have you lost your mind?" Rory shouted, voice thick with fury. "Let him down, right now!"
The icy calm that typically resided in her eyes had vanished, replaced by an anger impossible to ignore. The pressure of her grip only grew stronger.
This was the third time I'd seen her lose control.
The first was when I watched my parents die in a car accident, consumed by flames before my eyes.
I had run toward them in blind panic, and Rory had yanked me back with all her strength, shouting frantically, "Cyrus, calm down! If you run forward now, it's a death trap. If anything happens to you, what am I supposed to do?"
She had held me tight, terrified I'd throw myself into the fire.
Over and over, she whispered in my ear, "Cyrus, we will have a new home. You, me… and our baby."
The second time was when I destroyed Jesse, the one who had dared to provoke me.
She had cradled his bleeding body in her arms, shouting at me with raw, wild fury, "Cyrus, you're a damn lunatic! If anything happens to Jesse, I will never forgive you!"
And the third time… was today.
Only the second time she had lost control over another man.
Clear as day, she truly loved him.