Pistorius: I Never Told Reeva I Loved Her

It was another heated exchange in court today as Oscar Pistorius was again cross-examined by prosecutor Gerrie Nel, nicknamed the "bull terrier" for his fierce style. Nel tried to paint Pistorius as controlling—a text from Reeva Steenkamp said he "snapped at her" for chewing gum—selfish, and a negligent gun owner; Pistorius admitted he usually carried his gun with a bullet in the chamber. But the athlete had a chance to respond to some of Nel's more damning statements. A look at what went down today, per the AP and BBC:

• Interpreting a text from Steenkamp that read "I'm scared of u," Pistorius said, "She's scared of the feelings she had for me and the way I brushed her off."
• In response to other messages, he added, "I think she was feeling at the time upset and exaggerated on some of the things that she said."
• Why did the couple never say "I love you" in messages? Nel asked, pointing out that all of their messages only contained the phrase twice, in both instances from Steenkamp to her mother. "I never got the opportunity to tell Reeva I loved her," Pistorius said. "We were in the foundation phase of our relationship—still opening up to each other, still starting to trust each other."
• As to why he told a pal to take the fall for a gun incident at a restaurant, he said he feared the media would print lies, though he added, "I know my finger was not on the trigger ... I don't recall how it went off." (Nel sarcastically described the discharge as a "miracle.")
• The couple apparently fought over the Kendrick Lamar rap song "B****, Don't Kill My Vibe," which Steenkamp didn't want Pistorius to play. She seems to reference it in a text: "You make me happy 90% of the time and I think we are amazing together but I am not some other b**** you may know trying to kill your vibe."

(More Oscar Pistorius stories.)