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I knehat I needed, ould slowly banish the nightmare I’d lived froht here, but how could I ask it of him? I’d opened my mouth so ot stuck in s he’d sworn to never do again?

He was a different un He was Derek now, not my master He was thewords in my ear when I couldn’t hold back my tears He was theof me He was the man I loved with every piece of my broken heart, but I needed ether Maybe that er than ain

But I wasn’t strong enough I didn’t open my mouth I didn’t ask him for what I desperately needed I stared at the wall and watched in my mind’s eye as the devil tore the flesh from my body with his whip

Another day passed, and then another I took the pills Derek gave ht me food I let him help me into the shower and I laid in the bed that was like a silken cloud in coht, no, I’d prayed, not so long ago I would die

Maybe I was getting better on rateful the fates had sent Derek to rescue me, but the bitter resentment I’d felt in the first days had deflated It wasn’t an overwhelret that floated in the back ofbetter

Derek was still asleep I could hear the even inhale and exhale of his breathing and felt the steady beat of his heart against my back I slipped from beneath his arm as quietly as I could and stood up My ribs still screaain Better—I was getting better

When his breathing remained even, I tiptoed into the bathroom and closed the door quietly behind me I would shoithout his insistence and without his help, because I was getting better

I let the unbuttoned shirt I wore slip off my shoulders and turned on the faucet Before I could step in though, I caught sight of my reflection in a broken shard of mirror that hadn’t smashed to the floor with the rest of its pieces It was a small shard, smaller than half the size of my hand, but the unfamiliar person it reflected back atI saw there would make me feel better, but I needed to look

I pried the shard loose, forgetting about its sharp edges until a thin rivulet of blood dripped down the glass It wasn’t a sight that shocked me anymore I’d seen more of my blood drip from my body than any person should ever see in a lifetime A fewfrom the source was little more than a tickle I wiped the blood aith a cloth and held up the shard in front of my face

Only, it wasn’t my face Not the one I re had faded to hideous shades of green and yellow, like a poorly applied caainst the stone floor relentlessly—rese froes where the skin had begun to heal The green eyes that stared back at me weren’t my own They were dull, al there