A Taste of Darkness

Chapter 1: Souls Alike

Scarlett

It never stops.

No matter how much I try to push the entire experience back into the deepest part of my brain where it can never be found again, no matter how much I scream to make it disappear, it continues to stubbornly linger. It remains to haunt me in the worst possible way, to watch me cower, to relish in my fear, to amuse itself in my suffering as I long for it all to end. To just stop. But it would never be that generous.

He's still standing here, behind me, watching both of our terrifying reflections in the only mirror I have in my apartment. I don't know why the mirror is still here, why I haven't smashed it to pieces just yet, I didn't want it. All it was, was a place for all of my many demons to be stored in, to hide until that very moment where I would find myself passing the mirror briefly, trying to avoid their taunting screams; but they seemed to hold me in place each time with their imperishable arms, their forceful grip, as I stood there, waiting to be swallowed whole once again.

It was his fault. I didn't know it then, but I knew it now. He stares at my fear-stricken eyes in this very mirror, slowly guiding his hand up my thigh, my hips, my waist- never missing my breasts- all the way up to my neck shamelessly, forcefully, without consent. I never purposely tried to awake fury within him, but somehow, that feeling was always a prevailing element of his persona. He wraps his strong, wide hand around my neck only to start squeezing it with such force that I stand on my tiptoes in order to minimise the pain. He wanted to teach me a lesson, to own me, to make me sweat. To awake fear within me so that I would obey his every word, and he achieved exactly that, so I did. Everything he told me to I did.

Until I didnt.

Squeezing my eyes shut, letting the darkness consume me, I granted myself respite from witnessing his wrath for a few moments, seconds, minutes, until I found the courage to open my eyes once more. He was gone, magically vanished. Swallowed into the four walls of the bathroom currently surrounding me.

He was never really there in the first place.

He never was for the last three years. And I would continue to hope that it would stay that way, forever.

"Scarlett!" a voice shouts, bringing me out of the trance I found myself in. "I'm going for my shift at the club now! If you need me, I'm not here!"

It was obvious to know who's voice that was. It was Elena's, my best friend- also roommate. If we couldn't afford a separate apartment for each of us, we might as well improvise and share one. Plus, it's better this way. We've known each other our whole lives, I don't know where I'd be without her.

An orphanage was where we first met...however, after a couple years, we made the decision to run away from said orphanage, and have been side-by-side ever since. She is the who gave me my initial name as I did not have one upon arriving at the orphanage- or at least it was unknown to the world, with my biological parents keeping it a secret. The truth remains unknown to me, and it seems that at this point, it always will.

Arabelle was what she called me, Arabelle Knight. Though I had no choice but to change it after a certain situation, for the sake of survival.

"Alright, my shift starts in thirty minutes so I'll be down soon!" I shout back to make sure she hears me, I don't know which room she is in after all. "Have fun!" I add, teasing her. She hates this job, we both do.

"You know I'm not gonna have fun, that's just cruel," she jokes. I can almost feel her eyeroll, even though I can't see her.

"See you soon!" I laugh. I might as well dig some humour out of our bottomless hole of misery.