Victim

Chapter 17 - I'm alone

Marley's POV

Fire.

Fire was the only thing Marley could describe her blood as.

She felt her blood on fire. She felt it swaying inside of her, her veins carrying lava, her bones made of magma. Every single inch of her body was burning up, her skin felt nothing more than a cocoon, trapping the heat inside of her, suffocating her.

She lay wordlessly on the bed, her body facing the wall. She stared at the long crack, and she wondered what was at the other end of the wall. She breathed heavily, but nothing mattered right now. There were no mends, nothing to fill the broken part inside her now. No stitch in the world could fix the internal damage as it bled and bled and bled until nothing was left.

She curled herself into a ball, fetal position. She wanted to disappear.

Be nothing.

Feel nothing.

She felt so dirty. So goddamn dirty. She was filthy. Every place his hands had grazed, every place he had touched, it felt like they weren't a part of her now. This wasn't her body anymore; she had no control over it.

"Dirty girl, Dirty girl." Her mother's words taunted her. "No one likes dirty, impure girls. You have to stay pure. Wanted. Otherwise, men just use you. They taunt you for your impurity. They call you names: whore, slut, hoe. Your purity is what keeps you wanted. Promise me, Marley. Promise me." And she had.

What had become of her? Why was she so stupid? Why couldn't she defend herself, despite the shot she could've at least defended herself a bit, couldn't she? Why had her mind just shut down, why had she let something so horrible happen to her? She broke her promise.

Why was she so weak?

Why am I such a mess?

It was her fault, once again.

A rough hand shook her shoulder, but she didn't move her body. She didn't want to get up, she didn't want to gaze around the room, be reminded of what had just happened hours ago. She didn't care enough to get up.

The hand shook her shoulder once more gently, and a voice spoke out.

"Marley, get up. I need to get you cleaned." She didn't move, staring at the crack more. The crack calmed her a bit. It was the place her eyes had lingered and the place where she focused on while Master had done what he wanted to her; it was the only thing in the room she had looked at the whole time. It was odd, but it somehow made her feel better.

"Get up, please don't make this harder for you or me." The soft voice spoke, and Marley glanced at the figure from the corner of her eye. She recognized the girl; she was the one who had the most injuries at the place where the man had been burned, her black hair was tied into a ponytail now, revealing more bruises on her temples and neck. Marley's eyes trailed back to the crack.

"Get up, dammit!" The girl's hand grabbed her waist and shoved her off the bed, Marley felt the impact on her chin, and she groaned in pain. She got up, quickly wrapping the blanket around her naked body, the mere action made her exhausted, her legs trembling.

Marley could feel her whole body shaking. She quietly stared at the girl, she would've been mad before all this had happened, but she didn't care at the moment. Perhaps she deserved it for being so weak and cowardly.

The girl's eyes held no remorse for just pushing Marley off the bed, she glanced at Marley with those deep amber eyes. Her eyes had a deep, earthy glow sparkling through. A truly golden shimmer that shined so bright it gleamed from her eyes to the depths of her soul.