Bound

Chapter 51 - Change

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Skylar

"Skylar." I look around, the forest dark on either side. The voice is one that has not left me, haunting my every dream and solidifying itself in this wretched recurring nightmare.

Dmitri.

"Skylar." The voice seems to be all around me, stroking my skin and sending tingles down my body.

I walk towards the cliff, peering into the darkness as I always do.

"Skylar." The sound of my name whispered in my ear makes me jump, nearly sending me over the edge.

I turn around, my back to the cliff as I face the forest before me.

A hooded black figure emerges from the darkness, his face shrouded in shadow.

He holds his hand out, beckoning me to take it as a snake appears between his feet.

The snakes on my wrists awaken, and the orange glow of lava can be seen just under the surface as the skin cracks. It doesn't hurt. The power I can feel just below is almost tangible as I hold my wrists up to take a closer look.

The hooded figure steps forward, the snake hissing in my direction as he does. His hand is outstretched, palm up. As I step towards him, a breeze ruffles my hair and passes over my skin, carrying with it the voice of the woman who has similarly become a firm fixture in this dream. A familiar voice I can't place.

"Skylar, don't. You can't trust him."

The palm of the hooded figure curls into a fist, which drops to his side. He lifts his other hand, which holds the wooden handle of a whip. Unlike any whip I have ever seen. It is thin, glowing orange, with black smoke whipping off it. With the blink of an eye, he flicks his hand as I watch in slow motion, the whip dancing in the air before it wraps itself around my arms and midsection. The pain is excruciating, causing my legs to buckle as I fall to the ground on my side.

I am incapacitated, unable to move, even to scream out in pain. My eyes dart around, landing on the hooded figure as he moves towards me, towering over my powerless form.

Just before I black out, small tingles break through the pain as Dmitri's voice echoes around us.

"Skylar. You left me."

Tears fall from my eyes as darkness consumes me, mind, body, and soul.

I become aware of hard shaking followed by pain before the familiar voice of Chris breaks through the fog of my sleep.

"Skylar, wake up," he says as his hands continue shaking my shoulders. I hold back a grimace.

"I'm awake, I'm awake," I say, opening my eyes to find Chris' concerned face looking at me.

"You had another bad dream." The way he says it is almost angry, causing me to pull back as I sit up. He must realize, as his demeanor changes and a small smile appears on his face.

"I'm sorry, Chris. Did I wake you?" My voice is raspy, and I reach over to the side table to take a sip of water.

"It's fine, Skylar. I was awake already. It's five in the morning, so nearly time to get up anyway." Chris stands up from his perch on the side of my bed, moving towards the bedroom door. "Was he in it again?" he asks, his back facing me. There is some anger in his tone.

"He is always in it," I say quietly, not wanting to lie and knowing full well that if I did, Chris would know. He seemed to always know when I was lying.

He leaves the room, not saying another word, closing the door behind him.

A lot had changed in a year. If you had asked me last year this time where I saw myself, living in Chris' mansion five towns over from Willow Falls would definitely not be it.

I pull myself out of bed slowly and enter the bathroom. I halt in my steps as I take in my reflection, the woman staring back at me a shell of my former self.

My eyes are puffy, and shadows are under them, attesting to the countless sleepless and disrupted nights. My hair is dull. The shine and curls have lost their vibrancy and buoyancy.

I remove the long sleeve pajama top and pants, trying not to bend. I edge towards the mirror to examine the latest blue and black bruise just over the ball of my right shoulder. Pushing on it causes a sharp pain to shoot from my shoulder down my arm until it reaches the snake on my wrist, where it is consumed. I turn around and notice another fresh one at the base of my back where my dimples are, all the way to just above my ass cheeks. It is the largest one so far, and bending causes pain to shoot from that spot all the way up both arms to be similarly consumed by my marked wrists. I could feel this one when I got out of bed earlier.

I barely notice the other bruises, all varying in shades from blue to purple to light yellow. Some are days old, others weeks, littered all over my body. The only blessing is that they rarely appear on my hands, feet, and face. I have successfully concealed them from everyone through the clever use of accessories, makeup, and clothing. Keeping them secret from Chris has proved hard with him being so attentive and observant, but even he has not seen the extent of the mysterious damage inflicted upon my body. The rest of my appearance that he can see he has written off to stress and all the change that has happened.

The first couple of times it happened, I consulted a doctor, but after all the questions and suspicions being raised, I eventually stopped seeking medical care or a reason for why it was happening. The doctors were starting to suspect Chris of abusing me when he had taken me there on one or two occasions on the ruse of a check-up. After everything he had done for me, the last thing I needed was to land him in trouble for something that was no fault of his. I also had little desire to burden him more with this ailment, even though he is a warlock who might be able to assist me. I keep telling myself that it will go away.

I open a toiletry bag sitting on the countertop filled with tampons and dig out the hidden prescription pain medication I got from the doctor last month. While most days, the pain is tolerable. Today is proving an exception. And with all that has to be done, I need to be on top form. I chase down two pills with water and then climb into the shower. As the warm water soaks my hair and trickles down my face, I am reminded of exactly how I landed up where I am, that night a year ago, changing everything.

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