Ever so slowly, I lowered my mouth to the lime. As I did so, I felt the brush of her lips on mine.
Just a touch. Just a breath, and it ignited fire in my veins.
And at that moment, I forgot a lot. My heart stopped, my breathing quit, my thoughts cea...
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I tried not to shake under the intensity of his gaze, but my anxiety took over. My whole body trembled – a natural reaction, at this point, to his outbursts.
"A 25 out of 30, Emilia? Do you know how much your bad grades can tarnish our family name?"
How? I wanted to scream. How can a 9-year-old's bad grade harm your precious reputation?
But I stayed silent. I stayed silent as he beat me, as he called me every curse imaginable, as he spat in my face in disgust. I stayed silent as he ripped away every last shred of my dignity, as he tore apart my soul and crucified my sane thoughts.
And only when he was done, when hours passed and all that was left to hit was the broken, bruised and bloodied parts of my body, did he get out his cigarette.
And only then, despite my void of emotion, was I truly scared.
✦✧✦✧
"Hey. Shh, it's okay. Laurent, wake up."
My panicked eyes met calm blue-gray ones as my brain slowly processed that I wasn't in my father's study.
I was safe.
I was safe.
I was safe.
"Are you alright?" Augustus asked as I slowly sat up, rubbing my temples.
No. "I'm fine. Just a bad dream, that's all."
He looked skeptical. "Are you sure?"
"It's fine. Please, drop it."
His face flashed with something I couldn't place – Regret? Remorse? - but he nodded and stood from the bed. I ignored the way his muscles flexed with the movements, ignored the hard lines on his stomach. And fuck – why was he only wearing boxers?
And then memories of last night came rushing back.
The dare. The twenty dollars.
My scars. Him seeing them.
"Are you sure you're alright? C'mon, let's get ready and go have breakfast."
I swallowed, almost confused at the way he glazed over all the events from yesterday. Had he just forgotten them?
By the time we were at breakfast, I was convinced he didn't remember what had happened between us. Otherwise, he would've mentioned something – right?
I grabbed a small fruit bowl after being stared down by Augustus and sat with our group. They talked about how the rest of the night went and the people they met.
