The groaning of the door rouses me from my pained slumber, and I open my eyes. Narrowing them as soon as I catch sight of who walks over the threshold.
"Miss me?" Her lips turn up into a mocking grin. The lipstick on her lips, looking - with every passing day - more and more like the colour of my blood.
"Fuck you!" I hiss with the little energy I have, which isn't much and the words end up coming out croaked, a fraction of the venom I want to spit at her.
Archer glares at her as he tries once again to get out of the bonds, the bruises on his body a multitude of different colours now, ranging from yellow to green to purple.
Bloods seems to permanently coat his jaw, his bottom lips swollen from the split in it that never quite gets the chance to heal.
His eyes find like, the cut on his brow seeming to make him look more dangerous, more volatile.
I shake my head at him, begging him with my eyes not to draw her attention to him, and he listens, even as I see his jaw clenching, the click of his teeth grinding as he stops himself.
Scarlett's grating laughter haunts the air as she stalks closer. "He wouldn't be able to stop me even if he tried." She says, hovering over me.
"At least you're awake this time, should be more fun to hear you rather than him." She flicks her glare towards Archer and removes a knife from her person. Twirling it between her fingers.
She moves towards Archer, grabbing his chin. "Why do you continue to fight me?"
He grunt, blood blooming on his lips as the skin tears and he bares his teeth at her, "I'm going to fucking kill you."
Her nails tighten on his jaw, forcing his head towards her, a pained brown exiting his lips as I watch on helplessly.
"You used to care about me, Archer." She pouts, tightening her fingers and pulling his face close to hers. She brings her lips so close to his, they touch as she whispers. "What happened?"
He jerks out of her hold once more, but her fingers tightens on his chin, his eyes wincing from the pain. "You died."
She sighs, "I guess that does put a damper on things." She stands back up, throwing his head away from her, and it smacks against the wall behind him.
His pained grunt assaults the air and I cringe, running my eyes over him, cataloguing his injuries.
Her eyes turn to me, a new sense of danger lurking in the blue depths.
She advances quickly and the knife plunges into one of the slowly healing wounds. A scream breaks through my clenched teeth, the force so harsh it feels like my teeth will crack at any second.
"Holland!" Archer tries to lunge forward but the ropes pull him back to the ground. "Why the fuck are you doing this?!" He screams.
Scarlett drops the knife as she removes it from my back, and it clatters to the table beside my fingers. They flinch toward it in response, as if reaching for a lifeline.
"I already told you!" Scarlett spins and sneers towards him as she walks to him. Her hand lands softly on his cheek and she strokes it like a lover would as she speaks softly. "She's not good for you, Archer. Why can't you see that?"
"Then leave her alone." He rips his head from her hands.
"You won't understand. I have to destroy him. I have to make this world better." Her voice is choked, determination tingeing the words before her voice dries up. Becoming monotone. "She has to die."
She straightens and takes a deep breath in before smoothing down her clothes, so she once again looks polished and professional.
A scoff escapes my lips at her primping, the force of the action chasing shooting pain to lick along my wounds like a fire.
