Ephemeral

Code White

I felt the swift attack from Rafael's strong backhand.

It was another failed escape attempt, but I was being able to anticipate his moves better. Soon enough I would be able to escape that door and run out towards freedom. I don't think it would take me much longer at all, and even if my muscles were aching, I would still persist with each and every try to the best of my abilities.

I wouldn't let Rafael win.

I fell to the ground harshly, from his hit. I felt the brunt impact of my forearms meeting contact with the concrete, as well as my left knee as I had been turned to the side from how hard he struck me. I began to breathe out heavily at the searing pain coming from those spots on my body – the burning pulsing that I was trying to ignore as the seconds ticked on –

I was getting better but he wasn't holding back at all.

"Why do you insist on testing my patience, baby?" Rafael asked, his voice becoming louder and was accompanied by his footsteps.

I could tell that he was mocking me, and I wasn't able to hold back the resentment that was growing inside of me towards him. I breathed out slowly, looking up at the man that was now towering above me. It was constant day to day basis that I was beginning to forget how to react normally to things. I found my sanity slowly cracking – a faint laugh escaped my lips.

"What is so funny?" Rafael tilted his head to the side...he had heard it.

I laughed some more, unsure of what was so funny myself, especially since mere seconds ago I was in being burned alive in my own anger.

It wouldn't have been the first time that I had lost my grip on sanity...I was sure that the last time that I had it would have been my last. Aidan, of course, was the cause of how I lost it all those times ago, and I was surprised that I hadn't heard that annoying internal voice that told me the obvious, regardless of how I truly felt. Here I was...choosing to return home and have some semblance of a normal life only for it all to backfire.

It was apparent to me now that a normal life was never in the cards for me.

Aidan was right about another thing once again...

"You..." I trailed out, spitting out a wad of blood out of my mouth from when he had hit me.

I didn't have the strength or the energy to fight back – I didn't have nearly enough food to keep up any sort of muscle mass, and I hadn't been training to take on a man that could easily take me down with just a slap. The best I could do with where I was at currently, is to build-up my muscle by our altercations and train that way...

Even that was funny in itself.

"Me...?" Rafael inferred, keeping the conversation going.

I was silent and spit out another wad of blood that I had accumulated inside of my mouth with my tongue.

I knew what was coming next – usually he hit me and then grabbed me by my hair. It made me begin to hate the length of it since it was so easy to do so. His fingers dug into my scalp and he was lifting me up, just as I predicted. To reduce the amount of pain I received, I was forced to push myself up on my knees and looked up at him.

"What about me is funny, Arianna?" Rafael asked stoically.

I laughed again and smiled at him – "You-!" I spoke as I took in a shaky breath. "You aren't going to win...!"

Rafael's eyes narrowed at my answer and brought my head up closer to him. I stared directly in his eyes, challenging him to a fight I wasn't sure I was going to come out unscathed from. It wasn't as if I could back down now that I proved I still had my fighting spirit – something he would never be able to break, no matter what he did to me.