Molly can't imagine her mother without the trail of bruises curving around the line of her eyebrow, her lips, her jaw. As layers of makeup would chip away, smeared onto her father's hand, you could see them tracing their way across her skin like fractured constellations.
So when Noah hits her, her first thought isn't run. It's caught somewhere between he loves me enough to hate me and he hates me enough to show it. Even though her cheekbone throbs and her eyes sting, she stays close enough to reach out and touch him. Or, for him to touch her.
His hand is still splayed, an invitation for her to bite back. It's still waiting, ready, for another smooth slap, one fluid, angry motion.
But Molly is not a girl with loud words and a taste for violence. She's a walking apology, so instead of fighting back, she parts her lips, kisses Noah's cheek, and whispers into his skin, "I'm sorry."
YOU ARE READING
Osculation
Romance"As far as I can tell, there are two basic (kissing) rules: 1. Don't bite anything without permission. 2. The human tongue is like wasabi: it's very powerful, and should be used sparingly." In which Anna writes about a lot of people kissing.
