s k i n s

DOUZE

You wouldn't have known it by looking at it but the house looked broken 

much like the girl sitting in the car

her face streaked with tears and eyes full of words unsaid

would she live or perhaps her broken heart might shatter the rest of her small body 

we put hands together and pray

but what of those who God doesn't answer

where do they lay their hopes 

where do they leave their dreams

•••

the car shut off some time between when my door opened

But I never heard it 

But I felt the rain 

The coolness against my raw skin 

Maybe the only thing I could see or feel 

And that made me want to sob 

To crumble into the crushed rock beneath my feet and allow myself to feel the world and the crying sky 

But arms hold me up and don't let me fall 

They guide me up steps and gently pat the back of my head 

The click of the key in the door sends my vision into focus 

"You're safe." A voice says and a shiver runs down my spine 

I'd heard that line a million times 

Whispered into my skin, in the soft part of my neck 

Into my ear with a hiss 

I would never feel s a f e again

Not when he walks the same earth as me 

Not when we share the same sky and stars

Not when he can touch me and bring me back down the rabbit hope of darkness

No, I'm not safe and with that I'll be watching as he watches me 

•••

"Are you alright?" The woman's voice is soft as she takes my feeble pale hands in here's, gently and softly rubbing them with her thumb. 

"I. . ." 

"Its okay darling, you don't have to answer that." I look up into her face, dark circles under her grey eyes. 

"How far away are we from the city?" 

Her eyes study me for a second, obviously confused on the question. "We're, um, about an hours worth drive." 

I nod at her and her hands slip away from mine. 

I sink deeper into the sofa, just across from a fireplace of dark stone. A top pictures of them in an embrace sit upon it. Smiles line their faces and it almost makes me sick. 

I wonder how long they've been together. 

I wonder how long happiness lasts. 

The only eternity we have on this earth is death.