Spearmint

14. Julia

July 2018

The day started oddly, Muse had dragged her out of bed to make him breakfast way earlier than normal. After breakfast he made her cut up the pigs' food while he sat at the kitchen table smoking and twirling a cigarette.

"After that I need you to vacuum," he demanded blowing the smoke from his cigarette in her direction. She nodded. "The guys are coming over so we need food."

"What do you want?"

"I'm not sure, surprise us," his voice was dark, it made her skin crawl.

"Do you want a veggie platter or some fruit?"

"What did I say Julia?"

She turned away and focused on the vegetables. "Sorry."

She heard him inhale another puff of his cigarette before he stood from his seat. He walked towards her. When he was in front of her he grabbed her arm and held it firmly in one hand. Her blood ran cold as she watched him take his cigarette in between his thumb and forefinger. He brought the cigarette close to her skin before he pressed it cherry down onto the middle of her forearm. The sensation was painful, it was a slow burning feeling, she could feel her skin melting and changing underneath the cigarette.

He kept her arm in his firm grip for what felt like forever as she bit her lip until she could taste the metallic blood run into her mouth.

She didn't want to give him the satisfaction knowing he was causing her pain. Tears filled her eyes and he watched her skin with a smirk. She wanted to take the knife in her hand and stab it through his chest but she had a feeling he knew she wanted to and he would grab it before she could. He blew the smoke from his lungs in her face before he took the cigarette off her skin, it still had a bit of a cherry. He took the cigarette between his lips and took another puff.

"You are forgiven," he blew the smoke in her face again. He released her arm, he turned on his heel and walked out of the kitchen. She dropped the knife on the cutting board before she turned to the sink and turned on the cold water to full blast. She held her arm under cold water, it hurt against the open wound but it had to be done, she knew Muse wouldn't take her to the hospital if it got infected; He would let her die of gangrene before he took her anywhere.

She allowed the water to flow over her arm until she couldn't feel her arm from the cold. She didn't get a chance to pull her arm out from the stream of water before Muse came into her space and smacked her in her behind. She hissed from the pain while he just laughed.

I want to kill him, she thought.

She pulled her arm out from the water and shook off the excess water in order not to disturb the raw skin. She continued to chop the pigs vegetables and added a few cups of grain from under the sink along with the water. Muse ripped the bucket from her hands when she was done and looked in it.

"You cut the pieces too big, do it again." He pushed the bucket back into her arms, the cold water splashed against Julia's top, the shirt clung to her chest and revealed the outline of her bra. He watched with another cigarette in between his fingers as she pulled out each vegetable and re-cut it. Every once in a while he would stand beside her and lean over her. "Still too big," he would snap.

After re-cutting the vegetables and re-cutting the re-cuts he was pleased and took the bucket to the pigs. When he left she changed her shirt before she pulled out the vacuum and started to clean the living room. He came in soon after and sat on the couch to watch her clean. It made her skin crawl every time he lit a cigarette, it was like he was mocking her with them.

For lunch he was especially picky, he didn't want a big lunch but then when she made him only a couple sandwiches he threw a tantrum and he ended up burning her with another cigarette.