Dollbone Altars

"Matryoshka"
A doll that learns to love the hands that crack its porcelain and the hands that mend it.

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Jeremy had me pinned against the shattered remains of an antique mirror, glass teeth biting into his palms as he struggled to keep his breathing even.

"Adorable" Jeremy cooed, pressing the cold barrel of a gun beneath my chin. "You're shaking."

A razor-blade smile. "With rage." Lie. My stomach coiled tight as Jeremy's free hand slid under my shirt counting my ribs like a butcher pricing cuts.

"Liar." The safety clicked off. "Your pulse is begging me to stop."

I forced a laugh, even as my vision blurred at the edges. "Then you're bad at listening."

The gun fired into the ceiling and I flinched, shame burning hotter than the gunpowder scent between them. Jeremy licked the tear from my cheek. "There it is."

{Jeremy x Landon}