“You are a worthless bitch.”
The words smacked her harder than any of his previous beatings. He grinned at her pathetic flinch and curled his unshaking fingers into her curly mane. Control. He had every bit of it.
His fingers fervently dug deeper into her scalp one at a time. He laughed. “But, oh you are so much less than a bitch. A bitch is hated and watched and envied at some point or another. No, you are more of a whisper. You are like a little sparrow who died without a sliver of importance. No one bothers to look at you. Or remember you. Or care what happens to you or,” He raised his eyebrow and gave her hair a feral tug, “who happens to you.”
She fixed her gaze above his twisted face, her steely eyes faltering as the tears began to puddle at the bottom of her lids. She would not be weak this time. She would not let him see her be weak.
He basked in her easy defeat. “How long have we been here, my little invalid?” He let out a small gleeful squeak, like a gruesome beast preying on his long awaited victim. “How long?”
Her mouth opened to speak, but only an incoherent slew of pleas came forward. His grip tightened, and her head banged against the unforgiving concrete wall with a crisp smack. He shook his head and smirked. “I did ask you a question, did I not?”
Her silence echoed through the emptiness louder than any of her screams had before.
With a minuscule flick of the wrist, Sol sent her head smashing into the wall once again. “Did I not?” He repeated through snarling teeth.
She finally lowered her gaze to his. “Yes.” She managed in a small shaking whimper. “You did.”
He looked like the man only she seemed to see. The man who was most definitely going to kill her. The man who had consistently abused her, physically and verbally. The man who had cooed for her to pick up her first blade. To inflict pain on herself. And to inflict it on others. Humanized hell. That is what he was and what he would always be.
The panic began to seep in and overwhelm her eerie calm. A scream uprooted from her gut and threw itself into the world with inane power but nonexistent volume. Her tears betrayed her, and the fear shone out to him like a beacon, fueling his fire and urging him on. “And what is it exactly that I asked you?” He cooed with a sick sweetness.
Her breath came out in ragged gasps as did her next words. “You asked how long it has been since,” She took a short pause, every part of her body shaking, “Since you brought me out here.”
He looked at her like a hound drooling over a piece of meat. “And how long has it been?” His question seemed entirely rhetorical, yet he demanded an answer.
She smiled out of utter hopelessness. “Days.” She whispered.
He repeated her words with sadistic excitement. “Days.” His free hand grabbed at her chin and dragged her face mere inches from his. “And how many have given you a thought since this big, scary man dragged you away? How many have noticed? How many cared enough to go looking for you? How many?”
He touched his lips to her wet cheek, not in a sign of affection but in a sign of dominance. “Do you think one single person gives a damn whether you ever come back?” He whispered, every word humming into her cheek and consuming her. “Do you think they would remember the dirty, worthless invalid that sulks about them daily?” He continued relentlessly, entirely unaware of the fresh wetness that spilled from her face onto his. “Don’t think for one little minute that you are special. That you are loved and deserving. Because you are the farthest from it.”
His hand slid into his pocket and retreated back to her face with a familiar object. “Well, I’d be lying if I said you deserved nothing. You do deserve this, don’t you.” He slowly slid the sharp knife from her face down to her palm. “Take what you deserve and give it to yourself.” His hand fell away from her hair, and he took a few steps from her and smiled. “See you around then, my little invalid.” As he began his retreat, he let out a deep bellied laugh. “Or maybe I won’t.” He called back to her, almost entirely invisible in the darkness.
She listened as his footsteps faded into the blackness. She waited until she was positively alone, and when she was, she lifted the knife, twirling it between her unsteady hands. The outcome was predetermined, as it always was. She could run. She could attack. She could walk away. But she never did.
The moon’s light caught on the metal and sent her a warped reflection of herself. The misshapen image seemed to catch her perfectly: disgusting and alone. It showed her all she needed, and solidified her reality.
“Invalid.” She whispered.
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