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He sighs, picks the cup up, tipping the pills out into his hand.

Violet! Run!

My mother’s words scream for me to go, forever haunting me.

I stand from my seat, and Marcus lunges, grabbing me by the throat and walking me backwards until my back slams against the wall.

“Marc! What’s going on?” Daphne yells from her seat.

I pinch my lips shut, biting them down with my teeth as he pulls at them with his thick fingers. My teeth are cutting and scraping as he pulls them out centimeter by centimeter. I clench my teeth, and he shoves his finger into the back of my cheek like a vet giving the horse medicine he feels is poison.

Only here, this is most likely poison.

He shoves his finger back until I gag, and he slips the pills in that window, covering my mouth and pinching my nose.

“Swallow.” He commands, and I shake my head. “Swallow or suffocate!”

“Marc, stop!” Daphne cries out.

My eyes water, my body already crying for air. I try to shake my head free, but his hold is too strong.

I grab his forearm, digging my nails down, scratching him until he’s bleeding.

“Marc, stop!” Daphne grabs his shoulders, and he pushes her back.

My lungs are burning.

I hit and hit and hit.

I could do it; I could let him suffocate me.

But I’m not ready to give up yet.

I swallow the pills; he releases me, and I heave in the air I’ve never been so desperate for.

And I wait…

Marcus took Daphne upstairs for a while, leaving me to sit in the kitchen under strict supervision to make sure I didn’t throw up the pills. After a couple of hours had passed, Daphne asked to see me. So, we set ourselves up on the couch to take comfort in the fire.

Gently rubbing my hand over my belly, I try to soothe the crippling anxiety I’ve had since those pills went down my throat. I didn’t get a good enough look at the pills to guess what they are. I started getting some mild cramping an hour ago; maybe if I calm down, they’ll stop.

“I’ve been so lonely… I’m sorry to say this, but it’s nice having you here.” She says, closing her eyes as the heat kisses her skin.

“It’s okay to feel that way.” I take a sip of my tea, staring into the flames.

“It’s almost comical. The person I was jealous of has become my greatest comfort.” She wraps her arms around a pillow in her lap.

“What?”

“Marc took me to meet his parents. They, uh… Asked what he was doing with me. He got mad, we left early, and he explained the whole arrangement. I broke up with him… I said, ‘Your parents are right. What’s the point of this if it’s not going anywhere?’ Well… You know the rest.”

“What did he do to your eyes?”

“After my third escape attempt…” She swallows, burying herself further into the couch cushion. “He tied me down and poured some sort of acid in them. Can’t make it back before getting caught if I can’t see where I’m going… I’m just glad he dabbed enough of it that I didn’t lose my ability to cry.”

“That is good.”

“I don’t think he’s a bad man…” She pauses, sipping from her tea. “I think he’s just scared.”