Chapter 5 Part 4

December 23^rd, 2012

Evening

Sasha

“Give me your hands.” I haven’t met his eye. This is the first he’s said to me since he ordered me in the car. I can’t tell if I’m mad at him for it or if I’m mad at myself for the situation. Could very well be both. I stick out my hands a little too obediently. The faucet runs red with blood, though when he holds them beneath the water, I can hardly tell my hands haven’t stopped shaking. I can almost pretend all is well. Almost. “Who was he?”

I can feel him staring at me. I’m feeling a little too ashamed to look up. I focus on the sting of water in my cuts. I swear I can see a piece of gravel wash out down the drain. I didn’t think I had fallen that hard. I measure the words. “My ex.”

“I didn’t know you had one.”

“It wasn’t anything serious.” The silence is deafening when he turns off the water. Only my palms keep me ancho