|22

ARIA AKA RED

ONE WEEK LATER...

As I sit on the recliner that Artemis would occupy when he would watch me as I slept, I stare at the blank wall as I try to shuffle through the emotions that have me feeling sick to my stomach.

I'm tired, too afraid to close my eyes in case I find myself standing in the middle of the living room of that forsaken house again.

I've lost count of how many showers I have taken, scrubbing my skin raw because the filth, stench, and memories won't wash away from my body.

Is this how I'm going to live out the rest of my days?

If it is, I don't want any part of it...

Artemis has been coming and leaving at all hours of the morning. It's been three days since I last saw him, and he left without a goodbye or an explanation. I thought after I expressed what I wanted from him, opening up about how I felt about him, he would have sat at my bedside until the wounds I bear on my skin healed.

But he didn't and it makes my heart ache for something that I never had in t