I've Got Thick Skin And An Elastic Heart Novels & Stories

“I can’t… all I’ve gone through… all… everything… to… be here… like… this… to die… like… this…” The words caught in my throat. My voice cracked, thin and fragile, barely carrying through the dense forest air. My chest heaved violently, each breath stabbing like knives in my ribs. My heartbeat was irregular now... slipping, stuttering, a cruel rhythm that threatened to stop at any second. Burning veins stretched under my skin, fire crawling up and down my limbs, from fingertips to shoulders, from toes to thighs. Paralysis crept slowly, insidious, testing me.

My skin felt hot, and I felt like I was turning red by the second. Like a caged bird yearning for escape, my heart pounded against my ribs as I sped through the sea of people. My throat tightened as I resisted the bile that was rising in my stomach, and I breathed in short gasps. With every hurried step, my elegant heels dug into my skin, but I didn't mind. All I had to do was leave.

Skin on skin. I stagger back, bile rising in my throat. I don’t wait to see more. I turn and disappear into the shadows, heart hammering, mind spinning. Today is just not my lucky day. What the hell is going on?

My throat is burning, my skin is stinging, and my whole body is paining from the ruff manhandling. But physical pain is nothing. It's nothing but only a cherry on top of what I am going through. My heart, my soul, is still stuck on the second floor of that hall, in that conversation ..

H‌is finger‌s gra⁠zed my skin, and the con‍tact felt like an electric shock. “Your​ heart is beating so fast​ I can see​ i‍t in‌ your thr‌oat,” he wh‌ispered​. “You can hide und‌er t‌he‍ suit, but you can't h‌i​de from m‍e. I've had eight year‍s to lear​n all you​r te‌lls.”

Elleanna’s voice carried into the front as she sang and baked “…Now I’m a warrior…Now I’ve got thicker skin…I’m a warrior….I’m stronger than I’ver been..And my armor, is made of steel, you can’t get in…I’m a warrior…and you can never hurt me again….Out of the ashes, burnin’ like fire….you can save your apologies…you’re nothing,but a liar…I’ve got shame, I’ve got scars…that I will never show…I’m a survivor…In more ways than you know…” She took out the cookies and moved them to cool down then she began baking a homemade carrot cake. “…there’s a part of me that I can’t get back…A little girl grew up too fast…All it took was once, I’ll never be the same….Now I’m taking back my life today…Nothing

I will run far away and always protect myself from here on in. In these months I have built up hardness in my heart and a wall of thick steel that no smooth Carrero charm will ever be able to penetrate. No one will ever get close to hurting me like that again. He will never get a chance. No one will. If he were to walk back into my life, I would run a million miles in the opposite direction.

At last minute, I heard Artemis growl by my side pulling me close and all the whistle silenced. It was then it dawned on me what they were for. I didn’t want to brag but I particularly felt sexy in this. My stomach was bare and the tight hugged on my skin like it was a second layer of the skin. My curves were on the open. I’ve seen myself in the mirror multiple times, I’m what people would likely describe as ‘slim thick.’

“Don’t let her get under your skin.” I wanted to snap. I wanted to tell him he had nothing to worry about, that I could handle a little mean girl. But my body betrayed me. The heat that rose in my chest, the tightness in my stomach, the ache that spread across my collarbone it all screamed that I was far more affected than I wanted to admit.

Like a tiny fire burning steady beneath my skin that won’t go out no matter what. Peace. It’s not just some memory anymore. It’s real. I can feel it sitting under my skin, filling the cracks that used to be there, holding me together. I’m not shrinking tonight. Pearl is still out there, still a storm waiting to crash through my life. But right now, I’m not scared. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. Somehow… I’m ready. Maybe, just maybe, the world doesn’t own me anymore. Maybe I own me.