Sweet Dreams
“It will hurt as much as I want it to hurt, little girl. Now, be a good girl for Daddy and breathe.”
Be a good girl. Like magic, those words unlocked something inside of her and she blew out the air she’d held trapped in her lungs with a loud whoosh. With her eyes still locked on his, she drew in another shaky breath, and another, until her muscles loosened and she realized the pain had faded, leaving behind only a strange kind of fullness.
“Good girl. I’m going to move now, but I want you to keep breathing for me, baby.”
Breathe. She could do that.