: E

en call it that, is nothing more than a thin foam mattress on the damp basement floor. Bl

s absolutely not possible. He is away for meetings in an

alf-moon shining high in the sky tells me it is nowhere near morning yet.

om committed to memory from long hours spent down here. Industrial-sized washers and dryers, the massive laundry folding

p looking for one every time. Unless I count my measly bathroom, which

t it’s quickly vetoed when the panic of being held underwater until I pass out floods over me. Tha

, and the doorknob turning, shattering the abrupt silence, and snapping me back to the matter at hand. Sucki

don’t be him.’ I mentally chanted while listening to the door slowly sw

drifts across the room. The mix of cedar and vanilla filled me with a n

locks it with his personal key, one no one else has a copy of. I know no one will interrupt whatever he has planned for toni

to stand it anymore, I raised my head and squinted through the dark, silent basement, needing to know where he wa

locate him in the dark. I scoot back on my mattress until my back presses against the icy wall, ground

I shouldn’t even need the help of a flashlight to see in the dark, but my heightened senses have been weak at best, and almost

f faded t-shirts, and even more worn-out leggings. Socks with holes, stretched-out bras, and panties. Sever

l, without a doubt, cost me dearly. The aura of unbridled rage that came rippling across the room like a suffocating wave made the choice for me, as it slammed into me with breathtaking

e shelf and clutched it to my chest. Flicking it on, I blinked in the sudden harsh light.

trils, I would truly believe I had dreamed of his arrival. Continuing past the door, I sweep over the shelves full of clean sheets, moving toward the

rom my lungs; the light bouncing violently in my shaking hands as I desperately try to think of a way out. Coming up empty,

But I know better. I can hear the untold threat of his words. I know what it means to have

y can fall. He’s there instantly, jerking me into the air, with my

ss. Unable to see or breathe, I lose all reservations about my actions and I gri

wall behind us and pinning my body with his. Loosening his grip on my throat, just enough to allow me to breathe again, he runs his

d to think about something else. I have a well-built safe place designed for nights like ton

hes. I focus on letting go of it all, but am interrupted before I can, as he sensed I was not mentally present. He drags a

y shirt, and the other pulling back and slapping him as hard as I could. My shocked apologies are cut off as he tightens his grip around my throat, drawing his

long my jaw, nipping sharply at my ear. I shudder, a whimper caught in