Page 46 of Come to Head

And again.

Thwap!

I was that teenage girl who was bullied for being different. Fat.

And again.

Thwap!

I was that high-school girl lured to the roof by her teacher and nearly raped.

And again.

Thwap!

I was that same high-school girl in love with a man she could never be with.

And again.

Thwap!

I was that woman who was heartbroken after another break-up from another vanilla man.

And again.

Thwap!

I was that woman who was back on that same god forsaken roof with my predator.

And again.

Thwap!

I was myself just hours ago with a dead mom and a father back from the grave.

And again.

Thwap!

I kept hitting him. His brain matter was now gracing the crystal, but I paid it no mind. He wasn’t moving, wasn’t yelling profanities my way anymore.

I took out decades of buried rage. Of indignation. Of sadness. Ofgrief.

My arm was poised in the air to swing again when cold fingers wrapped around my wrist. I wrenched away and attempted to smack the crystal against the intruder, but another hand stopped me.

“It’s okay. We’re here.”

I was that lost girl again, Oliver’s voice cutting through an episode. I opened my eyes, finding his soft blue; a comforting color.

He had saved me from my own mind all those years ago at that cemetery, just as he was doing so now.

The crystal fell from my crimson fingers.

“Ellie.”

My attention found Maddox behind him. He was a beacon of light piercing through my turmoil.

“It’s okay Ellie. You’re safe now.”

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