Page 20 of Date Night

Instead of just leaving her there on the ground, I pull the quilt off the bed, the same one she sleeps with every night, and drape it over her body. It should be a sin to cover those breast up, but I don't want her to be cold.

"Until I see you again, my bright star." I whisper before slowly walking backward out of the room and out the backdoor, leaving her to her sweet dreams tonight.

Chapter 9

Starla

I'm warm.

That's the first thing I feel before the hard reality of what actually happened screams through my head.

The sound of the footstep behind me. The plastic over my face.

The hard wood presses against my back, and for a second, I don’t move, don’t even breathe. My head feels heavy, like I’ve been drugged, like I’ve been drowning in some nightmare I can’t shake.

My quilt is draped over me, tucked around my body like someone put me to bed—only I’m not in bed. I’m on the damn ground.

A sick feeling slithers through my stomach. I try to sit up, but my limbs feel sluggish, disconnected from me. My mind scrambles for answers, for some kind of explanation that won’t make me fall apart.

Maybe I passed out. Maybe I was sleepwalking. Maybe?—

No.

I remember something. A presence. A shadow in the dark. Hands?—

No. I imagined that. I have to have imagined that.

I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing myself to breathe, forcing myself to push down the fear clawing its way up my throat.

Then I pull back the quilt.

And I see it.

The word Mine is scrawled across my skin.

Big. Red. Angry.

Over and over again, the letters stretch across my arms, my chest, my stomach. Like a brand. Like a warning.

My breath catches. My whole body goes cold, then hot, then cold again. My fingers shake as I touch the marks, expecting pain, expecting cuts, but there’s nothing but the waxy feel of lipstick. Just the stain of something that shouldn’t be there.

No, no, no, no.

I scramble to my feet, nearly stumbling, my knees weak beneath me. My heart is slamming so hard against my ribs I can feel it in my throat.

This isn’t real. This can’t be real.

I force myself forward, step by trembling step, until I reach the mirror.

And there I am.

Covered. Marked.

Possessed.

A strangled sob tears from my throat, my hands flying up to my mouth to stop the sound. Tears burn at the edges of my vision, blurring the nightmare staring back at me.

Someone was here. Someone did this to me.

---