Page 84 of Ethereally Tainted

With a loud thud, the door to the community bathroom slowly opens, wood splinters flying as if someone broke it open. They must have, as I distinctly remember locking the door so nobody could enter.

I keep looking at the reflection of my face in front of me, now a distorted image of what I once was. Precisely like it should be, for I am worth nothing more than shattered pieces.

My two-colored eyes look worse than ever, and I can’t recall the last time I looked more like a living person than a corpse. I guess it was when I took the life of the one who gave me life. A fucking miserable life.

My freckles and face are pale, and I can’t tell if I’m alive or not. I feel nothing and everything at the same time, as if my heart and soul are numb yet not, and I wish I could fade away.

How many heart-wrenching collisions can someone witness before they start to feel their sanity slip away?

The dark circles under my eyes are a clear indication that I haven’t had an ounce of sleep. It has been two days since Rebecca’s death, and I haven’t been able to sleep for a single second. The image of her body hanging from the noose, all blue and purple, has stuck in my brain as if someone took a stapler and forced it into my memory. I don’t want to remember, I just want to forget everything. Those drugs they fed me would be perfect now because I can’t handle the pain.

In all these years, I have kept the façade up, wanting to fight for my freedom because I was strong despite everything.

I am not anymore.

When a hand is placed carefully on my shoulder, my body goes into shock. In the shattered mirror image, my reflection is accompanied by another reflection.His scent doesn’t seem familiar to me at the moment.

“Sorry, little doll. I thought you saw me.”

Instead of turning around to face him, I meet Grey’s sapphire eyes in the reflection. They are not as bright and clear as they were a few days ago, and the dark circles around his eyes are just as pronounced as mine. He casts a worried glance toward the sink, and at this point, I finally take notice and turn my attention toward it, too.

It’s full of crimson red blood from my bleeding knuckles, with glass splinters in them.

“It doesn’t hurt,” I whisper to no one in particular.

The only thing I can think of is my mother’s body, all the cuts in her body I made with a simple knife, driven by madness and revenge. I don’t regret it, but the image haunts me.

And then there is Frederick Grimhill, the master I believed was after me for all these months. He’s been dead all along, and I didn’t even remember that because of the drugs. But now I remember. I recall the sound of the gunshot ringing through the air as it was fired at Frederick, and then Aurora swiftly escaped Grimhill Manor with her new doll master. I remember being on my way to escape Grimhill with Everlee’s hand in mine and how it was ripped out of mine as she was taken away.

Grey’s skin presses lightly against mine as he gently grabs my chin and lifts my gaze upwards, turning me around so I’m face-to-face with him. His gaze is tender and concerned, yet exhausted and drained.

“We need to stitch it up.”

I shake my head, knowing that the pain is a reminder that I’m alive and that this isn’t just a terrible nightmare that I will eventually wake up from, alone in a prison cell.

“I can’t be here anymore. I can’t do this.”

Grey searches for something in my eyes, but I know he won’t see anything. I am an empty shell.

When he kisses me and seizes what he wants from me, his lips are tender and careful, but then frenzied and aggressive.

I let him devour me, feeling the spark of something coming alight with the kiss. He pushes his tongue inside my mouth, making out with me before biting my lips seductively. The wetness pools between my legs, soaking my panties, and I feel ashamed of being horny in this state of my mind, but I never seem to be able to keep it together in his presence.

His hand roams over my body, and a groan escapes the pit of my stomach despite my attempts to smother it.He kisses me hard and ferociously in a punishing and searing act of vengeance for what I did to myself, his tongue sweeps through my mouth, and I have no choice but to surrender to his lips and allow him to take the control he needs over me.

“The taste of you is too goddamn addictive,” he grumbles through a breath, and then he steps away from me, leaving me craving more.

My body whimpers from the loss of contact, wanting to beg him on my knees if that is what it takes, but his eyes are elsewhere.

“Fuck.” I wince in pain as he grabs my wrist with an intense grip, muttering under his breath.

Looking down at my knuckles as he inspects them, I see how deteriorated they are. There are bruises and blood smeared over the hand, giving me the appearance that I’ve cut myself all over. I grit my teeth, my jaw clenching as I try to stifle the suffering of pain that makes my eyes tear up.

There is a long period of time when his eyes stay on my wrist, where the skin is irritated after all the times I have scratched it to calm my anxiety. As he tenderly strokes my skin with his thumb, he draws me close to his chest, surrounding me with his strong arms.

“Aubrey can help clean your wounds,” he mumbles before doing something unexpected. He kisses my forehead, and the emotions inside swirl like a whirlwind.

When we leave the shared bathroom, the mirror is bloodied, but I don’t care. Grey guides me to wing three, where Aubrey has their room before knocking on the door.

---