Page 36 of Twisted Salvation
“Is she injured?” Naomi asks.
“She has a minor cut on her hand, but I don’t think it needs stitches,” Natalie says.
“Okay. Actually… Dominic, take her into the bathroom—I want her clothes and yours—since you have blood on you as well. Go ahead and get her cleaned up and changed. We will wait right here, and I’ll escort you down. I don’t want anyone touching anything, though. I’d like to make sure no one else was here, and I don’t want the fingerprints to be contaminated.”
“Okay,” Dominic says.
“I’ll grab some clothes and help, if that’s alright,” Matt says.
“Yeah. Just don’t touch their clothes until they change,” Naomi says.
Dominic helps me stand before taking me to the bathroom. I mindlessly follow him, not wanting to be the one to make decisions right now. Matt comes in a few minutes later and shuts the door. Dominic starts by undressing us before Matt takes over cleaning my body while Dominic cleans himself up. Together, they dress me in sweatpants and one of Dominic’s shirts, while Dominic has a simple pair of gray sweatpants and a tight white shirt.
We leave the bathroom, and Dominic scoops me into his arms before I am carried downstairs and out onto the front deck. There are numerous police cars here. Forensics, as well as the coroner, show up within a few seconds of us sitting down. I stay, curled up in Dominic’s lap as he rocks us on the swing. I am facing Matt, but I am still not speaking.
“I really need you to talk to us, Myra,” Matt says gently, squeezing my hands.
“I murdered him,” I whisper.
“No,” Dominic says, suddenly grabbing my face and making me look at him. “You are not a murderer. You defended yourself, Myra. You hear me?”
“Tell us what happened,” Matt urges. I see Naomi standing off to the side, listening. I know I need to talk, to make myself.
“I took a shower. Everything was fine. When I was about to leave the bathroom, I heard the closet open. I got scared because I knew no one should be in there. I didn’t wanna scream because I thought that maybe I would get hurt. My phone was in the bedroom, but my plan was just to get out of the room. The moment I stepped out, he threw me on the bed and covered my mouth. He had a knife… I didn’t want to die… I was able to pull my legs up, and I kicked him off of me. When I rolled off the bed to try to run, I knocked the glass over. He lunged at me, and I just… I didn’t want him to kill me. I just wanted to get away. It happens so fast. I don’t even know why I grabbed the glass. When I stabbed him in the neck,he just froze for a second, and then pulled it out of his neck. I got away and went to the corner.”
“You did great,” Naomi says. “You are not in trouble. He had absolutely no reason to be in this house.”
“What now?” I ask.
“Well, I need you all to go somewhere else for the evening,” she says. “The Roland hotel, preferably. That is where I am staying, and I can better protect you there.”
“The owner is actually a member of Sensoria. I can give him a call,” Matt says.
“How long will we be there?” I ask.
“Honestly?” she asks. “I’d like it if you all stayed there for a while. We need to figure out how he got onto this property and into the house undetected. If he got in, the others could get in.”
“How much danger is she in right now?” Dominic asks.
“Walter and Alvin know a lot of people with a lot of money,” Naomi says carefully. “It’s best that we be extra cautious moving forward.”
“I understand,” Dominic says.
“I’ll let you know when things settle down so you can grab some things,” she says.
Chapter Twelve
Myra
One Week Later
I haven’t left thehotel room all week. I am so scared of someone getting to me again. Dominic and Matt have been working remotely again, and Natalie took time off work. Trish works remotely anyway, so we are all together in the hotel. They go out, though, so I can be alone now and again. Alone, meaning an FBI agent stands outside the hotel door.
I am struggling not to self-harm. When I get too overwhelmed, I’ve gotten good at going to Dominic and telling him I need help. This is where impact play saves me from my urges to make myself bleed. I hate it so much that I can’t stop thinking about it. Luckily, it doesn’t take much to distract me from that hyperfixation. Usually, it’s sensory deprivation first, and then some sort of play with controlled pain. It varies depending on the situation. It could be a massage that feels like he’s trying to rearrange my muscles, or it could be full-on impact play with a whip. Poor Naomi was a bit confused when she overheard the whip last night.
Right now, everyone is leaving me alone. The others went out to dinner so I could breathe for a moment. I felt like I was being suffocated, constantly surrounded by people. There is an FBI agent outside the door, and I am on the couch in the main room of the suite, watching a movie.
I love that everyone respects my peace and allows me to have time alone, and I hate that I get overwhelmed by everyone, but I am still not used to having so many people around me. Leon didn’t let me have friends, and he would never allow me to go anywhere with him, so this is new to me. I love them, though—all of them. I have come to realize over this last week that I have a special bond with all of them.
