Page 131 of Empire of Hate (Empire 3)

The violation.

The burning pain.

Sometimes, I think I’m lucky I don’t remember most of it.

I’m lucky I only remember lying on the ground after he’s done and thinking everything’s going to be all right.

I think I saw Astrid in the middle of it all, but I also saw Daniel coming to save me, so it was probably a play of my imagination.

I hope the blood that’s on my white dress is also a play of my imagination.

My body still feels like an alien entity as I crawl to the bathroom on my stomach. My nails break on the floor in my attempts to get there faster.

Or maybe they broke when I tried to scratch him. The stench of weed, cigarettes, and male musk clings to my skin, and I need it gone.

I also need the blood on my dress gone.

I need all of this gone.

It’s a compulsive reaction, a need to get rid of it all, which is why I crawl faster, break more nails and scrape my knees against the ground.

Once I’m in the shower, I strain to hit the water button.

Cold.

Like my soul.

I sit against the wall in my clothes and pull my knees to my chest.

I don’t cry, though. I don’t have the right to.

My eyes lift to the ceiling and I whisper, “Papa… Please take me with you.”

* * *

I spendhours under the spray of water until I think I’ll surely get pneumonia.

Then I scrub my body until it turns red and painful, but I still can’t get rid of his rotten smell.

Of the stench of cigarettes and weed.

No idea where I get the force to rip the bloodied white dress to pieces and change into a pair of jeans and a tank top, but I do.

I have to get out of here.

I have to forget.

My whole body shakes as I drive my car. I have to stop on the side of the road every five minutes to keep myself from hyperventilating.

But I don’t abandon my plan. I don’t turn around. I keep driving until I reach my destination.

Daniel’s house.

Or more like a mansion.

His family is loaded and since his father is somewhat eccentric—and a horrible parent to both Zach and Daniel—he designed the house in a peculiar way. From the outside, it seems like a dome donned with different geometric shapes of windows and doors.

As soon as I step out of the car, the heavens open, and heavy rain soaks me in a second.

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