Page 9 of Dark, Forbidden, & Taboo

I blink rapidly a few times, shaking the thoughts of my mind, then glance down at Etta.

“Are you okay? You look beat.”

A small smile creeps across my lips.

“I’m fine,” I assure her as I roll one shoulder, then the other.

Etta doesn’t know what I go through to keep her high, so I lie to her each and every time she asks how I’m doing.

She leans back against the couch cushions, her eyes beginning to slowly flutter, and I shake my head as I attempt to walk out of the room.

The spiral is coming down on her which means she’ll more than likely just kind of sit there until it wears off.

In the meantime, the best thing I can do is hide the Hydros and hope to God she doesn’t.

“Where’d you go?”

“Huh?” I ask, distractedly as I glance at her over my shoulder.I almost made it,I think with a chuckle.

“Tonight. Where did you go?”

“Just for a walk,” I reply with a shrug as I shift from one foot to the other.

She nods as she her eyes roll up slowly toward the ceiling.

I watch as her body slightly slumps on the couch, before she blinks rapidly and shakes her head, wiping at her nose.

“I’m gonna take a shower then head to bed, okay?”

Etta gives me a silly grin and nods as she curls up on the couch. I linger for a moment, making sure she’s okay before I finally walk out of the room.

___

The palms of my hands are placed firmly against the shower wall in front of me. My arms are shaking, and body hurts like hell.

The water pooling at my feet before swirling down the drain keeps changing from clear to slightly crimson, and I know I’m right.

He tore my flesh while he was using me and since we barely have enough money to survive, let alone keep her high, I’m just going to have to deal with it.

I’ve got to find a different way to make money,I tell myself ruefully as the hot torrent of water continues to run down my body.

And then I freeze almost instantly when I feel the tips of Etta’s fingers begin to crawl their way playfully up my back.

“I missed you,” she says softly as she wraps her arms around my waist and presses her body against mine.

My eyes dart down at the water seeing the slight crimson, and I begin to tremble.

“I’ll be out soon, okay? Then we can cuddle and watch whatever you want.”

Etta nuzzles her face against my back, “How come you’re bleeding?”

Her tone is muffled and somewhat muddled, but she’s not a dim girl by any means and lying to her isn’t going to be so easy this time.

“I fell.”

But it won’t stop me from trying.

“On what?”

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