Page 63 of Under the Waves

My limbs contracted.

My cheeks flushed.

I was under attack from my own mind.

The danger was me.

Breathe.

She was waiting for me.

There was no escaping fate.

No matter how far I ran,

the world would always catch up.

It was never far enough.

Never fast enough.

Never enough.

With my hands on the doorknob, I twisted it open, only to be met by a wave of nausea and a wave of memories.

“Poppy? Are you awake, baby?”

Close your eyes.

Hold your breath.

Stay still.

Stay alive.

Sweat dripped down my forehead as the doorknob rattled again. Tangled bed sheets covered my body, the only barrier I had against him.

It was never strong enough to stop him.

Iwas never strong enough.

My thoughts clouded as a shadow lingered above my face, hot breath kissing my skin. Every part of me itched to sprint into the shower and scrub myself clean until my skin was red and raw.

“Baby? It’s me. You can stop pretending to be asleep now.”

I squeezed my eyes shut harder in response, biting back tears. My lungs ached for fresh air, but I refused to breathe, not whilst he was so close.

A feather-light touch caressed my forehead, down the side of my face to my cheeks, and then gently skimmed my bottom lip.

“I was so happy when I found out you shared my green eyes. Your mother wasn’t pleased at all. She didn’t want you. Even suggested we leave you at the hospital. I wouldn’t let her, though. You were my little girl. The greatest surfer-to-be of them all. I know you’ll make daddy proud, baby. You always do.”

Lips pressed against my hair, nose breathing in.

Fingers stayed on my face.

Stayed above my waist.

I was safe. I was safe. I was safe.