Sucks For Him

Bathroom Intrusions

Slap.

His hand connected with the flesh of my skin, an eruption of sharp pain splattering throughout my nerves.

"What the hell, Kevin!" I yelled at him as I stumbled backwards away from him, eyes watering on impact.

"You fuckin' bitch!" he cried as he came at me again with a fist. Before I knew it, I was on the ground and he was straddling my waist, his fists ramming into my stomach as I cried out--

I sat bolt upright in bed as my strangled cry dyed down to a whimper, my body quivering like a leaf stuck in the wind. I couldn't believe I'd remembered that, I don't remember that ever happening to me, but Kevin had usually knocked me out after he got high and beat me, there were still a lot of beatings that I wouldn't even know existed if it weren't for the marks he'd left behind. Half the time, he didn't even remember punching my lights out.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed my sweat-dampened hair back from my face with a shaking hand. I could almost feel the pain he'd caused me, the fear, the hurt, the anger...It was so vivid, I half expected him to be standing in the corner of my room cackling at me like he always did after he pounded me to a pulp.

Slowly, I turned my head to look at the clock on my nightstand. It was ten thirty in the morning. Inhaling deeply once more, I got out of bed, trailed to my closet, grabbed a set of clothes, and left my room quietly.

The apartment was silent as death. I peered down the hall to the living room--Matt was gone.

Across the hall from me, Alec's bedroom door was open and empty. I was pretty sure Rory was gone because he had mentioned work or something during dinner, Matt had said he had a doctor's appointment early today and Alec had told me had had to go pick up a friend of his from their friend's house 'cause he didn't have a car.

I was all alone in the apartment.

Sighing, I went to the bathroom, shut the door behind me, threw my clothes on the closed toilet seat, and turned on the shower.

A nice, long, hot shower would help me forget about my dream or memory or whatever it was.

Stripping down, I stepped into the steamy water and nearly melted under its temperature and water pressure. Perfect.

Pig

I turned the water off and stood in the shower for a moment as the air attacked my bare body, goosebumps rose all along my flesh and a shiver slipped throughout my limps. Sighing, I pulled open the shower curtain and stepped out onto the shower mat, pulling a clean towel from underneath the sink.

I was in the middle of drying my hair when the door was flung open and Jeremy casually walked in, whistling, his hands in his pockets as he strode inside.

I froze as we came face to face. My limbs wouldn't work, my body went numb, and the towel I had been using to dry my hair with was suspended above my head by my hands. I was completely bared to this guy and all he did was give me a once over and said, "Mornin' to you, too, dollface."

A shrill cry ripped loose from my lips, startling him more than my naked body did.

"Holy fuck!" he yelled, jumping back from me as I hurriedly thawed out and wrapped the towel quickly around my body.

"You fuckin' asshole!" I yelled. "Get out of the bathroom!"

"What? Why?" he yelled back, confused and scared shitless by my outburst.