"Be a good girl for us, little love."
I watch them coming closer. "D-daddy, wha-" "Be a good girl and bend over."
****
Daisy Solace is a girl who has everything going great in her life. She works in the local coffee shop-something she loves. She has...
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~Several hours later
Daisy is going to kill me with her boobs one day.
She went home with us again, on the condition she's not late at work.
She's in her room now, and I wish she was here next to me. In some way, her presence last night helped me to calm down. The nightmares were less, but not disappeared. I don't think they'll ever go away.
Trying my hardest to stay awake, I blink up at the ceiling. If I don't sleep, the bad images won't come back.
Dominic has it easy. His trick is to not sleep for three days, then pass out from exhaustion. I don't get it, because his memories from the fire aren't as bad as mine.
My eyes close, inexorable to my attempts.
~Age of fourteen
"Asher!" I yell.
He doesn't answer.
My breathing is rapid, I'm coughing too hard. Where is he?
"Asher! We have to get away!" I cough. The room is covered in darkness, but not the usual. I can handle the normal darkness, it's slowly become my natural habitat.
Dominic in the spotlights, me and Asher in the shadows behind him.
But this darkness is new, it's suffocating. It's a fog of smoke, watering my eyes. I need to get out of here before the fire follows—but Ash does too.
I stalk through our bedroom, starting to panic. Where the fuck is he?
Did the fire already catch him?
I cough again, my lungs starting to burn. The smoke is intoxicating, slowly eating up my ability to breathe.
I stride towards the window. I need to jump, because the fire's already eating up the door. I throw our blankets and pillows, trying to somehow soften the fall.
"E-Easton," I hear Asher cough. I breathe out in relief. Thank God he's okay.
Except that he's not.
I turn to see him steadying himself on the bed, his body trembling. I grab his shoulders, softly shaking him to make him look at me.
"We're getting out of here, okay?" I try to comfort him. He staggers. "B-but what about Dominic? What if he—he doesn't know? What if he's sleeping?"
I wave that away. "He's not. I heard him yell at Father just now. And by the way, how would you save him? The only possibility of getting out of here is the window."
I point at the door. He lets out a shriek in fear. I push him towards the window. "Jump, Asher. It'll be okay."
He does. He jumps out of the window and lands on the few blankets, but not without a scream in pain.
