Me and Them

Chapter Eight - Looking Forward To This

***WARNING***MATURE CONTENT***

Talia's POV

After filling the tub, I take off my new dress but realise that I need some things from the bedroom, I put on a shirt and sweatpants before walking out into the room only to find Elliot on top of Lincoln.

Kissing.

My heart breaks and the snap echos in my ears. Tears rush into my eyes and I gasp. Thoughts of these men who I was falling for using me come to mind as I watch them spring up from the bed.

“You’re... You’re using me?” I ask, barely forming the words, so hurt from confiding in these men only to find out that they never cared in the first place.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid, Talia.

“No, love, of course not. It’s just...” Elliot replies, stuttering and not able to finish his sentence.

Before any more bullshit left his mouth, I opened mine. “No! I knew this was too good to be true.” With these words tumbling out of my mouth, I run to the front door, aware of the steps running behind me and double my pace, escaping out the door before they could reach me and turn off into the trees covering the forest beside the house. I hear Lincoln screaming out my name before swearing and I turn, only to watch him running in the opposite direction. I run off into the direction I was headed to before, my legs moving for what seems like hours before I collapsed onto the dirt covered ground, scraping my head against a rock and look up to see the sky pitch black. I feel a steady drip of blood trickle down my forehead and am distantly dizzy.

I sob. I sob for everything that could have been with these men, for everything that could have made me stop running, but was ruined because I was not good enough. I was never good enough. That was all I had learnt from all my time on this earth, that my feelings and even my existence meant nothing. My fingers instantly go to my wrists and I scratch the scars marring my skin, drawing new blood. I sigh at the distraction as the pain recedes from my heart and is instead focused on my left wrist. I vacantly think that the cuts must have been deep because the blood was flowing heavily, but drowsiness was beginning to take over my worried mind. I am vaguely aware of my eyelids becoming heavier as the side of my face and my arm is covered in blood and only seeing black, the pain finally going away.

~

“Talia!” I hear a distant voice scream out and I stir from my place on the ground, not knowing who was saying my name and fearing the worst. 

Without responding, I gaze down at the mass amount blood covering my arm and am reminded of when my mother and step father found me. I remember the smell of blood in the air of the musty room along with the scent of urine and dirt that filled it. I remember the dark irises of his face and the light ones of hers, the belts and the fist. My heart begins to beat faster as I am transported back to being that nineteen year old girl once more.

“My Talia, thank God.” An angelic voice speaks and someone is moving me but I try to fight them away as hard as my strength can muster.

“No, get away Rick. Leave me alone!” My arms thrash around me as I break into a sweat. “Mommy, don’t let him do this to me!” I scream, my voice filled with panic.

“Talia, baby, it’s Lincoln and Elliot... What did you do to your arm?” Another god-like voice is speaking softly to me but I can’t register it.

“I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me. I just want to die.” Tears run down my cheeks as I sob the words that I once said to Rick and my mom when they found me attempting to commit suicide. 

“We have to get her back to the house.” More words are said but all I can think of is covering myself, waiting for the blows to begin.

“Don’t hit me, please.” I pull my arms up, trying to protect my head from the oncoming blows, but none come. I sit up and a wave of vertigo hits me and I fall back to the cold ground, hitting my head once more as black envelops me, hearing only one word.