The Prey

He carried me to the bedroom. The chaos faded behind us, but it stayed in my mind—a storm that wouldn’t settle.

He set me down gently on the bed and the mattress sank under me as I stared at the floor, at nothing. My legs burned. I knew I shouldn’t be that reckless, but I didn’t flinch. I didn’t care. The part of me that cared was dead. I believed so.

I watched as he disappeared into the bathroom. The sound of water running faintly reached me. For a moment, I thought he wouldn’t come back, that he’d leave me there to deal with the mess I’d made....