His Obsession, Her Agony

f fire. I had to act normal, to be the docile, broken

could sense my pulling away, and it

he brought

h wide, naive eyes

arm possessively around her shoulders.

e to be jealous, to scream, to cry. He wanted a reacti

at Mia with a polite, empty s

y didn' t know the role she was supp

around, buying her gifts, touching her in front of me. He made me se

ity and fear. They knew what was happening,

he kitchen washing di

e," she said, he

on the sink.

inued. "Chloe. He said she was the love of his l

I finished for her, my voice

the one I hadn' t covered well enough with

she wh

. "A piece of advice, Mia. Get out.

han appeared in the doorway.

wo talking about

. "Mia was just asking whe

me. He grabbed my arm, the same one Mia had been lookin

he ordered, his vo

thout a bac

d up the stairs. The house was silent,

gainst me?" he hissed. "You

ay anything,"

me across the

. "You need to be remind

and. The sound of waves. The smell of salt in the air. I held onto that