BABYLON //a.f.i//

• F L A S H B A C K P T. 1 •

•••Cora•••
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"I don't understand the fucking problem here!" He ran this hands through his hair with frustration.

"The fucking problem is that we can't have a goddamn conversation without you getting shitfaced! Look at yourself, can you even see straight!" I spat back at him with contempt.

"Oh yeah? Yeah, Cora? What you think I'm an alcoholic? You think think some fucking monster?" He walked up to me, roughly grabbing me by the throat as he shoved me against the wall. I gasped in shock and pain as my head hit the plaster. Still holding me by the throat, he leaned in until all I could see was the rage in his eyes. "Well let me tell you something baby, you're no fucking angel yourself."

"Stop it, you're hurting me!" I writhed under his grasp.

"It must be so nice to be so fucking ignorant, huh Cora! But I know what you are! I fucking know what you are! You can't hide from me!"

"Get your hands off of me!" I dug my nails into his chest as he jumped back in surprise.

"Fucking bitch!" And with that he raised his hand and hit me directly across the face. Power. The sound echoed throughout the room, flesh on flesh. I stumbled backwards at the impact, my cheek immediately burning with pain.

And then there was silence.

I stayed in my hunched over position, my hand clasped to my cheek. Silent tears rolled down my cheeks.

Finally he spoke. "Cora... Cora baby I'm so sorry. Fuck, I'm so sorry." I felt him come over and kneel in front of me. I did my best to resist his gaze.

"Don't." I whispered. "Don't do that."

But it was no good. "Cora. Cora baby please, please look at me." He took my free hand with one of his and placed it against his cheek. "Baby look at me."

Slowly I got on my knees as well, him still holding my hand against his cheek. I felt him tuck stray pieces of hair away from my face before he softly took the hand that had been guarding my cheek and placed it against his. Now I held his face with both my hands, his over mine. I met his eyes.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered. I couldn't read his dark eyes. It seemed that I barely could nowadays. "I'm so sorry Cora."

"We can't - we can't keep doing this." I whispered, silent tears still making their way down my cheeks.

"I'll be better baby, I promise. I'll be better."

"This hurts... it just always hurts." I was shaking, but I couldn't pull away from his eyes; they had me trapped. They had for some time now.

"But what about when it feels good baby?" His voice softened as he leaned closer. He removed his hand from keeping mine on his cheeks and wrapped them around my hips, pulling us closer. I didn't move mine. I let one my thumbs dance across his lips. Soon we were so close our foreheads practically touched. "What about when it feels good?" He whispered again, his voice growing rugged.

I felt like I could choke on the own air I breathed, but I couldn't pull away. "Don't ..." I whispered unconvincingly.

"Let me love you, Cora. Let me show you what we can be together." And with that our bodies collided, skin on skin, lips together. He kissed me heatedly, desperately. I responded, just as desperate. For what, I hadn't decided yet. I clutched him close to me, acting as if I hadn't already lost him.

He wrapped me up in his arms, clutching at my clothes and my hair. We pulled away for a few seconds, both of us breathing hard.

"I love you, Cora. Never forget that. No matter what, I fucking love you."

Forehead on forehead. Nose to nose. I held the body of a man whose words I could only believe but knew they weren't true.

"I

love you too

Calum."

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Okay so yes I'm fully aware of how toxic that was, that was the point. This story is going to deal with toxic and unhealthy relationships. In absolutely NO way or fashion do I endorse this sort of behavior, as it is solely for the purpose of the story. If these types of situations make you uncomfortable, I apologize, but it will be a strong theme throughout the story.

And yes I realize how short this chapter was, but this is a flash back. Flashback chapters will most of the times be short and appear sporadically throughout the story. Flashbacks are important and provide insightful information, so make sure not to skip them.

I hope this flashback was a bit of surprise though. What exactly is going on?