Crash and Burn (1)

you used to love it when i touched you

**Thanks for being patient with me, guys. ❤️ This one took a lot out of me.

I really am proud of Lacey. I'm proud of how she has grown in this story. She has gotten a lot of criticism and praise throughout, but I've always said that Lacey is flawed. She's not always strong, just like none of us are.

People are always telling her that they're sorry. Seth did it in his own way, in other words. Even Soren did it. And Mateo did it in the previous chapter. For someone that's been abused, that can be a fucking trigger. Because from experience, I can tell you —

Every single fight or injury or strike in an abusive relationship ALWAYS ends with an "I'm sorry."

It has been a theme in this story because so many times, victims take that apology (hoping it won't happen again) and stay with their abuser. Whether it's fear or love, like Lacey says, it keeps them with someone who doesn't treat them right.

Please, please, please understand that. If someone doesn't treat you right, you have every fucking right to LEAVE THEM. It can be hard to tell yourself that in the moment. SO I'M TELLING YOU.  🔥🔥

ANYWAYS. After that dark author's note... I love you all so much! I'm hoping we can hit 200K before the story is completed, so share this with your friends! ❤️

Get ready.

♚ ♛

BREATHE.

My lungs constricted with each ragged intake.

In. Out.

A bead of sweat trickled down the back of my neck.

Breathe.

I twisted my wrists viciously and a stinging pain bit into my skin. Ropes.

In.

Everything hurt.

Out.

Tendrils of smoke assaulted my senses before my lashes fluttered.

Breathe.

"Ah, la princesa está despierta."

That voice.

Breathebreathebreathebreathebreathe.

Oxygen did nothing. Each heaving breath left me even more breathless.

As I took in the murky shadows dancing across the damp floor, pain blossomed in the back of my skull.

Where the fuck was I?

A cry dribbled forward to permeate the smoky air. In some disorienting haze, I knew it had come from me, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. Even as they continued to rip out of me, shaking my body into a tumultuous storm of wailing agony, I couldn't stop.

Desperation bled through every single torturous sound. Desperation.

"Raine."

No, no, no. I didn't want to face him again. I couldn't.

So I squeezed my eyes shut in an effort to wish it all away. Inhaling shakily, I tried to paint the pictures that I wanted.

Saturated sunsets that showered over Soren Calloway, grazing his skin with hazy light. A dreamscape that I'd been so fucking close to.

Freedom.

"Look at me, princess."

I'd never known that four words could shatter my entire world. Another cry bounced through the room as I squeezed my eyes tighter. I couldn't let it go.