A Brighter Tomorrow

p r o l o g u e

"Just another day spent wondering where everything went wrong. Was it you? Was it me? Who's to blame?"

"I love you, Blaze. Always remember that. I'm sorry."

Kiara's last text flashes in my mind as I grieve over her first death anniversary. 'If you loved me so much, why did you leave me all alone Kiara?' I think in my head.

Tears roll down my face as I think about how much my life has changed over the last year. How happiness became a foreign concept to me in my own isolated world.

"Get up Blaze" I hear my boyfriend's voice ringing in my ears. Scared of making him unhappy, I get up and run towards the bathroom. An arm reaches out and pulls me towards the wall. "You're the reason my sister died". His voice gives me chills. Aiden, my boyfriend.

I feel a stinging across my cheek as his palm came down across it. That's going to leave a mark. "Aiden.." I start to say but I am silenced as he tightens his grip on my wrist and slaps me again. Pain sears throughout my entire face but I clamp down on it.

I stay silent as I feel him hitting me over and over again. I feel no pain. I'm numb to it. I just stand there like a rag doll as he keeps striking.

Just another day in Paradise.