I avoided his eyes, they peered down on me in a concerned manner. Who did he think he was, acting like he cared when he was the one who caused the pain in the first place? Blinking back tears, I tried to look casually around the room, avoiding Daniel's eyes. The room wasn't lit as brightly as I first believed, but rather there were several lamps that gave off muted light.
The room was a bathhouse, and I saw a large bathtub, and a walk in shower. I was currently seated on a rough wooden bench, cradled against Daniel. Daniel stood, leaving me to lean against the wall alone, and went to the large bathtub. The sound of rushing water filled the room as he turned the taps on, and steam rose in the air. He dumped a bottle that rested on the side of the tub in, and the air was filled with the smell of lilacs. Growing up, there was many lilac flowers that grew around the house, and Daniel and I would braid crowns of the flowers as we played. Nostalgic memories burned at my mind, why had this changed so drastically?
The drugs must still have been present in my body, for I felt fatigued and almost sleepy. As the water was running, Daniel walked back over to me, and tried to get me to stand. For a moment I wavered on my feet, feeling light-headed as I straightened up. Glancing down at my body, I stared in shock at the sight of my ribs outlined against the skin of my stomach. I had lost so much weight, and my stomach rumbled as if to agree.
I would not complain, I would not say a word. It seemed that I did not need to though as Daniel looked down upon me. I had been a healthy weight before coming here, and even he could tell the difference from where I was at now. I didn't want him to be able to use food against me along with his other torments, that would just give him another way to hurt me. My lungs felt heavy in the humid air, and I let out a series of coughs. They shook my body roughly, and flecks of blood were thrown against the skin of my palm.
I took a step towards the bath with the urging of Daniel, and then another and another. Slowly, I made my way across the room, one careful step at a time. Upon reaching the side of the tub, I was lifted up, and sat in the middle of said tub. It was quite large, at least it felt that was until Daniel slid himself behind me, and pulled me back against him.
'Thud, thud, thud', I could feel his heartbeat reverberating behind me. I felt soothed in a way that I could not explain, but knew at the same time that he was dangerous, and could not be trusted. He was a rapist, and a bully, constantly hurting me. At the same time though, our culture was like that, and his actions were acceptable. I just never would have imagined that he would have treated me like that.