Rosie's Thorns 🥀|18+|🥀

54 | Dye

Slip Away ~ UNSECRET

《¤Dominic¤》

6:23 PM
Little Flower- Thank you for being my anchor.

I lean against the railing with a heavy sigh as I bring the cigarette to my mouth. My thumb hovers over the keypad as I tap ash off the butt. Words roll and tumble over one another, yet I can't seem to form a sentence. She's in a fragile state. Anything I say can trigger her or hurt her. The medication should have worn off by now, along with its numbing effects.

Should I text Hana instead?

I glance at the time and let out a sigh of annoyance.

12:03 AM

They both could be asleep right about now. Perhaps I should have texted her back the moment I received the notification, but I didn't know what to say. I'm on eggshells here. One wrong word and I could lose her completely. That's why I spent three hours on the phone with Dr. Stevens, asking for advice or to tell me what I should do. She reminded me I am doing everything humanly possible, yet it doesn't feel like enough. My instincts tell me to drive those two minutes to Hana's apartment. They tell me that she needs me.

The bitter truth? I know those instincts are wrong. They are my own selfish desires. My presence has been hard enough on her back in Pennsylvania. Time apart might just do her well. Hana can handle it... I hope.

I brush my knuckles beneath my nose and sniffle. The cold breeze hits me with its icy front, but I stay rooted in place. The bitter chill helps me to concentrate. It helps me to stay grounded.

It punishes me. Punishes me for being unable to stop her when she took off. Punishing me for being trapped in that tiny apartment while she was being tortured daily. Yet, as it punishes me, it also brings me relief. It lightens the pain within my chest. It numbs my fingertips and chills my skin until the absence of her feels a little less excruciating.

I glance down at the orange glow of my cigarette as I take a draw. The nicotine hasn't touched the anxious bubble forming in my gut. It hasn't soothed the tension rolling around me.

Irritated, I exhale the smoke and jab the butt down on the glass ashtray to my right.

My hand vibrates and hope blossoms inside my chest as I glance to the caller ID. Immediately that hope is snatched away as I stare at Hana's name flashing across the screen as the phone vibrates inside my palm. The impending dread thats been choking me suddenly steals my breath as I swipe and bring the phone to my ear.

"Dominic!" Hana sobs on the otherside of the line. "She locked herself in the bathroom. I- I can't get the door open! I smell bleach."

"Fuck." I shove away from the railing and grab my keys off the hook by the front door. "Get her talking, Hana!"

"She won't talk to me!" She sobbed hysterically. "I'm so sorry. I fell asleep watching a movie with her. When I woke up she was gone. Dominic, I can't get the door open!"

I've never heard Hana cry the way she does now. I fling the door of my apartment open and thunder down the hall. I take the stairs two at a time as my heart hammers against my ribs.