I turned, yet a sharp ache shot through my stomach.
The pain wasn’t a sharp jab. It expanded. Fierce overwhelming, robbing breath and clarity all at once. I pressed my teeth into my lip until I tasted blood, determined not to let the noise rising in my throat slip out. He wouldn’t catch me flinching. Not now.
I didn’t want any trouble from him. Didn’t want him observing me as if I were some object he had to haul over the end. So I made myself sit up with my hands shaking while I put on the exercise cloth he demanded. Every motion caused my stomach to twist. A harsh reminder of the error I made yesterday and how relentless my body had turned.
The early air hit me awake the moment I went outside. It was chilly, piercing, rubbing against my skin as if it had edges. My breath escaped in clo
