Irina I lay on the bed naked and shivering. My body hurt everywhere, my throat was raw from screaming, my wrists had bruises from where Alexei held them. The room was dark now, Alexei had left hours ago. He just got up, put on his clothes and walked out without a word. Like nothing had happened, like he had not just destroyed me. My eyes were swollen from crying, I had cried so much I thought there were no more tears left. But more tears kept coming. I pulled the blanket over myself with shaking hands, trying to cover my nakedness, trying to feel less exposed. But it did not help. I felt dirty, I felt broken, I felt like I would never be whole again. Morning came slowly, the sun rose but I did not move, I just lay there staring at nothing. Alexei was a mo

