I was in a bedroom without recalling how I got there. Ausmane said something about me staying over and talking in the morning, but I’d zoned out. He showed me the en suite bathroom which was right next to the bed, and I was a statue in front of the mirror. My right cheek was red with harsh stripes reaching my cheekbone. My hand went to my cheek, but Ausmane stopped it.
“Did Darian do that?” he said, voice bone-chilling. I shook my head. He put a first-aid kit on the counter. “Get cleaned up. I’ll be back.”
He closed the door after he left, but I didn’t budge, staring at my reflection. My hair was a tattered black nest, shirt covered in dirt, and scrapes all over my body. Profuse emotion pinged up my quivering eyes, and I held the edge of the counter, blood-tipped nails digging into the
