Iris’s POV
The water from the shower came down in a steady, relentless stream, hot enough to turn my skin pink and fill the bathroom with thick steam. It blurred the glass door and softened the mirror until everything beyond it looked distant and unreal. I stood under it without moving, letting it hit my shoulders, my back, my scalp, as if I could let it wash everything away.
I wanted to feel clean again.
But the water never reached deep enough for that.
When I looked down at myself, I could still see everything. The evidence was there, impossible to ignore. Faint bruises marked my hips where his hands had held me, the shape of his grip still lingering against my skin. There was another mark on my thigh, darker, more defined, and thin scratches along my ribs that stung sharply when th
