>Mallory
"Break up with him," Alisha said, her voice dropping to a serious tone.
We were standing on the stairs at the hospital. She had requested this conversation, insisted on it, really.
I knew it was inevitable that I’d face her again as soon as I stepped foot on this country. I just didn’t know it would be this early.
I left Asher at Dr. Blakes care, I can’t stay here for long.
I steeled myself, my hands trembling but my face remained composed, I had prepared for this. I wasn’t naive. This was the war I kept on ignoring, and I was ready to fight.
"What?" I scoffed, arching an eyebrow.
"Is that the only reason you ca here? To tell to break up with my husband?" I needed to feign nonchalance, even though my hands were trembling and my throat felt like it was closing up.
The mory of my old life with them made feel like throwing up.
Alisha didn’t flinch. Her face was calm, but in her eyes, I saw sothing like a fire. "I’m not going to repeat myself. Break up with him," she stated, her voice final. It was an order.
Always an order.
I let out an exasperated huff, forcing a smile.
"You know, I can’t believe you still think you have the right to control my life, even after I left that ho," I started.
"Seriously? You’re still pulling this crap?" I stared at her, my throat dry, waiting for her to respond.
"No," I blurted when I didn’t received a response, my voice tight.
"That was your sister’s fiancé! Are you mad?" she asked, her voice laced with disbelief, her hand still folder over her chest.
"Am I mad? What? You think after all the abuse I suffered in that family I’m gonna stay sane? You’re expecting a lot from ?" My chest rose with each word, my voice rising
with it as I glared at her, trying so hard so my confidence doesn’t falter.
"You really have the audacity to ask that? After everything?"
"You are aware you’re husband is a man who was about to marry your sister, right? Have so dignity!"
"If that’s all you ca here for, I’m going. My son is waiting for ," my voice shaky, turning away from her and reaching for the door to the hospital.
I needed to get out of there before I completely lost it. I turned my back on her, hoping that will be the last ti I would see her.
Before I could open the door, she grabbed my hand, her grip surprisingly strong. She yanked around, forcing to face her again. "I told you to break up with him!"
I flinched, startled by the sudden force. It was the first ti she had ever raised her voice at , let alone physically grabbed . Most of the ti, she had treated with suffocating indifference, as if I were nothing.
I must’ve struck a nerve, seeing how she was willing to abandon her usual composure to show a reaction.
"And I told you no!" I shouted back, my own anger surging. Without thinking, I slapped her. The sound echoed in the stairwell.
"I’m not taking commands from my abuser," I added, my gaze sharp.
Her grip in my arm loosened, her brow knitting together in confusion. "Never once did I lay my hands on you," she said, her jaw tightening as she touched her cheek. A red mark was already forming.
"Then do you expect to thank you?" I scoffed, my voice laced with sarcasm. "You had the power to stop them, to protect , but you decided to turn a blind eye. You sat there and watched it all happen." I spat, not caring anymore.
I peeled her fingers off my arm, my eyes fixed on her. "To , you’re twice as guilty as they are,"
"Mallory!" I paused. It was the first ti she ever called in my na but it doesn’t matter anymore. If that was the old I would be happy but I’m safe now, I didn’t need her protection anymore.
I swallowed as I turned and reached for the door again, desperate to escape. I stopped, looking at her over my shoulder. "And I’m gonna say this in case you’ve forgotten: the blood I share with you is the sa blood I despise the most. I never want any of you near my son again."
Then I left, closing the door behind , my body following without knowing. My chest was tight, and my legs felt like they were about to give out, but I kept walking, aimlessly wandering through the hospital corridors.
Each step beca so heavy as the mories that I repressed kept on resurfacing. I can feel the burning sensation on my chest growing unbearable.
After what felt like an eternity, I heard the door to the stairs open behind , followed by the sound of her footsteps fading away in the distance. I knew it was her. I didn’t want to turn back.
As soon as I knew she was gone, I exhaled deeply, as if all the pressure in my chest had finally combusted. The relief was fleeting, replaced by a wave of nausea. I stumbled back towards the door to the stairs and dry-heaved, my stomach churning.
I sat down on one of the steps, my vision blurring, struggling to breathe. Panic was beginning to set in, a cold wave washing over . My hands were numb, and my mind was spinning.
I fumbled for my phone in my purse, my fingers clumsy and uncoordinated.
I texted Mara, a short, desperate ssage, if it was her she would understand:
’Help. Hospital stairs. Panic attack.’
Then, I buried my face in my knees, trying to block out the overwhelming sensations. My body was trembling uncontrollably.
I didn’t even know what was happening, but tears started streaming down my face. I didn’t know they still had this much power over . I thought I had moved on, that I could face them easily. But they still had this effect on .
’I’m so pathetic,’ I cursed myself, my voice muffled by my knees. Why do I kept letting them destroy my peace?
Then, the door creaked open again. I heard the sound of footsteps, heavier and more deliberate this ti. I looked up, my vision still blurry, and saw a familiar built of a man. What was he doing here? I was sure I had texted Mara.
My body was craving comfort, sothing, anything, to ground . I stood up, my feet stumbling, and instinctively fell into his chest. I wrapped my arms around him, clinging to him like a lifeline.
"Who did this to you?" That’s what I heard him say, his voice tight with concern, before I was swallowed by darkness.
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