forum Under The Painted Sky (O/O CLOSED)

Started March 18, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

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“Monopoly, Ludo, Scrabble,” Eden responded, satisfied with the kisses he was giving her. “Sorry!, Pictionary, normal cards… Luke and I played a lot before…”

“Let’s play Pictionary. I have played that in a long time,” Sterling decided with a smile.

“Neither have I,” Eden admitted quietly, looking away from him. “So you’re not the only one.”

Sterling tilted his head, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion at her reaction. He lifted a hand to cup her cheek, thumb brushing over the skin. “Hey… Is something wrong?”

Eden bit her lip, getting lost in her memories as they began to pile up.

”Why can’t you spend more time with me? Why do that with your family when you could be with me?”

”Cancel it. You’re coming with me. Family can wait.”

She was brought out of her thoughts with a hand on her cheek and Eden visibly flinched before realizing the touch wasn’t going to harm her. It was Sterling’s.

“Yeah, sorry,” Eden responded, gathering her composure. “I just… got distracted.”

Sterling swept a piece of hair behind her ear and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “You can tell me whatever it was. If you’re comfortable with it, anyway. Otherwise, I’ll wait until you feel you can trust me enough.”

“It’s not—I trust—“ Eden paused, inhaling and exhaling deeply. “I trust you, Sterling. I really do, but… there are some things I don’t want to talk about.”

“Well, I’m glad you trust me at least,” Sterling murmured, looking over her face with a gentle expression. “And if you ever feel like talking about anything, I’m here for you.”

“I know,” Eden said quietly, clenching her hands into fists. “But I’d rather not. It’s like you said that day. I lock up my issues pretending they’re going to go away if I don’t talk about them.”

“They won’t go away like that, Eden. That was meant to be an example of what not to do,” Sterling said softly.

“It doesn’t feel any better talking about them,” Eden answered, looking away. “It makes them real.”

“They are real, Eden… And I know you’re never going to forget whatever it is, especially if it’s this bad, but it might help,” Sterling said, cupping her cheek again. “Take your time, E, but you’ll have to face it sooner or later.”

“I’d rather it stays away forever,” Eden held back a flinch as she remembered the pain and desperation. “I don’t want to face it. I really don’t want to. I’m going to get Pictionary. Hopefully I can find it.”

Sterling sighed and loosened his arm that was around her. “Okay. I’ll wait here for you.”

When Eden stepped into the tiny room they called the storeroom, she gasped for breath, squeezing her eyes shut. He was wrong. She had no need to face it. It could remain buried for all she cared. She didn’t want to remember his punches and cruel words and the violation of her body. She could do well without it.

When Eden felt like she was okay enough to go back, she grabbed the box of the game and walked back to Sterling.

“Found it,” she murmured. “Sorry that took a while.”

Sterling looked up and gave her a small smile. “Hey. That’s okay. So, I might have forgotten the rules… Are they still in there?”

“They are,” Eden nodded as she took a seat and set the game between them both. She opened it and took out a small booklet, handing it over to Sterling. “There you go.”

[TIME SKIP: COUPLE OF DAYS]

She was back in that same place again. Hands tied above her, blindfold over her eyes. Clothes torn, cold air nipping at her barely covered body. She struggled, trying to slip out but failing. The ropes dug into her wrists and it was as if she recognized the pain. Blood began to slid down from her wrists, down her arms.

She panted heavily, wanting to escape. Panic filled her being. She knew it wasn’t real, but it felt like it. The pain was so realistic. So was the fear. So were the wounds decorating her body.

And then she heard the familiar, heavy footsteps, and cold breath fanning her face. The smell of musk filled her nostrils. It filled her with greater fear than anything else ever had. His cold hand trailed her bare stomach and she recoiled, trying to escape. He struck once. She wept.

”Such a disobedient little girl,” he clicked his tongue in disappointment. “You’re here again, love. You’ll always come back here, to me. Where you belong.”

She didn’t respond. She merely whimpered, her breathing coming out in ragged breaths. Her silence unnerved him. For a second, she felt like he would walk away. He didn’t. She felt another burst of pain flooding through her.

”Pl-please,” she gasped, writhing, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Why—why are you doing this?”

His cold lips touched her cheek. She recoiled in disgust.

”You think I like hurting you, Eden?” He murmured. “You bring this upon yourself. When will you realize disobeying me, pushing me away, rejecting me won’t do you any good? You’re merely proving me amusement.”

And then his hand sunk lower.

Eden’s eyes snapped open, tears streaming down her cheeks. She gasped for breath, looking at her hands, feeling her eyes. It was just a dream. It was just a freaking dream. She sobbed in relief before bile rose up in her throat. Her skin felt tingly. She craved release.

Eden dashed to the bathroom and didn’t come out in a long time, spending the time throwing up whatever little food she had eaten.

Sterling groaned and shifted in his bed. Again. It was the middle of the night, and he couldn’t fall asleep. How long has it been since he hasn’t been able to fall asleep? He couldn’t even remember.

But he just couldn’t stop thinking about Eden, his girlfriend. He rolled over and stared at the clock, vision blurry from sleep. Or lack thereof, as his case was. The clock read one o’seven… This was a very early morning for him, and he couldn’t seem to sleep no matter what he did.

He wondered if Eden was still awake. She seemed like she would be, and he hoped she was. Maybe she could help out him to sleep.

STERLING: Hey, beautiful, any chance you’re awake?

Eden hugged the pillow to herself tightly, tears still leaking from her eyes. She had turned the lights on instead of just the the lamps—she was beyond terrified. Her hands trembled and she looked at the new wounds she’d given herself. Shame coursed through her. She had promised Sterling she would try to stop, but she couldn’t help herself. The pain was like a countermeasure. She didn’t even know she was doing that to herself until her nails had come out red. The pain had felt so good. Not enough to make everything go away, but enough to stop her from throwing her guts out.

Then her phone rang and she reached for it shakily, afraid of seeing a message from him. It wasn’t. It was from Sterling. She had told him she would call him if she had any nightmares, but she couldn’t bring herself to. She didn’t want to disturb him. But he was awake. Maybe he just woke up to relieve himself or to drink water. Whichever it was, she couldn’t let him know.

EDEN: Yeah, I’m still awake. I couldn’t sleep. Why haven’t you gone to sleep yet, Sterling?

Sterling smiled when she responded, rolling into his back and holding the phone above him.

STERLING: Couldn’t sleep. Someone was occupying my thoughts all night.

A sad smile took over Eden’s lips. She shuddered again, gritting her teeth, trying to ignore the feeling of unwanted hands on her.

EDEN: Oh, that sounds terrible. Did you know that if you can’t sleep, it means someone’s missing you?

Sterling chuckled softly and rolled back into his side, though the opposite one this time.

STERLING: Yeah? Any idea who that was? Maybe she’s cute. Wears glasses…

Eden reached for the water on her nightstand, drinking it and letting the cool liquid calm her down. She grabbed her phone again. This was a good distraction from her thoughts. Eden wiped her cheeks before responding.

EDEN: Who else would it be, Sterling, if not for me?

Sterling smiled and typed another response before deciding to call her.

STERLING: Aw, I’m glad my girlfriend was thinking of me.