LOVE LETTERS: RED INK

YOU: 8

The night (or morning, you don't know) feels like it's drawn on forever. Marion had told you to rest, and tried to give you a kiss goodnight but you looked so extremely repulsed that it hurt his feelings.

He dragged (and quite literally dragged) Estelline out of the room. He informed you that they'll be back when the bullet is out and her head has stitches. Also, just as he was leaving, Marion gave you a small gift for "comfort".

You squealed happily when you saw your cat slink into the room and hop on the bed you're laying on. Marion smiled as he watched you cuddle with your beloved feline. Seeing you happy like this makes his heart skip a beat; he resists the urge to kiss your smiling lips.

Good thing he does, you would have stabbed him in the eye with your still concealed fork-weapon.

The 'operation' on Estelline has been going on for a long time, maybe two hours or so. All you can hear are her scared and pained screaming from another room. It makes your skin crawl and you begin to shake. As her shrieks continue, the shock of you being kidnapped and detained has finally set in.

What if you never see your family again? Will you ever feel the sun on your face? The cars on the highway, runners in the cool mornings, small critters crossing the sidewalk—these are things that you've seen so many times and take for granted. How are you to imagine a life without those little things?

Sure, you don't go out much. You won't miss the loud nightclubs or your annoying old neighbors all that much, but now you have to come to terms with the fact that you may never see them again.

What does Marion have in store for you? He says he loves you but what does that mean? Will you stay locked in this dark room forever? Will he end up hurting you? You still don't understand why you're here.

You should have turned those letters into the police. You cringed and held your head in your hands, squeezing your eyes shut.

You're so stupid, why couldn't you see the red flags before it got to this point!?

Salty tears fell from your face and you grit your teeth, fighting back loud sobs. A flood of emotions hit you out of nowhere. Fear, sorrow, regret.. and guilt. Guilt that you could have done something but decided not to.

Look at Estelline, this is your fault. Your fault that she's suffering and vulnerable in the hands of that monster named Marion.

Your feline friend sensed a shift in your mood and noticed your snotty nose. She gave a curt meow, scolding you for messing up your face, and tried to clean you up by licking the tears off your face.

Noticing her efforts, you grabbed her furry body and hugged her tightly. Your hands are super clammy and sweaty and stuck to her fur, making her mewl again.

"I- I'm sorry I got us into this s-situation. I p-promise, I'll get us outta here somehow.." you sob.

The cat simply stared at you with empty eyes. She can't understand what you're saying—she only speaks "meeeow".

Another terrifying scream echoes from the room Estelline is in. You can't understand the kind of pain she is, especially since you don't know that Marion is "accidentally" stitching her up with a very dull needle very tightly. "Oops, the threading broke again," he whispers. "I guess I'll have to start all over again."

"NO PLEASE I CANT HANDLE THIS ANYMORE!" Estelline screeches, choking in-between sobs. "THIS IS THE THIRD TIME IT'S BROKE!!"

"Aw, well I'm sorry you're in so much pain. But I have to put the stitches in. You don't want an open wound infection, now do you?" Marion jeers, using a cringey baby voice. He has an evil shit eating grin on his face.

Estelline cries harder as Marion readies his thread once more.

Of course, you couldn't hear any of that conversation because you are in a different room suffering with your own crisis.

Finally, after crying for a solid fifteen minutes you had a headache and your throat is extremely sore. You're so tired and you've cried so hard that your eyes have swollen shut. So tired, you thought. Then, quick as a light, you were out cold, sleeping upright against the wall with your cat companion licking her sweat covered fur.