Isabel

Flash
His hand sped towards her face.
Flash
She closed her eyes, bracing herself.
Flash
Pain.
Flash
She fell to the floor, curling in on herself, trying to make herself as small as possible; hoping that if she could fold herself in tight enough she could disappear. Please, she thought to herself, no more. She heard his footsteps recede, a door slamming.

She rolled herself onto her back, exhaling. How long she lay there she didn't know, before slowly standing and walking towards the mirror. She stood there, staring at someone else, some unrecognisable girl with a bruising eye and tears rolling down her cheeks like the rain that pelted against the window outside. She turned away, unable to look at herself any longer. She didn't even know who she was anymore, how long had it been since she gave up? How long had she been pretending? Hiding?

She sat on her bed, unaware that she had even climbed the stairs to her small, dark bedroom. Sitting, she looked around her, wondering whose life she found herself in. The bookcase in the corner overflowed with offers of escape, the untidy desk next to it proving a way out. No. She couldn't think about that now, she couldn't pretend everything was okay, she couldn't bear to think what would happen if she couldn't make something of herself, doubt taking control of her mind.  She looked somewhere else, trying to push the thoughts of failure out of her mind. Her eyes fell on a photo of her brother, smiling at a young, happy, but unrecognisable, girl – she couldn't remember who that was, nor how many lifetimes ago it was. Once more, she found herself searching for something else, unable to bear the grief of losing her brother. A small, pink teddy bear, half buried under a pile of clothes in the corner caught her eye. It must belong to someone else she thought, picking it up, but no memories of that time came back to her. No childhood happiness, no childhood hope, just repressed memories of pain and heartbreak. Sitting back down, the bear beside her, the events of the last hour replayed over and over again in her mind, like flashes of someone else's memories.

She walked into the house as quietly as she could, not knowing what she would find. Slowly, she turned the corner into the living room, he wasn't there. She allowed herself to relax for just a moment, before realising he was behind her, but it was a moment too long. She felt herself collide with the wall, sinking down, arms over her face, holding her head down, silently crying. Strong, rough hands pulled her back up, shoving her onto her feet, her back slamming into the wall with the force of his push. She knew what would happen next. It happened all too often for her to be surprised. His hand hit her upper cheek just as she closed her eyes. Blackness.

She woke up, startled by the vivid dream. She rubbed her eyes and winced. Hesitantly, she touched the tender, throbbing muscles just under her eye; without seeing it, she knew she would be unable to hide the black eye.

It was difficult to endure the stares, the questions. "I'm okay." "I'm fine." "I just walked into a door – you know me, forever the klutz." Smiling and laughing it off, while receding further inside herself each time. She knew what they were all thinking. Everyone knew everything. The curse of living in a small town – you can never escape the knowing gaze, the false remorse, the oh, you poor dear looks. When will it end? She turned the corner and walked into the room, taking a deep breath. She knew she wouldn't be able to avoid him, but she still didn't want him to see her like this. Holding back tears, she greeted him with a quiet "hello," turning her head quickly so that he wouldn't see the red and purple bruise that adorned her eye, but it was too late.
"Isabel," he said. "Look at me."
"I'm okay," she replied, meekly, swallowing back her emotions. "I'm fine, really. I'm okay." She held his gaze for only an instant before looking away.
"Isabel," he sighed. "Talk to me." She looked into his dark eyes with her own, midnight blue pair, for what seemed like forever. Finally, she broke, her tears falling freely down her cheeks as he pulled her into his arms.  "It's okay," he said, holding her closer, "I promise. It's going to be okay."