Her face breaks the surface of the lye-clouded water.
The scream tries to come out and immediately turns into a choking, gurgling sound. She jerks back instinctively, but the position drags her into it again. The reaction is immediate. Her skin reddens along her cheeks and lips. She thrashes, trying to wrench herself upright again, but her muscles have nothing left.
I watch her fight with every weak inch she has. Her head lifts halfway, then sags again. The rope cuts into softened skin at her wrists and ankles. Her sobs turn hoarse and broken.
I kick away the plank under her shoulders.
The last support shifts. Her body tilts, balance gone.
“You can't hold yourself up forever,” I say quietly. “You really should have chosen a different side.”
Her chin hovers over the surface, trembling. Her breath comes out in wet, ragged gasps. Her arms shake like they might snap.
I place my boot against the final plank.
“Game over, Sophie.”
I push.
The plank slides free. Sophie’s body drops into the tub, swallowed by the white, hissing water. Her scream tears out once, then collapses into something wet and broken as the surface surges over her face.
The water reacts immediately.
It foams and churns around her like it has been waiting.
Her arms jerk violently, skin turning pale and slick as it begins to slide apart under the heat. I watch patches of her flesh loosen and peel, curling away from her body in thin, ugly ribbons that drift through the cloudy water.
She arches hard, instinct driving her spine up even while the ropes drag her back down. Her legs kick beneath the surface, sending waves crashing against the steel sides of the tub. Every movement only drags more of her through it, spreading the damage faster.
Her face breaks the surface for a heartbeat.
Her lips are already wrong, swollen and tearing as she tries to scream again. What comes out is a choking, bubbling sound instead. Pink foam spills from her mouth and runs back into the water. Her eyes find mine in that moment, full of terror and understanding that finally lands too late.
She goes under again.
Her chest bucks, forcing out a thick, broken gurgle. Her shoulders convulse. Then her whole body starts to lose rhythm.
I watch her skin come apart in places, watch the shape of her change as the water eats at her. Her stomach looks like it is collapsing inward. Her chest sags and warps as the surface layers give up. Her hair floats loose around her head, dark strands sticking to her face and drifting away again in the steam.
The thrashing turns sloppy. The sloppy movements turn into weak jerks.
Her hands claw at nothing, fingers slipping through skin that no longer holds together, leaving red smears that vanish into the white churn. Her head rolls to the side and stays there, mouth open, eyes still staring even as her body stops working.
The water keeps bubbling around her.
I stand there and watch until the violent movement fades. I watch until the surface calms and the steam thins.
Only then do I step back and breathe, not because I'm shaken, but because the rage finally has somewhere to settle.
Behind me, Seth remains silent. He doesn't interrupt or hurry me. He stands there, letting me witness the conclusion of something that started the moment Sophie decided to fuck with me.
I straighten slowly and wipe my hands on my jeans. Then I turn away from the tub.
Some parts of me go under with her. The parts that wake up choking. The parts that flinch at water.
What remains feels unbreakable, darker, and deadlier.
Chapter 51
