My teeth chatter as my body jerks and shakes, and the muscles protest at how much it hurts. Panting through the pain, I curse Avery in my mind. I can’t keep her from yanking my body closer to her when she returns, nor can I pull away as she hunts for a good vein.
I’m dehydrated, and every time she shoves a needle into my vein, she complains under her breath when it doesn’t give her any blood. I float in my sea of pain, my body refusing to do anything I want it to as Avery grumbles.
Sparkles float through the air, and I wonder if it can take me away. Ooh. They’re kind of pretty.
“Fuck yeah!”
I almost manage to pull the needle out as I flinch away in surprise, but Avery holds on tightly as she attaches the first vial to take my blood. She whistles toMr. Brightsideas she waits for each vial to fill over and over, completely ignoring me.
“I’ll be ready for you soon,” she finally grunts. “I need to start packing. The neighborhood is going to shit outside.”
I don’t understand what she’s talking about as she leaves with my blood on a tray, and she doesn’t explain either. My vein sluggishly continues to bleed since she is above basic care, though I doubt it’ll kill me.
No, she has plans for me, which means I’ll continue to live for now. I’m too sapped of energy to save myself, so I continue to drift in my misery. My eyes slide closed because it keeps theroom from spinning like an out of control top, and somehow I manage to fall asleep out of exhaustion.
The pressure of a cattle prod against my skin pulls me from it, and I whimper as I ride out the electric pulses shoved into my body.
“No sleepies!” Avery yells obnoxiously. I’m completely exhausted, and don’t know how long she’ll be able to push my body. It doesn’t matter that it’s been only a matter of hours since she took me, her lack of care will eventually kill me.
Drowned, electrocuted, and filled with medications I don’t understand. Any one of these things could make my heart stop or perhaps trigger some kind of aneurysm. A girl can only hope…
My flirtation with death has been happening since I was six years old and my mother tried to drown me. Maybe the grim reaper will finally decide it’s my time.
If I could before I go, I would stab her continually and bathe in her blood. It’s not difficult to fucking hate her. My only comfort in my suffering is imagining how her blood would feel as I roll around in it. If I pretend really hard, I can even feel how warm it would be.
My eyes feel gritty as I open them, and a guard lifts the top of the cage before he reaches in and drags me out of it.
“Wait, Winnie. I don’t fucking trust her. Let me give her something to help her behave,” Avery grunts, pulling a syringe out. I swear, she must stock up on them because she always has something in her damn pocket.
She’s wearing a black hoodie and pants as the air conditioner works overtime to keep the temperature frigid. It reminds me of someone getting ready to travel because it appears comfortable. The thoughts flow through my mind in a dreamy way, and then they’re gone.
I’m still zip tied as the guard holds me in his arms, and Avery pushes a new drug into my throat. Lethargy slides through myveins as it takes effect, and Avery giggles as she puts the cap back on the needle and begins to walk away as the guard follows.
“Tina, are you ready?” she calls out. I swear, I think she expects Tina to just magically appear no matter what she’s doing.
“Yes.” Tina proves the myth to be true, but then, that’s what she’s paid for. “I’ll meet you in the bathroom, Avery. We have less than forty-five minutes to prepare her.”
“I don’t want to get wet,” Avery pouts. “I’ll help with her hair and makeup instead.”
I’m Snuff Star Barbie apparently. The guard drops me onto the tile floor of the bathroom, and Tina puts down a bag on the counter, raising her brow in annoyance.
I vaguely remember the guard as Dipshit number two. Somehow, I wouldn’t have imagined his name to be Winnie, but maybe his mama wanted a girl instead. The beta sighs as he lifts me up to place me into the open shower, and I can tell he’ll be happy to be rid of me. It’s made of concrete, a drain, and a handheld shower head. It’s a very utilitarian design.
“I gave you a little, tiny muscle relaxer,” Avery giggles. “Enjoy!”
Tina gives Winnie instructions, one of which is to help her scrub my body with soap. It feels as if they’re taking a layer of skin off my body as they use exfoliating mitts to aggressively clean me, yet I can’t kick or slap them away while I’m high. The muscle relaxer is working over time on me, and my body is limp as they move me around. Tina shaves underneath my arms and up my legs, but leaves my pubic hair alone.
“There was a request that I leave the hair,” she mutters as if to remind herself of this.
Tina shampoos and conditions my hair, taking care to get the hair tangles all out.
“Clean her pussy and asshole,” Avery murmurs. “Make sure to use cold water.”
While Tina hasn’t been going out of her way to hurt me while she bathes me, she hasn’t been kind either. She follows Avery’s instructions, using the higher spray to make me scream. I’m talking my ass is up, head down, and good ole Winnie uses his hands to hold me open.
It’s been a day of injustices, but even that blast of water in my most private areas can’t fuck with the muscle relaxers. Once they’re done, they realize I can’t hold my head up, and it continuously flops down.
Instead, Winnie has to hold my body in place while Tina blow dries my hair, and they decide not to put any makeup on me. I’m not really sure why they’re going to all of this trouble just to kill me.
