Dark Narcissus (Elysium Book 2) by Claire Marta

Author:Claire Marta [Marta, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-09-26T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Enzo

The Monday morning sunlight pours in through the window like woven strands of bright, radiant warmth. It plays across the floor of my hospital room, throwing a mosaic of brilliance over the wall.

My left cheek aches under the gauze that’s taped in place. I can feel the deep, jagged wound throbbing where it runs parallel to my eye and down toward my jaw. The stitches keeping the flesh together feel tight and uncomfortable. I’m lucky my father missed my eye. If he’d cut me an inch closer, he would have blinded me. I can barely move, and it feels like every muscle has seized up. My body is struggling to recover from the damage. The rest of me is as purple as the bruises littering my arms and I’m nothing more than a beat-up mess.

The words my father had spat at me keep circling in my head. He’d called me a whore. Someone must have told him about Kasimir. I shudder, recalling his rage, the lash of his belt against my back, shoulders, and hips. As the memories take a hold of me, I suddenly can’t move or breathe. There’s a sharp tightness in my chest as fear expands inside my head. Shaking, I choke on air, aware of the wetness pouring down my right cheek, and the bandage on my left is soaked. The tears blur in my eyes as I struggle through the panic attack, so overwhelmed and helpless like it’s never going to end. I have no idea how long I sit there. How long I struggle before everything eases and I’m able to slump back against the pillows. It feels like all the energy has been sucked out of me.

Where do I go from here? I can’t go home. If my father comes back, his next beating could kill me. I refuse to leave Mattia under his laughable excuse of care. If he’s taken into custody, where does that leave us? I’m not sure my wages can cover all the bills. I’d have to take a second job just to keep us going. I can’t let my little brother be taken away.

Hearing footsteps coming to a stop outside my open door, I look up to find Luca and Tommaso standing on the threshold. Worry is etched over both their faces, eyes shocked when they see me.

“How are you doing?” Luca questions, tugging Tommaso into the room by his hand.

Unable to move with grace, my movements are jerky as I sit up. “Everything hurts, and they’ve told me I’m going to be left with a permanent scar.”

“We saw Maria and Mattia on the way over,” he tells me, stopping at the end of my narrow bed. “He keeps asking where you are, but she’s been distracting him.”

“I have no broken bones or concussion, so I think they’ll be releasing me soon. I need to get back to work.”

“What you need to do is rest.” Tommaso scowls, finally finding his voice.

My lips twist with bitterness as I reply, “I can’t afford to do that.

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