Do Not Touch

Alone. She flailed, she couldn’t breathe. To the bathroom. Can’t see around the tears. No. No, she couldn’t do it. She wouldn’t let herself do that to herself again. She wouldn’t sink that low.1

Back to the bedroom. Shedding the clothes. She didn’t know what she was doing, she just knew that she was gone. Next thing she knew she had a marker in her hand and she was writing “Do not touch!” on each of her shoulders.2

She moved to her hips, so covered in scars they were indiscernible, and this time she just wrote. “Do not touch!” doesn’t cut it. Instead, other words began to form.3

4

Dumb. Dyke. Deceit.5

When will you learn?6

No purpose.7

Dead.8

Dead.Dead.Dead.9

Dumb. Dyke. Deceit.10

Worthless. Ugly.11

Pain.12

Pain.Pain.Pain.13

Dumb. Dyke. Deceit.14

Do not touch.15

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Hips, stomach, and thighs covered in it until hardly any space was left for anything else. Tears staining her face, her knees buckled beneath her as she found she could breathe again. Taking big gasping breaths, gulping the air, she cried and reached for her phone.17

Thank God for speed dial.18

Curling up in a corner on the floor, she heard her cell phone ring. Voicemail. No one was there. Hanging up, she threw her phone across the room and screamed aloud. No one was there.19

“Do not touch,” she whispered to herself over and over again.20

She was losing it. She was really losing it.21

22

It wasn’t until she heard the front door open that she managed to pick herself up off the floor and get dressed. She rinsed her face off and went downstairs with a smile plastered on her face.23

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FIN.