Red.

You clutch your stomach and wince in pain; the disturbances of a wanting scream is stuck in your throat as you roll on your side and reach for the metallic bin by your bed.

The pain seems to increase and you don’t understand what caused it but you continue to grit your teeth together and squint your eyes closed. Never in your life have you felt this much pain, your body shakes and everything interacts with each other internally. You stare at the Advil bottle and down the pills without water.

Every limb in your body shakes and stutters in its spasms. Never do you come to the conclusion that you may be dying, instead, you continue to suffocate on your own rhythmic pattern of breathing. When you collect enough willingness, the adrenaline in your body floods throughout your veins and all you hear is a piercing scream.

There are no words when you scream; it’s just a noise of frustration and fear. When he comes upstairs and gets on the vacant bedside next to you, he just holds your hip and watches you. You have become a vital tool for his smirking.

Then your back arches up and your mouth opens to a length you never thought was possible. You’re breathing falters and is trapped within your body, salt pours down your cheeks and all you can see through blurred vision is the colour red.

When you’re done, you keep your eyes closed not wanting to see what the colour red means. But your eyes open and bewilderment sets in your pummeling heartbeat. What do you do? The strength in your body has left you to tremble as it cradles you in its embrace; you close your eyes and smear the blood across your face as you lay on your back and close your eyes.

This is the end, your mind tells you. And the last voice you hear is from him, he is the hand on your hip, the smirk on a masked face. “What have you done?”