Page 155 of The Dark Stranger
Like someone's covering her mouth.
My hand flies to my own mouth, trying to hold it together, trying not to lose it right here. Tears hit before I can stop them, hot and fast, blurring everything.
She's being raped.
Right next door.
And I can hear it.
Ican hear it.
The wet sound of skin on skin. The creak of a bed frame. Her muffled cries turning into broken, choking sounds that don't even sound human anymore.
My stomach lurches.
I gag, bending forward, my hand clamped over my mouth as bile rises in my throat. I swallow it down, shaking so hard my teeth are chattering.
Fuck fuck fuck—
The doctor goes rigid.
His jaw tightens like he's trying not to hear it. Like if he doesn't acknowledge it, it's not happening.
Another cry.
Choking.
Pleading.
"Stop—please—"
I can't breathe.
I can't fucking breathe.
My chest is heaving, my ribs screaming in protest, but I can't get air in. My vision is tunneling, black creeping in at the edges.
She's right there.
Right fucking there.
And I can't do anything.
Ipress my hands over my ears, trying to block it out, but it doesn't work. I can still hear her. I can still hear the sound of her breaking.
"Please…" I whisper again, looking back at the doctor, my voice shaking so hard I can barely get the words out. "You can't just—listen to that—you can't just let—"
"I don't have a choice," he snaps under his breath, panic slipping through. His eyes are wild now, darting between me and the guard. "You think I want to be here?"
That stops me.
His hands are shaking worse than mine.
His eyes flick to the guard.
Then back to me.
"Stay quiet," he says, lower now, almost pleading. "Stay compliant. That's how you survive."
