Page 50 of Her Sloth

I stumble back.

Crash into the wall behind me.

I can’t breathe properly.

It’s too close.

The world around me zones out.

The only thing I see is a long tunnel.

I squint my eyes.

I can’t catch my breath.

And then her fist hits me.

I react without thinking.

I push her away; she grasps my arm, and I hit into the wall opposite.

“Sure you want this?” she asks as she pushes up my arm behind my back. The pain in my shoulder is exactly what I want.

I try to catch her leg, but she is fast, and I rush to the floor as she pulls my stand away.

But I have gotten into many fights.

Before she even lands on me, I kick back and hit her knees. My two-second window to get up.

I kick her again.

She grabs my leg and holds it.

What the fuck!

How does she have so much strength?

I am back on the floor, and she’s on me with her entire body, pressing her forearm into my throat.

Hard.

So hard, my breathing slows down.

I close my eyes and bare my throat to her, because the rush of adrenaline shoots through my system and I finally feel something other than the pain. Something like relief. Something like feeling alive. Something like being myself again.

I flap my arms to the side onto the cold marble.

I am here.

I am alive.

I am feeling myself.

She lets go of me.

I just feel what I feel for another moment.

My head falls to the side as I open my eyes.