• She hugged herself as a wind blew by, trying to shield herself from its cold fingers, reaching out as if to touch her. I don’t want you, she thought as her fingers dipped into her pocket. With trembling hands she plugged buds into her ears, setting the song to the loudest, fastest song she knew. Her pace quickened and she began to walk faster than the beat called for, until she was almost in a run. There hardly seemed to be enough air to fill her lungs, and she gasped every step she took. Her feet were aching from those goddamned heels she wore and the cool air bit into her legs, protected only by tights. Yet she kept walking, because every step forward was a step away from that terrible, terrible place. No lack of oxygen and most definitely no pain would ever stop her from walking away. Only when she began to see trees did she finally slow into a stop, ignoring the music completely. She leaned against a tree, its trunk carved with hearts filled with empty promises. A raindrop hit her head and she looked up, taking out the buds. The moon, her only salvation, was being covered by rainclouds. Soon, the only things in the world were the rain, the trunk, and the bitter wind. She sank as the rain became heavier, fat drops falling down and saturating the ground. She stared at her hands, which were covered in dirt and shaking. She put her head in them and cried. I must look like a mess, she thought, then realized that she didn’t care. She slipped the goddamned heels, the ones he gave her, off her feet. The red satin was stained with dirt and rain. She began to pant as she stared at them, uncertain of what had to be done. Finally, she stood up with shaking legs, with only nylons on her feet and her shoes in her hand. She looked at the highway in front of her, at the cars that passed every now and then, never bothering to turn off their brights for, who would ever be on the highway at this time? Her eyes narrowed, then she threw the shoes as hard as she could across the street. There they rested, a spot of vibrant red in a sea of green. She then ran as fast as she could, not caring at all about how she looked or if her dress was being ruined, until she reached her house. It took a few tries to open the door, but finally it yielded, and she was enveloped in its warmth.
    After that night, whenever anyone asked her how she got those bruises on her or why she was so freakin’ jumpy, she just smiled and waved the question away.