#I drew this in a frenzied half hour while listening to Take Me to Church on repeat

[madbard]

Hey Hozier fans… can we finish the song? Art, lyrics, OC’s, fanart… join in! Go in order or just add your favorite part. Let’s see what we sinners can create.

[p-antomime]

dawn addiction.

— minors don't interact.

— wc: 3,3K

content + warnings: 18+, including: car sex, oral (female receiving), fingering, public sex (kinda of), unprotected sex, tummy bulge, pet names (dabi actually calls the reader "princess"), virginity loss (only mentioned), i bit of fluff bye

pairings: no quirk!dabi x fem!reader

— song: Press Your Number; by TAEMIN

After waking up alone one dark night without you sleeping next to him in the spacious bed placed in the middle of his room, Dabi catches himself thinking about you and feeling strange without having your warm body next to his in the bed. Thinking about Y/N was becoming a vicious habit for him and it was the kind of addiction that the more he fed, the more it seemed to swallow his sanity. However, he didn't blame you for not wanting to be seen or related to him, in a small town like the two of you Touya was the delinquent that people avoided interacting with lest they be excluded from that closed society.

He stretches to the side in order to get his own phone from the small table placed on the side of his bed and finds himself standing there for a few seconds feeling the smell of your body that permeated the pillow next to him. After taking a deep inhale, Dabi unlocks his cell phone to try to call you, but there is no answer, after all, it was past 1:00 AM in the dawn and Y/N was now probably lying in her own bed in her house trying to sleep.

The dark haired man lets out an impatient grunt before dropping the cell phone on the bed. He was deeply rooted in you and, because of that, feeling like an insane madman who was insisting on something that couldn't be his. But what could he do but fall in love with you after kissing your lips countless times and spreading your legs dangerously wide for him before claiming your virginity as his?

And the end of that night, just like all the others where you would finish fucking and you would shamefully put on your clothes to go home, would be filled by him masturbating with the thought of your naked body running through his mind.

Touya could feel the warm temperature of yours with little mental effort with his own fingers and would cling to the fading memories of the few non-sexual moments you had shared over the past few months.

That night, Dabi slept when the sun was already up, but Y/N, on the other hand, didn't even sleep a wink. She couldn't even take a lousy nap, because her eyes were glued to her cell phone screen waiting to see if he would call her again because on the first call of the night she wasn't brave enough to answer knowing that her parents were half a wall away. A coward? Yes, that's what she was. But there was a perfect daughter demeanor that she needed to maintain, especially if she wanted to continue to nurture her father's idea of letting her start studying at a university in the metropolitan area of the country.

Y/N would turn twenty a week from today — and if her father's promise to give you a car came true, her plan was already halfway done — and she didn't want to be stuck in that small, rural town forever. She had big dreams, and, ironically, in most of them the fulminating image of Dabi was present beside her. What if she was the only one there who wanted to leave that life? What if he didn't want to leave with her? But more importantly, at what point had their relationship become so deep?

It was now 7 o'clock in the morning, which meant that in about two hours your parents would wake up to go to work. You took a deep breath and reached out to grab the cell phone lying next to you on the bed, and then began to type a message as brief and vague as possible to your lover:

"Pack up all your stuff by next Friday. Take everything that you think is important or of value to you, pack it up, and meet me on the other side of the bridge that leads to the avenue out of town, the side that has the rusty 'Welcome to our town' sign. At two o'clock in the morning. No delays. And please try not to draw too much attention, wear the most decent, neutral clothes you have in your closet. Oh, and bring documents."

And all week long you could barely look your parents in the face without feeling guilty for wanting to break free from their protective arms, but you just couldn't take it anymore. You hated that small town, and you also hated being forced to go to church every Thursday and Sunday with your mother because she said that God would "bless you with all your dreams come true," so why didn't he just indirectly help you leave that town behind? Literally, the only thing holding you back in that town was Touya and you wanted to take him with you outside the boundaries of that town that looked more like a village forgotten by the rest of the world.

Y/N's favorite place to be was Dabi's lips, and even then, the girl's replies to him by messages and short calls that didn't last more than 5 minutes started to decrease drastically. The useless monologues continue to increase inside her mind. Until the Thursday before her birthday when Y/N was about to fall asleep after standing for almost 2 hours listening to the local church mass hoping that her mother would not notice her slouching and irritable posture, suddenly a sound of something banging against her bedroom window was heard. And initially she didn't bother to get up to find out what had caused the noise, until she heard it twice more and frowned as she got out of bed after seeing that it was almost two o'clock in the dawn.

You drew the curtains in front of the window, opened it and stuck your head out, looking down and suddenly feeling your cheeks heat up violently. And there was Touya looking at you with a look of sorrow and animosity. He pointed in the direction of the hidden backyard behind your house where the two of you in the beginning of your relationship used to hide just to spend some time together or have a make-out session that ended up leaving both of you sexually frustrated because neither of you had the courage to have sex in that place where anyone could see you if you made too much noise. However, Dabi was the devil in your life worth sinning for.

— What the fuck are you doing here? — Y/N asked almost desperately as she felt Touya wrap one of his arms around her waist to glue their bodies together.

— What? Can't a man miss his beloved and want to go see her? — He asked, holding her face with his free hand. — You barely answer my messages.

— I told you we were going to meet tomorrow, on Friday. — You rested your hands on his chest to move away just enough to look him in the face.

— And about that, you're killing me with curiosity, princess. What are you thinking of doing tomorrow? It's your birthday. — Dabi commented, running his thumb along her bottom lip affectionately.

— I-I know. — You replied, looking away. — I was planning on... going out... with you. — You just didn't say it was going to be an out-of-town trip with no intention of coming back.

— What are you hiding? — He asked, leaning down to place a simple, tender kiss on her lips.

— Would you follow me wherever I went?

— I would follow you to the ends of hell if you asked me to. — Dabi answered, and instinctively you grabbed his face to place your lips back on theirs in a kiss deeper than the one before in a frenzy of feeling.

— Then do it. — Y/N whispered against his lips staring into his beautiful turquoise eyes. — For my birthday the only thing I ask from you is to always be by my side, I don't need material gifts.

Seconds after you finished speaking, the sound of footsteps inside your house could be heard, and a shiver ran down your back as your hands desperately pushed Dabi away in the direction of the very door through which the two of you had entered the yard.

— Damn, not even at dawn I... — Touya began to complain as he walked briskly away from you and disappeared into the darkness of the night to return to his house.

— Shhh, shut up. I'll see you at dawn. Two o'clock, don't forget. — You whispered loud enough for him to hear you as you turned back and faced the back door of your house slowly opening to reveal to you the sleepy figure of your father.

— Honey? — He asked, and you gasped as if you were distracted by something while you could hear your heart beating rapidly. — What are you doing out here? It's late? and cold, you might catch cold.

— I... — Y/N looked around just to make sure there was no more sign of Dabi. — I heard a noise here when I went down to get some water and just wanted to come down and see if it wasn't an animal or something. But it was nothing, I guess it was just my mind playing with me. — It was a good enough lie considering that it wasn't hard to wake up during the night to go to the bathroom or eat something from the fridge.

And then your father called you inside and you promptly went. As the day went on, not even your father's birthday present with the car seemed to quell the anxiety inside you of going to see Dabi in the middle of the night with no intention of coming home. Y/N packed three backpacks and after watching your parents go to sleep, put them all on the back seats of the car after grabbing the keys that your father had left on top of the coffee table in the living room, and also grabbing some money from your father's safe that was in a secluded room in the residence.

After writing a short, albeit long, letter explaining to her mother that she was going to the metropolitan city — but without saying with whom — to try a new life there and that you would be fine because "there were friends waiting for you there" — which was a big lie, but she didn't need to know that — Y/N put on a sweatshirt and ran out of her now former home. Remembering all the various driving lessons her mother had made her take last year, you put the key in the ignition and made sure that your license and other documents were in one of the pockets of the three backpacks on the back seats. And you set off across town to reach the end of the bridge that served as both a gateway into and out of the city, parking exactly beside the welcome sign.

After about fifteen minutes, you watched a silhouette approach through the darkness, and if you didn't recognize the blue-toned sweatshirt with white details that Dabi usually wore when he didn't want to attract attention, you would surely lock yourself inside your car for fear that it was some sexual predator. Before he could finish approaching you at the agreed upon spot and open his mouth to vocalize something, you ran toward him to jump into his arms and kiss him fervently like you hadn't done in almost two weeks. He didn't fight your grip and responded to your display of affection instantly, he missed your touch more than he would admit.

— Where are we going? — He asked, analyzing her new car as he watched you open the back seat door and gestured for him to put his own belongings inside.

— To the big city. — You answered unlocking the door next to the driver's seat after hearing Dabi choke on his own saliva looking at you as if he hadn't heard you correctly. — Come in. — Your head swiveled inward.

— What do you mean we're going to the city? What about your parents? You have a loving family here, I have nothing to lose, but you? — Dabi put one hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently.

— I want to go to the city. I want to live with you. — Y/N replied feeling her cheeks heat up and looking at him expectantly. — You said you would go anywhere with me, to the ends of hell.

— And I will, but this decision... — You interrupted him.

— Please. For once in my life I want to do things my way. Without having to hide you from anyone, without having anyone judge me for being with you. Let's go to another city, live together, we'll figure it out when we get there. — You put one hand on his forearm, squeezing it gently.

Touya took a few seconds to process the information and after looking from you to the car, he said:

— Where are the keys? — You waved them in front of him, flashing an amused smile. — So get in the car, doll face. I'll drive. — He gave you a light slap on the butt before pushing you toward the driver's seat, getting into the car and putting the key in the ignition. — How long until we reach the city?

— About six hours, we can get there in the morning.

— Great. — Dabi started the car and began to drive along the deserted road while resting one hand on Y/N’s covered thigh and occasionally giving the area a gentle squeeze.

After about an hour of driving, you became distracted by fiddling with your cell phone until you noticed his long fingers sneaking up and over your thighs until they came dangerously close to Dabi's real intended destination. Her eyes cast a serious countenance at him as if she were silently saying: "Don't you dare" and in response his lips parted in a defiant smile as his hand on the steering wheel slowed and eventually brought the car to a full stop.

— C'mon. It's been almost two weeks since we had sex. — He said, lowering the two seats you were sitting on and pulling you to sit on his lap with your back against the steering wheel.

— And the best place you could find to have sex was inside my new car? — Despite your complaint, you didn't try to restrain his hands from reaching into your sweatshirt to grab and squeeze your breasts, nor did you object to the feeling of his knee pressing against the middle of your legs.

Touya lifts your arms and pulls up your sweatshirt and then concentrates on removing the simple tank top and lacy bra you were wearing, shortly after which he leans over your body to take one of your nipples between his lips to begin stimulating it. In response, you rub your hips against his leg as your hands grip his dark hair as a way to relieve the growing tension settling through your body. His hands slowly slid down your back, past your waist and into your pants, while his right hand also invaded your panties to run his fingers over your pussy lips and his left was busy opening the buttons of that garment.

Y/N put her hands on the hem of his sweatshirt, pulled it up, and was not surprised to see him with nothing underneath. Strangely enough, his skin was naturally too warm and it was not hard to believe that even with the low temperature outside the car he would only need a casual sweatshirt to not feel cold. And that was exactly why you liked so much to run your hands along his body exploring him calmly to make your touches last longer.

Dabi turned his body so that you were lying on the passenger seat and stood over you with a smug smile as his hands dug in and squeezed the skin of your legs after he finished getting rid of your pants with some difficulty because of the tight space.

— Keep your legs open for me or I won't let you cum, princess. — He whispered, sliding his mouth down her torso to her pelvis and pulling her hips up as high as possible before burying his fingers inside her pussy and enveloping her clit with his lips.

Y/N's hands gripped Touya's now messy hair and pushed his face against her hip in search of more of that mind-blowing pleasure she had missed for the few days she had been avoiding him. Suddenly the car became extremely hot, almost to the point where you both felt suffocated and ironically neither of you cared about that, not when Dabi was curving his fingers and sucking your clit in the way that always made your vision cloud and too loud moans escape your mouth. But, you didn't want to cum in his mouth, so your hands moved his face away from your hips and pulled his body up.

— Please, Touya, I need you inside me. — Her voice was slurred by her rapid breathing.

Dabi didn't need you to say anything else, he just stepped back briefly to get rid of the clothes that were still covering his lower body, adjusted your hips to his, leaned on the car door behind your body and guided his cock to the entrance of your pussy. As you felt him fill and enlarge you completely with his tip rubbing against your cervix, you groaned, leaning on his shoulders to face him and watching the small rise against your belly that was always present when that black haired man penetrated you.

Touya slid one hand down your neck and closed his fingers around your neck applying just the right amount of pressure to make waves of pleasure run through your body and not to hurt you. He began to move and Y/N passed her legs around his waist moving her body downward every time Dabi moved upward, occasionally he would take her lips on his just because he liked to feel her moans against his mouth and the rhythm of his hips gradually began to get harder and faster.

— I should cum inside you, hmm? — Touya asked, keeping eye contact with you every moment he thrust inside you again and making you clench your walls around his length without you even realizing it. — Damn, I love you so much, you have no idea what I would do for you.

— So show me. — You grabbed the wrist of his hand that was still resting on your neck and squeezed it without too much force. — Make me your girl.

With a smug and satisfied smile, he continued thrusting himself against her insides to the point where her hips began to ache just seconds before she reached her own orgasm with her nails digging into the skin of Touya's arm and her back arching as spasms coursed through her entire body at a high rate of speed. He gave a few thrusts against your pussy until the white streaks of cum painted your insides and slowly pulled out of you, wanting to prolong the feeling of having you squeeze him some more.

Dabi let his tired body fall back against the driver's seat and concentrated on stabilizing his breathing while you did the same as you looked up at him with the following thought running through your mind: "This is definitely the man I want to be with forever". The thought made your cheeks burn and it didn't go unnoticed by him:

— What? — One of his eyebrows arched.

— Nothing, I was just thinking... about you, about us. — You answered, starting to look around the car for your clothes, and an amused laugh came from Touya's mouth, who looked at you tenderly.

— So I'm always on your mind?

— More than you think, yes. — Y/N answered, leaning over to place a tender kiss at the corner of his lips. — Now get ready, get your clothes, let's get back on the road.

— Can we fuck again before we get to the city again? — Her eyes narrowed in disapproval.

— Shut up, you idiot.

[strawberry--sunrise]

Shadow Girls

This part may be the shortest one yet. Two more to go until the shadow girls come out of the woodwork.

Part One: Roots // Part Two: Stamen

Part Three: Stem

I didn’t bother knocking on Lil’s door. I swept right in, taking off my shoes. Warm and spicy notes drifted from the kitchen; promises of that night’s dinner. But even Mrs. Martinez’s cooking couldn’t calm the frenzy in my brain, and I only offered her a quick hello and thank you.

“Lily is in the shop,” she replied simply.

I nodded, making my way through the cramped house. I took the small path that connected the backyard to the main building, picking up the large rock beside the back door. I plucked the hidden key from beneath it, the ring of the bell announcing my arrival. Lilian’s father, tall and thin, appeared in the doorway of the back room.

“Ah, Hana,” he said, inclining his head. “Everything alright?”

My breathing hadn’t leveled out. I still looked a mess. But I smiled. “Couldn’t be better. Could I borrow Lil?”

Mr. Martinez shrugged. “Ah, I suppose. Could even keep her. She barely worked an hour. Slept in all morning.”

“I’m a teenager,” Lil huffed, coming up behind him. “And I’ve never restocked or mopped that fast.” Her bright eyes found me, nervous and flitting all over my body. “Han? You okay?”

“I...” I gripped my bag, a shaky breath escaping me. “I messed up. I got in a fight with my mom. I’m gonna be in a lot of trouble.”

Lil crossed the distance between us, hands gentle on my arms. The shirt I picked didn’t cover my bruises. She brushed my hair back, a sympathetic whine in her throat. “Papi?” she asked.

Lil guided me back down the tiny path, sitting me on the living room couch. Toys littered the floor, and children bounced between the rooms, cartoons playing on the small TV. Lil’s family screamed greetings as they zipped past.

Lil took out every pin in my head, grabbing a hairbrush that had been discarded on the coffee table. She brushed out the strands and sang me a song. Her father returned from the shop to hand me a large mug of his spicy-sweet hot chocolate.

I sat there sipping until I calmed down, feeling less like a boat in a hurricane. Then I turned to Lil, who had fetched baby wipes from the bathroom. She wiped the make up from my eyes as I spoke.

“Thomas isn’t so bad,” I began, voice croaky.

“I’d say Thomas is one of the goodest boys in the county,” Lil joked.

“He was really bashful and cute. He loved the ducks. I feel bad for him.”

“Do you?”

“Yeah,” I said, rubbing at my freshly cleaned cheeks. “He’s like me. Stuck in someone else’s web.” I glanced over to make sure Mrs. Martinez was still in the kitchen, then urged Lil closer. I whispered in her ear: “His father sent a car to pick him and his mother up. I looked at the license plate, and Lil...it was the same partial.”

Lil sprung back, mouth open. “Woole?” she asked.

“Or maybe, maybe someone on his private detail? Another relative?” I shook my head. “It could just be a coincidence, but... My dad and Woole haven’t been friends for long. And the disappearances started six months ago.”

Lil looked at me for a long while. “Do you think your father has something to do with these girls?”

I clutched the empty mug, studying the remains like tea leaves. “My father is not a good man. But I can’t say he’s responsible. Not...yet.”

Lil took a deep breath. “Okay, okay... So what happened with your mom?”

I explained the outburst, leaving out the part about the Martinez family. I’d never heard my mom so angry. The door had actually splintered down the middle. “I’m afraid she might call the cops,” I said. “I don’t want them showing up at your house, but I also don’t want to go back. I’m scared she’ll--that he’ll--”

“You don’t have to,” Lil cut in, her hand over mine. Her lips flattened into a thin line, her brow drawing together. “You don’t have to,” she repeated, firm.

She drew me into a hug, and we stayed like that for a while. I didn’t notice when I dozed off, and Mrs. Martinez draped a blanket over us. I opened my eyes to the blare of the TV, my cup on the table, and a warm body sleeping next me.

For a moment, I could forget. For a few hours after, I ate dinner and laughed and felt better. I sat on the porch with Mrs. Martinez and her kids, listening to the faint conversation coming from the shop. Cigar smoke mixed with cortadito, and the sound of dogs barking down the street.

Though I feared the red and blue lights washing the houses, no police cars came. I tried broaching the subject of the license plate with Lil in her bedroom, but she refused. She also didn’t want to talk about our unfruitful hunt in the marsh this morning. She treated the night like any other sleepover, playing games with me and painting my toenails.

“What about Talia?” I whispered. “Saturdays are your...get-together nights.”

Lil paused midcoat. “Talia knows how important you are to me. And she would feel guilty kissing me, knowing you were crying. I couldn’t even think of it.”

Sunday came and went, most of the day spent at church with the Martinez family. But by the afternoon, I knew I had to go back. Several times, the phone rang, with the caller hanging up as soon as someone answered.

Mr. Martinez gave me a long look. I adjusted my bag, Mrs. Martinez’s care package secured inside. “Are you sure?” he asked, blocking my path out the door. “One more child is nothing. Ah, you could even replace Lily.”

“Hey!” Lilian protested.

I smiled, quelling the nerves fluttering my chest. “I’ll keep it in mind. For now, I might as well face the music. I’m sure my mom’s had enough time to cool off.”

“I’ll keep an ear out for the phone,” Mr. Martinez promised. He laid a large hand on my shoulder, his touch comforting. The difference was startling.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

Mr. Martinez allowed me past, and, at a much slower pace, I started cycling.

The house announced my arrival, the front door swinging open to an empty hall. The floorboards creaked with every step, laughing at the disgraced daughter. Potbelly stayed hidden as I walked the rooms, looking for my punishment.

I found my mother in the front parlor, by the window. She looked out at her garden, face half covered by fern leaves. Dozens of plants filled the room; dangling from hanging baskets, and guarding the walls. My mother sighed, surrounded by green.

“Hana what kind of girl are you trying to become? At this rate, you’ll be nothing respectable.”

I’d come to stand silent and accept my fate. But all too quickly, my voice unlocked. “And do you want me to be like you?” I asked.

Her head whipped toward me, lips thin and eyes ablaze. “Excuse me, young lady?” she asked, teeth bared.

I stepped back. The light shifted, my mother’s shadow chasing me across the room. “I’m trying to understand,” I mumbled, “exactly what kind of girl I should be.”

Her glare simmered to a slow burn. Weariness ebbed into her voice. “The kind who listens to her mother. Who obeys her curfew. And who offers thanks when they’re due.” She gestured at a chair by the fireplace. “Your father wanted to sit in this chair, ready to shake a fist at you when you returned.” He would certainly have done more than that. She tugged the edge of her sleeve further down. “You shouldn’t stress him like this. It’s already been stressful enough.”

I wanted to tell her that that wasn’t our fault. That dad had made his own choices, and he would’ve had to pay for them sooner or later. It was a storm always bound to make landfall.

Her eyes returned to mine, subdued and pleading, a sign of peace. She wanted to make the best of a sinking ship. And in that moment, I realized: She knew. She knew there was no turning back. That she would either see her husband succeed, or follow him to the depths of the tempest. The same as her mother before, and her mother before. It was all she had been taught.

But the world was no longer as it was once. And I wasn’t bound to the fates of my elders.

“Thank you, Mother,” I said. Her shoulders stuttered at the formal speech, then sagged. She crossed her hands, one palm over the other, and nodded.

“Of course,” she murmured to the garden. “Anything for my daughter.”

I crossed the room and kissed her forehead.

“I’m sorry,” I said, for a different reason than she wanted to hear.

“I’m sorry, too,” she said, apologizing for the wrong sin.

“Where’s Dad?” I asked, as she resumed watering the fauna.

“Community business,” she answered, reaching to grab a spider plant.

I was sure she didn’t have the faintest idea what that meant, just as I didn’t. But if he wasn’t home, that was fine. I wasn’t ready to crash myself into the rocks a second time today.

“And honey,” she added, back to me, “your room was relocated while you were away.”

My breathing stopped. “What?”

She turned and smiled at me. “Daughters who exhibit good behavior get the finer things in life. Until you can prove you’re worth our trust, we’ve enacted certain limitations on your freedom. You’re a runaway risk--a danger to yourself--and we can’t have that. We took the liberty of removing any unhealthy propaganda from your possessions. We’ve got to protect you.” She blinked big eyes at me, kind yet firm. “I’ll do anything to keep my daughter safe.”

The bag on my back burned with all the heat of a wildfire. The room tilted, and I lowered my eyes. Submissive. I had to yield. Or I was about to lose everything.

“You’re right,” I said, voice husky. “I’ve been...erratic. I’m sorry. I just...needed some time to think.” I took a breath, hoping it would steady me. “May I go lie down?”

“Yes,” my mother tutted, pleased. “You may. Welcome home.”

I turned and walked out, the floorboards silent. There were two empty rooms in the house, and only one that I was allowed in.

I opened the door to the cramped former study, coughing at the dust that still lingered. Briefly, my heart sank at all that had been taken from me. I stared at a bare bed, a dresser with a bible on top, and a plain desk for schoolwork. Not a single poster. No longer a towering bookcase. My guitar was missing, my closet was downsized, and my radio had been tossed in the trash.

I swallowed a scream and tried to tell myself that they were just things. That this was the latest in a long line of unfathomable, but predictable, power grabs. Hana Liftgate had overstepped her boundaries, and so new ones had to be drawn. They’d tightened the noose on me before. I’d made the same mistakes in the past. A lady was supposed to act in accordance with her stature, and do nothing else. A lady was only born to further her family, not her personal worth. She was nothing but a pawn in a centuries-old game of chess, to be traded, sacrificed, and used for the sake of the players.

But the match was only won on the backs of rooks and queens. And, finally, I was a few moves away from checkmate.

The door didn’t have a lock, so I sat against it. I was grateful that they had left it there at all. I held my head in my hands, the windowless room lit by a single floor lamp. I needed to figure a way out of this. My parents had swept through my old room. They had to have found everything: The magazines from out of town, with clipped articles by an unknown author. The multiple rejected submissions to the Gazette. The half finished drafts for new stories, and a single page filled with leads on the missing girls.

I hadn’t been careful enough. And now this bag was all I had left, stuffed with theories and snacks.

I hid the bag under my mattress as best I could, even as it formed a noticeable lump. I’d have to give it Lil as soon as possible tomorrow. I had all the information in my head--somewhere--and that would have to be good enough.

My new room didn’t have a mirror. If I wanted to see myself, I’d have to go to the bathroom. If I wanted to make myself up, I’d have to get permission from my mother, to whom all my tools had been given. So I went to dinner barefaced, hair combed by fingers, in the same clothes I had arrived in.

Mother said nothing, but that wasn’t anything new. Father’s seat sat unoccupied, and we ate in silence. I was ordered back to my room, if I didn’t want to watch the evening news with my mother. I accepted the invitation, which seemed to surprise her. I was just tired of the same blank walls, not feeling safe enough to gather my own thoughts.

We sat beside each other on the couch, cool blues and greys washing over us, mugs of tea in our hands. Somehow, it wasn’t as warm as being with the Martinez’s. But I sipped my tasteless leaf water, too done up with cream, and tried to pretend. The sooner I got my mask back, the sooner I could find my own freedom again.

I tried to go to sleep that night, but the new mattress was too firm. The sheets had been starched, and rubbed coarsely against my arms. I sat up, sick of the uncomfortable fit of my mother’s hand-me-downs. I could hear her saying something about a young woman should dress traditionally. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I stripped, searching for familiar fabrics.

My parents had spared me one dress, and though it was far from my favorite, the touch of it was smooth. The scent was clean and comforting, a welcome turn from musty and old. I slipped it on, as well as a pair of shoes. I knew I couldn’t leave the house, but the yard was part of our property. A stroll through the gardens could hardly be called sneaking out.

I was several feet from the lake when a bark shot through the night. I turned my head, finding a dog at the top of the path, tail wagging and tongue lolling. Their collar glinted in the moonlight, as they trotted toward me. I stayed still, nervous but curious. And as the dog drew closer, I realized that I recognized her.

“Hey girl,” I said warmly, kneeling down and petting her. “Long time, no see.”

She barked again, excited, and started running circles around me.

“Shh, shh,” I said. “What is it; how did you get here?”

She gave one more bark, then bolted back up the path. Without thinking, I followed, kicking up dirt. I couldn’t let her get hit by a car, or more lost than she already was.

She easily cleared the jump over the border fence. I unlocked the swinging gate, throwing it back in place. I raced across the lawn, beneath the oaks, down to the main road. The dog galloped, half seen in the blackness, showing up under the streetlights every few seconds.

I watched her bank right into a local park, and stopped just short of hopping the log fence. She had stopped in front of a dark figure, sitting at his feet obediently.

My hands clenched on the wood. I should’ve known it would be him.