Chapter 2

Marcus told me to bathe, his voice leaving no room for argument.

The master bathroom was enormous, all marble and gold fixtures.

The tub was huge, deep enough to drown in.

As the water ran, steam filled the air, but it felt cold, suffocating.

My hands started to shake.

A memory, sharp and brutal, surged up.

Serenity Pines, not a bath, but "hydrotherapy."

My head forced under the cold water, held there until my lungs burned, again and again.

Punishment for refusing the pills, the ones that made your thoughts slow and sticky.

The water in the tub seemed to darken before my eyes, swirling with shadows.

A scream clawed its way up my throat.

I scrambled back, hitting the wall, desperate to get out.

I clawed at the doorknob, but it wouldn't turn, it was jammed, or locked.

Panic, raw and overwhelming, consumed me.

"No, please, no more water," I sobbed, banging on the door. "Please!"

The door opened, and Marcus stood there, his face a mask of concern that didn't fool me for a second.

He saw me, wild-eyed, hysterical, backed into a corner like a trapped animal.

"Ava, what's wrong?" he asked, stepping inside.

He had a small vial and two white pills in his hand. A sedative.

"No!" I shrieked, shrinking further away. "Don't make me take them, please, Marcus."

My voice was hoarse, desperate.

"The drugs there... they destroyed people. Sarah... she walked into the lake, Marcus. She said she was going swimming with the stars. They broke her mind."

He looked at the pills in his hand, then at me, my chest heaving, tears streaming down my face.

For a long moment, he just stood there, the silence stretching, taut and unbearable.

Then, slowly, he closed his hand over the pills and put the vial back in his pocket.

"Alright, Ava," he said, his voice quiet. "No pills tonight."

He left the bathroom, leaving the door open.

I sank to the floor, trembling, relief warring with the ever-present fear.

He hadn't forced me, not this time.

But the fear remained, a cold knot in my stomach.

I knew this was only a temporary reprieve.

I still wished he would just go away, leave me alone forever.