Retribution

Justin's POV

She was asleep now. Curled into the blanket I draped around her shoulders, her lashes twitching faintly with dreams—or maybe nightmares. Her breathing was even, soft, but the shadows on her face hadn't left. Not completely. Not ever.

I sat just a few feet away on the edge of the cot, elbows on my knees, fingers interlocked so tightly they ached. I couldn't stop watching her.

I didn't want to.

But the longer I stared, the heavier my thoughts grew. They pressed in, thick and suffocating, until I felt like I was back in one of those cages again, where the air tasted like bleach and blood and the world was just a scream you swallowed so no one would hear.

Did she know?

What I've become?

What I'm still planning to do?

My stomach twisted.