Say The Word

I saw Castello spread on the ground. I yelled at him to get up, but he refused to move. I was frantic. He was lying on the tiled floor right in front of me, and I bent over, trying to get to him, but someone was holding me back.

I fought the hand that was grabbing onto the back of my shirt and turned around to see Amory sitting across from me with a long whip. I woke up in a cold sweat.

Hollis was already holding me and calling out my name. I was screaming Castello's name. His face had implanted itself in my brain while I was sleeping, and it wasn’t going away anytime soon.

Hollis rocked me back and forth as the tears and quivering started up again. But something was different this time. I didn’t want to hold any of it in anymore. After a few minutes of tears, I willed myself to calm down, and I turned to Hollis.

He looked sick with worry. "Baby, I'm here." He groaned painfully.

"What are you going to do to Amory?" I asked point blank, wiping the wetness from my face.

H