Sophie hiccupped and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

“Do you like this?” she drawled, stepping closer to the man. He was hunched over on the ground, eyes clinched in pain.

Sophie squatted down and bounced on the balls of her feet, leaning in close to him. The smell of alcohol was heavy on her breath. “How does it feel?” she murmured. “The taste of your own medicine…” Tracing her fingers along his jaw-line, she lifted his face up slowly so she could get a better look at him.

“Oh, precious little Blake…” she cooed. His eyes shot open at the sound of his name.

“Wh-what did you say?” he sputtered angrily, not noticing the thick stream of hot red blood that was running down the side of his cheek. Sophie rubbed her thumb against it as she smiled gently at him.

“I called you by your real name. Yes, I know who you are. I’ve known for quite some time.” She chuckled as she smeared the blood across his pale skin. “We’re here together, every day, in the same places every time… don’t tell me you thought I couldn’t figure it out?” Sophie dug her nails into his chin, her smile widening.

Blake clenched his teeth to keep from crying out, loath to give her any sort of sick satisfaction. His eye throbbed from the solid punch it had received earlier, and he could feel it swelling tremendously with every second. The cut on his forehead was no better – deep as it was, it began to grow numb, despite the steady flow of blood still coming out of it. Stupid bitch, he thought ruthlessly. Caught me when I least expected it.

Sophie tightened her grip on his chin as if she knew what he was thinking.

“Don’t worry, Blake. This is only the start.”

With a sudden force, she slammed his head onto the black pavement, relishing in the horrifyingly sick crack that echoed out into the night. Blake gasped from the intense pain, nearly passing out from it, but he managed to stay conscious from the sheer fear of what might come if he didn’t.

He felt a yank on his head as Sophie pulled him up by a fistful of his thick black hair. “We’ll keep this going all night, baby,” she hissed. “And then when your girlfriends show up and all they find is your battered and bloodied body lying on the ground, I’ll get them too.”

Blake mustered up what strength he had left and used it to spit directly into her face. The woman growled viciously at him and stood, kicking him straight in the gut as his head fell to the ground again. He choked at the sudden rush of air leaving his lungs, gasping for breath frantically.

“Don’t fuck with me, Blake!” she screeched. “You have no idea about what’s really going on!” She kicked him again, hard enough to send another resounding crack out from his body. This time, Blake couldn’t hold it in.

He cried out sharply, the broken rib sending a new wave of pain throughout his body. “What the hell—” he managed to choke out. “You crazy bi—”

Sophie cut him off with a swift jerk, pulling him up by the shirt. He wasn’t much bigger than her, and as for strength he was at a complete disadvantage when she was like this. He was like a rag doll in her hands.

“You think this is hard, Blake? You think this is painful?” Her voice was low and dangerous, and the stench of alcohol was stronger than ever. “I’ve been going through this for months. You and your little friends have beaten me countless times, all for no good reason. I can’t remember the last time I slept. If I ever got a break from you pricks, it’s pointless to even try because I just have nightmares about how you nearly kill me every night.” Her bright green eyes shone with an angry insanity. “Don’t you think I have a life? Don’t you think I’m just like you? I’m normal. I have roommates that I go home to every morning. They see my bruises and my cuts and my gashes, and they wonder and they ask but I can never tell them what really happens because they’ll never believe me.”

She threw him to the ground abruptly, disgusted with him for a lack of response, and with herself for revealing so much.

“Fuck this…” she muttered. Blake lay still on the ground. Sophie stared at him for a long while, silent and brooding. And without another word, she turned and left, ignoring the conflicting feelings that churned within her chest.