Chapter 74. Lower

Doris watched as Enzo stood and left his cabin for her own use. He gestured for her to lock the door once he closed it. She practically ran across the room to do just that-and then double checked that it was closed and locked tight. She went to each of the windows just to unlock and lock them again. She paced the room so many times before she finally went to wash all of the blood and gore from her skin.

It was hard to remind herself that she needed air, that she needed to live when the water tried to pull her under and offer an eternal release. While she sat and scrubbed at her skin, she silently prayed that every minute in the tub would allow her to scrub away everything she'd been through. Each day she came out more and more damaged, she wanted to be brand new again. She wanted to be the maid at the palace that was too afraid to look others in their eyes and hid in the corners so no one would see her.

That maid felt further away from her, almost as if she didn't exist any