Breathe

Heart skipping one beat 

Then skipping two more beats 

Then beating twice as fast as it was the first time to replace the missing beats from when he touched her. 

The moment his hand slid up her lap was the moment she lost her *inhale and exhale* 

The moment he leaned in for a kiss is the moment she lost her cool. 

Sitting there on his bed, shaking and hyperventilating but still trying to hold her composure so she doesn’t look like a damn fool. 

Being laid down and forced against her will. 

She thought sex was supposed to romantic, 

But he made it all fun and games 

And what he called pleasure

She called pain 

She didn’t even like going to the movies 

But this became her first horror film 

In which she was the protagonist and he was the antagonist

Antagonizing 

Her every thought 

Her every move 

Antagonizing her very thought of what she considered was safe. 

“No don’t grab that

Don’t touch right here

I don’t even like that”

But the very look he gave her was one that instilled fear

Fear that would paralyze her very soul 

And her legs 

But she’s so stuck she can’t even get out of her head 

She’s trying to fight 

She’s trying to fight so hard that she’s forgetting how to 

INHALE 

EXHALE 

She’s looking for the door 

INHALE

EXHALE 

She’s fighting to get him off of her but he keeps pulling and tugging for more. 

INHALE!

EXHALE!

Somebody or anybody hear her screams 

But no one can because she’s forgetting to breathe. 

And it then he stops 

He zips up his pants and he’s through

She sits up on the bed and tries to understand how she lost her breath and how quickly this became code blue.

And then she dries her eyes and tries to get dressed,

Trying to figure out should she call 911 because it feels like she went into cardiac arrest because she was still struggling to catch her breath. 

So as I close this story, 

I want you to know she got her life back back 

and she was resuscitated, 

She was revived, 

I want you to know she survived

I want you to know she’s alive 

Her heart is beating 

And she’s *inhale and exhale * 

Because if your paying attention closely, 

Your watching her breathe.