• A young woman slammed the door shut and dropped her bag on the floor.
    "What's wrong, Clair?" a voice asked. The woman looked to her left to see a young man leaning against the wall. He was tall and had short black hair.
    "None of your concern, Blake!" Clair growled as she walked past him. She caught a glimpse of a smirk on his face.
    "I'm just worried about you." Blake said innocently.
    "Bullshit!" Clair spat, turning to look at him. Blake smiled at her.
    "You're cute when you're mad." he said with a chuckle.
    "Blake… I'm going to ******** kill you…" Clair threatened. "You're really pushing your luck." she said.
    "Then punish me." Blake suggested as he walked up to Clair. He smirked.
    "No. You'd like that too much." Clair stated. She turned and started to walk up the stairs. Blake grabbed her roughly by the wrist. Clair hissed in pain. She tried to pull her wrist away. Blake held tightly onto her wrist.
    "You cut your wrist again." he said as he examined Clair's bandaged wrist.
    "So what! Leave me the ******** alone!" Clair yelled, pulling her wrist away. She got halfway up the stairs before Blake grabbed her ankle, causing her to fall.
    "You're not going anywhere until you tell me why you did that." Blake said. "Tell me." he ordered.
    "******** off, you b*****d!"
    "Tell me!" Blake growled. He moved up the stairs. Clair turned to face him. Blake grabbed both of her wrists and pinned her. Clair struggled underneath him.
    "I don't have to tell you s**t!"
    Blake tightened his grip on Clair's wrists.
    "Tell me and I'll let you go." he said. Clair stopped struggling and looked away.
    "I cut myself today… Because a boy tried touching me. It reminded me of a darker day. I didn't want to remember, so I cut myself to help me forget." she said quietly. Blake let go of Clair's wrists. He stood up and pulled her up as well. Blake gently took her bandaged wrist and kissed it.
    "If you want to let out anymore pain or anger, then use me. You know where to find me." he said as he walked past her. Clair watched as Blake went to his room and closed the door. She stood there a moment. Finally, she regained her thoughts and went to her room. Clair sat on the bed and looked around. Her walls were black with song lyrics painted on them. The lyrics were painted in red.
    Clair smiled as she read some of the lyrics out loud.
    "You bring the ropes and chains. I'll bring the pills and games. I can show you pain, and make you say my name."
    Clair continued to look at the other lyrics. She started to sing another line of lyrics.
    "And I would be the one, to hold you down. Kiss you so hard. I'll take your breath away. And after I wipe away the tears. Just close your eyes dear."
    Clair chuckled as she read all of the other lyrics. She fell on her bed, grabbing the nearest doll. She held the doll up and smiled.
    "Lilith… You're so pretty." Clair said. Lilith was a simple rag doll. She had a long, black dress that was torn in places. A red ribbon was tied around her neck. Pins were going across her mouth and were randomly placed all over. "Hm… Maybe we should pin Blake's mouth shut." Clair said with a laugh. She placed Lilith back on the bed and got up.
    Clair walked over to her dresser. She opened the top drawer and looked inside. There were various objects inside. Clair smirked as she picked up a whip. She also grabbed some rope.
    "Time for me to punish him." Clair muttered as she headed out of her room. She stopped outside of Blake's door. She could hear his stereo blaring some rock music. Clair reached for the handle just as the door swung open. Blake leaned against the door frame. He smiled at Clair.
    "Hm… Do you need something?" Blake questioned. Clair glared at him. He knew why she was there. He just wanted to toy with her. Clair shoved him out of the way. She looked around Blake's room. The walls were covered in band posters. Candles were placed all around the room. Each of them was lit. Blake closed his door.
    "You were expecting me." Clair said as she looked at him.
    "Of course. I'm always expecting to be used by you. That's what I'm good for." he stated as he walked up to her. Blake smirked when he saw the whip and rope.
    "Don't smirk." Clair growled as she cracked the whip near Blake's cheek. Blake's eyes went wide. For a split second, there was fear in his eyes, but it quickly vanished. Blake stopped smirking.
    "Anything for you, master." he said. Clair's hand tightened around the whip's handle. She suddenly felt very angry.
    "Shirt off." Clair ordered. Blake didn't hesitate to take his shirt off. Clair pointed at the bed. Blake knew exactly what she wanted. He walked over to the bed and laid down on his stomach. Clair walked over and tied Blake's hands to the bedpost. She then moved to the end of the bed. Clair stared at Blake's back. It was covered in scars from his previous punishments.
    Clair never felt bad about hurting him.
    "Beg!" she ordered.
    "Master… Please punish me! I've been a bad boy."
    Clair raised the whip and brought it down. Blake yelled out in pain as a long gash appeared on his back. Clair repeated the process. Each time, she brought the whip down harder than the last. Eventually Clair stopped. Blake's back was a bloody mess. Clair stood there, her hands shaking. Her eyes were transfixed on the blood. She had never gone this far. The whip fell from her hands.
    "Clair? Are you ok?" Blake questioned as he tried to look back. Clair didn't answer. Her thoughts kept going back to the past.
    "Blood… So much blood." Clair muttered. She ran to the door, opened it, and ran out.
    "Clair!" Blake shouted as he tried to free his hands. Clair ignored his cries as she ran into the bathroom. She closed the door and locked it. Clair sat down in the bathtub. She covered her head with her arms.
    "Blood… So much blood." she muttered again. Her mind started to replay the worst memory from her past. The day her parents had died.

    A six year old Clair played happily in the backyard. She was trying to capture a butterfly. Clair jumped at the butterfly, but the insect flew away. Clair fell to the ground, scraping her hand. She got up and started to cry. She ran towards the house. Clair got inside and looked around.
    "Mommy? Daddy?" she called, tears streaming down her face. No one answered her cries. There was a loud noise from upstairs. Clair ran up the stairs. She walked to her parents room. The door was slightly open. Clair peered inside. She saw her parents facing each other.
    "Anna… How can you say that?" Clair's father asked.
    "Because it has to be done. I can't live like this anymore." Anna replied.
    "What about Clair!?" her father snapped.
    "Clair, will be fine. I know she will be." Anna replied with a smile.
    "I won't let you do this!" Clair's father said as he walked up to Anna. Clair watched as her mother slit her father's throat with a kitchen knife. Her father fell to the ground, his blood spilling onto the floor. Anna turned towards the door. She smiled lovingly at Clair.
    "Come here hunny."
    Clair slowly walked towards her mother.
    "You fell again, didn't you?" Anna asked. Clair nodded. "Let me see."
    Clair held up her scraped hand. Anna gently took it and kissed the scrape.
    "Better?"
    Clair only nodded.
    "Good." Anna said with a smile. She hugged Clair close. "I love you my darling. I always will. Please, don't blame yourself for what I'm about to do. It was in no way caused by you. I love you."
    "I love you too, mommy!" Clair cried as she hugged her mother back. The tears fell down her cheeks and onto her mother's shirt. Anna stood and pulled away. She stepped a few feet back.
    "Good bye, Clair. We love you. We always have. Never forget that." Anna said. With that she brought the knife to her throat and slit it. Clair watched as her mother fell to the floor, her mother's blood mixing with her father's. Clair fell to her knees and just stared blankly at the blood. She was all alone now. Her mother would never smile, her father would never laugh.
    Never again.

    Clair was torn from her thoughts by the sound of pounding on the door.
    "Clair! Open up! Please!" Blake shouted. He had managed to free himself from the bedpost. Clair didn't move. Tears started to fall down her face. "Clair!"
    Clair jumped as Blake rammed his shoulder into the door. Blake kept doing that until the door finally flew open. Clair stared at Blake as he walked towards her. He kneeled in front of her and wrapped his arms around her.
    "Never scare me like that again. I don't want to lose you."
    Clair sat there, unable to speak. She could only cry.
    "I love you. I always have." Blake said. Clair started to remember her mother's last words. She wrapped her arms around Blake.
    "Don't leave me! Don't leave me like my mother did. Please…" Clair said as she closed her eyes. Blake smiled gently, pulling her frail frame closer.
    "I never will. Never. I promise you that. I love you."