⊰ 20.5 | 3 ⊱ My Salvation: Part 3

Content Advisory: Graphic depictions of violence, psychological trauma, and unhealthy coping mechanisms that may be triggering. Reader discretion is strongly advised.

⊰ Marcel ⊱

I sit on the sofa, the room spinning around me, the crystal glass clutched in my hand, the rich amber liquid sloshing against the sides as I bring it to my lips. The alcohol burns as it slides down my throat, but it’s a welcome pain, a distraction from the all-consuming torment that threatens to tear me apart.

They’re gone. My parents…they’re really gone.

The thought is a relentless hammer, pounding against the inside of my skull. Every time I close my eyes, I see it. The box, the blood, the heads… I see their faces—my mother’s once warm, loving eyes now blank and lifeless; my father’s strong, proud features twisted in agony. It plays over and over in my mind, a sickening loop that I can’t escape, a nightmare made flesh.

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