Grace: Flashback Unfiltered

It starts slow, then suddenly, my body knows before my mind does. My heart pounds. My breath catches. I freeze trapped in the moment. Not in the present, but back there.

The air thickens. My throat tightens. His words echo like they’ve been carved into my soul “You’re nothing without me.” They slice through the silence, clawing at me. I still feel his fingers around my wrist, like he’s there, dragging me back to the dark. My skin burns with the memory of his touch.

I see it all again: the slamming door, the shattered glass, his cold smile after he’d broken me. I’m shaking, but I don’t know if it’s from fear or the anger that still festers in my veins. I flinch at nothing. At everything. And I can’t escape.

When it ends, it doesn’t really end. My heart pounds in my chest, like I’m still running. I look around, and everything’s fine. I should be fine. But I’m not. I never am.

And still, I smile. I say, “I’m okay.”

Because trauma doesn’t let you stop pretending.