Prescribed (The White Coat Series) by D.D. Parker

night. The light shining from the window above the couch was becoming too bright for my still sensitive eyes to adjust to. I felt myself tearing up again, triggering the thoughts from last night. The images came flooding back to me and I realized it wasn’t all just some sick nightmare. I guess I had woken up wishing it was a nightmare, but it was far from it. I still felt his threatening grip around my throat, squeezing like a boa constrictor hugging its fluffy white mouse tight. I reached up and touched the sensitive skin, raw from the fiery grasp. 
    I choked back a sob, covering my eyes from the bright sun and shuffling over to Courtney’s bedroom. I tossed the teal blue plush sheets up in the air and buried myself underneath their large, comforting folds. The light was obstructed by the thick barrier between myself and the window, allowing me some more piece and quiet before I had to face the world again. Courtney’s sheets had become a shelter for my broken shell. What I did know was that I was done with Eric. The night had destroyed me but the morning was beginning to rebuild me. As much as I felt sorry for myself, as much as my body physically hurt, as much as I cared for Eric, I knew that I needed to leave him. There was no way I could continue to put myself in a situation that threatened my very own life. I grew up to be a smarter person. I watched my mother go through hell because of the man she fell in love with, and I couldn’t bear to put myself through the same path. 
    I decided I would end it as amicably as I possibly could. I was just so scared he would do something drastic if I left him in the complete dark. I understood what he did to me and I knew there had to be repercussions, but I felt like I had to make some attempt at saving him. I knew that the Eric I loved was somewhere deep down inside the monster that presented itself last night. But I just couldn’t tell if I was strong enough to save him. 
    I had to try. 
    But I also had to be strong and I had to be smart. I couldn’t stay with Eric right now and I certainly couldn’t be around him alone. He had to understand that what he did was unacceptable and frankly, I was scared. I didn’t want him to lose control again. And if he did, I needed protection because I was scared he wouldn’t stop the next time. 
    I peeked out from under the protective barrier to see Courtney tiptoeing her way into the room, making a wobbly walk over to her bed. She crawled in next to me and nudged my butt over. She sat up against her headboard and looked down at me. 
    “You ok?” 
    “I don’t know,” I said, my voice still shaky and unsure of itself. 
    “It’s going to take a while, but you’ll be ok. You’re stronger than this.” Her hands twined themselves through my now matted hair. I was a mess. I tried burying myself back under the sheets but Courtney pulled them down, her grip surprisingly felt very similar to the grip of a bear trap. I stared up at her white, pop-corned ceiling. The small crispy bubbles and sharp circles splattered across the top, creating all sorts of shapes and patterns. 
    “Remember when we were in high school and Frank threw a bag of cat shit at my window?” Courtney said, looking down at me with the same fondness someone would have reminiscing on the birth of a child. I looked up at her blankly and then remembered. A smile crept across my face unwillingly. And then we both cracked up laughing. 
    “Yes!” I said between laughs. Frank was my ex-boyfriend who I found out cheated on me with some blonde slut in our Algebra class. When I discovered him with the bimbo in the back of our chem lab, Courtney took it upon herself to make his life a living hell. Mainly it was by leaving food for the stray cats in the neighborhood by the window to his bedroom. Sometimes she was even daring enough to crack his unlocked window open and attract the homeless critters in. 
    “You sleep with a dirty pussy, you’re gonna attract