(Synn)<br/><br/>Justine flinched the moment he grabbed the towel and flung it across the room. Her heartbeat quickened and a lump in her throat formed, making it difficult to breathe, or was that her holding her breath? Once he had her delicate hands pinned above her head, her soft innocent eyes widened in horror.<i>What had she done to anger him this time? </i>she wondered as he drew close enough that she could hear him inhale and exhale in frustration. Tears started to well up in her eyes like glass pools as his grip tightened, cutting off any circulation she had in her wrists. She tried to swallow that lump in her throat but found it to be no use, it just grew. She turned her head to the side and squeezed her eyes shut as he spoke. Her whole body trembled in fear.<br/><br/>She didn't dare move or open her eyes once he let go of her. She listened to his footfalls towards the door and waited for the creak of that door to open before she dared to flutter her eyes open again. A trick of sorts she learned with her father when he was angered and drunk. It was easier to just simply play dead if it meant he would bore of the lack of reaction he would obtain from her and move on. She saw the heel of his shoe right before he closed the door. Again she did not hear the echo of the lock.<br/><br/>She popped out of the bed, rubbing her wrists that were still reddened by his tight grip and walked over to the window. Again she tried to open it but pushing upwards until her hands were white. Her smeared handprints adorned the window now and she sighed. She pressed her head to the window once more as tears flowed out of the corners of her eyes. "I wish you were here little brother" she whispered, knowing at least in their most scared moments, they had each other and now she had no one. She glanced over at the towel. Her father hated clutter and hated things to be out of place. Her hands shook as she contemplated picking it up again and folding it.<i>Would she be punished for that? </i>she thought as she walked over to the towel. "Fuck it" she snapped as she picked the wet towel up and folded it once more, placing it on the corner of the bed where it last was.<br/><br/>Justine padded over to the fireplace. She popped her head inside and looked upwards. The flue was still open but there was no light that she could see. She wasn't even sure if that was a valid way out and if she got dirty again, there was no telling what he would do to her. She sighed as she looked at the door. The door, however, was unlocked. She drew in a deep breath and walked to the door slowly. Her stomach certainly in knots as she approached. As if there would be a monster waiting on the other side ready to strike. It was that same pit feeling she got when she would have to check to see if her father had passed out for the night or not. Her hand rested on the handle, she sucked in her breath and held it as she held it downwards. There was a click and the door opened. She could hear voices in the halls, snarls and growls too of an unearthly nature. She poked her head out of her room to see if she could see anything at all, but it was dark in this mansion, lit only by candles in strategic places. She placed her foot outside the door and stepped out.<i> You're worried about refolding a towel and yet you're outside of your room</i>she thought to herself.