Zip ties cutting sharply into Tara’s wrists and ankles were a welcome slice of clarity in the fog of her mind. At times they were the only tangible connection between the inside and outside of her body. When she became overwhelmed. When she was no longer a being but a jumbled string of thoughts. They were the only sensation she managed to cling onto as she sunk further and further into the thick mucus that was swallowing her up.

Bee’s voice enveloped her, sliding over her brain like slime.

“Give me more, sweet Tara,” she said. “I know you’re holding back.”

Tara was trapped. Imprisoned in her own mind. Her skull pressing in on her and bringing a heavy sensation of claustrophobia. She was vaguely aware that her body was in a dark room, but the link between body and mind had frayed and she could only hone in on the zip ties and Bee. Bee’s voice smothering her.

“I don’t…” To speak was surreal. Was her voice leaving her throat or was she simply imagining the words and Bee was reading them from her skull like a fleshy flashcard? “I don’t know anything els-”

“Oh, honey.” She stretched the ‘o’ and the ‘y’ out like taffy, her voice deepening a little in amused indignation. “The lies you tell.”

Pressure was applied to her brain again, cat-like claws kneading the soft tissue. She had already said too much. She should not have answered any of Bee’s questions, even the easy ones from the very beginning.

The beginning? How long ago was the beginning?

“I am sure you have some more juicy little bites for me. I can feel you attempting to deceive me.” Bee giggled sweetly. The sound roiled a sickening feeling inside of Tara. “It is very sweet of you to try, though.”

“Not… trusted,” Tara slurred.

“Now, why wouldn’t Ava trust a cutie pie like you?” There was an almost sultry tone to her words.

“Ava trusts no one. Ava… trusts nothing.”

“She trusted you enough to tell you what she is, did she not?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh, but you do.”

“We… broke… up”

“And before that, you were lovers, no?” She filled the word ‘lovers’ with such intensity that Tara felt her already broken heart fracture a little more. She missed Ava. She missed being held and caressed and completely overtaken by pleasure. Intoxicating desire and pure obsession with each other that would halt time around them.

“I love Ava,” Tara whimpered. Her body jerked, whether of her own accord she was unsure, and the zip ties dug into her skin again. Bringing sensation back to the rest of her skin, even if only briefly. She could feel her clothes pressing against her again, her earrings pulling on her earlobes, her necklace pressing against her chest.

“I know, honey.” A hand drifted over the thick cornrows that led to her twisting bun. It was both comforting and threatening.

Tara pulled in a shaky breath and attempted to wiggle her fingers, but she could not tell if anything had happened. “It hurts,” she whispered brokenly.

“Mmm,” Bee hummed as she continued to stroke the sharp tips of her nails over Tara’s scalp. “Tell me where it hurts, my sweet.”

“My heart. My eyes. My tummy. Inside, everywhere inside.”

“It will hurt less if you talk about it, sugar.” Bee sighed sympathetically and slid her hands down Tara’s temples, her cheeks, cupping her under the chin and tilting her head up. “Tell me everything,” she said quietly.