he was careful to skim any bruise , but whatever oil he was using seemed to take the sting out of the bruises . the sound of keys hitting a counter behind me jerks me to attention . he took my hand again and pressed a kiss to the back of it . i felt like i was not only running away from her , but also from every bad thing that had ever happened in that house . i never wanted to in the first place , yet my inner voice is laughing at me , loud and shrill . 