No, Cole. I don’t want to. Please. Cole pulls me closer to him. He tugs my t-shirt up. I tug it down…. You walking ‘bout the house with your fat ass like you think I don’t have feelings, Cole shrieks. He breathes like a runner. His two legs box mine together. Cole brings his face close to mine. His weight on my legs pins me and he squeezes my jaws and shoves his tongue in my mouth…. No, please, no, Cole,
I mutter, close my eyes, push him…. S-sorry, I whisper. Swiftly, like the swing of a bat, Cole’s hand flies toward my face and my eyelids lock tightly and his hand lands like a plank against my jaw and teeth bite into flesh that bleeds the blood I swallow. From closed eyes, I see darkness and specks of light that shimmer. I cringe. Hot tears burst and slide down my face. With my back to Cole, I curl on my side on the couch and bury my face into the soft seat and cover the back of my head and my ears with my hands. I wait and wait for the next blow. I sob. Day Laughs Night Cries: Fifteen details a catastrophic event that thrusts Peaches to do the unthinkable.