Mercer Kennedy curled up in a ball. The Bad Baby nightmare was back.

But she wasn't asleep.

Doctor Starmer said this would happen. One day the nightmare would come to her in her waking hours. It would spew from her mind like a shaken bottle of soft drink. Mercer clutched her stomach and ran to the toilet. Her body trembled. She felt cold but was covered in a lather of sweat.

She heaved again and panted for breath. What to do? What did the therapist say to do? Acknowledge it. Let it burst forth like a lanced boil and once the pus had leached from within, she would begin to heal. Mercer crawled to the shower cubicle and turned on the water. She needed to be clean.

Hot water scorched her skin but she didn't care. It would sterilise her.

Make her new.

Mercer soaped up the hot pink loofah and scrubbed so hard her skin turned as crimson as the sponge. The comparison made her laugh. Hysteria set her psyche reeling. Her mind looped and spun, twisted and turned. Multitudes of visions flashed past like horses thundering towards her and beyond. Billows of dark dust clouds expanding until a bright light pierced her mind's eye.

"I was six! I was fucking six!"

Mercer clawed at her face. She gulped in air. Vomit ejected from her mouth and hit the tiles. She wiped the dregs from her chin, lifted her face directly into the spray and laughed frenetically again.

She was free.

No longer six.

No longer a Bad Baby.

No one could touch her again.

A surge of exhaustion swept through Mercer's body. She turned off the water and stumbled towards her bed. Bubbles of laughter mingled with tears. She snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes.

The pus had leached and she was free...

*

Rohan Wayland lay with his hands behind his head and thought of Annie. He couldn't believe how close he'd got to touching her. Why hadn't he been able to say anything to her afterwards? Should he have said thank you? Was he meant to? Rohan thought some more. Was a man supposed to say thank you to a woman after sex? After touching her?

He hadn't seen this happen in the porn movies he'd watched but touching Annie wasn't like anything he'd seen in a porn movie and he hadn't watched many romance movies so he wasn't sure. Rohan smiled. Annie said they'd work it out and he believed her. They would work it out.

*

Penny Macy gasped for breath. She stood at the end of the bed and gripped the rail. "Oh... Joe...! I want more!"

"Yeah, honey. I'm here. That's a girl."

"I never knew it would be so good. Mother always said it was sinful."

Joe chuckled and moved his hand faster. "You're mother sounds like a right royal pain in the arse."

Penny moaned and thrust her hips against his hand. "I'm so glad she's dead..."

*

Bill Peters washed Amaryllis' body with warm water. He dipped the sponge into the bucket and squeezed. "You're so pretty." He touched her moist eyes with his fingers. "You liked the fucking, didn't you?"

"Yes... I liked it."

Bill ran the sponge tenderly down her body and followed it with his eyes. "Sally never let me fuck her like that. She always wanted to be in control." Again, he washed her body. "You're so beautiful. I want to take care of you. I want to get you off the drugs."

Bill put the cloth down and lay on the bed beside her. He cradled Amaryllis in his arm and stroked her hair. "Will you let me?"

"Yes..."

"It was amazing. Better than I ever imagined." He kissed her mouth. "We finished together Ami and it was perfect..."

Thanks for reading.

I hope you are enjoying the story.