Her friend smiled and suggested that she examine her wardrobe."There is nothing wrong with your wardrobe Belinda", her friend said. "You have some ver...y nice and seductive clothing, now this would be perfect. Take my advice and remove your bra for this is backless and a bra would spoil its design. What sort of panties do you have?" she asked as she laid the chosen garment on the bed. Belinda produced an array, her friend smiled. "Forget them, don't wear any. You are out to enjoy sex my dear. You gonna give me some sort of ‘if you were going to you already would have’ bullshit?”“No,” he said, “Because you cannot.”“What?”“Look down.”I did.The gun in my hand was no a gun at all, but instead a light, fluffy feather duster. Ornate, frilly, and completely ridiculous. A thing utterly harmless. Not even all that great for cleaning, much less harming someone. I must have stared at it in disbelief for nearly ten seconds before I realized it was not the only thing changed, not even remotely.. She can taste it as sure as she can taste the blood from her split lip. Pain and anguish wash over her in the black depths of unconsciousness. Suddenly, she is calm. He cannot hurt her in this dark place. She cannot feel the blows she knows he is still inflicting. All she feels are the loving arms of the spirits surrounding her, lending her their strength, comforting her, giving her peace while in the midst of all the violence. She knows she will go on, that this will not be the day he. My apartment was on the first floor, and the bedroom overlooked a blacktop driveway just wide enough to include a parking lane. Beyond was a strip of lawn marked off with a white rail fence, and beyond that, the brick side of a twin home, blank but for the small kitchen and bathroom windows. The driveway was bright beneath an amber spotlight on the back of my building. It was insane anyone would try an assault out in the open like that, but when it comes to sex, as I had learned, insanity is.