She went through the words in her head, rolling them over on her tongue like candy, tasting the citrus tang of the lies she’d been fed. 

“I’m here for you” they’d said. And then left as she was hauled into the ambulance. Lost in a blur of red and blue lights, never to see her again. 

She’s unsure if her heart is there anymore, the thumping ceasing to be heard. Forgotten. The only word she could hear. 

She sinks further into the bath, letting clear water invade her chest. 

  “I love you” she remembers them saying, she wonders if it were a dream. Anger twines itself with hurt, snaking up her spine and seeping into every crevice it can find. It tightens its grip on her, its trembling fingers jostling her around and rippling the scalding water. She feels her own fingers tighten in response.

“You’re getting better,” the man in white had said. His words play on a venomous loop, round and round like a broken record, breaking under the pressure that’s mounted to her head, pounding against her skull.

“Liars,” she mutters to no one in particular, letting her head dwindle back and her eyes flutter closed. 

“We can help you.” She watches them smile shallowly in the reflection of the darkening water. They tell her lies. The pressure in her head is draining down her arm and leaving the water a sickening shade of crimson. 

She lets the false words and empty promises bounce around until they all settle and fall down. 

In one final fall, her head is submerged in the water.