A Tender Promise

"Stop..." Stella tried to protest, but her body felt heavy and weak.

She was wearing a loose hospital dress, and the pants underneath had been rolled up. Beneath the fabric, her legs were wrapped in bandages stained with streaks of blood and smears of dirt.

Her thighs were tightly bound, and her calves were raw from where the beam had pressed into them, with some areas scraped and broken.

Of cours