Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 80969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80969 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
His hand released my head. I turned my face to the side and gulped in a breath.
“I don’t like that you made me do that.” He ran his hand over my hair, smoothing it down. “Will you be a good boy now?”
A tear rolled down my cheek. “Yes, sir.”
“You’re not going to shoot me, River. So, just put the fucking gun down.”
“I-I …”
The smell of beer …
Hot tears on my face …
Can’t breathe …
I’m scared …
Make it stop …
“Put the fucking gun down, you little shit!” he yells at me, taking a step closer.
“D-don’t c-come any c-closer!” I cry out. I hold the gun higher.
It’s hurting my arms.
But I can’t put it down.
If I put it down, he’ll … he’ll hurt me again.
He’ll hurt Mama.
I’m so scared.
I don’t know what to do.
“I-I d-don’t w-want to do g-games with you anymore! Please just leave me alone!”
“Just leave me alone!” he mimics. “Stop being a fucking crybaby. This is what boys do for their daddies. This is what I did for my daddy when I was your age, and I didn’t cry about it! Do you have any idea how hard my life is, boy? I’m out there, risking my life every fucking day, earning money to put clothes on your back and food in your ungrateful belly! Now, you do what your father tells you and put that gun down!”
I’m so scared …
Can’t breathe …
“That’s my good boy, River. Daddy loves you. Daddy loves you so much.”
“You’re not my dad!” I scream. “I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!”
I feel the gun slip in my hands. I grip it tighter.
Bang!
My body jolts backward.
My stepdad … he’s just standing there, staring at me. His hand is pressed against his stomach.
He moves his hand away, and there’s a red stain on his white shirt. He stares down at it. “Y-you fucking shot me,” he stutters. He never stutters. “I’m going to fucking kill you!” He lurches forward.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
My stepdad is on the floor now.
There’s blood everywhere.
The gun drops from my hands.
I look up, and Mama is standing in the doorway.
She looks scared. She starts to cry.
“What have you done, River?” she whispers.
I saved us, Mama. I saved us.
Annie
I glance at the man sitting across from me at the kitchen table. The man I married seven years ago.
The man I hate.
I stare at him with every ounce of my hidden contempt and hatred.
I’m leaving you.
The words echo in my head.
I wish I could say those three words out loud.
But I can’t.
Fear and a hundred other terrifying reasons keep them safely locked inside my head.
My finger lifts to my face, gently touching the swelling on my cheekbone, moving down to my split lip.
He sees me touching my face.
He frowns.
I drop my hand.
Last night’s beating was bad. He hit my face. That happens less often nowadays.
He doesn’t want people questioning bruises on my face.
So, when he beats me, the hits are to my body. Usually, the only violence that happens during sex is when he chokes me. He likes to do that often.
But, last night, he hit me while having sex with me.
Or, as I should call it, raping me.
Because that’s what it is.
In the beginning, I didn’t realize it was rape. I thought, to be raped, you had to say no. Maybe even tried to fight back.
I’ve never done either of those things.
But it wasn’t like I could say no. I was too afraid to. And, if I had told him no, he would have taken what he wanted anyway.
But I’m glad he beat me the way he did last night because I can’t risk a hit to my stomach.
Not now. I’m pregnant.
Pregnant with a baby that he will never know about.
I only found out a few days ago that I’m pregnant. That’s why I’m finally leaving. Why I finally have the courage to leave him.
Because it’s not just me anymore.
I have a child to protect.
I know people will think I should just call the cops on him. Have him arrested for what he’s done to me.
But Neil is the police.
Detective Neil Coombs. Highly respected and admired by his peers. Expected to make Chief of Police one day. He got a Medal of Valor last year.
Yet he regularly beats his wife.
I did try calling the cops once, a long time ago, in the beginning. And they didn’t help me.
Because they’re all as dirty and corrupt as he is.
So, I’m doing this the only way I can. I’m changing my name, and I’m going to disappear.
The only good thing about having an abusive bastard of a husband, who is a cop, is when he’s a dirty cop who gets paid by criminals to turn a blind eye to what they do.
Neil thinks I have no clue what he does on the side. But I know more than he realizes.