One Day You'll Be Mine: Steamy Contemporary Military Romance (11 page)

He looked at me, carefully, as if he were calculating whether or not to respond to my bold statements. We’d had our share of arguments in our twenty years together, but not once did I ever truly get up and leave. I may have threatened to do so, but never went through with it. This time, I didn’t talk. I didn’t try to waste anymore breath on a dead situation. I simply packed, and continued packing.

“You are a piece of work, you know that?” He shook his head. “We haven’t had sex for months. You know I’m busy. I tell you all the time that I am. Then you go creating these crazy stories about me sleeping around, and causing scenes in front of our friends. I haven’t been with any other women!”

“Because you’ve been with other men!” I roared, interrupting his bullshit. Forgetting my son was asleep in his room, I continued. “You’ve been with other men, and I know because they tell me everything – including where your birthmark is and your love of foot massages! And you think I’m losing my mind over nothing? Are you fucking kidding me right now? One thing you’re
not
going to do is gaslight me with your psychotic bullshit. Or slap me around like some punching bag, or pretend I’m crazy because you’re acting out! I’m packing my shit, and Jordan and I are leaving!”

Hollis flew over the bed, and slammed me against the wall. My head cracked against the hard surface, almost rendering me dizzy. My vision blurred. I started seeing double as I held my head.
I can’t believe he hit me again.

“Listen to me, very clearly.” Hollis towered over me, leaning in so his words transmitted directly to my ears. “I have taken care of you since we were teenagers. Since your mom ignored you and left you to run after whatever man she needed to fill the emptiness left when your father abandoned you. I’m the one who made sure you had everything you needed. I’m the one who helped you buy new shoes with my allowance so you could study and pass your classes. I’m the one who convinced my parents to let you eat dinner with us because your mom was ‘working’ - when we both know she was spending the night at another man’s house for days. And I’m the one who married you so you could escape her miserable drinking and haggard attitude when you finally started working to pay for school, only to have her demand you pay her rent.

“You have not spent one day worrying about the bills, food, or clothing on your back since we married. You have not had to worry about anybody harming you or threatening you with homelessness or neglect since we’ve been together. I have always had your back!

“You want the truth, Natalia? Fine!” He clapped his hands together loudly. “I have been seeing Presley. I have been sleeping with him for over a year. No, I’m not leaving you for him. But I told him what I needed to continue to get what I want: some stress-free tension relief, something I cannot get with you, because when I look at you, all I see is responsibility. So if you think you can handle being on your own, fine. You pack your shit, and you leave. But I’m going to make it very clear for you right now. You are
not
taking my boy with you. You leave by yourself, and stay gone. You won’t last three months before you come crawling back on your hands and knees, begging me to take you back in.”

Shock, horror, and disgust filled my being. I saw red as I hauled off and punched Hollis in the jaw. I don’t even know where the strength to reach that high and hard came from. I don’t remember much of anything else, after that. I just remember shouting, screaming, and yelling, throwing things all over the room, and threatening to kill him if he ever touched me or spoke to me like that again.

Hollis continued yelling, but he stayed on the other side of the room, calling me all kinds of “ungrateful bitches” as he did. We were going at it so much, I didn’t notice Jordan was present until he screamed for us to stop fighting. Making matters worse, base police showed up, banging on the door.

Citing they’d received calls about a disturbance in the area, the police separated Hollis and I, and questioned us both. The officers asked us to step outside. Jordan started freaking out even more. He screamed that he didn’t want his parents to go to jail, and he ran between us.

“Can you both stop fighting?” he wailed, looking at Hollis and then me. “I don’t want to see you go to jail. I don’t want to see you go to jail either!”

Hollis grabbed his son and picked him up. “Nobody’s going to jail buddy. Your mom and I are just fighting. It’s normal. It happens.” I volunteered to speak with the officers in private while Hollis consoled Jordan.

Once we were outside, the interrogation started. “Is everything okay, ma’am?” One officer asked. I nodded, explaining that we’d simply had an argument that got out of control.

The officer shined his light on me, and paused at my neck. “Has this altercation gotten physical in any way?”

I denied that it had. As angry as I was, I still couldn’t put Hollis behind bars, and leave Jordan unattended. When the office questioned the bruises around my neck, I came up with some lame excuse. The look on his face said he obviously didn’t believe me, however, he couldn’t do anything but accept my answer at this point.

“Look officer, my husband and I have just been fighting lately. A lot, quite actually. This argument started because I’m leaving for a while. I made a decision to give him space, and I started packing my things. He didn’t like the idea of me leaving.”

I gestured toward the Kia. “In the morning I’ll be finishing my packing, heading to my last day of work, and then taking a vacation. I’m just going to visit my family for a while to let our situation cool off.”

“Are you taking your son with you?” The officer said. “You know school starts next week.”

“I’m quite aware,” I nodded in affirmation. “He’s going to stay here with his father.”

“Ma’am, are you positively sure you’re okay? Do you feel safe? Has he threatened you in any way? Has he put his hands on you in any way?” The officer’s concern started to make me queasy. I hoped to God he wouldn’t notice me getting dizzy again, but before I knew it, I started throwing up on the sidewalk.

I sat down on the ground and started crying. I didn’t know why I was so sick and dizzy all of a sudden. I just knew that my head was pounding and this was all too much to take in.

Chapter 16: Natalia

Friday and Saturday passed, but achingly slow. I convinced the officers that I was just anxious and upset, but when I woke up at 10 AM the next morning with my head throbbing, I knew I’d sustained a concussion from the altercation.

I met Kelli for lunch at her apartment. There, I told her the rundown of what happened.

After they escorted me to the door, they asked Hollis to step outside. Jordan’s arms were locked around his neck. He started screaming hysterically when he Hollis tried to put him down. “Don’t take my daddy to jail!” Both officers promised not to arrest Hollis. They didn’t have a choice; that was the only way Jordan would calm down.

“Jordan, it’s past your bedtime. You have to get ready for tomorrow. Go back to sleep.”

“No, mom,” he sniffled. “I want to wait until dads back in the house.” There was so much anxiousness in his expression. He sat on the couch, curled up in his pajamas, and leaned against the armrest to wait for Hollis to come back.

I was in seething pain from the bang that was growing by the minute. I started to kiss him on his forehead, but then I remembered my breath reeked of puke, and decided to start my shower instead. I grabbed my cell phone and text Kelli.
We had another fight – this time the cops came.

I did my best to relax, but no amount of that Relaxing aromatherapy body wash I’d purchased from Bath and Body Works could soothe me. I scrubbed and scrubbed, and thanked God that Hollis didn’t crack my skull open. I wanted to tell the truth about what happened, but I feared worse would happen if I spoke up as opposed to let him be.

After drying off, and getting dressed, I went to check on Jordan. He was asleep on the couch, albeit while defiantly sitting up. I peeked outside and Hollis seemed to be involved in a tense conversation with the officers. It was almost 3 AM, and I needed to sleep. I had to clock in at 11 and I had less than 7 hours to get it together.

After making an executive decision not to deal with Hollis’s shit for the rest of the night, I took a clean issue of his uniform and placed it on his chair, along with his pillows. I locked him out of the bedroom in case he thought he’d smother me in my sleep.

***

Kelli sighed when I told her the whole story the next day. She didn’t understand why I allowed this behavior to continue, but I couldn’t give her a decent reason. Hollis was anything but loveable right now, and his behavior was dangerous and reckless. But I decided after my shift ended, I would leave almost immediately, without waiting until Sunday.

“But what about the clothing and the house?” She asked. “Are you all packed and ready to go?”

“No,” I replied. “But look at me. I can’t take any more of this. Do you know how much aspirin I needed to take this morning?”

“He slammed your head against a
wall
, Natalia. You’ve probably got a concussion. Let’s go to the hospital first. I don’t want anything happening when you’re on the road.”

I denied my need for medical attention at first, but Kelli persisted, threatening to turn Hollis in if I didn’t. I’m glad I listened because, as it turned out, she was right. Hollis did give me a concussion. The doctor recommended I stay off my feet for several days, and warned against heavy activities.

“I have a trip I’m taking this weekend,” I said. “I’m driving.”

“You’ll have to cancel those plans,” he replied firmly. “The sooner you rest, the more quickly you’ll recover.”

“Don’t worry,” Kelli said. “I’ll stay with you, and talk to Kristophe about Jordan and Hollis.” She gave me a look that let me know I didn’t have a choice in the matter.

I sighed in defeat. Once again, my own life was beyond my control.

Part II

“When you think your life is falling apart, it's usually falling together in disguise.” 

― 
Charlotte Eriksson

Chapter 17: Rose

It’d been over a month since Ellis had left, and I was just now getting a sense of normalcy in our routine. At first, I clung to my need to have him speak with me every day. If I didn’t hear from him, I’d freak out, sending ridiculous messages until he responded. Having Natalia here changed that.

Natalia had become a welcome guest in my home over the past few weeks that she’s been here. She arrived a week after Labor Day, just before the summer heat transitioned into a Texas fall, when the weather was not as scorching. Seeing the leaves transform from lush green to orange, and the café signs market pumpkin lattes and apple ciders were clear signs the seasons shifted.

Upon arrival, Natalia got settled in the office, which I propped a new air mattress in, and unpacked quietly. I insisted on her bringing in everything from the car, because I didn’t want her to feel like she was some unwelcome stranger in my house. She was family – she’d been in Ellis’ life so long she was literally like a blood sister.

She slept for one and a half days after she finally completed bringing in her luggage. I couldn’t tell if it was the two-day drive that exhausted her, or the stress from her separation. Regardless, I was happy to have her in my home, and more than willing to provide shelter and a listening ear as she figured out her next steps.

I hadn’t spoken to Hollis, but I didn’t feel the need to. Unlike Ellis, who wanted to know both sides, seeing Natalia up close and personal was enough for me. The woman had papers from the doctor. They confirmed she’d gotten a concussion from her altercation with Hollis. They also were the cherry on top of a domestic abuse sundae, because I could still see faint remnants of the bruises left from his fingers around her neck.

“Why didn’t you bring Jordan?” I asked, eyeing the bruises. “He could have started school here.”

“Jordan wanted to come, but I didn’t want to pull him away from his environment until I knew what I planned to do,” she explained. “Besides, to be quite honest with you, Jordan’s safer there than I ever will be. Hollis would never lay a hand on Jordan like he did me. Even when he showed violence toward me, Jordan was always safe from his wrath.”

“Why would going back even be an option at this point?” I feared the answers, but I continued to ask. “This man has put his hands on you three times, without an ounce of remorse. The more you’re around him, the more violent he becomes. And this doesn’t even begin to touch his infidelity.”

Battle weary and exhausted, Natalia’s head sunk into her hands. She sighed, exasperated by the obvious truth of what I said. “It’s not that easy. I have a child. I have a marriage. I have a job.”

I decided not to push the issue. I knew there were several factors at stake, including the idea of time wasted by letting go of a twenty-year relationship.

Natalia was given keys to the apartment, as well as a gate for the two-car garage. She’d be alright, but she needed to get out, explore, breathe, and see where things were for her before making any hasty decisions. All I could do was provide the environment and give her peaceful refuge.