The Last Kiss (11 page)

“You need to leave him. Has he given you shit about the sex thing?” Raeve could sense the tick in his jaw working overtime as he tried to remain stoic.

Heaving out another sigh, she knew it was pointless to try and hide the truth. She was already an emotional wreck, and it wouldn't make a difference to hide the truth anyway. He would eventually find out. “Yes. He spent most of the night screaming at me, running in and out of the bedroom every five minutes to lay another round of insults and accusations on me. How could anyone get in the mood when the person you're married to constantly calls you a whore and a liar? Blames you for ruining the relationship and states he knows for a fact all the people I've supposedly slept with? Yet each one of those people has no problem stating otherwise.”

The audible grind of Aidan’s teeth over the phone sent shivers down her spine. It wasn't fair for her to spill all of this on him, and she knew it. But he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“God, Aidan, the things he says to me…I can't take it. I mean he didn't stop until he finally passed out around a little after four.” His words shouldn't hurt anymore, she had no feeling left for him, but each little dig and every insult was like a stab to the chest. How could so much hatred come from one person?

“It's all right sweetheart. Just know that I'm there with you, in your heart and in spirit. But I'll say it again. You need to leave him before something bad happens.”

She bit out a harsh laugh because she realized not much more bad could happen. “I know. You're right. Listen, I need to get back before he comes looking for me. I'll try and call you tomorrow.”

“Okay, sweetheart.
If you need anything, anything at all, call me. If he hits you again, you better call the police. I love you, sweetheart. Always have, always will.”

Guilt washed over her, it wasn't fair for her to confide in him after all she had done. Still, here he was, as gentle and protective as ever. “I know.” After kissing the receiver, the call disconnected. Slowly she lowered the phone, deleted her call entry log, and dropped the device in her purse.

“I don't deserve you.” She was tired of playing the game, pretending to be a good wife, when she could barely remember who she was. The man she loved with every beat of her heart was too far away, but he still loved her. Her heart wanted to cry, and her head wanted to scream. “Nice fucking situation, Raeve. You're stuck with an asshole and can't be with the one you love. Only you could fuck up your life this bad.”

Her phone buzzed violently again shaking her from her reverie. “Yes,” she said curtly.

   “Where the hell are you?”

 
              “Still at the market, why?” she knew where this was leading, another round of ‘hurry your ass up.' Sighing, the overwhelming feeling of another fight on the horizon crept up and hit her solidly in the face. Raeve knew all too well that there was no way she was going to get out of the impending battle. It didn’t matter if she left for the night or for a few days. That only prolonged the inevitable.

“You've been gone for an hour. What are you buying, the whole fucking store?”

Looking down at her watch, all she could do was roll her eyes, “It’s been twenty minutes. Could you exaggerate any more?”

“Right!
I saw the clock before you left! I know how long you've been gone. What did you go meet up with your boyfriend? You can tell me, really? Where are you?”

“What you can't hear the food scanner?” just as she finished, the cashier thanked her for shopping.

   “Thank you,” she said quickly, hovering back over the phone she snapped, “I'm leaving now.”

“Sure, pretty convenient.”
He snapped. Raeve felt her stomach twist tighter sensing his growing anger. “What, did you pull into a gas station just as I called? Whatever.” Click.  His sullen mood had gone from bad to worse. It was going to be a bad night, and she knew it.

~Chapter Fourteen~

The hours had passed, filled with more accusations and fighting. The harder she stood her ground, the angrier he became, slamming the cabinet doors so hard they nearly came off their hinges.

“Just leave!” she screamed. “Go out with your friends. Please just get out!”

It was useless. She tried to walk away, lock herself in the bedroom, anything to get out of the path of his wrath, but nothing worked. Every closed door was pried open to start his tirade again.

  
“Why? So you can call over your boyfriends or chat online with them all night? Please, I know what you've been doing. You're such a fucking whore. I never should've married you. My mother was right about you. You're nothing but a pathetic loser. Stupid bitch.”

“Fuck you!” she screamed. Hours of his constant stream o
f nastiness had taken its toll. “Leave now!” she demanded, fisting her hands tight to hide the shaking.

  
“Or what?” he challenged, getting up in her face. “What are you going to do about it, cunt?”

Anger welled up, ready to boil over. His rank breath, coated in beer, suffocated the air around her. Each word spewed spit before he hauled back and launched a mouthful of saliva in her face. “Choke on that you fucking slut.”

He had her backed up against wall, her hands were balled into fists as she tried to push past him, and she was shaking in fear of what was about to come. The look in his crazed eyes told her this was just the beginning of a very bad situation. Her internal alarms screamed for her to get out, but the crush of his body pressing against hers, and the feel of his rigid length, scared the hell out of her. He was hard, getting off on his power trip. The glint in his eyes as he torqued her fear into over-drive seemed to be his newest addiction.

Bringing her hands up, she pushed against his body, trying to break from his hold. “Get the fuck off me!” she screamed.

The situation became a game of survival as he slammed her back into the wall, knocking the breath from her body. Raeve fell into a heap on the floor.

              “Get up! Get out now!” her mind screamed. Fear tore through every cell in her body as she scrambled to get off the floor.

He lunged for her once again, grabbing her arms and pulling her off the floor before she even caught the ground beneath the soles of her feet. His twisted grin and flaring nostrils made the menace he threw off morph into something more hideous as he threw her across the kitchen. With a hard thud she bounced off the unforgiving cold tile floor. Raeve’s instincts kicked into overdrive as survival had her picking herself up off the floor. Fear coursed through every vein in her body screaming for her to get the hell out of there. She took one step, and crushing pain screamed down her leg. “Shit.” Panicked, she prayed to God she could make it out of the house before he caught her.

His insidious laughter broke through her pain clouded thoughts and served as the
encouragement she needed to get moving. Pulling on every ounce of her courage to make a run for it, she didn't make it past the living room before he nailed her against the wall again. His cruel game was well under way as he raked a feverish hand down her shirt.

“You're not leaving, bitch,” he promised.

When he wrapped his fingers around her throat, she prayed for death to spare her. She didn't want to die at his hand. Raeve thrashed and struggled against his hold as he lifted her into the air. She threw punch after punch, but nothing seemed to faze him. She hauled back, landing a kick square in his nut sack and watched horrified when David didn’t so much as flinch. There was not a single wince from him before he slammed her into the wall again. The cold sneer that sliced across David’s face as he dropped Raeve to the ground couldn’t compare to the blinding pain she felt as her knee buckled followed by his laughter. Her head spun like a merry-go-round as she tried to get her senses back online.

Steeling herself, she pushed up off the
floor in a final attempt to get out of the house. Biting back the tears as she winced from the pain, Raeve let her fear drive her. Sucking in the last of her need to survive, she pushed past him, running around the corner of the kitchen. Her knee screamed and agony ripped through her, but panic as, he followed in pursuit, drove her to run harder. It wasn’t until she tasted the coppery tang of blood and waited for the stars to stop spinning did she realize she was lying face down on the cool tile floor. Struggling, Raeve pulled her body up to the table, hoping for a small reprieve from his onslaught. His chaotic pacing made her dizzy as his stream of threatening curses poisoned the air. Eyeing the slider door, Raeve slowly stepped around the corner of the table hoping she could make it out. He rounded on her, as her pulse tripped over itself. Lunging for the door, the bitter sting of bone on bone connecting ripped away the last of her hope for getting through the doorway.

David’s fist had landed a solid punch to the back of her skull, knocking her back over the chair. Her legs tangled with the
tumbling wood as when she fell to the floor again. The dull aching in her back and shoulders started to throb with a burning sting since her last encounter with the tile. She tried to convince herself that he would give up and walk away. That his anger had played out and she could crawl into the spare bedroom and nurse her wounds, but the look on his face as he spit on her left no comfort that this was over. Rolling over, her muscles seared, begging for a reprieve as she picked herself up again.

“Get the fuck away from me!” she shrieked, but the deafening sound of his voice screaming another round of curses drowned out her demands.

Fear bombarded her because she knew from experience he was just getting warmed up. The feral look in his eyes confirmed the truth she already knew. “Oh shit,” she cried, hauling ass for the front door. Raeve grabbed for her purse knowing that is where her keys were, only to have him grab ahold of the strap, pulling her back in a harsh thrust. She fell into the side-table, nailing her hip and knee. As another round of pain exploded, she saw the delight he took in hurting her. While she lay there, he made sure she watched as he threw the purse down the hall toward the back door.

“You wanna leave? Try and walk out that door, stupid bitch. Go ahead,” he taunted.

A choked up scream begged to be released but nothing could break past the lump in her throat as he stalked toward her.

The crushing grip of his hands around her throat, suffocating every last breath of air from her lungs, made depth of his fury and raw hatred for her shine to life. He wanted her dead. This desire had been expressed too many times right to her face, however this time the evil behind his madness sent a wave of panic down her spine. He wasn’t going to just toss her aside as he had down other times. No it was there, in his soul that screamed that he had no intention of letting her live past dawn. Raeve found herself lifted off the floor once again, until not even her toes touched the tile as she tried in vain to peel his hands away from her neck.

“You'll never leave me, cunt.” His words burned like acid in her ears. Her eyes, watered as she watched the veins in his arms bounce and writhe from his hold. Every muscle in his chest went rigid as his cock pitched a tent displaying his sick fantasy. He was getting sexually excited by her hurting her, watching her struggle for life. With a hard slam, he drove her head through the drywall, knocking her momentarily unconscious.

The throbbing ache in her head blurred her vision as she tried to stay alert. His hand crushed her windpipe, while moments of blackness clouded what little vision she had. Raeve fought to focus, counting the seconds until he released her. His voice was littering the air with another stream of curses and insults as he coldheartedly dropped Raeve to the floor and walked away from her motionless body like a champion prize fighter. A few long moments passed as she slowly peeled her eyes open, catching a glimpse of her cell phone just inches from her. The back was popped open, and the battery had spilled from it. Carefully she pulled the small device to her, replaced all
the pieces, and booted it up. She prayed for a single minute with him in another room to make a run for it. She listened intently, trying to determine his whereabouts. From the sound of things, he was in the bathroom still mouthing off about how horrible she was, and how she got what she deserved. Raeve gathered up every last ounce of courage left inside her battered body, and carefully climbed to her feet. It was now or never, and never wasn’t an option.

Her heart thundered, and blood roared in her ears as she ran for the door, throwing it open wide. Every survival instinct she had poured out. Raeve had known this night was coming because his usual cycle of violence had increased during the past year. In the weeks prior she had made it a point to learn the back alleyways, and memorized them by heart. She knew where each entry into a neighboring yard was and also the location of ample hiding places. She had barely made it ten steps when she heard his voice coming after her. High-tailing it, her body screamed as she took off
down the dark alley. She had no idea how far she'd make it before he caught up to her, but stopping to see if she was clear of him wasn’t an option. Her heart pounded with each footfall as she punched 9-1-1 into the small cellphone. Hastily she slid through a battered wooden fence and made her way across the yard of a vacant house Fear covered her as breath sawed in and out of her lungs.

  
“9-1-1, what's your emergency?” a nasal, male voice asked.

“Please help me,” she cried. “My husband is coming after me again. Please!”

“Okay, miss, calm down, and please tell me what happened.”

                 “He hit me, throwing me into a wall. Please! He's coming after me again. Please send someone.” Tears streamed down her face as she rattled off the address and her information.

“Okay, miss, an officer will be there shortly. Are you hurt, do you need an ambulance?”

Running her hand over the back of her skull, she felt the lump that had started to protrude, but denied the EMT's assistance. She wasn't new to this. Bruises, broken bones, and concussions…this wasn't her first rodeo, but it would be her last. “No, I'll be all right.”

“Okay, is there anyone you can call to come stay with you?” Sure there was, and he would board a flight at a moment’s notice if she asked him to. It was a call she needed to make, but a new fear welled up inside her.

“Yes,” she said softly. “I'll call now.”

The operator said good bye, and reassured her that she’d be okay. Wanting to take comfort in those few words, Raeve flipped through the contact list in search of the one person she needed to hear and the only voice that would replace her fear with hope as she broke down. Looking at the screen, she saw the time and cursed softly when she realized he wouldn't welcome the wakeup call. Before she gave it a second thought she hit send.

   “Hello?” Aidan’s groggy voice mumbled.

“Aidan.” She was breathless as the tears started to
roll, the uncontrollable sobs took over before she could say another word.

  
“Sweetheart, what happened? Where are you?”

 
              “He―he hit me again.”

The snap of his jaw nearly deafened her.
“Oh god, Aidan, I thought he was going to kill me.”

  
“I'm coming, sweetheart. I'll grab the first flight out of Richmond.” His words were rushed as he listened to her sobs.

“No, don't be silly. I'll be all right. Don't waste your money.”

   “It's not about the money. You need me, I'll take care of you, love.”

Her heart broke again, as his words filled with complete sincerity settled over her.
“No, Aidan, it's okay. I'll be okay, please, there isn't anything you can do. I've already called the police. They should be here any minute, just stay on the phone with me…please.”

  
“Where are you? You're not still inside the house are you? Where's he at?” The rush of questions, as she tried to collect herself were almost too confusing to focus on.

“He's still inside. I ran down the alleyway. He started to follow, but I cut down a couple of yards and doubled back
when I realized he wasn't following me anymore. I'm safe now. I can see the house, and the street, but he doesn't know where I am.”

Flashing lights in the night sky littered her road as the boys in blue pulled up. She slowly came out of the alleyway, covered in dirt and shaken.

“They're here. Lemme go talk to them. I'll call you back.”

 
“Okay, sweetheart, remember, I'm with you. You're strong, don't forget that. Call me when they leave.”

 
              “I will.” Clicking the phone off, Raeve limped from the darkness to greet the police with a watery gaze and fresh bruises.

“Did you call about the domestic?” the first officer asked.

                “Yes that was me. My husband is inside. Please, I don't want to go back inside,” she pleaded, as she wrapped her arms around herself to ward off a sudden chill.

  
“It's all right, miss. Is that his handy work there?” he asked, while pointing to the angry red mark and swelling on her face and throat.