Ugly(80)

My mind is hazy, like a jigsaw puzzle with all the pieces spread across the floor. I can see all the pieces, but they’re not in order. I need to sift through them and put them together creating a perfect picture.

“Get me my drink,” Trent hollers.

I tuck my diary into the back pocket of my jeans and pull my sweater down over it, because I need to read it properly to see if there’s anything in there to give me the vital clue to help me piece the puzzle together.

I go back to the fridge and open the door, bending to get a soda from the bottom shelf. As I squat to get the drink, I see a tiny love heart cut out of paper on the floor.

Picking the heart up, I carry it, along with the soda, over to Trent. “What’s that?” Trent asks, as I hand him his drink.

“I’m not sure,” I say, as I turn the love heart over in my hand.

Trent peers over the top of my hand, his eyes widen and he snatches the heart right out of my hand.

At Trent’s reaction to the heart, memories of everything that happened on the day I was beaten flood me. “IT WAS YOU!” I scream as I back away from him. My body’s trembling from fear and my heart races as I remember every single moment, every blow of Trent trying to kill me. I feel as if I’m being pounded by tsunami waves of shock, fiercely trying to submerge me and keep me under.

“It was an accident,” Trent yells at me as he stands and takes a step toward me. His hands curl into fists and his face is turning red.

“Don’t touch me.” My back touches the door, and I turn the handle to make my escape.

Trent’s entire frame changes. He straightens his shoulders, his mouth turns up into a snide, evil smirk and his eyes narrow at me. Every hair on my body stands to attention, and goosebumps suddenly rise, as my body recognizes evil.

“And where the hell do you think you’re going to go? You’re the stupidest, fucking ugliest person I’ve ever known, Lily. You have no friends, I made sure I separated you from the one you did have. You have no family, and you have nowhere to go. And let me tell you something else, you now have no job, either. I told that Dale prick, the one who’s always trying to give you confidence and boost you up, I told him you’ve been stealing money from there for years. I convinced him not to press charges against you, but you know what that means, babe?” I shake my head, unable to comprehend what he’s saying. “It means I fucking own you.” He steps closer to me and grabs my upper arm and squeezes, reminding me I’m his, silently telling me he can do whatever he wants with me.

It’s this moment, this one situation, when I finally realize if I stay, the next time I won’t go to the hospital, it will be to the county morgue instead.

No more.

“Let me go,” I say as I grind my teeth together. “You have no more power over me.”

Trent throws his head back and laughs as he tightens his grip further on my arm. “You stupid girl,” he huffs as he lowers his voice and brings his face so his nose is almost touching mine.

“No more, Trent. I’m going to walk out this door and you’re never going to come anywhere near me again.” I straighten my back and square my shoulders.

Trent’s features flinch, a small tremor beneath his right eye as he considers my words and his lip curls up in disgust. “I can take your life, Lily and no one will ever know or care.”

“I’ve been keeping a diary.” I won’t tell him it’s on me or he’ll take it and then he’ll kill me. “It’s in my locker at work. You may have gotten me fired, but if they open my locker, they’ll find it.”

“You’re bluffing. You’re not smart enough to do something so devious.”

“Are you really going to risk everything over whether or not I have a diary?”

“You stupid bitch. I will get you.”

“Then do it now, because if I walk out that door and you come after me, I’ll tell the police what you did to me.” I shrug out of the grip he has on me. Of course, with his size he can easily overpower me, but the worry etched deep on his face is enough to tell me he’s considering the severity of my words. “Kill me now Trent, or let me go.”

Trent takes a step back, his shoulders slumping slightly forward. “You walk out this door, and you’ll never come back again.” I turn the latch on the door, unlocking it. “I swear to God, you leave and we’re over.”

“Your future as a doctor is now in my hands. Just leave me alone. Don’t ever come near me again.”

I open the door. “Don’t you fucking go!” he orders me. I step through the door and turn to look at him over my shoulder. “Get your God damned stupid, ugly ass back here.” He points to the spot in front of him. “NOW!” he shouts.