Prologue.
"Mike please, I'm sorry, it won't happen again I promise" I tried unsuccessfully to shield the blows making their way towards my body.
It was my fault really. We've been together 2 years now, I should've known that he would want his dinner ready for when he got home. My fault.
"It was your job Isabella, your job" He snarled menacingly in my face. "I come home after a hard day at school and I find you asleep on the couch! You don't sleep until I'm there beside you"
I barely kept in the snort that threatened to escape in fear of what would happen to me. Hard day my ass. Did he forget that I too was going to college. For the past two years.
"I'm sorry" I whimpered as his fist landed painfully for a third time against ms ribs. I was used to this by now but the pain, the pain was the one thing I would never get used to.
This was almost routine by now. Mike would get pissy about something stupid and of course it was my fault.
It always was.
"You better be sorry. You never know what could happen Isabella. You haven't seen what I'm fully capable of yet."
Violent shivers ran down my spine sending a shocking wave of pain throughout my body. If Mike could bring me to the edge of consciousness almost every other day unprovoked who knew what could happen when the day finally came when I grew a pair and told him where to go. That day was going to be soon.
I could feel it…..
Mike continued throwing fist after fist towards my body but I never made a sound. Ever. I refused to give him the satisfaction.
This all started about two and a half years ago when I first moved to Phoenix to attend college. I was from a tiny town called Checotah in Oklahoma where I grew up with my father until I was almost eighteen and graduated from high school.
My mom and dad had divorced when I was three and my mom had since moved to New York City and married a major league baseball player. We still talked and I stayed with her almost every summer.
It was from my mom that I learned how to sing and write songs. She was an amazing artist releasing her second album this coming month. For someone who had been singing for the most of her life my mom was only discovered three years ago at the age of thirty four. She was picked up and signed immediately and now three years down the line there isn't a person in the USA that doesn't know the country singer Renee Dwyer.
She taught me everything. How to sing, read music, write music, play piano, play guitar. So many things that I couldn't even begin to thank her for.
My mom was born in Volterra, Italy but moved here when she was 16 to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional singer. But her dreams where put on hold when she met my dad. They got caught up in a whirlwind romance and were married in the space of six weeks. Four months later my mom found out that she was pregnant with me and gave birth to me Isabella Swan at the tender age of 17. Her life and dreams were put on hold until I was three and my mom decided that she was done with boring life in Checotah and picked up and left town.
My dad was devastated but I couldn't argue with my mom Checotah was painstakingly boring. I missed her immensely having nobody to sing me to sleep but she made up for it during the summer.
We would spend two out of the three months in Italy with her family and staying with my Godfather Aro, her older brother while we were there. I loved the Volturi's (my moms maiden name). They were so much fun to be around and were such a musical family. Every Saturday and Sunday night without fail everyone would gather in one house or another for dinner and a bonfire sing-a-long afterwards. My mothers family was so musical, I don't think that there is one person young or old that couldn't sing or play an instrument. Those really were the best days of my youth and I loved my Godfather Aro without fail.
Aro had since moved to New York after the death of his wife Renata. He has taken over the headmasters roll in NYU about five years ago and I don't think there is one student who doesn't love the old man as I do. Nearing fifty now he's not as young as he was but he is so full of energy and joy that it simply radiates off of him.
Getting back to my dad he really is a typical small town man. He lives on the couch in the sitting room and practically breathes baseball. It can be pretty worrying sometimes.
He's the town's Sherriff for all intents and purposes but really the worst thing that's ever happened was when I almost burned down the kitchen while attempting to bake a cake. Everyone got a kick outta that. He is a very loving man that takes life one day at a time. He was heartbroken when Renee left but understands why she did.
I was snapped back to the present by a fist smacking against my cheek bone. This was bad. Mike never hit my face.
It was like an unspoken rule.
My breathing was almost painful at this stage but it picked up until I was almost gasping for air at what was about to happen.
"Are you even listening to me? Would you like me to make you listen?" Mike's face was almost purple with rage at this stage.
Scrambling to my hands and knees I crawled slowly and painfully backwards towards the bedroom.
This was really bad. Terrifying thoughts ran through my head. Was this it for me?
Mike lunged at me and I let out a strangled half screech half sob as he pinned me to the floor by sitting agonisingly on my probably broken ribs.
"You're a selfish bitch do you know that Isabella! You need to start thinking about others rather than yourself your almost twenty years old now. Grow. Up!" he was screaming like a mad man now his eyes filled with pure hatred.
He started hitting me this time in my face. Punch after punch landed all over my face snapping bones every once in a while.
I don't know how I got to this point in my life. Two years ago you wouldn't mess with me. My brother Jacob made sure of that. In was the sarcastic, snarky girl in school that people didn't mess with. I had my own gang that I hung out with but that all changed when I met Mike my senior year of High School. He took it upon himself that I needed to change my attitude and my life if I wanted to get places. At first I kind of believed that he just wanted to help me but looking back now I should have seen the signs.
He would check the mileage on my car, he took away all my cash and gave me a credit card so that he could see where I was and what I was doing. It was little things like that that started in our first year together.
He had taken everything from me; my life, my friends, my family and my confidence in myself and others. My life was a hell on earth for me and I don't think that I could take much more. I needed a way out of this. Dead or alive I would not stay living with this psychopath. He needed help and a swift kick up the ass.
I needed help. Lots of it.
A new life.
A new start…
At nearly twenty years of age only.
When Mike was satisfied that he had done all the damage he could to my body he stood and walked towards the front door of our small apartment.
"I'll be home in the morning honey. don't wait up" He called like he hadn't just given me the beating of my life. With that he closed the door after him an left me alone.
I could taste the blood in my mouth and feel it running down my lips from my nose. I tried to get up but only managed to get to my hands and knees, the cuts and bruises all over my body screamed out in protest.
I crawled into the bedroom to my side of the bed and fumbled around for my cell phone on my locker. Finding it I brought it close to my face trying to see through the blood and tears matted to my eyelashes. Punching in the numbers I knew off by heart I brought the phone shakily to my ear.
"Hello" A gruff voice called from the other end.
I almost sobbed at the sound of his voice. We hadn't spoken in so long.
"Daddy" I choked into the phone. He would help me, I knew it.
He was going to save me from my hell and maybe show Mike what happens when you mess with the town of Checotah, Oklahoma.
So what did ya'll think? I haven't abandoned forever and a day but I'm having writers block on what to write next. I hope you like this its only the prologue but it has been in my head for a long time.
Let me know what ye all think.
Thanks.
Love
Oh-Mii-Gosh
Xxx