Disclaimer: The characters in my stories are completely made up characters and have temporally been given borrowed names for the sole purpose of satisfying the qualifications for posting on this fanfiction site. These stories are fiction and should be perceived as such. They in no way reflect the lives, beliefs or views of any persons living or dead and any similarities are coincidental. I am not affiliated with any company or professional wrestler in any way. No disrespect or copyright infringement intended. And if any of my favs happen upon my stories, I hope your not offended because this is not about you, it is about feedback on my story ideas. :) I love and respect what you do and I thank you for all the joy and entertainment over the years.
This is a rewrite of one of my very first stories written on FF. Second draft. New characters. Hope you enjoy. (Remember this is fiction. Some character facts will not be accurate)
Chapter 1
Coeur De' Lile is a beautiful city, but for me it was cruel and unforgiving, its bite even more bitter in the winter. The wind chilled to the bone, grey skies depressed and ice covered everything including hearts. It was a fight to survive, even more so for me that particular winter.
I woke up one morning staring at a blur of snowflakes outside my window. I remember laying my head on my pillow and watching. Those flakes were so free. So pure. Two things I no longer was. Outside the padlocked bedroom door my boyfriend, Will, hosted a party. I didn't have to be present to know what was going on. They were laughing, drinking and doing lines.
Oh, how could I have been so stupid? My father told me not to mess with that man, but I was the forgotten child. The one stuck between the youngest, Chelsea, who always got her way and the oldest, Victoria, the family's pride. I had always felt neglected. Left out. For as long as I could remember. Maybe it was because I was the only one who didn't have Mama's flaxen blonde hair and china doll complexion. I didn't have Daddy's onyx eyes. I wasn't unique. I was plain. Brunette. I was just Keri.
I was the one with all the chores. I was the one who got in trouble when my little sister did wrong. I was the one who didn't get to go to science camp because Victoria's cheerleading cost so much. I was the one who had to hand over my things just because one of my sisters needed it. Maybe if I could have remembered one word of kindness. Maybe if I had felt loved just once, I wouldn't have fell into Will Farmer's trap. I wouldn't have fell for his dimpled smile that made me weak in the knees. I wouldn't have relished the jealousy smeared across my older sister's face.
When Will asked me to move in with him there had been no one who could hold me back. My father's threats and my sister's warnings did nothing to deter my actions. All my young eyes saw was one more thing my family forced me to give up. I packed things, hopped in Will's candy apple red Mercedes and rode off to my happily ever after.
If only that had been true.
At first, it was great. Perfect. I was the perfect little house wife and I had my Prince Charming. We moved into a little house. I had a little garden and I was the center of his world. Then Will began to come home from work a little later than usual and soon after that, he didn't come home until morning. I blamed myself. I busted my ass to please him, but nothing pleased him. He complained. He hated my cooking. I could never get the house clean enough and he resented me being home all day while he went to work.
So, I went out and found a job. Thinking that would fix everything. But I had left school to be with Will. I could only get a job as a waitress. The diner was old. It served greasy food and watered down fountain drinks, but it was busy, my tips were good and Will seemed pleased with the handful of bills he pulled from my apron each night. For a time.
Then, what I brought home wasn't enough. My job was inferior to his and he gave me grief about finding a real job on a daily basis. It was really hard to juggle double shifts and keep up with the house. Will expected his dinner on the table as soon as he walked in the door. The laundry had to be done and he would become livid if even a shirt was in the hamper. I don't know how many times I rearranged my hours. I switched shifts, picked up shifts, dropped hours. But each issue I solved brought a slew of others. I wasn't home enough. I didn't spend enough time with him. I thought about quitting my job, but knew I the cycle would start all over again.
I became angry. I finally had enough so I did what any woman would do and I confronted him. I really let him have it, hoping my anger would bring back the caring, sweet man I had fallen in love with. I fought for my happy little life, but Will destroyed my hopes with one mighty strike. To my face.
That was it. I packed my things and I left.
Will turned out to be the kind of guy you couldn't just walk away from. He sat in a booth at my job all day. He followed me home, begging me to forgive him. I thought he would give up after a few days of my rejections. I slammed the door in his face every night. For two weeks. Then his sweet begging faded. He picked fights with my customers. Accused me of cheating on him. He nearly cost me my job. Which I'm guessing was his plan. I guess he thought I would have no choice but to take him back if I lost my paycheck. When that didn't work, he stood in the hallway outside my apartment door and raised hell. He caused such a scene that I was evicted the very next morning. I had nowhere else to go. I had to go back.
It got worse when I found out about Will's drug addiction. He just stopped hiding it from me and he quit his job. There were people around all the time. They trashed our home. They ate what little groceries I managed to buy and Will acted like he couldn't stand me. Yet I could not get away.
I found myself fighting a war. For four years. One battle after the other and I had yet to win one. I was constantly packing. Constantly leaving, constantly running and constantly dragged right back. I took so many beatings by his hand that the thought of leaving began to frighten me and I would quickly change my mind. It was as if I could feel his hands tightening around my throat whenever the thought entered my mind.
This next part is the hardest for me to tell you about. It was the night that I was changed forever. I came home from a double shift to find the entire house in shambles. It looked like a wrecking ball had been slung straight through it.
I stepped on broken glass. I can still hear it crunching beneath my feet. I remember looking down to see what I had stepped on. It didn't take me long to realize that I was standing on what was left of the china doll my grandmother had given me. I bent down and picked up the delicate pieces in my already trembling hand. I couldn't stop the tears from falling down my cheeks and onto the hard wood floor. I could no stifle my grief.
That doll had meant the world to me. I had been very close to my grandmother and I remember how much I had wanted the doll in the department store window. The price tag adorned an unreasonable price and I never dared to ask for it. But oh, how I loved it, stopping to stare every time we went to that store. I knew the moment I unwrapped it on Christmas morning that my grandmother had worked many double shifts to give it to me. Now, it lay in shattered shards all over the living room. The pieces were so small I knew there was no hope in gluing her back together. Without thinking I started to scream at Will.
"How could you do this?" I yelled. "You know what this doll meant to me."
"Shut up Bitch." That's all he had to say.
"No, you shut up. I work hard all day long. And for what Will?" I unleashed every thought that I had repressed. "For another bag of dope for you snort. For your filthy friends can sit around and eat our food and destroy our house!"
I remember how shocked all his buddies had been. They all looked up from there razors and mirrors and the woman stopped kissing on the men whose laps they were perched upon. I had to date never raised my voice. I never complained about anything that went on.
"Did he tell you we got an eviction notice yesterday?" I spat at them. "I bet you didn't, did you Will? Well, I guess you're all going to have to find somewhere else to snort and you're going to have to find someone else to buy it because I'm done!"
"Shut up Keri." Will did not like his problems brought up in front of his friends. That's where I made my mistake. I not only lost it, but had done it at the worst possible time, when he had a room full of his friends. None of whom came to my defense when Will picked me up and slammed threw the glass coffee table. They all sat by and watched as I was repeatedly punched. Not slapped, but pounded, the same as if I were a man standing toe to toe with him. He dragged me around by my hair and slung me into the wall, the book shelf, anything close. Then, he made sure I would remember his punishment for the rest of my life.
He picked up a small paring knife from the floor. He then held it to my face and cut me from my temple to my throat. He didn't do it quick. But slow. Deliberately. Baring down on the point insuring that it cut deep into my flesh. When he had finished he towered over me as if he had just won a huge street battle. He laughed as I laid bleeding, screaming and groping my face.
It took thirty-one stitches to close up the gash on my face. I felt like an old rag doll and I looked like one too. I wept uncontrollably for over a day. I rocked myself back and forth while I hugged my knees. Then, I stared out the window at those damn snowflakes. I was disowned, disfigured and cold. There was no power. No water. No food.
I crossed the bedroom and forced myself to look at my image in the full length mirror. My face looked grotesque. I never fancied myself as a beautiful woman before Will's attack, but I had never found my image as horrid as I did then. My arms were black and blue. My stung from the scratches left behind by the shattered glass table. My entire body ached.
"Never again." I told myself. Then I screamed it loud to make sure it sunk in. "Never Again!"
