AN: I still don't own anything.
Chapter 2
Mr. Barker smiled at Mrs. Lovett. "Nellie it is then," he said then walked out the door.
Mrs. Lovett stood in her place, smiling like a love struck teenager.
"What the bloody hell was that about?" Albert Lovett growled, pulling Nellie out of her trance.
"Oh nothing Albert, I saw him lying in the street bleeding, I couldn't just let him sit there."
"Well don't get too used to helping young men on the streets. I don't want to wake up to another man sitting in my chair. Do I make myself clear?" he asked getting in Nellie's face, his eyes growing angry.
"Yes dear, I understand," Nellie mumbled, trying to avoid eye contact with her large husband.
Albert Lovett was a large man. He stood tall at six-foot-four and weighed in at over two hundred pounds. Nellie feared him when he got angry, it wasn't unusual for her to have scars or bruises after Albert got angry. If it was a slow day at the butcher shop, it was normal for him to slap Nellie as soon as he came home. If Nellie's meals were less than satisfactory, she'd probably wake up with a black eye. One time Nellie ran late at the market, and didn't have Albert's dinner ready by the time he got home. Nellie was left with a jagged scar on the back of her shoulder.
"Good, now make my lunch before I go to the butcher shop," he said heading over to his favorite chair, the chair that he treated better than his own wife.
Nellie nodded and headed to the kitchen. Tears began to overwhelm her eyes as she took all of the ingredients to make yet another vegetarian pie for Albert's lunch. She hated that man, and she hated her life. The only reason she married him was because her parents died when she was merely seventeen years old, and Albert was the only person who would take her in. She had no idea that wife and slave could be interchangeable. She sighed deeply, trying to shake away the tears.
"I bet Benjamin Barker never hit his wife," she whispered.
"Is my lunch ready Nellie?" Albert yelled.
Nellie jumped. "Yes dear, it's right here!" she chirped quickly wrapping her infamous vegetarian pie. It was a family recipe that everyone wanted to get a hold of, but only Nellie Lovett had.
"Good, I'll see you tonight," Albert said.
Nellie gave him a fake smile. "I'll be waiting."
Albert walked out the door and closed the door. Nellie counted to twenty, as she did every morning, then poured herself a glass of juice and gin. She didn't know how she could put up with that man if it weren't for gin. She sighed and downed the glass in a few short sips. Every day she was tempted to walk out the door before Albert could wake up. She dreamed of living on her own. Supporting herself, and never worrying about pleasing anyone else for her own safety. She dreamed of packing her bags and walking out on her brute of a husband, but she couldn't. She had no idea what she would do if she were to leave.
Nellie finished the last of the contents of her cup and laughed angrily as she brushed away the last of her tears. "What would I do to support myself, sell my bloody pies?" she mumbled bitterly.
It's slow chapter, but don't worry things will speed up soon. Will Albert finally push Nellie too far? And was that spark between Nellie and Benjamin mutual? Keep reading to find out!
