Chapter 9: 2009
She should have known.
She she should have known, she thought to herself as he angrily grabbed her by the wrist, that he would never change. She should have realized that her days of being beaten and punished hadn't simply ended after what she had classified as the worst punishment of them all that night four days ago when he last punished her.
She should have known. But then he was nice to her. He let her eat a day early. He took her out to dinner. They talked and laughed and she smiled and for the first time in a year, she thought she had her husband back. She thought that he was back and maybe he had changed.
But change doesn't happen that quickly, especially not for a man like Paul.
What did she know though? She was nothing more than a piece of garbage Paul had picked up off the side of the road all those years ago. She was worthless. She was nothing. She deserved to be punished, to be hit, to be taught every lesson in the book over and over again.
She deserved it all, but she didn't want to die.
She deserved to be beaten, to be taught the lessons Paul tried so hard to teach her, but she didn't want to die trying to learn them. She didn't have anything, but that didn't mean that someday she couldn't have something. She was going to be a doctor. She wanted to have kids someday. She wanted to be happy someday, and as much as she was certain she deserved the pain and misery that seemed to accompany being with Paul, it wouldn't lead her to the life she had always dreamed of having, and she may not deserve that life, but she wasn't going to die and never even try to have it.
So she needed to come up with a plan.
She needed to find a way to tell Paul she didn't want this anymore, to leave him, to start over again. Of course, telling him would probably lead to something very, very bad and so she couldn't tell him. She had to just do it. She had to just leave. She had to just...figure it out and...and….
Just leave.
"Brooke!"
He was home. Brooke looked up from her spot on the couch, her heart beginning to race. That was his angry voice.
"I….I'm in the living room," she called, trying to remember to breathe as he entered the living room, standing not even a foot away from her.
"What the hell is this?" he demanded, shoving a piece of paper at her. She blinked, reaching out to take it from him, but he shoved her hand away, shoving her to the ground.
"I'll tell you what it is. It's a piece of paper from your school's counseling office. The damn counseling office, Brooke!" he yelled and Brooke frowned, not sure what he was talking about. Why would the counseling office write to her….
"Apparently you have shown some "concerning behaviors" which have given them reason to want to talk to you," he said, reading the letter. "What have you been doing?" he demanded, stepping closer to you. Brooke shook her head, beginning to shake.
"I...I don't….I didn't do anything," she whispered, shrinking away as he knelt down next to her.
"That's a bunch of crap, Brooke!" he yelled, his fist slamming into the side of her face. "What did you do!" he yelled, his foot connecting with her stomach, Brooke doubling over, trying to grasp for air.
"Please, please," she begged, closing her eyes as he grabbed her by the hair, throwing her into the wall. Brooke whimpered in pain, moaning as Paul grabbed her once more, throwing her into the wall once more, her head slamming into the wall.
Her body limp, she felt only a slight sting when the first strike of the leather strap hit her back, followed closely by a second one. Brooke cried out, pleading for an end as the strap cruised effortlessly over her body.
She didn't want to die. She didn't want to die. She hadn't done anything! She didn't want to die!
She tried to get up, her body shaking in pain. Tears fell freely down her face as she managed to make it to her knees, only to have Paul reach for her by her throat, tightening his grip around her neck….
She tried to fight for air, trying to reach for his hands, her eyes wide as he continued to grip her neck...
"When will you ever learn, Brooke!" he hollered, his hands wrapped around her neck, choking her. She could feel her eyes closing, her body limp and weak. She was struggling to fight, to stay awake…..everything just hurt so, so bad…..
As her eyes began to close, feeling Paul begin to work on her clothes, all Brooke could think about was death…..and how she didn't want to die.
