A/N: Slow update, I know. But thank you for your patience. I hope you all had an awesome Halloween, and enjoy!
Randy looked on as she quietly dried off their children. A late dinner, which Anise hadn't touched at all, and a late bath, and both kids were tired out. He tried not letting his daughter's words from earlier ring through his ears, but something about the way she was already accustomed to seeing Phil irked him. There was no doubt in his mind that his son was also used to having Phil around as well. It was unsettling to him that Anise seemed to want to replace him as a father in total.
She dressed Gianna and Gunner, and took their hands as she lead them into their bedrooms. He waited for his wife to put the kids down for bed, then met her in the hallway. She hesitated when she saw him as she came out of their son's room.
"Why don't we go downstairs and talk?" he calmly said to her, exhaling the breath he had been holding in since she started bathing the twins.
She nodded her head slightly, carefully shuffling past him to make her way down the staircase. As her feet landed on the last step, her eyes squeezed shut as she felt his hand touch her shoulder. He brought her close to his body, his warmth taking over her. He guided her to the kitchen table, making sure she sat at the chair of his choosing.
"What is this?" she asked, looking down at the folder in front of her.
"Well," he said, rubbing the stubble on his chin with his fingers. "You tell me."
Anise hated the way he walked behind her, casually leaning over her shoulder, and flipped open the folder to reveal the documents inside.
"What?" she breathed out upon seeing them.
"These," Randy began in a tranquil demeanor. "Are the divorce papers that I was presented with by Paul and Stephanie earlier today."
She reached for the folder and just as her hand touched the papers, Randy slammed his hand over hers, causing her to scream out. She quickly found his hand over her mouth, muffling her noise.
"Not so loud, Anise. The kids are sleeping." He lifted his hand from hers, watching her nurse her sore hand. He moved from her side, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table. "I assume it was your idea," he said, motioning towards the papers.
"You think I wouldn't file?" she asked him, holding her hand tightly. "I wasn't joking when I said I wanted out."
"Oh, you want out?" he mocked with a sarcastic grin. "You want out."
"Yes, I want out," she repeated. "This fucking nightmare has to end eventually."
The grin faded from his face at the spiteful tone of her words.
"Nightmare?" He flexed his hand before sharply landing a hit on Anise's face. He stood as she cried out, the force of his hit making her tumble out of the chair. "I'll show you nightmare."
"""""
She sighed as she quickly entered the bus and took a seat on the couch. He would follow her, she knew, but she didn't know that he would start an argument in front of nearly everyone. He had never been that bold before. Their relationship turmoils had always been kept away from everyone else. But this surprised her, and just as she expected, Randy was standing in front of her faster than she wanted.
"You just walk away from me now? Is that the game you're playing?"
She looked up at him, fiery eyes focused on his cold blue ones.
"What am I supposed to do?" she asked him. "Stand there and fight with you? I'm not going to do that ridiculous shit. Not in front of people like that."
"You argue with me any other time."
A sarcastic laugh escaped her as she looked back down. "I'm not doing this." She stood, waving him off for just a second before he grabbed her arm.
"You're not going anywhere, Anise."
"Let go of me." She struggled against his strong hand closed around her wrist. But she was ignored as he pulled her into the back area of the bus, tossing her onto the bed and slamming the door shut behind him.
"What are you going to do, Anise? You want to tell them everything? You want to confide in Phil some more about all the things that I do?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Shut up, Randy."
"Go!" he shouted. "Go, and tell them all about what I do to you."
"Shut up!" she screamed as she shot up from the bed to push him. "You do this! You do this every single time!"
"Stop it," he said, taking hold of her hands once more. He swung her around from side to side, wishing she would calm down. "Stop it, Anise!"
She screamed more at him as she felt him shake her. "I hate you! You're no good!"
He felt her words seep into him, taking over his body. Hatred. That's what she really felt for him. A liar was all she was. She had built him up, all his emotions, all his feelings, just to let him down. He'd given up his old ways just to be with her, and all she did was throw it back in his face. Before she opened her mouth to scream anything more at him, his senses were taken over with rage as his hand began marking her. One hard slap after the next connected with her face, and he reveled in the fact that he was able to dominate her as she lay helplessly trying to avoid his strikes.
She felt the air leave her chest as his hand continued to beat on her flesh. Screaming his name out, she managed to block a hit that she was sure would bruise her eye terribly if it landed. She grabbed onto his hand, pushing his arm away from her. Dizziness fell upon her as she attempted to fight Randy off, and she was glad when he pushed her off the bed out of frustration. She rolled down, hitting the carpeted floor with a thud.
He blocked out the sounds of her pain as he took out remaining frustration on the bus itself. Items were torn from the shelves, being flung haphazardly around the room. Letting out a barbaric yell, Randy turned back around to see Anise still on the floor, her knees drawn up to her chest, and her stare was emotionless. He didn't want her like this... So emotionally drawn from him. She used to be so giving, so tender underneath him.
But he knew what the real issue was.
"It's him, isn't it?" he asked her, wiping a hand over his mouth, his breathing finally calming. He could tell that she didn't want to talk by the way her body remained still. "Isn't it!"
She didn't even see him lunge for her, picking her up and wrapping his large hand around her throat. She cried out, scratching at his arm.
"Randy! Stop! Please!"
"It's him," he said again. "He's taking you away from me. He's taking my family away." His hand closed around her neck even tighter. "And he's taking what's mine."
She could no longer get any glimpse of words out as his fingers dug into her flesh. Choking and blue in the face as she struggled for an ounce of air, but Randy refused to let her go. He refused to see his wife walk away from him. She wasn't go to ever leave him. She was going to stay right where she belonged, and that was in his watchful eye. He owned her now. She belonged to him.
"""""
She was slouched over the side of the toilet, a wave of sickness washing over her. Still, anything was better than her mind going back to just a few hours ago. She didn't want to think about it anymore... The way he possessed her. The way he took over her body. It wasn't lovingly, and it certainly had never been something he'd done before. Every other time, she willing gave herself. But not this time, and as the sounds of their argument rang in her ears, another wave hit her, forcing her to lean over the toilet once more.
She couldn't take this anymore. He made her feel like she couldn't live anymore. She forced herself to think of brighter things. Her children, her family, anything to make her realize that she needed to keep going. Then her mind drifted to Phil. He'd been so sweet to her. How could she let him down softly? What could she possibly say to him to make him move on with his life? He couldn't save her. There was no way out for her. Her bed was made with Randy, and now she'd just have to accept that she must lay in it with him.
Finally picking herself up off the bathroom floor and quickly washing up, she made her way back into the bedroom she and Randy shared. Sitting down on the bed for a few minutes of rest, she dreaded hearing their bedroom door creak open. Damn thing had been an ominous sign for her now. If anything was near that door, it was sure to be horrible for her. This time was no different as she saw Randy walk into the room.
"Vivian called," he informed her. "Said she tried calling your new number, but there was no answer."
She waved her hand at him. "It's still in my bag."
"Why?"
She sighed. "Because I haven't taken it out yet."
"Don't get smart with me, Anise. I bought you the damn thing. Least you could do was use it."
"You shouldn't have broken my other one." Her hands fell to the bed tiredly before she stood, going over to her leather bag and pulling out the phone. Her heart dropped as she saw her missed calls. Some from her mother, some from her aunt, once from her father, and there were quite a few from her cousins. All of that was normal though. She was used to seeing their names in her missed calls. What she wasn't used to though, and what made the lump in her throat rise was how many times Phil had tried calling her.
Randy watched her as she seemed to struggle against a cry. He knew what name she was looking at as she tried to swallow away the tears. Anger filled him as he thought of her talking to Phil and being with Phil. She didn't belong to Phil. She belonged to him.
"Delete him from your phone, Anise," he said to her in a low tone, head turned away from the sight of her. She remained still, leaning against the dresser for support, the new phone clutched in her hand. "I said delete him."
She gasped when he came over and snatched the phone from her. "I was going to," she said, bracing herself as a shot of pain rushed through her stomach. He missed the look of agony though, too busy with thumbing through the phone. She tried holding in another cry of pain as her stomach seemed to twist inside itself, but Randy, now looking at her, caught the look on her face.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said, taking the phone from his hand and tossing it back into her bag. She turned to walk away from him, but the twisting feeling in her gut worsened. She fell to the carpet, doubled over in pain.
"Anise! What's wrong?"
"I don't know!" she screamed as she braced herself with one arm. Then she felt it... A simple pop. The pain weakened for a moment, and it felt like her entire body went numb. She vaguely heard Randy speaking to her. Her vision went hazy, and she felt the breath leave her body before she completely blacked out.
"""""
Randy didn't quite understand what was going on. He sat in the waiting room, along with Vivian and Jay. They hadn't received any updates on Anise since they wheeled her into the emergency room. The three of them were a bundle of nerves, and hearing the door open only to see Evelyn walk through didn't help matters any.
"What happened?" she asked Vivian as she approached the row of seats where they sat in the small waiting area.
Randy sighed as he heard Vivian repeat to Evelyn what he had told them. He had been so scared when she passed out that he'd only told them the minimum story. His mind kept replaying the scream that left her body when her body folded over in pain. He knew something was seriously wrong, and losing her was not something he wanted to happen. He only half paid attention to what was being said between Vivian and Evelyn, his hands thoughtlessly playing with his phone.
"No, mom and dad won't be able to make it," Evelyn told Vivian. "But I told them I'd be here, and they definitely want some news about it."
"I called Shawn," Vivian said, crossing a leg over the other as she leaned back against the chair. "He'll be here soon."
Randy nearly rolled his eyes. Great, he thought. Now he'd have to deal with her brother. Fortunately for him, Jay didn't say a word to him. Jay hadn't even looked at him. That was about the only thing he did understand in this moment. A father believing he'd failed to protect his only child, his daughter, from something that hurt her. And right now, Randy was the target that hurt her. Only this time, he really didn't have an insight into what was wrong with her.
Their mindless talking was too much for him to block out anymore, but before he could stand up and pace around the near empty hallway, the doctor made himself known in the door way.
"Are you all here for Mrs. Orton?" the short, balding man asked.
"Yes," Vivian spoke up. "Can you tell us what's wrong with her?"
The man lowered his eyes to Anise's file. It was a delicate subject, he knew, and one that was best told from the patient. When he looked back up, his eyes landed on the tall, lean, and toned man that was her husband.
"She's doing fine," he said, taking the time to look at all of them, but focused back on Randy. "You're welcome to see her now. She's lost a lot of blood though."
"Wait," Evelyn said quickly. "Lost blood?"
The man only nodded at the younger girl, then looked back towards Randy. "I'm sorry for your loss."
His loss? But he said Anise was fine. The weight of the doctor's words sank deeper as he realized what the loss was... A child. He barely noticed Evelyn, Vivian, and Jay rush past him in an effort to see Anise. She had given him two beautiful children already. The thought of more children had never really crossed his mind. But then, as he thought of Anise's love affair, his thoughts stilled. Could it have been possible, he wondered... No, Anise knew better than to actually sleep with that punk. It was mere puppy love between Anise and Phil, and as he sardonically laughed at the thought of it being anything more, he made his way towards Anise's room.