Without Guilt

WARNING: Domestic Abuse, Graphic Violence.

Chapter X: When you Start, Don't Stop.

Scarlett felt a bit silly for the big smile on her face, her lips still stained from the makeup she'd tried to remove at the bathroom mirror. It wasn't so easy to get the pigmenting out with just water, but she was in too good a mood to really care.

She had to stop herself from humming as she pulled her hat over her done up hair, stuffing it away to hide the elaborate curls, then picked up the laundry basket to head for the door.

Pier had left before her since he was on patrol at the wall, but if she was lucky, she could see him again at lunch if she got through her laundry shift fast enough.

Thinking about the man brought that grin back again and she shifted the basket against her hip as she pulled the door closed after her, pushing the key in to lock it. She felt like a new bride, the butterflies and giddiness aflutter in her stomach.

It was all she could do to stop herself from skipping down the steps, but her merry mood was brought to a crashing halt when she heard some unusual noises echoing in the stair well. It sounded like someone was fighting-

"Get the fuck off me-!" She heard Otis growl, the sound of a scuffle following and something breaking.

She rushed over to the railing, peering down to try and see what the hell was going on but all she could see was the top of Carlo's head and some other man. Her heart was in her throat, her grip on the basket tightening.

She could just go back upstairs and pretend nothing was happening.

The idea was immediately cast away when she heard a scream being torn from Otis.

Did no one passing by hear anything? No, it wasn't like she could wait on anyone else to intervene.

Scarlett pushed herself to rush down the stairs before her mind could dissuade her any further from helping. It wasn't like she felt like she owed Otis, it was more that she couldn't stand hearing someone being beaten. If she stood by and let it happen, she was just like all the others who pretended not to notice whenever Ashton decided to take his bad day out on her.

Her expression had settled into a determined frown. "Hey!" She yelled as she reached the landing just above. "Hey, you get off him!" She demanded, heaving the laundry basket in her arms, and hurling it at the two men pinning Otis down.

It crashed into Ethan's back, dislodging him briefly before he turned on her.

Ethan grinned. "See! I told you!" He pointed an accusing finger at her.

The colour immediately left Scarlett's face when her gaze fell on Ashton, fear freezing her in place. "Ash…" She mumbled, her breath caught in her throat as her hands squeezed into her stomach, internally begging herself to move – to run.

Ashton moved off Otis a fraction, pressing his knee into his side to keep him pinned as he rose. "You bitch." He spat.

Otis managed to twist himself onto his side, cradling his left hand close as blood continued to run from where his ring finger should have been, a crimson trail leading towards the digit and the silver ring discarded nearby. He was delirious with pain, unable to see clearly past the blood flowing from the gash cutting across his temple.

There was so much blood and his tongue was numb from the needles Ethan had nearly made him swallow in an effort to stick them through muscle.

"Ash, it's not what you think. I was just doing some extra work," Scarlett blurted out, her voice shaking as she struggled to swallow the growing lump in her throat. "Look, I was doing laundry and cleaning and-" Her sentence broke off, her lip trembling as she tried to force her voice out. "Otis has nothing to do with this, Ash, I swear!"

"She's lying, Ashton." Ethan interrupted. "Only job she's doing is opening her legs!" He accused.

"Shut your fucking mouth!" Ashton barked at him, immediately silencing him.

Ethan stepped back uncertainly, his face showing his contempt for being rebuked in such a manner. He took it out on Otis, kicking the man in the abdomen before snatching the wrench from Carlo and turning it over in his hand as he debated what else he wanted to do. Ripping his tongue out sounded like the best option.

Scarlett was shaking where she stood as Ashton walked towards her, her head bowing as she subconsciously wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand.

"That true, Scar?" He questioned, grabbing her firmly by the arm to drag her hand away from her mouth.

"'s what true?" She asked quietly, unable to meet his gaze.

"You been doing jobs 'round Meyer's place?" His tone was softer, but she knew it was a faux gentleness. He could be like this too, that was how he'd roped her into a marriage. He'd go off like he was ballistic then in the next instance act like he cared.

"Yeah-" As soon as she answered, he grabbed her by the hair, tearing a whimper from her as hot tears spilled down her cheeks.

"You think I'm not man enough to provide for my house?!" He screamed into her ear, making her wince and shake uncontrollably.

"That's not it!" She sobbed, burning with humiliation at being chastised like a little girl in front of everyone once more. She was burning more from this looping cycle that she'd dared to think she could escape just this morning. "I swear, I just wanted to do something nice for us!" Her lies were getting weaker the harder she cried.

Carlo was growing uncomfortable as he watched this scene, his eyes wide like he'd been sleepwalking this entire time and had just woken up to find himself in the middle of all of this.

"Go pick up the laundry, Scar!" Ashton shoved her. "Go on, you think getting a little side money 's gonna let you live all on your own, is that it?"

Scarlett let out another whimper, feeling her scalp boiling from where he'd pulled her hair. She didn't dare to try and argue, barely able to grip the discarded basket to right it before she began to collect the clothes. Her vision was bleary from the silent tears searing their way down her freckled cheeks.

"… run… Scarl…" Otis wheezed, but Ashton drowned him out with his voice. His mouth was raw with the taste of copper from the blood, though he didn't know what the hell Ethan had done to his mouth.

"You'd never make it! You're too fucking stupid, that's why!" He bellowed.

"Lewis, I think she's had enough, man." Carlo interrupted. "Just go home, it was a false call."

Ethan turned on him first, not even hesitating to bring the wrench down over his head. It connected with a sickening crack, dropping the man instantly to the floor. "You ain't got no balls!" He spat, going for a second and third hit when Carlo cried out for mercy.

Otis winced when he heard bone snapping though he could breathe a little easier without Ethan hanging over him. He couldn't see at all, blindly feeling around for his shiv while everyone was distracted.

"Stop it!" Scarlett pleaded with Ethan, covering her mouth at the animalistic rage he displayed. "Ashton, he lied to you! He lied about everything! Look what he's doing! Stop him!" She turned to her husband in her desperation, seized by fear that Ethan might outright kill Carlo for speaking up.

Ashton moved, not because he cared about Carlo but because he had something to prove, but in his haste, he stepped over Otis who repaid his earlier favour by aggressively yanking his leg out from under him.

The giant fell like a ton of bricks hitting tarmac, screaming when a shiv tore into his calf, ripping all the way down to his achilles.

Scarlett shot up in shock, dropping the clothes she'd been holding and half stepping forward from her trained habit to attend to the man.

"Scarl… ett!" Otis called, managing to push onto his knees and scrabbling to find the stairs. "Fire-" He felt her grab his reaching arm tightly, pulling him towards her.

She didn't yet know where they were going, only that there was no way out downstairs.

Scarlett ran like the very devil was on her heels. There was no time to plan a route when she could just about hear Ethan pursuing them over the sound of the blood pumping in her ears. Her lungs burned from the added weight of pulling Otis with her, mind racing as she spotted the next flight of stairs.

They were blocked – of course, this building only had the one useable flat and they had just run past it.

Fire, Otis had said, her gaze sweeping across an extinguisher- no, not fire –

She hurled herself shoulder first into the rusted fire escape door, the timber splintering and thankfully giving out thanks to wood-rot. The blast of cold air slapped her in the face, stinging her cheeks. "It's high!" She panicked as she was forced forward towards the descending ladder, her hands burning painfully as she grabbed the freezing metal.

Otis was trying to clear the blood from his eyes so he could see, wasting little time in taking the ladder after her.

The metal shook unsteadily with their combined weight, years of exposure to the elements making the rusted frame flaky and brittle. In one moment, she was climbing, and in the next being slammed against the adjacent wall as the lower half of the ladder unhinged and swung free.

They fell the last ten feet or so into the bins below, Scarlett crying out as she fell on her arm, feeling the impact ring deep in her bone and through her shoulder.

Otis rolled off and into the snow, breathing heavily and whimpering from the pain but having no energy to express it. He was running on pure adrenalin, tearing a strip free from his shirt to wrap his hand in before dragging himself over to her. He was trying to tell her that they had to move, but his voice had completely given out and he couldn't move his tongue.

Scarlett recovered just as Ethan appeared on the Fire Escape, taking Otis' hand in a death grip, and letting him guide her as she wiped tears from her face.

She didn't really recognise this part of the city. It was outside the perimeter fence, in a backstreet somewhere, but she was too emotional to really take in her surroundings. All she knew was that she'd started running and had to keep going.

Otis took some time to reorient himself, his limited field of vision taking in the skeletal remains of stripped vehicles and FEDRA trucks with their doors opened like a scene frozen from the past. "Mace… there." He rasped, trying to indicate to Scarlett as he picked out the easiest path to travel considering his battered state.

"What?" Scarlett asked, inhaling the frigid air to refill her lungs. She was trying to determine what he was indicating, her eyes wide as she scanned the street.

They had to stop when a row of concrete blockades proved too difficult for Otis to climb over by himself, Scarlett having to go first before she pulled him over with a bit of difficulty. "We can't be out here, Otis. There's Infected." She reminded him urgently.

Otis knew but couldn't explain to her where he was going.

They had to get to the Financial District before dark.

Please R !