Chapter Three: It Begins

She seemed to have some sort of connection with this man. She liked him. Wait, how could she say that? What about Steve?

He worked his charm on her just right. And he was getting her right where he wanted her.

After about an hour, they had set a night for a date. Reba didn't know how, or why, but they did.

A Few Weeks Later

His plan was going great! He had Reba all to himself, and he'd almost got her to completely forget about Steve. He worked his charm just right and she was wrapped around his finger. She'd even let him move in with her and her kids!

She'd finally learned to realize that Steve wasn't right for her and it was never meant to be. Carl was the man she wanted to be with.

But one night, she started to change her mind…

Carl had come home for the night, and was drunk. Again. He always came home drunk. Luckily, the kids never saw this. He came home too late and they were already in bed. He claimed it was work causing him to drink so much. Reba tried to get him out of it but every time she mentioned it, he'd yell at her about it. She didn't like the fact that he was starting to become verbally abusive, but blamed it on work and alcohol.

But a week later, things headed for the worse. Reba decided to finally stand up to him, and try to talk to him about his bad decisions. He came home one night, in worse condition than ever before. The kids were asleep, thankfully. And Reba met him in the entryway. She started hammering him with questions before he got all the way in the door. "Carl, what do you think you're doin'? What are you accomplishing my comin' home like this all the time? Huh?" She wasn't yelling, she was just getting to the point. However, he ignored her, walking right past her towards the couch. She was right on his heels. "Answer me, Carl! What is goin' on with you?"

He turned around quickly, and was now face to face with her. "Oh, would you quit bitchin'!"

"Excuse me? I'm not doin' anything of the such! I just wanna know what's goin' on!"

"And I already told you, its work!"

"Well that's not enough for me Carl! That's not an excuse to come home like this every night. Don't you see you're just gettin' worse every day?"

"No! I'm not getting worse every day, god dammit! Why don't you just shut up? You're really starting to piss me off!"

"Carl. Enough is enough. If you can't get under control, I'm gonna have to have you leave. I'm startin' to wonder why I even agreed to date you. You don't do anything! I have to do everything for you! And I'm sorry but I'm not gonna play the housewife anymore! I have 4 kids and a grandchild that I need to spend time with, and if you're gonna act like this, then I'm gonna stop wastin' my time with you! Now, will you please tell me what's goin' on!"

Carl wasn't very happy. "You wanna know what's going on! FINE! Here's the truth about me: I don't work for the police department, and Steve didn't really disappear! I got rid of him because I wanted you all to myself, and you two seemed inseparable! And now I have you all to myself and nothings going to change that!"

Reba was stunned. She just stood there open-mouthed for a minute. Then finally said, "What did you do to him?"

"I didn't kill him if that's what you mean. I just got him away from you."

Reba wasn't the kind to get into a fight, but this guy was really starting to make her mad! She walked right up to him, and slapped him across the face. He was a little shocked at first, not knowing that she would do something like that. But he didn't stay still for long. He grabbed her by her shoulders and held her down on the couch. He was just inches from her face. "Don't mess with me Reba, I'm warning you! I don't wanna have to hurt you or your kids!" She struggled to get out of his grip but he was too strong. She finally got her hands on his chest and started pushing him away. He finally gave in and let her up. She stood up quickly and got right back in his face.

"Hurtin' me is one thing. But you lay one finger on my kids, and I'll make sure you never see the light of day again!" She had her finger right up in his face. He wouldn't accept that. He grabbed her wrist, and moved her finger away. She reached up and shoved him away with her other hand. "I think you should just leave, now. And I never want to see you here or anywhere near me, my family or my friends ever again. You understand?"

"Yeah, I understand. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna do anything about it." He started walking back towards her. He took hold of her shoulders and started shaking her around while he spoke to her, not so nicely. He was tired of her trying to be in control, and had to show her who's boss. "You don't have the word here, I do! I'm the man of the house!"

"I can easily fix that!" She was throwing everything right back at him. She'd show him that this was her house, and no one was going to try and take control of her life.

"I'd like to see you try!" With that, he shoved her backwards hard, and she backed into the coffee table, tripping on it and falling to the ground. She started to get up, but he grabbed her hair and pulled her to face him. She whimpered a little, but didn't want things to get too loud as to not wake anyone up. She was looking him straight in the eye. "Still gonna try to kick me out."

"I'm not gonna kick you out,"

"Good." he said satisfied, and let go of her hair.

She quickly continued. "I'm gonna make you want to leave!"

He got that look of anger back on his face. And took his fist to her face. She flew down onto the floor, and shouted out. Caressing her cheek, she stood back up and started to confront him, but before she could, he backed her against a wall, put his lower arm on her throat and started applying pressure. She could still breathe, but knew the threat was there.

When he started putting on more pressure, she started fighting back, smacking his chest with her small hands. It didn't affect him; it just made him angrier with her. He removed his arm, and used his hand instead, and lifted her at least a foot off the ground. And now she couldn't breathe. She had her tiny hands on his big wrist trying to get him off, but she couldn't. She kicked her feet, but nothing helped.

Right before she went unconscious, he said, "You try anything stupid, and your kids will pay!" He let go completely and she slid against the wall onto the floor, tears in her eyes, and coughing, trying to get her breath back. He turned so he wasn't facing her, and she quickly got up and ran to her room upstairs. She lay on the bed, and cried herself to sleep.