Chapter 2

Kinkirk Residence

"Hey sweetie. How are you?" Kevin asked his wife.

"Good." She replied quickly. Kevin leaned down and gave Lucy a kiss, "How was work?"

"Boring." Kevin said as he got himself a soda and sat down. "Nothing major happened. Just a few traffic violations."

"I like boring. Boring means safe and I like safe. Hey, pass me that book please." Lucy asked, pointing across the table. "Thanks hun."

"What are you writing?" Kevin asked while his wife flipped through the book.

"I have a paper due for my religious studies class."

"When is it due?"

"Uh..." Lucy stalled, "Tomorrow."

"And you just started?" Kevin asked surprised.

"Yea, kinda. I was busy." Lucy defended.

"Uh huh. Want some help?" He said with a little smile.

"That's sweet but I'm almost done I have like two paragraphs left. You can however order some Chinese and go pick it up." She said eyeing Kevin, "Please I'm starving and I love you." She said in a sing song voice.

"Alright but I expect a big reward for being so nice." He leaned down to kiss her but she turned away.

"You can have it after I eat." She giggled.

Sara's House

Sara sat staring at the calendar 'only four more days till we leave' she thought to herself. She was taken from her thoughts instantly when Dylan got up from the table and pulled her out of her chair. "What the hell is this?" He yelled pointing to the plate of food on the table.

"It's eggs. I make that every Saturday for you. Just like you tell me to." Sara said not knowing what pissed him off again.

"It's cold!" He screamed as he picked up the plate and threw it at Sara's head. Luckily she ducked out of the way and it shattered behind her. "Bitch! Make me more and clean this mess up! This whole house is a pigsty! You never keep it clean!" He walked over to her and picked up a knife from the kitchen counter. "I don't know why I ever married you. You are worthless!" He came closer and closer with the knife. Sara tried to back away from him but he had her pinned between the counter and the wall. "This is for never being a good wife!" He said as he pushed the knife close to her face. Sara could feel the metal slowly piercing her skin as he slid it along her cheek, pressing just hard enough to draw a little blood.

"Please don't." She whimpered. "Please not with the girls home."

"O. You don't want them to see how awful their mother is? How much of a bitch their mother is? How much of a failure she is?" He moved the knife to her neck and started to punch her with his free hand. "You bitch! I hate you!" With that he grabbed her wrist and slit it. He took her head and bashed it against the wall until she passed out.

"Mommy?" A little voice called. "Mommy?" The first voice was joined by another. The two girls walked in the kitchen and found their father hunched over their mother.

"Mommy!" Maggie cried. She started to run to Sara but was caught by Emily.

"No Maggie!" Said Emma.

"Look at what your mother made me do to her!" Screamed Dylan. "Look!"

Emily took Meghan's hand. "Come here Maggie." The two started to walk away.

"Emma, Maggie get back here. You need to see that this is what happens when a wife doesn't obey her husband!" He yelled at the girls. They stopped walking and turned around.

"Don't you have to got to work?" Asked Emma hoping her father would go away so she could call Ethan. Dylan looked at the clock, then Sara, then Emma and Maggie.

"Your right I should go it's not like your mother deserves to live." He dropped the knife by Sara's side, got a beer out of the fridge and left his daughters there to watch their mother bleed to death. The girls too scared to go into the kitchen with their mommy went into the living room and called Ethan's phone number. When he didn't pick up Emma thought about calling 911 but she knew that if she did she might never see her mommy or Emma or Ethan again. But then she and Maggie heard a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Asked Emma.

"It's Ethan."

"Thank God!" She exclaimed throwing open the door and bursting into tears. Ethan picked her up.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Daddy hurt mommy. Bad, really bad. She won't wake up. And she's bleeding." Emma sobbed.

"Emma you have to tell me. Where is mommy?"

"In the kitchen."

"Where is daddy? Is he home?" Ethan asked hoping he wasn't. He didn't want to kill Dylan in front of the girls.

"No he left."

"O.K. I want you and Maggie to go upstairs and get dressed. And I need you to wash your face and Maggie's face. And I want you to brush your teeth and help Maggie with hers. O.K.? You need to be a big girl and do that stuff for me and I'll help your mommy while you do that." He said taking the two girls and gently pushing them toward the stairs. After they got to the top he darted into the kitchen where Sara was starting to regain conciseness. "Hey. Don't get up let me look you over first." Ethan said taking off his jacket and placing it under her head to use as a pillow.

"The girls..." She said faintly.

"Are upstairs and fine." Ethan finished. "What did he cut you with? This knife?"

"Yea."

"O.K. Luckily it's not that deep. You should go to a hospital..."

"NO!" She yelled. "I won't." Ethan picked her up and took her over to the sink. He turned on the water and cleaned her cuts.

"There now I can see them better." He said. He bandaged her cut on her wrist as well as the one on her face and neck. He gave her a small kiss. "We should leave."

"Now? But we agreed we would leave Wednesday."

"I'm taking you and the girls and we are leaving. Today. I won't let this basted hurt you anymore. I can't. I love you and I know that you do not want to loose the girls and I know you do not want to have a big trial over this but we are leaving today. I have the car out front and all my stuff is packed. Lets go and pack your stuff and the girls stuff and leave." He said holding her close.

"You're right. This has gone one entirely too long. It's time to go." She leaned into him. "Thank you."

"For what?" He asked.

"For being here when I need you." Ethan started to stroke Sara's hair. He pulled away slightly and took her hand.

"Lets go get packed." The two went off upstairs to pack the few things that they would take with them on their drive to Glenn Oak.