Author's Note: Fair warning, this chapter will contain a graphic description of domestic violence towards the end that could be triggering for some.

This chapter has been revised as of 01/05/2017. A huge thank you to my lovely friend and beta, Mordinette for all of her amazing work.

Chapter Two

My hands shook as I removed my keys from the ignition of my Honda CRV, glancing towards the condo I had shared with Jesse for the past five years. The place I used to consider my home, my safe haven. Now, it just felt like a prison.

I didn't want to go in. From the way Jesse had sounded when he had called me earlier, I could tell he had already been drinking. That was one promise already broken. When he had proposed, he had sworn to me that he would never touch another drink and that he would seek help for his addiction. It hadn't even been a week yet. I couldn't say that I was surprised.

Taking a deep breath, I exited the car, Jesse's food in hand and towards our ground floor unit. As I reached our door, I could hear the sound of masculine laughter coming from inside. Relief briefly swept through me. He wasn't alone in there. Having someone over would save me from Jesse's ire, if only for a little while.

My relief was short-lived, however, when I opened the door to find Ralf Sarcozy, Jesse's best friend - and the bane of my very existence - sprawled out on my couch watching television, the floor around him littered with beer bottles. He grinned ferally, flashing his nicotine-stained teeth at me as I closed the door behind me. "Rosie!" he bellowed in greeting. "Heard Zeklos finally popped the question. Congrats!"

"Thanks," I replied noncommittally, cringing at his use of the nickname he knew I hated. It was no use asking him not to use it; he didn't care. Shaking my head, I placed my car keys on the hook and turned towards Jesse, who was leaning against the island counter in the kitchen, and held up the McDonald's bag. "Hey."

His eyes slowly lifted to mine and I felt a pang of sadness as I looked him over. The entire time I had known this man, looking at his handsome features would give me butterflies in my stomach, a simple touch enough to make my blood burn and my pulse race. Jesse Zeklos had always been an extremely good looking man. He was tall, well built, with soft, almost translucent blonde hair. His smile had been enough to make a woman weak in the knees. Big, expressive baby blue eyes.

The past few years, though, the smile seemed to stay in a perpetual scowl, the baby blues that I had loved so much now bloodshot and frigid, not a trace of warmth in their depths. Now, whenever I looked at him, I no longer felt the butterflies; they had been replaced with fear and sadness. His touch didn't send excitement through me and make my blood burn. Instead, it ran cold.

Jesse arched an eyebrow in my direction, noticing my scrutiny. I quickly averted my gaze and handed his food over to him, sending a silent prayer up to a god I that no longer believed in that it was still hot.

"Thanks," he said gruffly, digging into the bag and popping a fry into his mouth. "You gonna stay out here and watch the game with us?"

I tried to keep my expression pleasant - neutral - as I shook my head. The last thing I wanted to do was sit out here watching my alcoholic fiancé and his asshole of a best friend getting drunk and messing up my house. "Not this time," I said meekly, hoping not to set him off. "I have some work to do and I think I'm going to call it an early night."

Ralf scoffed before taking a long drink of the beer he had been nursing. "What happened to you, Rosie? You used to be fun. Hell, you used to be hot -"

"Watch it," Jesse warned half-heartedly before taking a bite of his burger.

"-now you're just... what's the word I'm looking for? Frumpy and boring," Ralf continued, ignoring his friend.

Jesse chuckled, wiping ketchup off his mouth. "She's not boring, Sarcozy. Rose just doesn't sleep well anymore. Not since… " his voice trailed off as his eyes met mine and his face softened, and for a fleeting moment, he was the man I loved from so long ago. He cleared his throat, his expression now schooled and in control. "Babe, hand me a beer from the fridge, would you?"

I bit my lip, knowing I should keep my mouth shut. But against my better judgment, I couldn't. "Jess, you promised -"

His blue eyes hardened instantly. He pulled me towards him, gripping my arm tightly. His fingers bit into my skin as he leaned forward, his breath hot on my face, reeking of alcohol. His voice was low and menacing when he spoke. "I asked you nicely to get me a beer the first time. Now, I'm not asking. Get me a fucking beer, then get the fuck out of my face."

Panic shot through me, my heart beating wildly in my chest. Was he so far gone that he would risk hurting me in front of someone? I spared a glance at Ralf, who was blissfully ignoring our confrontation, his eyes glued on the television.

He roughly released me and I scrambled to get the fridge door opened, quickly handing him the bottle, and made my way towards my bedroom. Closing the door behind me, I leaned heavily against it, trying to chase the fear away.

I couldn't stay here. I knew that. Lissa and Christian had been right. No matter how much I hoped that my Jesse was still in there, somewhere, it didn't make it true. The man I had loved was long gone and had taken my pride and dignity with it.

It was time to go.

Me entire body shaking, I surveyed my bedroom, debating on what I should take and what could be easily replaced. Having somewhere to go wasn't the problem; I knew Lissa and Christian would gladly let me stay with them. But I needed to do this wisely. I needed a plan.

I couldn't take a lot. He could keep the apartment, I didn't care. This place held nothing but heartache and pain for me anymore. A few clothes to get by on and just a few sentimental items would have to be enough. Not enough to tip Jesse off.

I could hear the men yelling obscenities at the television. They'd be occupied for a few hours at least. I could pack what I needed and I would wait until after Jesse passed out to make a break for it. Thankfully, he'd always been a heavy sleeper.

Rummaging through the closet, I found my old gym bag, wiping off the dust it had collected with disuse. Long ago, I had been an avid fitness fanatic. The closest I came to the gym these days was going for my morning run. I had loved the sense of freedom running gave me, pushing my legs to take me farther and farther away.

Freedom. That's exactly what I needed.

I shoved some of my favorite and most practical clothes and shoes into the bag, surprising myself there was so much I was willing to part with. Placing the bag onto the bed, I opened up my curio cabinet that housed my massive dolphin collection. With a quick glance at the door, I opened it up and pulled out my favorites, ones my parents had bought or ones given to me from Lissa. Wrapping them carefully up into my clothes, I scanned the room again, ascertaining that I had everything that I absolutely could not part with.

There was only one more thing.

I reached underneath my pillow and pulled out the photograph, creased and frayed at the edges from constant handling. Gingerly, I traced the image on the paper, wondering if things would have been different if...

"Going somewhere, Rose?"

With a startled gasp, I spun. I had been so preoccupied that I hadn't heard the bedroom door open. Jesse was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame, glaring accusingly at me, a beer bottle clutched tightly between his hand. "Jess!" I forced a nervous laugh, trying to ignore my pounding heart. "You scared the hell out of me."

He continued to stare at me, his stormy blue eyes trailing over me, slowly coming to rest on the bag next to me. "I asked you a fucking question."

I could feel my mouth opening and closing like a fish. I tried to speak, but the fear and panic seized me. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe as I fought for words. "I... I-"

I heard the bottle shatter against the wall only seconds before he was on me, yanking my ponytail backward roughly to force me to look up at him.

Rage etched every inch of his face as he snarled at me. "Why are you packing, Rose? You've lost your goddamned mind if you think you're leaving me."

My throat convulsed as I tried to swallow back my fear. "Jesse, please. You're hurting me."

"Why do you make me do these things, Rose?" he demanded with an angry sigh. "First you question me in front of my friend. If you would just listen for once you'd save yourself a hell of a lot of trouble." His hand tightened in my hair. "Then I come in and find this." He picked up the bag with his free hand and flung it at the wall, the contents scattering across the floor.

I tried to respond, but the sudden stinging sensation in my cheek cut me off. I whimpered desperately as his fingers moved to grip my jaw and squeezed.

He brought his face in close to mine, running his nose along mine. "You'd never leave me, would you, Rose? 'Cause you know that you could never find anyone better than me. No one wants a battered, weak woman," he spat, his fingers digging into my skin. "And that's exactly what you are. Weak. Pathetic. Broken."

Tears sprang to my eyes, the pressure on my jaw sending shockwaves of pain through my skull. Where the hell was Ralf? Would he really just let Jesse hurt me? "Jess, please let go," I begged, trying to push myself away from him.

He ignored me. "You're not going anywhere," he spat, sending saliva across my face. "Now do yourself a favor and pick that stuff up and put it away. And we'll forget this ever happened."

I blinked back tears and tried to block out the pain. My mind and body were screaming at me to comply, to do anything just to make the pain stop.

But it wouldn't stop. It would never stop. If I stayed, this would continue until he eventually became so enraged that he would kill me. I couldn't do it anymore. "No."

His eyes widened for the briefest moment before he reigned himself in. When he spoke again, he almost sounded... amused. "Excuse me? I don't think I heard you correctly."

Steeling myself, I took a deep breath and prepared myself for Jesse's wrath. "No. I said no. I can't do this anymore, Jesse."

A sound ripped from his throat that sounded more animal than man. He tightened his hold on my jaw, and I vaguely felt him push me backward until my back was shoved against something hard. Again, and again he shoved me into it as I begged him to stop.

I cried out as shards of glass and broken pieces of porcelain bit into my skin, and through my pain I realized he had shoved me into my curio cabinet. Remnants of my collectible dolphins littered the ground around me.

Jesse was still screaming at me, but I couldn't make out what he was saying, his hateful words drowned out by the pounding in my head. My vision blurred as something wet and sticky slid over my forehead and into my eyes.

I felt my knees buckle and give out beneath me and I fell to the floor, my world spinning around me. He wasted no time, sending swift kicks to my midsection. I could hear a sound fill the room, the sound of a dying animal. Where the hell was the noise coming from?

Me, I realized. That horrible sound was coming from me. I had never experienced pain so intense. This was it, he was going to kill me.

I'm sorry, Liss. I should have listened to you. I should have listened.

I could hear the sounds of my ragged and labored breathing, and somewhere in the background I heard more glass shattering before I heard the door slam shut. The very last thing I remembered before everything went dark was the sweet, sweet bliss of nothingness. No screaming. No pain.

Nothing.