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The nightmares keep me from sleeping. The nightmares where I did something to make him mad and he attacks me. The ones where Mitch finds me here. He does horrible things to me, and I can’t fight him off. He ends up draining the life from me.
I wipe the tears from my face. Sniffling, I remember what we used to have. Mitch used to be so gentle, so caring. He held me at night, kissed me in the morning, and made love to me. The change was so sudden, I felt like I had whiplash. Without warning, he backhanded me one night because I didn’t want to go out. I was sick and throwing up. The last thing I wanted to do was dress up and spend time with stuffy people from his job.
Mitch didn’t care. He had a reputation to uphold, and I needed to fall in line, as he told me.
The change happened right after he took over his dad’s company and he proposed to me. He went from talking about things with me to keeping me in the dark. He got along with my parents more than he ever did before. Mitch stopped sleeping in our bed every night, claiming he had work.
He became a monster. He went from the man I dreamed about spending the rest of my life with to the darkness I saw in my nightmares. He did things to me that were unfathomable. Took what he didn’t have a right to take when he wanted to. Abused me countless times.
No one would help me, which was a lot worse.
So, that’s when I took things into my own hands. Stole a little money here and there from him. His family and him were so loaded, he never noticed it. I saved up to escape the prison I was in. Got myself a fake ID to get me where I needed to go.
And that seemed like the best move, still does, but now I’m here.
Alone.
When you’re alone, it’s easier for the memories to attack. The quiet allows my mind to remember every little thing that happened.
My tears fall as I recount the numerous times he hurt me. The times his eyes went black with hatred. No matter how many times I begged, it only made it worse.
“Mitch please, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you needed me to pick up the dry cleaning. You didn’t say anything this morning.” My hands are in front of me, trying to help keep the distance between me and his hatred.
“Why should I have to tell you what you’re supposed to do? Is this the first time you’ve met me? You know I need certain suits for certain days. What the fuck have you been doing all day?” he roars.
“I went to see my sister. I haven’t seen her in a couple of weeks.” Tears are free falling from my eyes. “We needed some bonding time.”
“Fuck your sister! You’re going to be my wife. I come fucking first!” Mitch raises his hand and backhanded me across the face. “Everything’s fucked up because of you! You stupid fucking bitch!”
Mitch grabs me by the hair and pulls me to a standing position. His hands go around my throat. I can still breathe but his grip is tight.
“S-Sorry. P-Please,” I croak out.
“Oh, you will be sorry, Nicole. I don’t know why I waste my time with you.” Letting go of my throat and slapping my face, he throws me against the side of the bed, face down.
“No, Mitch, please!” I scream.
“You need to be taught a lesson. I get whatever the fuck I want. You only obey me! You’re still here because I let you be here. The Wakefields own you. You’re mine.” That sends chills down my spine. His words are vile.
My pants and underwear are torn off me.
“Please! No!” My heart rate picks up. “Please, don’t.”
Mitch says nothing, and my cries go unanswered. My vision’s blurry, and my body shakes. I hear him unzip his pants, and every part of me goes into fight or flight mode.
I black out, not wanting to know what’s happening to me.
The man that was supposed to love me and protect me was an evil human being. I never saw it coming. It’s like a switch was flipped.
Mitch and I met in college even though our family were friends. We just never crossed paths before then. I didn’t attend the “functions” my parents went to. My sister, Rachel, did all that. She’s four years older than me, and she had an interest in the galas and fundraisers. My parents never pushed me, and I didn’t offer to go. So, we never had the opportunity to cross paths.
Mitch was working towards his MBA, and I was studying to become a teacher. He was so supportive of my career choice in the beginning. He never balked at me pursuing my dream of teaching. He would tell me how great I would be with kids and help me study for exams.
There wasn’t a time that I could even remember us fighting. Mitch was so attentive, so kind. He always opened doors for me and took me on dates. He treated me like a queen. We hung out with our friends and had great times. I was put first in his life, until I wasn’t.
Part of me is still fearful he will find me and drag me back to New York. Mitch is a vindictive asshole who will go to the ends of the earth to prove a point. I’m hoping I won’t be that point.
Running my hands through my hair, I look around at the room. There are doilies everywhere covering every piece of mismatched furniture the bed and breakfast had decided to put in here. The walls are covered in rooster wallpaper with hanging pictures of barns and tractors . I let out a small laugh. I went from a sterile bedroom to a farm invasion.