Page 14

Valeria

C hester didn’t show up at home for three days. It wasn’t anything unusual, but I was worried because he always sent messages that he was okay. But this time, nothing.

Zara didn’t ask about him, supporting my conviction that she was better without him. I couldn’t deny that she loved him, yet his presence wasn’t beneficial for her. I had to think about my baby girl’s well-being.

If only I had the cash from the last job at Zhumagulovs. I would’ve run away. A few hundred would not make a big difference, but it would be a start. I wasn’t afraid of any kind of work, and Zara was adaptable. We would survive.

Sitting behind the kitchen table, I ran a hand over my face, staring at the empty envelope in front of me. The last time I checked, it had ten thousand dollars inside; today, it had none.

Chester probably took it when I was away, and since then, he’d disappeared. It explained why he wasn’t at home with us. He would show up with empty pockets maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, or perhaps in a few hours. Everything depended on how much he lost or won.

I leaned my elbow on the table, covered my mouth with my palm, and closed my eyes.

I didn’t know how much more I could take.

Chester was charming and comforting at times, but only until he had money.

If he came home empty-handed, he would become an angry, fire-breathing monster.

Zara would cry herself to sleep, and surely pee herself.

And I would walk around him on my tiptoes, hoping he would leave the house to meet his friends.

Why didn’t I see it sooner? He was an abuser.

He didn’t love us. He didn’t support us.

He used me as an accessory and a nanny; otherwise, he had no use for me.

And I didn’t need him either. I paid the bills and mortgage, Zara’s school, and after-school lessons.

Throughout our marriage, he’d given me money for those things maybe four times and always acted like he did a tremendous service to us.

I felt sick to my stomach from his behavior and mine as well.

I was a stupid, naive bitch, and now, I paid the price for it.

But how could I leave him? Where could I get money for a new start?

A knock on the front door woke me from my depressing thoughts, and I frowned, thinking who it could be. Chester had keys, Zara was at school, and Alice was with her father at the hospital.

Swiftly, I walked to the door, opened it, and my eyes widened in surprise. On my threshold stood Malin Zhumagulov, dressed in a black motorcycle suit, with a typical stoic mask on his face. I realized I was getting pretty good at distinguishing the brothers.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Kellerman,” he greeted, checking me from head to toe. I wore simple leggings and an oversized grey sweater with brown slippers. It was my typical home outfit.

“How can I help you, Mr. Zhumagulov?” I asked, feeling a weird flutter in my chest. It was fear. I was scared he visited me to remind me to keep my mouth shut.

“You forgot your money at work,” he replied, fishing a white envelope from his suit. I blinked in confusion when he handed it to me, and I opened it with trembling fingers.

“What is this?” I mumbled, staring in bewilderment at at least three thousand dollars.

“Early Christmas.” He winked at me and turned to leave, but I grabbed his arm to stop him. I didn’t understand the reason behind this and didn’t want to owe him or his brothers anything.

“It’s too much,” I whispered, giving him the envelope back. He looked at it blankly, clearly not interested in taking it .

“For once, you should use that pretty mouth of yours and say something useful,” he stated. “A thank you would be nice.”

He turned on his heels and disappeared down the stairs without another word.

I pressed the envelope with money against my chest, tears welling in my eyes. I prayed to God for a miracle, and the devil appeared at my door. Could it be a coincidence, or was it a sign it was the right time to leave my husband and start over?

I sat on the bed in my bedroom, squeezing the gift in my hand. My mind went through all the options and started to create an escape plan. I was about to start packing when I heard the keys in the lock.

Panicking, I hid the envelope between my books and walked into the hall just in time to greet my husband. But before I could say anything, he stopped me.

“I’m not in the mood,” he rumbled, walking past me and slamming the door into our bedroom. I winced, and my heart clenched when I heard him shuffling through some stuff.

Carefully, I peeked inside, watching him throw his underwear and then his T-shirts out from the drawer, and cursed under his breath when he didn’t find what he was looking for.

I glimpsed at the stack of books on the nightstand where my money was hidden and gulped.

I would never see a penny if he found it.

“Give me your credit card!” he yelled out of the blue. I entered the room and stared at him as he opened my purse and emptied its contents on the mattress.

“Why?” I asked, coming closer and lifting my wallet from the carpet. It felt like there was a rock in my stomach, and my throat tightened.

“I need money!” he shouted, opening the closet. “Where is your salary from the poker night in Zhumagulovs?”

I inhaled deeply, looking at myself in the mirror while he asked the same question twice. His patience was at an end, and I could end up in trouble, but I didn’t want to give him anything. So, I chose to lie and hope he wouldn’t check the truth of my words .

“Malin said I would work for them again till the end of the month, so he kept it,” I answered, gathering my things and putting them back in my purse. “He will pay me all at once.”

“Fuck!” Chester cursed, slamming his hand against the chest of drawers. “Call him! Say that you need it!”

“I don’t have his number,” I replied truthfully, my hands trembling. Chester was angry and in some kind of trance, but he knew we didn’t have money at home. He already took everything.

“For Christ’s sake, Valeria! I need cash!” he shouted and punched the wall next to the mirror. A small lamp fell on the cosmetic table and smashed into a million tiny pieces.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, shaking in fear because it was just a matter of time until he would direct his anger at me. His knuckles bled, and his face twisted into a furious grimace when he scanned the room like he expected hundred-dollar bills to dance into his open palm.

“What’s this?” he growled. My heart stopped beating momentarily, and I had to grab the closet door for support when I gaped at him and the envelope with my money in his hand. “What the fuck is this, Valeria?”

The world spun, and my legs shook so hard I couldn’t stand properly. Chester moved toward me slowly, glaring at me as if I committed the biggest crime in history.

“That’s my savings,” I breathed. My lower lip quivered, and a lump formed in my throat.

“Your savings, huh?” he repeated, and the tone of his voice suggested he was pissed like hell. “Since when is it only yours?”

“It’s for Zara’s education,” I whispered, backing away from him, but behind me was only the closed door to the walk-in closet.

“Of course,” he spat, cornering me. “You give her everything while I get nothing!”

“It’s for her future,” I cried out, tears streaming down my face, but I saw in his empty eyes he didn’t care about his daughter. He only needed something to stick into a slot machine.

“ Oh ,” Chester whined mockingly, leaning his bloody hand against the wall. “You don’t understand, do you?” He roughly grabbed the back of my head, and I whimpered because of the sharp pain. “She won’t have a future if you keep acting like this. ”

He harshly pushed me into the wall, and I hit the side of my head. Stars danced before my eyes, the pain paralyzing me for a moment. Slowly, I bent my knees, and when I felt my butt hit the ground, I burst into tears.

My head hurt, but it was nothing compared to my heart. There was a light at the end of the tunnel for a moment, but Chester erased it, destroying that tiny pinch of hope Malin gave me like it never existed.

I didn’t know how long I lay on the carpet, crying out my helplessness, but I looked at the clock on the nightstand just in time to realize I should pick up Zara at school.

But when I looked at myself in the mirror, I knew it wasn’t possible.

I had a big purple bruise on the side of my forehead, my eyes were red from weeping, and my whole body shook violently.

I couldn’t let my girl see me like this.

With guilt holding my heart tightly, I called my mother-in-law and asked her to take care of Zara for today. She never said no to me, and this time, it was no different. She told me she would also drive her to school tomorrow, so I had the entire day to pull myself together.

I sat on the chair in front of the mirror for many minutes. My head was completely empty; no thoughts swirled, but no ideas popped up. I could only hope Alice would call me with a side job again.

Dragging myself to the kitchen, I poured a glass of water and refreshed my mouth when my eyes landed on the newspaper. A giant advertisement for quick cash stared back at me, and I looked closer. It was some shady business with loans, yet I didn’t hesitate and found information online.

Of course, it was a scam, but what was real was the money. They charged high interest and fees yet didn’t require any information about the employer, and the loan could be repaid sooner without additional cost.

Forcing my brain to devise another solution, I spent another hour thinking about my options. Still, this was the quickest one. I could get the money and pack suitcases, and tomorrow after school, I could take Zara away. She wouldn’t need to see Chester ever again.

With a thick fog clouding my brain, I roused, sitting on the bench in front of the low yellow-green building with a neon sign Quick-Cash.

It was almost nine o’clock. Weird types started showing up in the streets.

I wiped the tears that fell from my eyes and inhaled deeply, still unsure if signing my soul to the devil was the answer to my problems. However, when I turned to the right, and the throbbing pain in my head reminded me of what waited for me at home, I made up my mind.

The darkness surrounded me on my way to the front door. A few people stood outside, reading the conditions glued to the dirty window.

“What is a rich girl like you doing here?” a fat, bald man with glasses and a blue jacket asked, roaming my figure with a lecherous glint in his eyes. The light from the street lamp made his face look devious, and when he moved toward me, I quickly backed away, glaring at him.

“Her wealthy lover probably didn’t give her money for a new fur coat.” Another guy showed up. This one was younger, maybe forty, with missing front teeth and a ripped sweater covering his sickeningly malnourished body.

Fear overcame my every thought. I abruptly turned around, quickly walking down the street to my car. However, they walked behind me, chuckling and shouting sexual remarks.

All I could think about was getting safely home when I realized I had made a wrong turn. There wasn’t a free spot before the Quick Cash, so I’d parked behind the building, but now I was lost. I didn’t see my car anywhere, and those men were getting closer.

Quickening my pace, I ran next to the trash containers and into another street when someone grabbed my elbow and embraced me from behind. A hand with a cloth covered my mouth, and another arm held me tightly in place.

My heart almost collapsed from pure fright, and I tried to kick and punch but couldn’t do anything. The person holding me was much stronger than me.

I inhaled deeply, instantly feeling off-balance. The weird smell stung my nose, and my vision blurred as my body weakened. The last thing I saw was the face covered with a skull mask and a hoodie thrown over my attacker’s head.