Natalie surveyed the mess around her. Yet again, she hadn't cleaned the house enough. Brian told her to clean the carpet till it was spotless. She tried and tried and scrubbed until her arms hurt but that one little ink stain wouldn't come out. When he came home from recording, Natalie tried to stand over the stain so he wouldn't notice and hit her again but as soon as she moved, he saw it. She tried to get out of the room as fast as she could, but it didn't work. He grabbed her tightly by her hair and pulled her back into the room. He pushed her to the ground while still holding his grip on her hair.
"Didn't I tell you to clean that?" he snarled
"I-I tried, but it won't come out." she sniffled
"Try harder!" he demanded
"I tried, I did but it didn't come out." she replied
He grabbed the scrubber and spray and shoved it at her. As soon as he let go of her hair, she rubbed the sore spot tenderly, trying not to be noticed and get hurt more.
"Clean it again." he growled.
She took the cleaning products and began to scrub the stain again, Brian's eyes carefully on her. Her hand trembled with each movement of the scrubber. She continued like that for about 15 minutes and still nothing could remove that stain. She mentally cursed it. Brian stopped her angrily.
"Forget it, I knew you were useless. Is my dinner ready?" he asked
"Ye-yes. It's warming in the oven." she said, walking carefully into the kitchen.
He followed close behind, watching her all the while. When they got into the kitchen, he sat at the head of the table, his place.
"Where's Sarah?" he asked, referring to their 2 year old daughter.
"She's upstairs taking a nap. She wasn't feeling well earlier." she said
"What was wrong with her?" he asked, sounding concerned
"Her stomach was hurting so I told her to go lay down." she said
"What did you give her that made her stomch hurt?" he asked angrily
"It wasn't anything she ate. She just had gas." she replied.
"I'm going to check on her, when I get back my dinner better be on the table." he ordered.
Natalie nodded quietly while Brian went upstairs. She got his dinner out of the oven, burning her wrist as she removed the plate. She cursed silently and placed his meal on the table. She got him a glass and poured him iced tea before sitting quietly at the table. A second later she heard Brian walking downstairs talking to Sarah animatedly. They came into the kitchen, Sarah telling Brian about her day. He put her in her high chair and sat at his place at the table. He looked scornfully at his plate.
"Steak again?" he asked
"Brian, we had steak over two weeks ago. It was on sale." Natalie argued
"Don't talk back to me." he said reaching across the table to slap her
She tried to dodge the hit but failed. She hated Sarah to see the way Brian treated her. She didn't want to scare the baby because she knew how fond she was of her father. Natalie didn't want Sarah to know what a monster he really was. They managed to make it through dinner without any other sort of altercation. After dinner, Brian watched cartoons with Sarah while Natalie obediently cleaned up the kitchen. Only when she was finished was she allowed to join her family in the living room. She loaded and set the dishes, cleaned the table, the floor and the countertops. When she was done, she went into the living room to have Brian approve of her cleaning.
He came in and surveyed the room.
"Not bad, you're getting better." he said
"Thank you." she said quietly
He continued, running his fingers over the countertops to insure the ultra cleanliness. He nodded in approval and moved on to the stove. It, like the countertops were up to par. He checked the cabinets to make sure the dishes were properly put away. They were and then she was allowed to enter the living room. She sat next to Sarah and played dolls with her until it was Sarah's bedtime.
After she put Sarah to bed, Natalie walked back downstairs where Brian was sitting on the couch. He scooted over to make room for her. She sighed an collapsed next to him. He put his arm around her affectionately, kissing her forehead. It made her remember that no matter what he may say or do, Brian still loved her. It reminded her of the days before Sarah was born and he started hitting her. She kissed him tenderly and he kissed her back.
"I'm sorry for slapping you before honey." he said sweetly
"It's okay Brian." she replied
"It's just that you get me so mad sometimes Natalie, and I can't help it." he said
"I know Brian. I'm sorry for making you angry." she apologized.
He kissed her again, a little more forcefully. She pulled back a little, but he grabbed her head tightly and held her in place. She struggled against him so that she could possible loosen his grip, but it only made him grab her tighter. She figured to just relax as not to make it worse. They kissed more and Brian let go of her head. She sighed into his kiss and laid back as he kissed her more deeply. He climbed on top of her, kissing her more passionately. She let herself fall into his trap yet again and things started to get more heated. He pushed himself on her and she tried to fight him off.
"Brian, stop it, you're hurting me." she said
"Oh stop it Natalie, you know you want it." he said
"No, it hurts." she replied
"Oh come on Natalie." he pressed
She just shut up and let him force himself on her. The more it hurt, the more she bit her tongue. She did it until she couldn't take it anymore.
"Damnit Brian, stop!" she yelled
"Who are you yelling at?" he asked, grabbing her arm tightly, leaving a bruise.
"Ow! Stop it!" she yelled, trying to push him off of her
That made him angrier. He slapped her hard across the face, leaving a red hand print on her cheek. She grabbed her cheek in pain and tried to hit him to get him to move. He grabbed her by the arm and threw her to the floor. She sceamed as he punched her in the mouth, busting her lip.
"Don't you ever do that again!" he growled, hitting her yet again
She cried and begged him to let her go. He did for a minute to try and find something new to hit her with. That gave her enough time to grab the heavy lamp off the table. As Brian came back into the room she hit him over the head with the lamp. He fell to the floor and she hit him again. He stopped moving and she took that as a sign to get Sarah and get out of the house. She ran up to Sarah's room and got together a bag with the baby's toys and other necessities. Then she went into her's and Brian's room to do the same. After she finished getting the stuff she threw it out the window down to the front yard so she wouldn't have to pass Brian's body until it was absolutely necessary. She crept back into Sarah's room and picked the baby up out of the crib, trying not to wake her. Sarah stirred a little but never woke up. Natalie crept silently down the stairs, careful not to shake Sarah or touch Brian and possibly wake him. She got outside and got Sarah situated in her car seat. As she was getting into the car she heard the front door fly open and Brian came storming out. She jumped into the car and flew out of the driveway and onto the road.
She drove for what seemed like hours until she found a motel. There was one more empty room and she took it for the night to figure out what she was going to do next. She knew one thing, she couldn't go back to Brian. She looked at Sarah sleeping peacefully. She had to protect her daughter. It was only a matter of time before Brian started hitting her too. Natalie would never be able to live with herself if she let that happen. She turned on the radio in the room and heard a song that she could relate to.
An' empty coke bottles an' coffee cups.
Drivin' through the rain with no radio,
Tryin' not to wake her up.
Cell 'phone says "low battery",
God, what if I break down?
I'm just lookin' for an exit with a lotta lights,
A safe little interstate town.
Just a cheap hotel,
With a single bed,
And cable TV:
Is good enough for me an' Emily.
Some day, when she's old enough,
She's gonna start askin' questions about him.
Some kid at school brings his Dad for show an' tell,
An' gets her little mind a-wonderin':
"Where's my Daddy? Do I have one?
"Does he not love me like you do?"
Oh, maybe I'll find someone to love the both of us,
An' I'll tell her when she's old enough to know the truth.
Will it break her heart?
Will she understand,
That I had to leave?
That's what was best for me an' Emily.
That house was never clean enough; his dinner never warm enough.
Nothing I did was ever good enough to make him happy.
So, I guess, he gave me what he thought I deserved,
But it would kill me if he ever raised his hand to her.
Big rigs are throwin' rain on my windshield,
An' I feel like they're laughin' at me.
Fin'lly the storm is lettin' up,
An' the mornin' is breakin' free.
It's a brand new day,
It's a second chance.
Yesterday is just a memory,
For me an' Emily.
Ah.
Floorboard is filled with baby toys,
An' empty coke bottles an' coffee cups.
Least there's one good thing that he gave me,
An' she's startin' to wake up.
"Mama?" she heard Sarah question sleepily
"Shhh baby, go back to sleep." Natalie said, rubbing the little girl's back
"I love you mama." Sarah said.
"I love you too Sarah." Natalie said
And she knew everything would be okay.
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