The Iron Predators, Part I [SAMPLE]

Chapter 4

ELLIE

"I guess it's time to tell you mine then," I say with a sigh.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. I understand if you're not comfortable with it."

I take a deep breath and look down at the floor. "It's ok. I was also abused. I met Matt senior year in college. He was the nicest guy. Caring, always saying the right things. After college we moved in together and it was all good at first. He got a job as an accountant in the neighboring town. I opened up my store and it got successful pretty quick. My store got known and people from other towns also visited and bought stuff.

"Matt started changing gradually. I worked a lot since I ran the store myself. He got upset at me for being home late every evening and started acting jealous when I brought in more money than him. He started coming home later than me a lot of evenings. I questioned him about it because I knew he didn't need to work that late. He got angry and when I asked him if he had an affair, he slapped me for the first time.

"After that his temper got worse. He wanted us to move so he got closer to work. When I said 'no', he hit me again. I started being afraid to go home after work, but I didn't know how to leave either." I pause, feeling tears starting to fall.

Amy holds my hand and gives me a tissue. "It's ok if you want to stop," she says.

"No, it's ok," I say trying to compose myself. "Everyone knew him as the nice, caring guy that he was when we were not at home. He was social and polite to everyone. I didn't think anyone would believe me if I told them the truth. Even my parents and Jenna loved him, but they started to notice something was wrong just before it got worse. I told them everything was fine, which I shouldn't have. I should have told them what was going on and maybe it didn't have to come to the things that came next." More tears start to fall and I wipe them away.

"The day it all happened, one and a half years ago, I came home from work later than usual. I had a lot of paperwork that needed to be done. I had tried to be home earlier the last weeks, not wanting him to be angry and hit me. The piles of paperwork grew, so I had to get it done.

"I could feel the ice-cold tension in the air when I walked through the door. I knew he was angry. He demanded that I'd sell the store and that we would move. I got angry at him because he knew that my store was my pride and joy, my dream that I would never give up. I told him that I'd never sell the store and that I was sick of how hw acted. I couldn't take it anymore and told him that we were through and that he could leave himself.

"Something in him just snapped. He hit me and I could hear the crack in my nose. He hit me again and that's when my jaw broke. Then he pulled me by my hair into the bedroom, threw me on the bed and started to undress himself. I was too afraid and in too much pain to fight him.

"He pinned me down to the bed, pulled my skirt up and panties to the side and raped me. I screamed and begged him to stop, but he didn't listen. 'YOU ARE MINE!', he yelled between his grunts. 'YOU DO AS I SAY! I'm gonna burn that store to the ground.' I begged him not to. When he was finished, he dragged me out of the apartment, down the stairs, pulling my arm so tight I had bruises formed as fingers afterwards. He continued dragging me to my store. It was around midnight so no one else was around.

"He unlocked the store and dragged me in, then made me watch him throw kerosene, that I had stored for lamps, everywhere. I screamed at him to stop, but he didn't listen. I tried to stop him, but he hit me in my stomach, making me fall to the ground. I cried and screamed at him that he wasn't going to get away with it and then he turned around, staring at me with motionless eyes. I regretted what I said instantly because then he turned around, threw the match that he had lit on the floor, ran out and locked me in."