HUNTER'S TALE

1.

"How... How was your day, Marcus?" Mary took a seat beside her husband, who looked at food she served, like it was a pigswill. Again, Mary pondered, feeling his eyes cold, staring at her. Smell of alcohol leaving from every single pore of his skin, making her sick. His clothes smelled like pub and his glassy eyes left no doubts, he drank a lot. She lowered her eyes and started to eat, feeling her stomach shrinked to the point, her whole core was vibrating from a fear and he throat was tightening.

Marcus gave her a dead cold look and frowned upon her, obviously to him, stupid question. "How the fuck you think it was?" He rumbled, throwing aside the served dish. "This tastes like fucking shit," he snapped. "You fucking useless."

Mary quietly let out breathy trembling moan and the moment his plate fell down on the floor, she rushed to clean it. "I'm sorry. I... You... It's your favourite, I thought, you like it," she stuttered, then cut her finger on shatter and hissed. "I baked fish with potatoes," she looked up at him. "I'll bring it."

But the loath in his eyes had no end watching at his wife as if she was his worst enemy that moment. He grabbed a fistful of her red hair and rose her terrified face on his. "You fucking useless woman," he growled. "You had all day to make a simple fucking food and you failed!" He grabbed her under her chin and Mary yelled out, scared. "What you've been doing all day huh?" He pushed her down again.

Mary couldn't even speak. She was shaking and was petrified. To tell him, what she was doing without stop, was pointless. Nothing would be good enough for him, no answer would bring him a satisfaction. "I'm sorry. I'll do better. I... Forgive me," she sobbed, trying hard not to cry, because she knew, how he hated, when she was crying. He always blamed her, that she cried to manipulate him. So one day, she stopped crying, talking, she became a shadow in her own house.

"Don't start with the crying again. You fucking piss me off!" He snapped, seeing her weeping. "Don't fucking start that acting, cus I ain't buying your bullshit." Violently he grabbed and shook her from her forearm with narrowed eyes. "You fucking with someone? You're leaving the house, when I'm fucking away, that's why the food sucks! That's why this place looks like a fucking stable all the time!" Before he finished his sentence a sharp smack made her cheek turn red. "Fucking talk, you're fucking someone else?"

"No!" Mary cried out her response, holding her cheek. "I don't! Marcus I'd never do that to you!" She however couldn't hold her tears, the sharp slap made her cheek burn and in pain. "Please, believe me. I'm simply a bad cook. I'm trying, Marcus. I'm really trying!"

Apparently her tears only added fuel to his anger and soon he blasted. The one slap came after the other from both sides, until he grabbed her from her hair again. "You wanna lie to my fucking face too,you fucking whore?"

"It hurts!" Mary sobbed and screamed from pain. Few locks stayed in between his fingers and she was throwing with her hands around, trying to grab something to support herself. "Marcus, stop!" She shouted and suddenly felt a cold steel under her hand. Her fingers moved it bit by bit closer, until she took it with full fist and with a sharp move, she cut him to his wrist. He let her fall and groaned from pain. Mary, feeling dizzy and crying from pain, held knife and shouted desperately. "I will kill you!" Losing all her nerves and maybe even sanity, she almost fell on the floor. Of course the way he slapped her could bring her to unconscious. Like many times before, when she woke up from his raging moments, her face black and blue and tears dried on her lids. Not this time, she told herself. So many years she suffered. "I'll rather spend the rest of my life in prison, than one more day in this house!" She shouted and began to run away. He followed, but luckily his feet were heavy. The moment he grabbed her by her forearm, she cut again and this time she left long cut on his face. He fell down, screaming, trying to look up at her but his face was soon covered in blood. The only thing, he could manage to see from his blurry from the blood vision was Mary running away and he fell down.