E✝ernal Soul

1

Jennie POV

"You little bitch!" He yells before swinging a fist at my face

When he connects, my head starts ringing and my vision goes blurry as I fall to my hands and knees on the spotless wood floor. By the feel of it, my cheekbone is broken, after all of this time I know the difference between a broken bone and a deep bruise

"Taeyong, I'm sorry. It was an accident" I cry out to him. It won't do me any good, but I can't seem to keep my mouth shut

"An accident? AN ACCIDENT?!" He bellows at me as his boot-covered foot connects with my back "You have three things to do in life: clean my house during the day, spread your fat legs for me at night, and take your damn pill!" Spit is flying at my face as he continues to scream at me

Today is supposed to be a happy day. Today I found out that I'm pregnant. I have life growing inside me. The thought makes me pull my legs into my chest tighter in an attempt to shield my belly

This isn't how my husband of five years is supposed to react when I tell him that I'm having his child. There's supposed to be hugs and kisses and tears as he drops to his knees and kisses my belly. That's how life is supposed to be, unfortunately my life has never turned out how it's supposed to

I married Taeyong when I was eighteen. I was a kid who had no place to go after my parents died, and he was a rich, good-looking man who offered me the world. The day after my eighteenth birthday we were married at the courthouse and began our life together. Like any other girl, I grew up picturing my dream wedding; the simple white chairs laid out in the grass, a bouquet of wildflowers in my hands, and a simple white dress made of lace. I wanted to walk down the aisle barefoot as a violinist plays and see my husband look up at me with love in his eyes and know in my heart that this was it, this is my forever. That's what I wanted, but once again life got in the way. I was young and decided that I didn't need all of that stuff as long as I had Taeyong and his love

Dream on little girl I think as I receive another kick to the back of my legs

I flinch when I feel his hand grab the hair at the back of my head and pull me up so I can look into his eyes. They're black with anger

"I'm going out. You better have that thing taken care of by the time I get back" Taeyong spits out before dropping me on the floor and stomping out of the house

I can feel the tears falling down my face, but I don't remember when I started to cry. I feel numb as I lay on the floor of my living room, my home. All I know is if I want my baby to survive, I have to get out of here. But it won't be easy. I have nothing except a few hundred dollars that I've managed to save up from the money Taeyong has left in his pockets over the years. I have a car that he allowed me to have so that I could go to the grocery store for him, because heaven forbid he have to sacrifice his own transportation for me. The car is a junker and be only keeps enough gas in it to get to the grocery and back. Good thing I haven't gone shopping yet this week

Rising to my knees slowly, I can feel my whole body groan in protest. The bruises on my legs are nothing new, but the deep pain in my face and back tell me I have some broken bones. That's going to make this even harder

When I manage to get to my feet, the room spins and I vomit all over the floor. My vision tries to clear as I wipe my mouth and shakily head for the bedroom. There's a loose floor board in the closet that I have hidden all of my money under along with a few keepsakes from my life, like my parents' wedding photo and a baby bonnet that I wore as an infant

My mom always said that my child would wear it one day, I hope she was right. Quickly I snatch them up and throw them into my small handbag. Picking up the bag is a challenge, but finally I manage

Silently walking through my home, memories flood through me of my time here, not one of them good. This place was my torture chamber, where I was stripped of all of my hope and dignity. My soul died a little here

Snow is softly falling as I limp out the front door, not even bothering to lock it behind me, and head to my car. The wind is brutal and I'm happy to have a refuge from it even if it is in the form of a rusted out Chevy with no heat. I breathe a sigh of relief as the engine roars to life, and without one look back at my prison, I head off into the night

I have been driving for almost 24 hours when my car gives a few coughs and finally quits. Using my beat-up junker and the little bit of money I had, I managed to get from Washington

I've been planning what I'm going to do once my car gives out, and have saved enough money for a cheap hotel room. But how am I going to get there? Theres about an inch of snow on the ground and since the sun has set, the temperature has been steadily dropping

I really only have one option. I can't sit in this car all night, I'll freeze to death. With one last steadying breath, a shallow one because of my ribs, I grab my bag and swing my door open. I've never been in this town before, but it looks like I landed right in the middle of it. There aren't many people around but there are stores and buildings everywhere. The snow is soaking through my old tennis shoes and thin socks, and the wind is whipping through my thin sweat pants and winter coat. I thought that I had bundled up before I left the house, but I guess my inconsiderable wardrobe just couldn't shield me

A couple miles ahead theres what looks like a hospital, maybe they will give me a blanket or something to help me keep warm on my search for a hotel

Once I make it to the hospital parking lot, I can't feel my toes or my nose. A blanket isn't going to be enough, I've got to come up with another solution

At the end of the lot there is a black Mercedes, and it brings back a memory of when I was sixteen and my best friend Kai was building a sports car from the ground up. I liked to watch him work, and as he did, he taught me about cars. One day we laughed and teased each other because he was teaching me how to hot wire a car. He said now I could steal cars and sell them as long as I promised to split my riches with him. A small smile breaks out on my face at the memory, but quickly falls when I realized that I am now standing at the driver door of the expensive Mercedes

There's absolutely no way I can do this. I am not a criminal. I do not take advantage of other people

My logical brain is preaching at me as I stand in the snow shivering, but when I turn to walk away and remember that my feet are numb, I'm starving, freezing, and pregnant, the self-preservation side of my brain takes over

It's not like I am stealing it really, I'm just borrowing it. I'll drive it until I find a motel and then abandon it a few blocks away

Once I've convinced myself, I try the driver's door and am surprised to find it unlocked. Quickly climbing inside and sinking into the expensive vinyl seats, I let out a frozen breath

The first thing I need is screwdriver or something to take the steering column apart, so I start searching. There's not one in the glove compartment or in the console. As I turn to look into the backseat, my ribs protest and I gasp out in pain

"Damn it" I growl out between my teeth as a few tears of frustration leak from my eyes

Suddenly the car door opens and a chuckling voice says "You might want to look in the trunk. There's a whole toolbox in there"

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