His Darkness, Her Safety

Chapter 1: Grace

It's a quarter till six. John should be home any minute now. My hands shake as I make his plate for dinner. Finishing his dinner, I smooth out my blouse, knowing he hates to see me unkept.

"Mommy?"

I turn to face our five year old son, Lake, standing in the middle of the kitchen. "What is it, bubba?" I put on a smile for him as I ask.

"I'm hungry," he mumbles.

"Go sit at the table across from where daddy sits. I'll get you something to eat."

I heat up two slices of pizza that were leftover from last night. Taking it from the microwave, I set the dinosaur shaped plate in front of Lake.

He quickly brings a slice to his mouth and smiles at me. "Thank you, mommy," he says with a mouth full of food.

I sit down in between Lake and his father's empty chair. As soon as I sit, the front door to our little apartment opens and John walks in. I immediately stand and hurry to kiss his cheek.

He ignores me, looking over at Lake. "Why was dinner started before I arrived?" He asks passively.

"He was hungry," I simply state.

He leans in to kiss me, whispering in my ear, "You should know better than to start without me."

"I'm sorry," I practically squeak out and go to pull out his chair for him.

He clears his throat loudly, "My briefcase?"

I internally curse at myself, letting go of the chair and taking his briefcase from his hands, setting it down on the kitchen counter in its usual place.

"You're forgetting everything tonight," he comments, sitting down at the table and digging into his food.

I take a seat in between him and Lake. "How was work, honey?" I ask him, trying to make up for my mistakes.

"Absolute shit."

I wince, knowing Lake can hear his every word. "Our son is sitting here..." I quietly say to him, looking over at Lake, who is casually trying to stay focused on his pizza.

John gets up from the table, his chair pushing backwards and slamming against the wall. He grabs a fistful of my hair and yanks me up from the table.

He brings my face close to his and sneers, "You really have a lot of nerve."

"I'm sorry! I really am! I'll do better!" I say, panicking. I couldn't let this happen in front of our son again.

John pulls me by the hair into the bedroom, holding me up against the wall. "You brought this upon yourself."

I stay quiet, biting on my bottom lip to keep my tears from falling.

"Always fucking up! Always making my evening a living hell! You're useless, you whore!"

"John, I'll do better," I whisper, reaching out to rub his chest. To my luck, a tear falls from my eye.

"On your knees," he growls. "Do the only thing you can actually do right."

I immediately sink to the floor, my face only inches away from the zipper on his pants. I hear Lake turn on cartoons in the other room. Thank goodness, I think to myself. He won't be able to hear anything that is going on.