Daydream [H.S. A.U.]

Ch.38

5 months later
TW: mentions of guns and drug use and physical harm
Please do not read if you don't want to! I can always give a rundown of what happened for anyone who is uncomfortable with the topics listed above.

Take care of yourselves 💗💙

Leaving work today, I felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I never thought I'd be making a move to another state but I know deep down it was the best decision to make. Having passed my out of state license last week, I spoke with my manager and owner and they were beyond supportive of this next chapter in my life allowing me to continue work from California.

I got home late last night spending time with J and Capri so I wasn't able to break the news to TJ. I was a little worried about how he would reach for me moving to California when we had such a groove of us living together. It made my stomach hurt just thinking about it. He's asked me multiple times when I'd be moving but I keep putting it off. I tell him it'll happen eventually, but the time got away from me, and now in 2 weeks I'd be packing up everything I own and moving away. I know he won't be mad per se, he'd probably support the hell out of it. But that doesn't mean I wasn't horrified to have this conversation with him. He's managed to find a great job that pays him well so he's no longer working at the body shop barely scraping by so I know that he'll be able to take care of rent now on his own. I just don't wanna break his heart.

Making it home, I notice my front door was unlocked. That's odd? TJ used to be bad about that but that was when he was high all the time, he'd forget to lock up.

Shit, what if he's high? My heart begins to race as I turn the knob, preparing for what I'd imagine is another relapse. The house looked undisturbed, almost like TJ hadn't even been home. There's usually a glass or five sitting out on the coffee table, throw blankets bunched up, something?

"Hello?" I call out timidly, "TJ you home? You left the door-"

Click.

The sound of the safety being turned off on a gun sends a cold sweat and a hot flash all at once wash over my body. I stop breathing, I don't move, I don't even blink. The barrel of a gun appears in my peripheral vision but I can barely see it. The adrenaline flooding my body was giving me tunnel vision and the ringing in my ears was all consuming. "Hello beautiful." A thick southern accent overpowers the ringing. "You're finally home." I turn my head slowly to my left and see Luke standing in the doorway of my office.

Don't show fear. Don't start asking questions. Just play along and stay alive.

"H-hi baby." My words were hardly audible but I force them out. They tasted like poison rolling off of my tongue, but i know it'll set him off if I don't appease him right now. I give him the best possible smile I can muster up as a cling to my purse for dear life. "Why don't we put the gun down, ok?" His eyes were bloodshot and sunken in, his skin was pasty and chalky. He looked like he'd been on a week long bender and hadn't come down yet.