Voices

Chapter 7

The following morning Tamra woke up at her usual time. It was six in the morning and Karl was already up. She turned the monitor to look at Zyon as she always had and she noticed that he was still sleeping. She went inside the bathroom after carefully getting up from the bed. She was still so sore from the blows the evening before as the painkillers that she took wore off. After using the bathroom, she stepped back inside the bedroom. Karl was in the gym downstairs, she was sure. That was his routine. He had installed a gym about a year ago to prevent her from attending her regular gym of which she was a member even before she met him. He was so controlling and manipulative, he was the complete opposite of his mother who was loving and kind.

She sighed as she wished there was a way to break free from him once and for all. She was living in a prison and no one knew what she was going through.

After a few minutes of thinking, she heard the door open as she pulled the covers to her chest. She heard him enter the bathroom and turn the shower on.

A few minutes later he was finished and she watched as he entered their bedroom, his lower body wrapped in a towel. Once upon a time she found him so sexy and appealing whenever his upper body was exposed like that. His chest and muscly arms always gave her goosebumps and on mornings like these when she was so in love with him she would pull him back to bed to make love before they both went to work. She remembered how much that set the tone for the day as they thought about each other. It was sad that only the memories of those happy moments were all she had.

He noticed that she was awake as he looked over at her.

" I'm taking my dad to see the doctor today," she said.

He turned around to face her completely as he pulled his pants up.

" You're not going anywhere today, you did enough of that yesterday", he replied. His voice was stern.

Tamra immediately sat up in bed. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Did you just say that I cannot take my sick father to see the doctor?" She questioned in disbelief.

" You heard me" he responded, turning his back to her.

"Karl, my father is ill and I need to take him to see the doctor" she repeated

He sighed heavily. " I'm beginning to think that you have somehow lost your hearing but let me make it a little more clearer for you, you are not going anywhere" he spoke slowly as if he was talking to a child.

He stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him without saying anything else. Tamra felt a hollow feeling in the pits of her stomach and she felt like vomiting. She couldn't believe that Karl would prevent her from taking her dad to get medical attention and she began to break down. She placed her face in her palms as the tears flowed from her eyes and down her cheeks. She felt helpless as the anger rose and her heart suddenly felt heavy.

About fifteen minutes after her tears subsided Tamra decided that she was taking her dad to the doctor despite what Karl had said. Sure he would be upset but she had to do what she had to do. This was her father and Karl had to know that she was willing and able to take a stand when it came to her family. This was the man who raised her and she would not abandon him when he needed her the most.

Zyon was still not awake so she quickly took a shower and got dressed. She went downstairs to make fresh coffee then she began searching for her car keys.

She retraced her steps from the previous evening. She remembered that everything flew across the floor when she received the first blow to her face. She looked under the entrance table but her keys weren't there. Then, she remembered gathering everything when Rachel came. The keys would probably be in the shopping bags she thought. She entered the downstairs bathroom, all the bags were in the same position on the floor, she turned each bag out but still, there were no keys. After a few more minutes of searching, she concluded that Karl must have taken her keys to prevent her from leaving the house.