Storyteller

Chapter 4

Faith POV:

Carrie and I meet again to write. I tell her about everything that happened out in Malibu, which she's likely already heard from the news. She's still in shock. I pull out a sheet of lyrics from my bag, and slide it across the coffee table toward her. She reads it, and looks at me with a dropped jaw.

"That's... incredible." She says. She picks up her guitar, and tries to play it.

"If anyone asks, you never saw me, and I know you know better than to call me. Let's just hide out under the covers, one more secret between two old lovers. What can it hurt? I ain't hung up on you, I ain't in love with you. This is just time that I'm wasting... One or two little sips, I'm alright, I can quit. You're just someone that I'm tasting. I don't have to have you, I don't need to need you. Just a high that I'm chasing. Don't think I'm coming back... It's just a relapse." I sing along, feeling my pride start to collapse. She watches me, as I shake it off and continue to sing.

"I know I said, I said it was over, but it's hard, when I miss you, to stay sober... So if I show up here at your door again, it's just me falling off of the wagon. What can it hurt? I ain't hung up on you, I ain't in love with you, this is just time that I'm wasting. One or two little sips, I'm alright, I can quit. You're just someone that I'm tasting. I don't have to have you, I don't need to need you. Just a high that I'm chasing... Don't think I'm coming back... It's just a relapse. I can quit when I'm ready... I ain't hurting nobody but me." I sing, before breaking down and whaling. Carrie comes over to me, and wraps her arms around me as I sob.

"I fucking hate him..." I scream, trembling. I've never felt this horrible in my life... Carrie is dead silent, unsure what to say. She rubs my back, and stays by my side. "Why does he do this to me?"

I walk in my front door, which was surprisingly unlocked. I look on the counter and find the divorce papers I sent to his manager. I open the envelope, and dump out the torn up pieces of the paper onto the counter. My chest aches.

I look around the house, and feel a little off. If Chris dropped this off, she would've locked the door behind her...

I head upstairs, trying to ignore the weird feeling, and walk into my room. I jump when I see Tim sitting on the edge of the bed. I freeze a few steps inside the room, and try to address what he's doing. He looks at me, seeming to be drunk off his ass. He can't hold himself steady.

"Why?" He spits out. He stands up and walks toward me, stumbling as he tries.

"Tim, stop." I say, feeling a little anxious.He shakes his head.

"You're not leaving me." He says. I feel fear surmount incredibly fast in me. He pulls something out of his pocket, and presses it against my side. "You can't leave me." He grunts. "I love you baby, why don't you see that?" My old instincts start to kick in.

"I do see that you love me, honey. I do." I say quickly, my voice sounding shaky. He can tell I'm panicking.

"You're so ungrateful." He growls, growing more angry. It grows hard to breathe.

"Momma?" I hear Audrey pipe out from behind me. I feel horrified. Tim doesn't even flinch. He completely ignores her all together.

"So what are we going to do about this?" He shouts, causing me to jump. "Huh?" He screams. I start to cry, feeling completely helpless.

"I don't know." I scream out, not sure what else I can do. He stares into my eyes before throwing me down on the floor. I'm winded, as I hear Audrey run away down the hall. Tim sits on my stomach, and begins to punch my head. My ears begin to ring two hits in, as he continues to bash his fists into my head. "Stop!" I plead, trying to get my arms up to protect myself.

I manage to turn over onto my stomach, and try to crawl away. Tim grabs something off the nightstand, and begins to bash it against my hips, sending a shooting pain down my legs. I try to turn over to kick him away, but he decides to stomp on my hips while I'm on my side. I feel something crack, as I'm paralyzed by excruciating pain. I have no choice now.

"Gracie! Maggie!" I screech, watching panic begin to emerge in Tim's eyes. He quickly covers my mouth. He drags me over to our closet, and continues to punch and kick me, before spitting on me, and walking out, locking the closet door behind him.

I can hardly breathe. My ribs and hips are crushed. My head is significantly injured, seeing how much blood is pooling under me. I try to shout for the girls, but I can't take in enough air. My lungs burn, as I try to push out their names. It's not working...

I lay in the closet, bleeding, and slowly fading in and out of consciousness for what seems like forever. I continue to try and scream, but my ability decreases even more the longer I lie here. I don't know what time it is, but I know it's been hours...

I decide to suck it up, and try to ignore the pain. I claw my hardest to move only a few inches, where I try now to reach the handle of the door. I turn it, but it's still locked. There's nothing more I can do.

That's when someone opens the door. Bright light blinds me, as I try to crawl past whoever is there. I yelp, since the pain is now overcoming me and crippling me, but I push harder, and try to crawl farther.

"Faith, stop." I hear his voice, making me panic. I crawl faster, feeling numbed by a surge of fear. "Faith." He warns, making me begin to cry. I feel him lay a hand on my back, causing me to shriek.

"No!" I screech, quickly flailing to get away.

"Faith, stop. You're hurting yourself." He says, trying to remain calm. I feel his arms come around my waist, before he picks me up. I scream, the pain only growing worse as he touches me. He carries me to the bathroom, while I kick and punch, trying to get out of his arms. He places me in the tub, and starts to run the water. I punch his head as he tries to take off my clothes. He grabs my arms, and then resumes taking off my clothes, which are soaked with blood. He throws them on the floor, and lets go of my arms.

I try to crawl out of the tub, but I keep slipping, and slamming back down, causing me even more pain. The cool water begins to cover some of my body, causing the wounds to burn. I shake, and grunt, before letting out soft, high pitched screams. I whimper, before look into Tim's eyes for the first time since he opened the door.

He's sober, and he's horrified. He doesn't know why he just found me bloody, locked in a closet, but I think he's starting to figure it out. He stops the water once it reaches my neck, and grabs a cup from the sink. I wheeze, as he tips my head back slowly. He fills the cup with water, and dumps it over my hair.

The sensation feels as if my head were wrapped in barbwire. I dig my nails into his arm, as my screams grow louder. He cringes, and takes a deep breath, before dumping another cup full. He stops, and lets me soak for a moment, while he tries to figure out what happened.

"You're going to be okay." He says, rubbing between my eyebrows. I shake my head, and try to push his hand away from me. He puts it down by his side, and stares at me. "I didn't do this... I didn't" He tries to reassure himself. "Who did this?" he asks me, leaning his arms against the tub. I start to cry, thinking about how he relentlessly punched me time and time again.

"You hurt me." I cry out, the pain coming in another wave. He stands up quickly, and stares at me, before leaving the room in a hurry.