a Taste of Innocence (n.h)

Prologue

5 years ago
He constantly smelled like cigarettes and a hint of aftershave. Callie had always hated the smell of smoke; the way it lingered on your lips and clung to your breath utterly disgusted her. But he was so different, so kind. Maybe he smelled like cigarettes but Callie thought that perhaps that was something she could overcome, if she loved him enough.
Callie was wrong, oh so damn wrong. She wanted to leave him after the first two months. In fact, she'd even set aside just enough money to rent an apartment for a few months. Jason had taken the money and used it to get his fix. That was when Callie knew she was in far too deep with this boy.
The longer Callie stayed with Jason, the worse he became. How could the charming, funny boy she'd first met turn into this- this monster?  They hadn't been together too long, perhaps four months at most. And Callie had been formulating a way to leave for the past two of those four. Her first three plans had failed and by then she gave up. Things didn't look so good for Callie. Jason was forcing Callie to get a job, one that paid cash. He claimed that if she did, he could buy them a nicer apartment; that never happened. Every single dollar Callie earned went straight to his addiction. She was beyond sick of Jason in general.
Cal called her mother sometimes but they never got a chance to talk very long before Jason would force her to hang up. Callie was slowly dwindling away and she was becoming the lowly, silent housewife she promised herself that she would never become. They were not even engaged.
She couldn't leave; he scared her too much.
Jason came home one night, seeming happier than ever. He never gave Callie a reason because she honestly didn't care why. For the first time in months, he was the old Jason; the one that Callie had loved. The details were lost amongst the repression in Callie's mind. All she cared to remember was the week following that night.
An angry Jason was not one that anyone would want to encounter. Callie had seen it firsthand a few times too many. That night was no exception. In fact, Jason was beyond angry; he was furious. This was worse than anything Callie had ever seen.
Children had always been a dream of Callie's. She'd always wanted to wake up with her children shaking her, giggling. Cal imagined that her son or daughter would be smiling mischievously as they bounced on her bed, "mommy, mommy! wake up!" That seemed like the best way to start a day, surrounded by people she loved.
A person like Jason was not anywhere in her little dream family.
"But Jason-"
"Shut up! Jesus, Callie, do you ever stop talking?" He snapped at her, the friendliness in his brown eyes long gone.
"It's your baby too-"
"Get out," he slammed on his breaks and looked pointedly over at Callie.
Her lips quivered a bit and she did nothing for a full minute. Jason looked like he was ready to slap her before she said her last words to him.
"Good luck finding someone else to pay for your weed, asshole," she hissed before she slammed the car door shut and walked anywhere but near him.