Whiskey Sunrises

1-Move

"STOP"

That was the first word that indicated my start to a new beginning. That I had enough. That I was done.

Seeing his fist still raised, a curious tint mixing with the look of pure hate he was giving me, I moved my body upright and leaned slightly against the wall. Swiping the blood from my lip, I gave him a look of complete loathing.

"Stop. Don't fucking touch me. Move the fuck away from me while you're at it." I sneered. Gripping my aching side, I backed away from him. He was shocked now, his eyes a bit pensive. I rarely stood up to him with the emotional blows, but this was the first time one of our fights got physical. There was blood above his left brow from where I clipped him after he jammed his fist into my ribs, with a light shadow under his eye. I was hoping that he'd bruise, because I definitely would.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Nathan?" I asked, sensing he wouldn't be be the one to break the silence. It seemed to bring him back into the now, taking a step toward me. Stepping back, I discretely moved behind the kitchen counter- closer to where my chef's knives were stored.

"Shit, Alayla I- I'm so sorry baby. I didn't mean to, you know I'd never hurt you. I, I was just so angry and I blanked. Please, please don't be mad." he begged.

I blanched. Don't be mad? Don't be fucking MAD?

"Get out of my house. I want you out right now." I said in a deadly calm tone. I wasn't afraid of raising my voice- I actually did it quite easily. Mostly when I was hurt or intimidated, but right now I was just pissed off. I wasn't scared or just angry, I was infuriated. This was a guy who I'd been in a relationship with for three years and he just put his hands on me for a reason other than pleasure. We'd been having a lot of non-physical fights the past couple of months, most of them for stupid little things, but it never got physical. I never expected it to.

"You're joking, right? There's no fucking way I'm leaving Alayla, I live here too. Look, I know you're feeling some things right now, so calm down and we'll talk about this like adults." The look he gave me dared me to argue, his tone turning threatening toward the end.

"You proved that you couldn't talk like an adult the moment you hit me because I said something you didn't like. You can send someone for your shit later, now get out before I call the cops or my brother to forcibly remove you." I warned. Calling my brother might not be the best idea since he'd probably beat the shit out of Nate first, but I didn't care right now. I was tempted to whack him with a pan a few times before he left.

"Oh? You're gonna phone your brother to fix your mistakes again? We had a fight and I got a little mad so you're running to him? You know I love you baby, I didn't mean to hurt you." he took a deep breath before he looked at me again, eyes darkening dangerously. "Besides, I could fuck you up before the cops got here- show you exactly how mad I can get." he finished, a determined look on his face. I scoffed, my mouth hanging wide open.

"Are you shitting me? You just said that you loved me, then threatened me seconds later. Try to touch me again and see what happens. I'll show you exactly how much damage I can do when you don't blindside me, now get the fuck out. Ten seconds." We both knew I could make good on my promise- I'd been taking boxing and self defense since high school and excelled at every class. He seemed to think over his limited options, and I swear my muscles were coiling tighter after every second that passed. I was getting ready to defend myself and inflict as much damage as I could, seeing that he was carefully taking in our surroundings. He might be bigger and stronger, but I was faster and smarter. I'd do a lot of damage before going down.

"Fine, I'll go for now, but you can bet that sweet ass that I'll be back. You can't get rid of me Al, you should know that by now." he said with a smirk, backing up till he reached the front door. I eyed him carefully, holding my breath until I heard his car drive off. After (barely) running to the door and locking it, I dialed my brothers number after dropping my 'sweet ass' on the couch. When the fuck did things get so bad?  I wasn't exactly scared of him, but I'd still avoid him when he would bash my face in with a fist. It was more of a 'I don't want him to come back and start a fight that I don't have energy for' thing. With the adrenaline already leaving my system, there was absolutely no way in hell I'd be able to beat him up right now.