The Mysterious Cupcakes

The Nightmare

It was late night, I was awoken by the unmistakable jolts and jerks of a nightmare happening next to me. Suddenly, she wakes up wide-eyed, and visibly shaken.

"What happened? Are you okay?" She slowly turns towards the sound of my voice, almost as if she had forgotten I was there. I switch the lamp on, and she hugs me. Her voice shaking, she starts to tell me a story.
"When I was a little girl my dad would hit my mom and I with whatever was in sight,"

She paused to take in a breath.
"I was scared, so scared, it wasn't like him, why was he acting like this? One night, I saw him swinging a bottle at her face,"

She took a longer, shakier breath, and I clasped her hand.

"I didn't know what to do, there was blood, and shattered glass all over the carpet. So I-I-,"

This time she looked me in the eye, with fear I'd never thought she was capable of feeling.

"I killed him, and dialed the ambulance, but I ran away before they could arrive. Far, far away because I didn't want them to find me. I didn't want to go to jail!"

She was crying now, and I was stunned. Shouldn't I have known this before we had tied the knot? It's not that I lover her any less, but I feel a little betrayed that she didn't trust me enough to tell me.

"Hey now, you did what you had to do, I'm sure we can both settle things together!"

She shook her head."I never even stopped to think about my own mom! Whether or not she was dead or alive, I still don't know!"

"Who says we can't find her, I'm sure we can work this out! At least your out of that situation, and I'm here, so you don't have to worry about it."

"That's not all. I had no one to turn to, and nowhere to go for a long while. I was twenty-one when he found me. I don't remember his name, or maybe he just never told me, but I was basically held hostage at his house. He used to tell me I could never leave, this was my only home, he was the only one for me. It was a toxic relationship, I couldn't set one foot outside the house."

"Somehow, I managed to run away one night and he hasn't found me since."

"And tonight, I had a nightmare that he was coming to get me like he said the first night I stayed with him. What if he finds me again?"

As she breaks out into a sobbing mess, I rub my hand on her shoulder, and grab a tissue box. I don't know why she was so worked up, we're a team! We've been through so much together, and this can't stop us!

"Hun, that was 14 years ago. You've been through a lot already, so don't stress over what's already happened, because I'm here for you now."

I turned off the lamp and pulled her close,"We'll talk some more in the morning, I'll cook this time! For now, rest easy love."