Rush

Chapter 4

He left me there, bleeding at the bottom of the staircase once he was finished. I don't know how long I laid there, at the bottom of the stairs, crying. This wasn't the first time he had forced himself on me, but there was something about this time that just broke me. After the first few months or so of him forcing himself on me I hate to say it, but I got used to it. I think it was so different this time because he was so angry. All the other times he just seemed to be bored and it didn't hurt too bad compared to the pain I was feeling right now. The pain from the beating and being thrown down a flight of stairs was almost dull in comparison to the pain between my legs, I could feel the blood sticking to my thighs and I wanted nothing more than to die right then and there. But I knew I couldn't, I wasn't sure at this point but hopefully, I still had a baby to think about. I had no idea if it survived all this, especially the fall down the stairs. I have to leave now. I knew he hadn't gone upstairs because I could hear the TV going in the living room, a few feet away from me.

I managed to push myself up without groaning in pain, I needed to be as quiet as possible. I managed to work myself up onto my knees and then to my bare feet. I painfully reached down to pull my pants back up and buttoned and zipped them as quietly as possible. I could see John sitting on the couch, watching TV. I saw my shoes sitting by the front door and my jacket hanging on the coatrack.

I tiptoed my way past the couch and everything was going pretty good until one of these god forsaken creaky old floorboards groaned loudly under my weight. John's head snapped in my direction and his eyes locked on mine.

"Where do you think you're going?"

I didn't bother to answer him and I took off running towards the front door. I made it to the door and swung it open. I wasn't fast enough because he had managed to grab onto my hair and drag me back into the house. I kicked and fought harder than I had ever dared to fight before. He dragged me into the living room and dropped me onto the floor, slamming my head onto the edge of the coffee table, and I saw stars but I managed to stay awake. He flipped me over onto my back and landed several slaps to my face.

"You think you can leave me! The only way you'll ever leave me is in a fucking body bag!"

He reached behind him and then his hand came back up with a knife, the one I knew he kept on him at all times. Shit. He raised the knife over his head, murder in his eyes. I felt something brush against my hand and I gripped it. Beer bottle. I tightly grabbed the empty bottle and quickly raised my arm and brought it down over his head.

"Fuck!"

He screamed in pain and rolled off me, the knife scraping against my shoulder. I scrambled up and took off again. I grabbed my car keys off the table as I passed it and made my way out of the front door and into the pouring rain. I ignored the weather and ran through the muddy grass to my car.

A heavy weight jumped on me and tackled me to the ground. I screamed in pain as my body slammed to the ground. He flipped me over onto my back and wrapped his hands around my neck. He looked absolutely manic in that moment and I had never been so scared in my life.

I kicked and clawed at his face and I fought back with everything in me. And then it hit me. I wasn't just fighting for my life right now, I was fighting for the life of my unborn child. I went into an almost animalistic state of mind, I brought my knee up and hit him in the crotch with all my might and he rolled off me hollering in pain.

I got my feet back under me, grabbed my keys from where they had fallen when he jumped on me, and ran as fast as I could to my car, not once looking back. I hopped into my car and tore out of the driveway but not before a brick smashed my window. I screamed and my car swerved but I managed to straighten it out.

"I'll find you bitch, you can't run from me!"

Those were the last words I heard before I turned the corner, away from my old life. And I knew of only one place I could go. And I really hoped she was home.