The Dividing Line: VENGEANCE (Book 2)

| 14 | (BWWM)

FLASHBACK TO ANGEL'S LIFE BEFORE SHE MET COLE (CONTINUED)

****Please be advised, this chapter is dark and very heart-wrenching.**** 

The rain was amazing. It was thundering and lightning. Torrential rains poured out of the sky as Angel stood outside in her bra and panties. The temperature had dropped which brought the temperature down to the mid to low forties. She couldn't feel a thing. If anyone were to see her at that moment, they would swear she was insane.

Living in the house for six months, Angel woke up drinking. She would get so wasted she was nearly incapable of walking. Even if she had to crawl, she always went into her room and sat down on the floor with the two loaded guns.

"Well, I guess I'm still too chicken shit to do it." The words sounded like someone who was disappointed. Angel was disappointed that she didn't have the strength to kill herself. Only on one occasion did she come close. She sat on the floor and place the end of the barrel under her jaw. The barrel slipped in her drunken stupor and the shot went off through the bedroom window. Manically, she laughed until she frantically began to cry. Curled up in the fetal position, she passed out on the bedroom floor next to the gun that almost took her head off.

Often, she would walk around naked, in her underwear, or in sweats. Her hair was matted on her head and her eyes were always bloodshot red as if she had the most terrible case of double pink eye. No germs could survive on a body that was saturated with alcohol.

One day she passed out in the yard and woke to find herself stretched out between the shed and the barn. It was a good thing no animals were present at that time. Unfortunately, they would've starved to death from her neglect. Angel rarely ate. She spent the majority of her days trying to poison herself with alcohol or build up the courage to use the shotgun.

"Girl if you don't get your drunk ass up." Angel jumped up and was immediately hit with what felt like a bowling ball on her head. She looked around to find who was talking to her, but no one was there. Staggering around for a while produced no results. A bottle of gin sat on the coffee table. Angel turned the bottle up and chugged from it like it was water. She ignored the fire racing down her throat into her stomach.

Quickly she jumped up to walk to the bathroom and did a face plant on the floor. She lay on the bare floor in just her panties for two days.

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"Gal, get up."

"If you don't get your narrow behind up off that floor. What's wrong with you girl?"

Angel struggled to open her matted eyes. When she was finally able to pry them open, she could clearly see an old woman hunched over and standing next to a mountain of a man. Their forms were kind of blurry, but she was sure she knew who they were.

"I know I raised you better than this. Why are you doing such foolishness to yourself child?"

Angel gawked at the sight of her grandma and fiancé. She wanted to be with them.

"Baby, you can't come with us. It's not your time. Please stop this madness. I can't stand watching you destroy yourself." She could hear KB as clear as day.

"Angel, it's time to get up now. You can't keep doing this. We love you, child. Please stop doing this to yourself. Please." Her grandma's voice and that of her fiancé faded away.

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Angel woke up with tears streaming from her eyes.

She was in a disastrous state. Covered in vomit and pee, she struggled to get up from the floor. The effort necessary to make it to the bathroom was herculean. She deposited herself in the shower. Turned it on and sat on the floor of the stall crying as the hot water washed away her desire to end it all. She promised never to try to take her life again. Regardless of what was going on, she would fight for survival.

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The cottage was exactly what she needed.

It was now outfitted with solar panels. A new greenhouse was set up. She purchased chickens, a few horses, and a few goats. The local feed store helped her figure out what she needed for her animals and the greenhouse. Hard work would keep her mind focused and help her make it through the pain she suffered.

Only one bottle of scotch was left after her binge. The two shotguns were sitting on the floor in her bedroom. She unloaded them and placed them in their cases. The guns were rolled up in a blanket and dragged down the hall to be placed in a little crawl space that leads to the attic.

Angel decided to stop her foolishness and not let her loved ones down.

"Thank you, grandma. Thank you, my baby... KB." She whispered hoping someone heard her resolution to change her life.

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FLASH-FORWARD TO ANGEL &COLE

"GET DOWN!!!"

Angel let her seat back and crawled to the backseat as Cole applied the brakes. Once she crawled across the center console and landed on the back seat, she reached in the back area of the SUV where their supplies were and pulled out the 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun. The times she was able to practice shooting in the country, as a kid, and at the gun range in the city, taught her that this particular gun had some serious kick to it, but she also knew it would do a hell of a lot of damage.

The gun was loaded and ready. As Cole attempted to fly past them, Angel aimed the gun out the back driver's side window and shot in the area of their gas tank. She was counting on the wide spray pattern of the 12 gauge, and luckily and shot out their front right tire.

"Angel, get your ass down now," Cole screamed even though he saw how well she handled the shotgun. They were in a dangerous situation, but a mischievous grin found its way to his face as he felt a sense of pride to be with this woman who constantly surprised him.

They drove the short distance to the house and prepared just in case those fuckers were following them.

"Baby is there anything you want to tell me?" Cole asked with a smile on his face.

"About what?" Angel looked at him with a dumb expression because she really had no idea what he was referring to.

"Well for starters, we can discuss why you have that kind of knowledge and expertise on how to handle guns." He stated

"Cole, I grew up in the country. Everybody learned how to shoot a gun. Oh, by the way, there are two rifles and a hell of a lot of ammo up there in the crawl space." She stated kind of nonchalantly.

It was his turn to look dumb as he realized the woman he was in love with left out a few details about herself during their one-year courtship. He grabbed a stepladder and pulled down the hatch for the crawl space and sure enough, there was a shit load of ammo and two shotguns rolled up in a blanket.

"Damn. What next?" He spoke too shocked by everything that had transpired up to this point.

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