Mr. Mom

6

Trigger warning: this chapter deals with and depicts abuse. It will not be in strong detail and it will only be depicted in this chapter, but it will be mentioned throughout the story from time to time!

___

It's been a week since she had met FP and Ellie and for some reason she can't seem to get the man out of her mind. She keeps replaying the day over and over again in her mind.

He had the most handsome smile, it was a little crooked but there was something so charming about it. And the way he wears his heart on his sleeve? That might just be her favourite thing about him. And his daughter was just precious.

Headlights flow into the living room, indicating the arrival of her boyfriend. She stands up to greet him as he stumbles in. She knows he's drunk, is used to it at this point. "Hey baby." He slurs.

"Hi, honey." She grits out, wincing as he leans in to give her a sloppy kiss.

"Fuck, you smell so good." He nuzzles his face into the side of her neck, kissing and sucking at her skin.

"Jason, honey, you're drunk, why don't you go lay down and we can continue this in the morning."

"I'm not too drunk to fuck." She rolls her eyes as his hands slide down to cup her ass.

"I beg to differ." She tries to shove him away but he just holds her tighter.

"Come on, you're such a slut for it any other other time, what's different now?" She cringes at what he calls her. She never wants it when he's like this, hardly wants it when he's sober.

"I'm just not in the mood right now. I have work to finish." She tries to wiggle out of his grip and he grasps her wrists tightly, glaring down at her.

"Come to bed with me, Alice."

"I-" her sentence is interrupted as he slaps her, one of his rings leaving a gash on her cheekbone.

"Did that sound like a question?" She shakes her head slowly as her eyes gloss with tears. "Any other time you're practically begging for it."

As he turns around she's about to follow him into their bedroom but there's a feeling in her stomach that tells her to run. There's an image of FP in her mind that gives her the strength to actually do it.

She bolts the second he turns away, grabbing her purse, knowing her car keys are in it. She fishes around inside it for her keys as she runs outside, unlocking her car once she finds them.

"Get the fuck back here!" He screams at her. She slips into her car as quickly as possible, locking the door as soon as she's in and just in time too. "Open the fucking door, Alice!" Jason yells, slamming his fists on the car door.

"Go away!" She screams at him, tears streaming steadily down her cheeks.

"I'm not going anywhere. Get the fuck out of the car, Alice!"

She manages to start her car, even as her hands shake uncontrollably and speeds out of the driveway, hearing him roar in anger as she runs over his foot. She drives away as fast as she can until her house is out of sight.

She doesn't know where she's going to go but she pulls in to Pop's Chocklit Shoppe to hopefully figure it out.

"Hello, Alice." Pop greets as she walks inside the diner. "My goodness, are you alright?" He questions when he notices the rapidly bruising mark on her cheekbone.

"It's been a rough night." She answers. "Do you have a phonebook handy?"

"Of course." He gets the book for her and she thanks him quietly, thumbing through it as she looks for a specific person.

She takes the pen and notepad from the counter and scribbles down the address she was looking for. She thinks about calling but doesn't want to wake up his daughter, it's late and she's most definitely asleep.

Pop slides a milkshake towards her. "You look like you could use it."

"Thanks, Pop."

"You want to talk about it?" He offers as he washes up some dishes.

"I think you can figure out what happened."

"I can, I just hope what I'm thinking isn't true."

"Well it is." She sighs as a tear slips down her cheek.

"How long?"

"Years."

"Please don't tell me you're going back to him."

"Not willingly."

"You're a strong girl, Alice. Always have been, no doubt in my mind you'll make it through this. And if you need anything at all, feel free to ask."

She smiles. "Thank you, Pop."

___

She pulls into the driveway of the Jones household and lets her head fall against the steering wheel with a sigh. She looks at the time and sees that it's 12:06. He's most likely asleep and she doesn't want to wake up his daughter, but she has no where else to go and she knows she'll be safe here.

She takes a deep breath, walks up to the door and knocks a few times. She looks down at her feet as she waits for him to answer the door.

He opens the door a minute or so later. "Alice?" He questions, his voice groggy from sleep. She raises her head to look at him and he sees the state her face is in. "What the hell happened to you?"

"My boyfriend happened to me."

"He did this to you?" She nods slowly as a tear rolls down her cheek. "Fucking asshole, I'll kill him." He grits out. "Come here." He tells her, grabbing her hand to pull her inside. The minute she's inside he pulls her into his arms, letting her completely breakdown in his arms.

He holds her for what seems like hours but if that's what she needs that's what he'll do.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks her. She lifts her head up and nods. He takes her hand and leads her into the living room to sit on the couch. "What happened?"

She plays with her hands in her lap before telling him the events of the night. "He came home, completely hammered and he wanted to... well, you know. But I wasn't in the mood so I told him no and he flipped. He started swearing at me, calling me names, hitting me... that's how I got this lovely addition to my face." She says, pointing to the cut on her cheekbone. "I managed to get him away long enough to run and then I ended up here. I hope it's okay that I came here by the way, I didn't have anywhere else to go."

He can see her nails digging into her palms and he grabs them in his own to stop her, holding them tight. "It's fine, Alice, I'm just glad you're okay." He reassures her. "I'll go get something for you to sleep in, you can take the bedroom."

"I can sleep on the couch."

"Al, it's fine, really. I'd rather you sleep in the bedroom anyway, who knows what that piece of shit will do if he finds out where you are." He stands up from the couch and walks towards his bedroom.

She follows him and sees him rooting through his dresser. He pulls out a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants then turns to her. "They're going to be a bit big but it's the best I've got." He tells her, handing her the clothes.

"It's fine, thank you." She takes the clothes from him and he walks towards the door.

"If you need anything I'll be right out here."

"Thanks for this, FP."

"Of course, Alice. Get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, FP." He closes the door behind him and she strips out of her clothes, slipping into the ones he gave her. She puts her hair up into a bun and gets into his bed. The scent of his presence on the sheets is oddly calming and lulls her to sleep instantly.