Stone Cold Heart

♡ Chapter 20 ♡

When I found out I got the new job as an antique store clerk, Scott was pissed. I really didn't care what he thought because I was providing for my children and a roof over their heads. Tonight, was like any other, I had to work from 8 in the morning to ten so I can get home in time to cook dinner for my family. I was just about to finish my shift when suddenly I got a call. "Hello?"
    "Mom please come home I need you"
    "What h—" suddenly the line cuts off. Shit, what's going on! Without thinking twice, I forgot to tell my boss it was an emergency before I raced to my car and started the engine, letting it roar as I pressed on the nitro, on my way to the house to see what happen. When I burst into the house 10 minutes flat, my heart was racing as I was about to look for my children. When I looked to my left, I dropped my keys on the sofa and saw mason playing on Mackenzie's tablet and Mackenzie holding her phone with her head bowed down into her knees. I kneeled down in front of her and grabbed her hand and said "Sweetie it's Mami, it'll be okay."
            She opened her eyes and looked up to see me with tears streaming down our cheeks. Mason hugged me but didn't say a word. I just knew something was up. Something wasn't feeling right so I asked Mac "Baby girl what's going on?"
She shook her head, "Please talk to me, Mickey"
    "Dad"
    "What? What did daddy do?"
                She shook her head and she didn't say a word but she removed her arms that were wrapped around her legs and showed me her thighs. They were covered in belt whelps, 2 and 3 across each leg and arm that were reddish-purple. Then I saw fingerprints on her left upper arm. I gasped as I looked at the marks and said "I'm so sorry this happened baby girl"
    "No, it's my fault I should have cleaned my room"
    "That's no reason for him to lay his hands on you like that."
        I examined her other visible marks. I saw a bruise on her right arm and I turned it around and saw that she had cuts, some old, some new. It broke my heart to see that. Now I know why that box cutter was missing from the china cabinet. I looked at her and asked, "Why Mackenzie?"
    "I..." She just looked at me with fear and pain in her eyes, I just knew by that look there was a reason for it. "I'm sorry"
"Don't be baby"
"Mama"
"Yes?"
"Can you come here I need to tell you something in your ear"
    "Okay, what is it?" I asked coming closer to me. She cupped her hand to cover her mouth as she whispered a secret into my ear. When she was done saying what she had to say, I looked down at her not knowing how to respond or feel about it. I didn't know rather feel angry or guilty. But I didn't let her see it so I said "We'll talk about this later okay?" She nodded and then I turned to Mason to check if he had any bruises. Thank God, he didn't have a scratch. But why only Mackenzie? Then I said to him "Mami will talk to daddy monkey, Mac where the babysitter?"
    "Dad sent her home at 7 and well that's when... Yeah"
    "It will be okay honey Mama's got you"
            I hugged then kissed her forehead then said "Listen to me sweethearts do y'all want to play a game?"
    "What game?"
    "Hide and seek. Mami will come to get y'all in a little bit okay, but close y'all ears and don't come out until Mami come and get yall, okay?"
            They nodded their heads and went into the kitchen to hide in the cabinet that was under the counter in the center of the kitchen. I kissed them both on their cheeks and told them that I loved them so much before heading upstairs to the room. When I got into the room Scott was on the bed with a bottle of whiskey up to his lips while he watched whatever was on the TV. I cut it off and he got up and asked "What the fuck did you do that for?!"
    "We're going to talk, Scott Hughes"
    "Excuse me." He came up to me. That when I got so heated that I smacked the living hell out of him and yelled "How fucking dare you touch my child like that!?"
    "She deserved it!"
    "No, she didn't, just because you can't take your fuckin anger out on me or that 'I don't fulfill your wants and needs' doesn't mean you can do that to her. She's your fuckin child. Your flesh and blood, how could you?!" Smacking him again. I shouldn't have done that. He punched me in the eye making me drop to the ground as he yelled "Oh I see someone grew big cojones now, right bitch!?"

              I regained stamina and tried to focus to get up again to fight back but he kicked me to keep me down on the rug then he yelled "You don't have no fuckin rights to talk to me whichever way you want, you got that?!"
          I gasped for air as my back hit the floor with force. Then he gripped me up and made me kneel with my back against the foot of the bed, as he took off his belt and said "You're gonna show me some respect bitch!" I could have sworn he was going to beat me with it but instead he strapped one end of the belt to the pole on the side of me, and strapped the other end of the leather belt to my wrist and put on tight. I was too exhausted to try and get it off me. He did the same to my left side. I started crying and I pled for him to not hit me. But he didn't listen he grabbed the spare belt that was on the bed that I assume that he beat Mackenzie with, then took a strike at my left side. I yelped in pain as he said "Say you won't leave me!"
    "No"
            He took another strike at my right side with the metal part and demanded "Say it or else I'ma keep going!"
    "You may be the father of my children but you will never treat them like slaves they are children, not your-doormats!" I said exhausted from the pain. But that just angered him. As he took three and four strikes on my thighs and upper torso my nails dug into the leather belts as I screamed in pain. He eventually got exhausted after ten minutes of beating me senselessly and stopped.
          With some of the whelps, created wounds that I later saw they were open. I didn't cry at the pain that was throbbing all over my body, but I was mostly worried if my children were going to be able to see me...if they were okay... I just wanted to see if they were okay. After lighting a cigarette and smoking half of it, he came up to me and bent down to my size and lifted up my head and said "Now I'm going to ask you this once, where are the children hiding?"
    "I'm not telling... You...shit"
    "Tell me now or else there will be round two"
    "No, I won't let you hurt them again, you are not touching my children!"
    "You asked for it" He grabbed the belt off the bed and started taking strikes at me once more.
    "Tell me!!!" he yelled.
    "No!"
            He took more strikes at me; I didn't want to give in but my body was becoming too weak for me to withhold so much pain. "Stop...please" I managed to plead in exhaustion.
    "Are you going to tell me?"
    "Yes," I surrendered.
    "Well?"
    "Downstairs in the kitchen, please I beg you don't hurt them"
    "Chill I'm not I want to tell them something"
            That's when he left the room leaving the door open. I didn't know if it was on purpose but I hear him say "Kids I'm sorry...please daddy want to just say sorry." A couple of seconds later I hear the cabinet creak open and I hear my son's like voice say "Daddy where's Mami, she was supposed to come to get us"
    "She's...sleeping" he lied to them.
    "Okay"
            Suddenly I heard Mackenzie, she sounds like she was crying, then I heard Scott said "Come here, give daddy a hug"
She didn't respond "Come"
He gave her a hug and a kiss and said "I'm so sorry for what I did to you"
    "I forgive you, dad"
But I don't.
          When Scott comes back upstairs to the room, he unstraps me and said come on I'ma help you go take a shower. He helped me up off the floor. It took me a while to get to the shower because I was in so much pain. I hated him now. Now I know he never really loved me. He never really loves my kids. He caused me so much pain to me and to my kids. I've had enough.