A Stranger In My Home

Chapter 19

Author's Note: As much as it grates my nerves, I saw no other option than to add another POV to this story. Yes, it's still in 3rd person, but I tend to only have the thoughts of my two main characters tell the story (unless I'm writing an ensemble piece), so this is unchartered territory for me... Hope you enjoy :)

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Julie woke up with a start when a bowl of cold water was dumped over her face. Sputtering, she rolled off the couch, hitting her knee on the coffee table in her tumble to the floor.

“Clean up this mess,” Derek said, dropping the bowl on the couch where she had lain. “And clean yourself up as well.”

Julie got off the floor and scurried into the bedroom for a change of clothes. A dress much like the one she wore the day before was laid out for her, except this one was a checkered light green with a matching headscarf.

“I got you a vacuum cleaner,” Derek’s voice came from the doorway and Julie clutched the dress to her body. “You’re a lucky woman.”

“Derek…” Julie couldn’t help but try to get through to him, to the man she used to know. “What’s going on here? Why are you acting this way?”

“We did it all wrong, Julie,” he said in a softer voice than she’d ever heard him use. She flinched as he touched her cheek. “After you left, I realized my mistake. I read that book,” he said and looked over at the bedside table, “and I watched all the old movies, and it hit me. The reason our marriage failed was because you didn’t act like a wife. We’re going to fix that now. I’m going to teach you,” he said so patiently that Julie feared he was about to snap at any moment and kill her.

“What do you want me to do?” Julie breathed, afraid to move. Standing up for herself wasn’t going to get her anywhere. Not when Derek wasn’t playing with a full deck anymore. She’d just have to bide her time, make him trust her again, and she could escape.

“First, you’re going to get dressed and pretty up that face of yours,” he said and tapped her nose. “Then you’re going to clean the house and make sure dinner is on the table when I get home from work.”

“You… work?” Julie couldn’t help but ask.

In a split second, Derek’s patient voice and soft smile was gone, replaced by wild fury. He grabbed her by the hair and threw her against the wall as if she was a ragdoll.

“You never question your husband!” he barked at her and Julie curled up into a ball where she’d dropped to the floor, shielding herself from further abuse.

“I’m… I’m sorry, Derek,” she whimpered. “I’ll do better, I promise.” Julie lay as still as she could and listened as Derek stormed out of the room and climbed up the stairs. She heard him bark something and then another door slammed. Was there someone else in the house?

-

Jason found Sissy Baker at a 50s diner, serving customers on her roller skates. He sat down at one of the tables and waited for her to roll over to him to take his order.

“Hi there,” he greeted her and the blonde almost dropped her tray. She quickly recovered and with a service-minded smile on her face she asked what he’d like.

“Some answers would be great,” Jason said easily and Sissy’s smile turned into a straight line.

“Sorry, we only serve coffee here,” she said and swirled around to attend to the other customers.

Jason ordered coffee and lunch and waited patiently for Sissy to finish her shift. When she did, he got up, left a generous tip, and followed her out to her car.