An Unwanted Life

Trip Down Memory Lane

*Trigger warning: Containing scenes of physical abuse.

After a long, hot shower Gwen finally went to bed, but sleep somehow still evaded her. Her mind kept on going back to the argument between herself and Caryn. She wasn't always this cruel to her daughter or anyone else for that matter. "It's all his fault", she thought while her mouth pulled down.

Gwen met Taylor when she was sixteen years old. The shy, pretty daughter of the town sheriff was never interested in any boys until the day she met him. She was on her way from the library when she dropped a book. When she bent down to pick it up, she bumped her head against someone. And there he was. Taylor Croft. Transfer student from Australia and the soon to be captain of the football team. Dumbstruck she looked into his striking blue eyes. He then smiled at her, and oh that smile, that smile was like nothing she ever experienced. It made her heart jump and her stomach tied in a knot.
"Hi, I'm Taylor Croft" he said in a deep voice. Nervously she took the hand he was holding out. "H-hi, I-I uhm my name is Gwen- Gwen Rupert." Well Gwen Rupert, do you need any help with those books?" He asked, still smiling. She just shook her head." Well I don't mind helping such a pretty lady" he said. She felt flustered and rather started walking away. "Well bye Gwen" he whispered to himself still smiling.

The following day he made it his mission to find her. And where else would you find a shy girl, except for at the library. It then started. Her fairytale romance with the new boy in school. Everything was perfect and he treated her like a princess. Even after he became the captain of the football team and one of the most popular guys in school, he never left her and ignored the attention of other girls- or so she thought. They continued dating until after they both graduated from law school and got married. The hell started when she was about four months pregnant. He was sound asleep after a long day in the court room. Knowing how tiring it can be, she cooked him a nice meal, ran him a bath and gave him a relaxing massage. He fell asleep during the massage. She then decided to read up on one of her upcoming cases. That's when his phone rang.
No number was displayed, and she picked up assuming that it was only a worried client who would phone this time of night. "Taylor's phone, Gwen speaking" she answered. There was a short silence before the person on the other side of the line hung up. "Strange", she thought while putting the phone down.

The next morning when she got up, she heard soft whispers in the bathroom. "Sorry, I had a long day at work and went to sleep. You should know better than to call that late" Taylor said. Alarms went off in Gwen's head and somehow, she knew that he wasn't talking to a client. He then looked up and saw her standing in the doorway. "I have to get going" he said to the person on the other side of the line. He then walked up to Gwen, kissed her, and pulled her into the shower with him.

"God I should've left then already", Gwen thought by herself. Because after that day everything went downhill. She found out that Taylor had another life and family - one that she obviously never knew about. She also found out about the many affairs he had. She was under so much stress that she had a miscarriage, but still she didn't leave him. But things got worse. She got pregnant again and after Caryn's birth he started abusing her. Things got so bad that she had to get a restraining order against him. Things calmed down after that, until the night of Caryn's sixth birthday. Taylor was watching television in the living room while she made them popcorn and hot chocolate. Caryn was fast asleep already. When entering the living room, she heard him telling whoever was on the phone, that he will be there in the morning since he arranged to have the day off. "Yes sweetheart, you know I will never let you down". Pause. "No, I didn't tell her yet, but I will soon. My God Stace, I can't bring this up today, it's our daughter's birthday. Another pause." Calm down sweetheart, we will be together soon. I just need some time to sort out this mess." Another pause." Love you more, see you tomorrow." Gwen froze in shock. That's when he became aware of her being in the room. "Baby I can explain. It's not what you think." He said when he saw the utter disbelief on her face. Calmly she answered: "What is there to explain Taylor? Explain that you want to leave me and your child for yet another one of your whores? Explain that after years of wasting my time on you, you are willing to leave me for some bitch you just met? Explain that after years of hoping, you are still the same lying, cheating fuck that you've- she was cut short when he slapped her through the face. "Don't you dare to call Stacey names. And don't you dare mention our child in your childish whining." He glared at her while clenching his fists. "You know what Taylor, go ahead, hit me, leave me, do whatever the hell you want, cause I'm done. You wanted a divorce; well you've got one." She said with tears streaming down her face. "You think that I will allow you to leave me? Hell no! Till death do us part remember?!" That was the last thing she could recall from that night because she woke up in hospital after three days, with various broken bones and bruises all over her body. The cop at her bed told her that she had nothing to worry about and that Taylor was taken care of. The following two weeks she spent on looking for a job and found one in Texas. She then packed up and started anew.

Gwen sighed. It's not that she hated her daughter. It's just that she had to work her butt off to provide for them, but in doing so she doesn't spend enough time with her daughter who is turning into a real beauty- and a big pain in the butt too of course. She got up to make a fresh pot of coffee before she went to work.