My Hero (2)

Chapter 3

A couple weeks went by without any more trouble. Maybe we had found a way to get along. I even think I remembered why I loved him.

One Wednesday I was singing and had just arranged some fake flowers on the table when Jack came home angry. He slammed into the house and was banging things around. "Are you ok, Jack?"

"Do I look ok?" He yelled.

"What happened?" I asked.

"What happened? Well,I lost two big accounts this week and my boss told me I had one chance left. It wasn't even my fault. Larry, who is new to the company, has been sabotaging me. He gives me advice and I take it and it backfires on me. I tried to tell my boss that it was Larry's idea and of course he denies having ever told me. So I look like the ass."

"Well, now you know not to take his advice."

"Not really helping, Cora. And where is dinner?"

"I'll get right on it." I tried to go over and give him a hug but he shoves me away. I go to the kitchen to make dinner. When it's ready, I bring him his plate. "Here you go, Jack. Maybe this will help you feel better." I see the whiskey bottle beside his chair.

"I doubt food is going to make it all better. Why are you so stupid?"

"I was just trying to help."

"Obviously you're not smart enough for that." I turned to go back to the kitchen with tears in my eyes. That really hurt and I was just trying to make him feel better the only way I knew how. I fixed my plate and joined him in the living room. We ate in silence. He kept drinking and I knew that led to nowhere good.

When we were finished, I took the plates to the kitchen and cleaned up. I went back through the living room on the way to the restroom and noticed the whiskey bottle was almost empty. Probably best to steer clear of him. When I came out of the restroom I decided to go curl up with my book. When I got to the bedroom Jack was there."Hey, baby. I know how you can make me feel better."

"You know I don't like the smell of whiskey." I replied.

"Really. You can't make an exception this one time. Your man has had a bad day."

"I really don't want to."

That seemed to really make him mad. He flew up off the bed and grabbed my arm. "Listen here, woman. You will do what I want. That is your only job. To make me happy." He kissed me and tried to shove his tongue in my mouth. The taste of the whiskey made my stomach roll. I managed to break my mouth free so he grabbed at my breast hurting me.

"Ouch. Jack, you're hurting me. Stop." That only made him try harder. He grabbed me and threw me on the bed. It knocked the wind out of me. He climbed on top of me and I couldn't breathe. He was kissing my neck and his hands were everywhere. I began to panic. I had to get away. I reached my arms out searching for something, anything. I reached the book I had been reading. It was a hardback and I swung with all my might and hit him in the head. It was enough to stun him. I shoved him with all my might and crawled out from under him. Before I could get very far he grabbed my shirt. I had enough forward momentum going that my shirt ripped and he lost his grip. I ran for the door and through it. He was drunk enough that he wasn't moving real fast. I made it through the living room and to the front door. I threw it open and ran out into the night. I had no shoes on and no clue where I was going. As long as it was away. I ran for awhile until I was almost ready to drop. I stumbled around a corner and right into someone. Thankfully the firm body I ran into was steady and caught me. The arms went around me and oddly I felt safe.

"It's ok. You are ok now. Shhh." Said the deep calming voice. The voice from the grocery store. My head was buried in his chest. His arms around me and his hands petting my hair telling me it was ok. The sobs that shook my body went on for several minutes. The whole time that calming voice soothed me and made me feel safe. When I finally calmed down, I just stood there not sure what to do. I didn't want to look this stranger in the face. I felt so vulnerable. I needed to be strong. I took some deep breaths and gently pulled out of his arms. He willingly let go and waited patiently for me to speak.