Broken Submission

Ex-Mother-in-Laws

Alright bitches, I'm two drinks in and aunt Flo's in town, so let's set this motherfucker on fire, shall we? I think it's about time for Amelia to really lose her shit.

"Maryanne?" Amelia stumbled to her feet. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" The woman's eyes glinted with tears of grief or rage. "You killed my son, and you have the gall to ask what I'm doing here?"

Amelia flinched, recent uncertainties swirling through her mind. "I--I didn't mean--"

"To murder your husband? You didn't mean to?"

"Self-defense--" The words had barely left Derek's mouth when Amelia's eyes narrowed.

"My husband, Maryanne?" she spat. "I left Garret four years ago after years of abuse. I asked you for help. I begged you. And you abandoned me."

The woman scoffed. "Abandoned you? You abandoned your wifely duties. If you had fulfilled your role, he might never have had to be harsh with you. And lord knows after you failed to bring his child into this world, it's no wonder he struggled."

"Failed? He's the reason I lost my child!"

"More lies." Maryanne advanced on Amelia, and Amelia held her ground as she faced the woman who had let her suffer without support for years. "You remember what you were before my son took you in? You were nothing. A child without direction, broken from the use of all the men you whored around with--"

Amelia spluttered, "What the hell kind of story is that? I was inexperienced, building my career. Garret swept me up in a tidal wave of charisma and gaslighting. I didn't even see the manipulation until enough time separated us that I could pull my head out of the web of lies he spun to keep me weak and isolated."

Maryanne shook her head in disgust. "I told that boy to keep you better in hand. The promiscuous ones always need more guidance. He was skeptical at first about the application of force, but I told him--you need to set clear boundaries. Otherwise, she'll run wild. And look what you did. Ran off with some sex worker and spread lies about the boy you murdered in cold blood." A solitary tear slipped through the creases of the woman's face.

"You did this?" Amelia whispered. "You started us on this path?"

"I tried to save you both!" Maryanne spat. "If I hadn't intervened--"

"We were happy!" Amelia's eyes drew wide with shock and grief. "You--you ruined us. I loved Garret. We were going to have a family, a good life. Oh god," she whispered. "He changed. Not a year even into our marriage. And I couldn't figure out what happened. That was you?" Tears streamed down her cheeks.

Her mother-in-law shook her head. "Don't try to pin this on me. If you had just been a good wife--"

"I was a good wife!" Amelia shouted. "I supported him! I never even looked at another man. I listened to his stories about his job; I laughed at his jokes. We were so fucking happy--" she choked on a sob.

"It would never have lasted," Maryanne said. "You wouldn't know--stupid child. You were still in your honeymoon period. But soon enough you'd have grown bored of his stories and he'd have grown bored of the sex, and then you'd both be alone."

"This wasn't your story Maryanne! And it wasn't your goddamn business." Amelia wrapped her arms around herself. "You had no right--How could you do this to him? Forget me--how could you do this to Garret? We were so happy..." Images she'd repressed so long, sure they were lies, flitted through her head. Images of the first time she'd met her husband, a charming man with an honest sense of humor. The kind of man who followed through on his commitments and actually focused on the person he was with. Slightly rigid with moments where she could see the little insecurities he buried in charm.

Then the image of the man she'd killed, eyes wide and vague, one bloody from where his skull had caved in...

Amelia gagged, hunching as she tried to hold it in. 

Fingers brushed her hair back. "Do you need to bathroom?" Derek murmured.

She shook her head, then felt the wave surge again and bolted for the door. She barely made it to the toilet before her stomach emptied itself. Amelia collapsed on the tile, head swimming and gut churning. 

"What do you need?" Derek knelt beside her, eyes fixed on her face. 

"Please, please make her leave." Amelia's eyelids slid shut as tears slipped down her cheeks. "I can't--"

"I know," Derek murmured, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I've got you."

He left, and she heard him speaking to Maryanne, the woman's voice rising in indignation before fading as she was presumably pushed out the door.

The phone rang. 

Amelia pulled it out of her pocket, glancing at the screen without interest. It was the hospital.

"Hello?"

"Amelia Scott?"

Amelia sniffed back her tears. "This is she."

"Yes, well I wanted to follow up on the tests that were ordered while you were in our care--"

"Oh," she injected a cheery note into her voice. "I appreciate you getting back to me so quickly."

"Of course, it's our pleasure. So the tests for sexually transmitted diseases came back negative although we recommend you continue your prescription for another week just in case. Otherwise, I see that you are scheduled to reappear to us in a couple weeks to remove you stitches, and..." the woman's voice trailed off for a second. 

"Yes?"

The woman continued, voice slightly changed. "Well, Ms. Scott, you're pregnant."