“You fu....pansy-a... pushover, we discussed this, Jax. He is still healing. What if he rips open a stitch or gets shot again since he doesn’t seem to know how to dodge bullets and we don’t bring him home to Alex? What are you going to tell that little boy? We didn’t have babies involved in either of our situations so I would think that should be a game changer.”
Before Jax has a chance to speak for me, I lay down the gauntlet. “I understand your concern and I love you too, Buddy, but what will I tell my son when he is older of why I didn’t help rescue his mom.” That seemed to shut him up, and we are all now determined to fly into Tuscaloosa, Alabama, together.
~Olivia~
Today is going to be a very bad day. Jerry has been screaming and throwing things around in the other room for at least an hour. He woke me up at sunrise to make me take a pregnancy test.
“The box says that morning urine is the most potent and will give the best results.”
I refuse to tell him that no amount of urine will give him the result he is wanting. I now have a new cut in the corner of my right eye and the white around my pupil is bloodshot red. He even disregarded his rule of no torso damage and I think I might have a cracked rib from the toe of his boot. It hurts to breathe deep, so I just take shallow breaths and try not to cry. I cringe and shrink back into the headboard as he stalks back into the room.
“You bitch! What are you doing? I know you are doing something to prevent pregnancy. You should be pregnant by now with how many times I have planted my seed.”
“Jerry, please no more,” I beg. I can’t take much more of his abuse before my body shuts down completely. “It usually takes at least three or four weeks for the hormone to show up in a woman’s body. I was six weeks pregnant with Alex before I...” He backhands me so hard I fly off the other side of the bed hitting my head on the nightstand. The pain explodes through my skull as my vision goes black. I can still hear him screaming, but I can’t see a thing. I don’t dare move or feel my face to see if my eyes are open or not, so I lay very still. Maybe if he thinks he knocked me out, he will stop and leave me in peace.
“Don’t you dare say his name in my damn house. He is the reason I am in this mess. Yesterday I heard a radio report saying that I was wanted for questioning in the disappearance of Olivia White and the shooting of Alexander Troy Savage. Now you have his full name, Olivia. Isn’t that what you have wished for over the last couple of years? Well now you have it and he’s dead all because of you so his name can’t help you now.
I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry. I refuse to respond to his rant and I let my body go completely limp when he grabs me by the hair to jerk my head back.
“You are pathetic and weak. I don’t know why I chose you to be the mother of my children. I should have gotten the hint when you told me your one and only lover just walked away. You may have a face and a body that would tempt a monk, but you are as cold as ice. Not a damn bit of warmth to you.”
He picks me up and throws me on the bed. I lay completely motionless as if I’m unconscious and listen as he slams out the cabin door. I lay there listening for about ten minutes to dead silence. I blink my eyes several times, at least I think I do, but still see nothing. I reach up to feel my eyelids move and realize that I have lost my vision. Maybe the severe trauma to my head has caused blindness and I have just become more vulnerable than ever. I will not survive trying to get off this mountain without my sight, but I don’t think I will survive the night staying here either. I would rather take my chances being free and dying free than at the hands of a monster.
I slide off the bed onto my hands and knees and frantically feel all over the dirty floor for any shoes. I know I am dressed in pajama pants and a tank top, which will not offer much warmth in these hills at night, but finding a coat might be impossible. Reaching my hand under the bed, my fingers brush across something soft. I grab tight and pull it out to feel one large slipper, probably his. I reach back under to feel for the other one, bingo. They will not offer much protection for my feet, but it’s better than nothing.
“Please, God, help me,” I whisper as I slip my feet into the slippers and scramble to the bedroom door. This two-room cabin consists of a bedroom and bathroom plus a living room and kitchen combination. The bedroom door is to the right of the bed with the front door straight ahead from there. I remember a wood burning stove by the front door so I will stay to the left, so I don’t get burned if it is on. All of the furniture is to the right so there are no obstacles I remember that should be in my way. Tears are streaming down my face by the time I bump into the front door. I sit down and listen for about five minutes to get my bearings. Am I really going to do
