by T. K. Chapin
Chills shivered up my spine as his fingers traced from my arm to the curve of my back. Could I be strong enough to live without him? I wondered as the fears sank back down into me. Even if he was a bit mean, he had a way of charming me like no other man I had ever met in my life. He knew how to touch gently, look deeply and make love passionately. It was only when he drank that his demons came out.
“Want me to make you some breakfast?” I asked, slipping out of his touch and from the bed to my feet. His touches were enjoyable, but I wanted to get used to not having them. My mind often jumped back and forth between leaving, not leaving, and something vaguely in between. It was hard.
John smiled up at me from the bed with what made me feel like love in his eyes. I suddenly began to feel bad about the plan to leave, but I knew he couldn’t be trusted with a child. Keep it together.
“Sure, babe. That’d be great.” He brought his muscular arms from out of the covers and put them behind his head. My eyes traced his biceps and face. Wavy brown hair and a jawline that was defined made him breathtakingly gorgeous. Flashes of last night’s passion bombarded my mind. He didn’t drink, and that meant one thing—we made love. It started in the main living room just off the foyer. I was enjoying my evening cup of tea while the fireplace was lit when suddenly, John came home early. I was worried at first, but when he leaned over the couch and pulled back my blonde hair, he planted a tender kiss on my neck. I knew right in that moment that it was going to be a good night. Hoisting me up from the couch with those arms and pressing me against the wall near the fireplace, John’s passion fell from his lips and onto the skin of my neck as I wrapped my arms around him.
The heat between John and me was undeniable, and it made the thoughts of leaving him that much harder. It was during those moments of pure passion that I could still see the bits of the John I once knew—the part of John that didn’t scare me and had the ability to make me feel safe, and the part of him that I never wanted to lose.
“All right,” I replied with a smile as I broke away from my thoughts. Leaving down the hallway, I pushed last night out of my mind and focused on the tasks ahead.
Retrieving the carton of eggs from the fridge in the kitchen, I shut the door and was startled when John was standing on the other side. Jumping, I let out a squeak. “John!”
He tilted his head and slipped closer to me. With nothing on but his boxer briefs, he backed me against the counter and let his hand slide the corner of my shirt up my side. He leaned closer to me. I felt the warmth of his breath on my skin as my back arched against the counter top. He licked his lips instinctively to moisten them and then gently let them find their way to my neck. “Serenah . . .” he said in a smooth, seductive voice.
“Let me make you breakfast,” I said as I set the carton down on the counter behind me and turned my neck into him to stop the kissing.
His eyebrows rose as he pulled away from my body and released. His eyes met mine. There it was—the change. “Fine.”
“What?” I replied as I turned and pulled down a frying pan that hung above the island counter.
“Nothing. Nothing. I have to go shower.” He left down the hallway without a word, but I could sense tension in his tone.
Waiting for the shower to turn on after he walked into the bathroom and slammed the door, I began to cook his eggs. When a few minutes had passed and I hadn’t heard the water start running, I lifted my eyes and looked down the hallway.
There he was.
John stood at the end of hallway, watching me. Standing in the shifting shadows of the long hallway, he was more than creepy. He often did that type of thing, but it came later in the marriage, not early on and only at home. I never knew how long he was standing there before I caught him, but he’d always break away after being seen. He had a sick obsession of studying me like I was some sort of weird science project of his.
I didn’t like it all, but it was part of who he had become. Not much longer, I reminded myself.
I smiled down the hallway at him, and he returned to the bathroom to finally take his shower. As I heard the water come on, I finished the eggs and set the frying pan off the burner. Dumping the eggs onto a plate, I set the pan in the sink and headed to the piano in the main living room. Pulling the bench out from under the piano, I got down on my hands and knees and lifted the flap of carpet that was squared off. Removing the plank of wood that concealed my secret area, I retrieved the metal box and opened it.
Freedom.
Ever since he hit me that second time, a part of me knew we’d never have the forever marriage I pictured, so in case I was right, I began saving money here and there. I had been able to save just over ten thousand dollars. A fibbed high-priced manicure here, a few non-existent shopping trips with friends there. It added up, and John had not the foggiest clue, since he was too much of an egomaniac to pay attention to anything that didn’t directly affect him. Sure, it was his money, but money wasn’t really ‘a thing’ to us. We were beyond that. My eyes looked at the money in the stash and then over at the bus ticket to Seattle dated for four days from now. I could hardly believe it. I was really going to finally leave him after all this time. Amongst the cash and bus ticket, there was a cheap pay-as-you go cellphone and a fake ID. I had to check that box at least once a day ever since I found out about my pregnancy to make sure he hadn’t found it. I was scared to leave, but whenever I felt that way, I rubbed my pregnant thirteen-week belly, and I knew I had to do what was best for us. Putting the box back into the floor, I was straightening out the carpet when suddenly, John’s breathing settled into my ears behind me.
“What are you doing?” he asked, towel draped around his waist behind me. I should have just waited until he left for work . . . What were you thinking, Serenah? My thoughts scolded me.
Slamming my head into the bottom of the piano, I grabbed my head and backed out as I let out a groan. “There was a crumb on the carpet.”
“What? Underneath the piano?” he asked.
Anxiety rose within me like a storm at sea. Using the bench for leverage, I placed a hand on it and began to get up. When I didn’t respond to his question quick enough, he shoved my arm that was propped on the piano bench, causing me to smash my eye into the corner of the bench. Pain radiated through my skull as I cupped my eye and began to cry.
“Oh, please. That barely hurt you.”
I didn’t respond. Falling the rest of the way to the floor, I cupped my eye and hoped he’d just leave. Letting out a heavy sigh, he got down, still in his towel, and put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, honey.”
Jerking my shoulder away from him, I replied, “Go away!”
He stood up and left.
John hurt me sober? Rising to my feet, I headed into the half-bathroom across the living room and looked into the mirror. My eye was blood red—he had popped a blood vessel. Tears welled in my eyes as my eyebrows furrowed in disgust.
Four days wasn’t soon enough to leave—I was leaving today.
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Other Books
Available Books
By T.K. Chapin
(Inspirational Christian Fiction & Romance)
Protected By Love Series
Love’s Return (Book 1)
Love’s Promise (Book 2)
Love’s Protection (Book 3)
Diamond Lake Series
One Thursday Morning (Book 1)
One Friday Afternoon (Book 2)
One Saturday Evening (Book 3)
One Sunday Drive (Book 4)
One Monday Prayer (Book 5)
One Tuesday Lunch (Book 6)
One Wednesday Dinner (Book 7)
Embers & Ashes Series
Amongst the Flames (Book 1)
Out of the Ashes (Book 2)
Up in Smoke (Book 3)
After the Fire (Book 4)
Love’s Enduring Promise Series
The Perfect Cast (Book 1)
Finding Love (Book 2)
Claire’s Hope (Book 3)
Dylan’s Faith (Book 4)
Stand Alones
Love Interrupted
Love Again
A Chance at Love
The Broken Road
If Only
Because Of You
The Lies We Believe
In His Love
When It Rains
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank God. God’s salvation through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ gives us all the ability to have a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe.
I also want to thank my wife. She’s my muse and my inspiration. A wonderful wife, an amazing mother and the best person I have ever met. She’s great and has always stood by me with every decision I have made along life’s way.
I’d like to thank my editors and early readers for helping me along the way. I also want to thank all of my friends and extended family for the support. It’s a true blessing to have every person I know in my life.
About the Author
T.K. CHAPIN writes Christian Romance books designed to inspire and tug on your heart strings. He believes that telling stories of faith, love and family help build the faith of Christians and help non-believers see how God can work in the life of believers. He gives all credit for his writing and storytelling ability to God. The majority of the novels take place in and around Spokane, Washington, his hometown. Chapin makes his home in the Pacific Northwest and has the pleasure of raising his daughter with his beautiful wife Crystal. To find out more about T.K. Chapin or his books, visit his website at www.tkchapin.com.
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