Chapter 1: Chapter 1

PRESLEY

“I’m almost done, Tally. Just grabbing the last of my things. He won’t be home for another hour, and I’ll be long gone by then,” Presley said as she shoved a bag into the backseat of her car. “I’ll call you in thirty minutes. If I don’t, you know the drill.”

“If you don’t call me in thirty, I’ll call you. If you don’t answer the phone, I’m calling the cops to do a welfare check.” Tally sighed. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t get out of this meeting to help you. Promise me you will get in and out as fast as you can.”

“I promise. It’s just my bathroom stuff and my tea kettle. I’ll call you in a few. Love you.”

“Love you too, Press. Be safe!”

Presley disconnected the call, grabbed an empty box from the trunk, and ran back up the steps to the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Abel. She went straight for the bathroom, not bothering to close the front door.

She got her things out of the medicine cabinet and dumped the contents of her makeup drawer into the box. Her hair tools were already in a basket, making it easy to set on top of everything. She grabbed her shower caddy and stuffed it down the side.

Picking the box up, she looked around one more time to see if she got everything. Her robe hung off the hook on the back of the door, and she pulled it down as she heard the familiar creak of the hinges before the click of the deadbolt as it slid into place.

Her heart hammered in her throat as she tried to draw a breath. She willed herself not to panic as she listened to the footsteps coming down the hall, clutching her box of belongings tight to her chest. Abel came into view and looked between her and the box.

“Press? What’s going on here?” Abel asked, a harsh edge to his voice.

He stared at her in scary silence. His chest started to rise and fall quickly. Presley knew the warning signs of when he was about to lose his temper. She needed to get out. Now.

He stepped forward, and she took a step back to keep the space between them.

“I asked you a question, Presley,” he spat. “Answer me, you stupid bitch. I know you’re slow, but it’s a simple question.”

Staying quiet was usually her best defense. Just the sound of her voice could set him off, but as she noticed his clenched jaws, she knew that wouldn’t help her right now. She took a shaky breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

“Abel—”

“Speak up!” he shouted, snapping his fingers in her face.

“I’m leaving,” Presley said firmly, maintaining eye contact. “I came to pick up my things and drop your key off.”

She could hear Tally’s voice in her head telling her to stand her ground. She tried to step around him, but Abel’s arm shot out to block her path.

“So, you were trying to sneak out? You wanted me to come home, and your shit would just be gone? After everything I did for you, you disrespectful little bitch.”

She never saw his hand coming, but the force of the slap laid her out on the floor. The box fell, her things scattering across the tile.

Abel bent over her, his face hovering inches from hers. He rolled up his sleeves, but all she could focus on was his swinging necktie.

“You get off on making me look like an asshole, don’t you?” he asked, cracking his knuckles. “You asked for this, thinking you could walk out on me.”

The punch was so fast, she wasn’t sure it had happened till she tasted blood. A drop rolled down her chin from her split lip.

“You’re trying to leave ~me~? I’m the best you’re ever going to get,” he snarled and then spit in her face.

Presley tried to protect herself, but he batted away her arms and backhanded her. The bridge of her nose burned from where his ring cut into her skin.

Curling up into a ball, she tried to focus on something other than the pain and his pummeling fists. She deserved to be loved, not this. He pulled her up off the ground by her hair, dragging her to the vanity.

“Look at you! Get up and look at yourself in the fucking mirror!”

She screamed, fingers clutching at his hand. “Stop! Please, Abel!”

“Nothing funny to say?” he raged, shaking her like a doll. “‘~Stop,~ ~Abel~. ~Please,~ ~Abel~.’ How many fucking times did I tell you to stop with the stupid jokes? Or put some fucking effort into it in the bedroom? Huh?”

Her teeth rattled as he shook her. His hand was on the back of her head, gripping a fistful of her hair. She tried to use her nails to claw at his flesh, but he hit her again before slamming her face into the sink. Her chin took the brunt of it, but her head hit the faucet hard.

Gasping when he pulled her back up, she barely had time to react to the pain before he pushed her face against the mirror, smearing blood and snot all over.

“I have to say, now that I’ve a good look at your ugly ass, I think this is an improvement.” He laughed bitterly. “You will ~never~ do better than me, Presley.”

Presley heard her phone ring. It was Tally’s ringtone. Her heart raced when it stopped, knowing her best friend would immediately call the police. She just had to survive a little longer.

Abel dropped her on the floor. Blood dripped onto her jeans as she leaned against the cabinet.

“You made a fucking mess. Clean this up before it stains. I don’t want to lose my deposit because of you,” he hissed as he stomped out of the room.

She heard the TV turn on and the microwave start a moment later. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she cried.

This was the worst it had ever been, but she knew it was only a matter of time before he went too far. She wasn’t safe here. She wasn’t sure she ever had been.

A loud banging on the door startled her. It had to be the cops, right? She heard Abel swear and hiss at her to keep quiet. The banging sounded again.

“Police, open up!”