Prologue *TRIGGER WARNING*
Laurel- Trigger Warning
I heard the garage door open, and panic set in. I grabbed the oven mitts off the counter before pulling them on in a hurry. Carl was right on time, and I was late. I already knew that he was going to yell at me, and I was used to that, but the last time I was late, he had slapped me. I yanked the meatloaf out of the oven, biting back a cry of pain as steam burned my arms. I barely set the pan down on the top of the stove before reaching for his plate that already had green beans with bacon in it along with mashed potatoes and gravy. I heard his key turning in the doorknob, and I became even more frantic, desperately trying to cut him a piece of meatloaf to finish his plate off. He flung the door open as I was adding his fork to the plate, freezing as he stomped in. He looked at the plate in my hands before glancing at the table. When he took a threatening step toward me, I moved backward.
“I-I have your dinner, Carl,” I whispered.
He narrowed his eyes on me, obviously furious that his plate wasn’t already on the table. He grabbed the plate from my hands before throwing it on the floor. I cried out as the plate shattered, some of the pieces bouncing off the floor and cutting my legs. He stormed up to me, grabbing my hair before forcing me to the ground. He pulled my head back by my hair so I could look up at him as he glared down at me with fury all over his face.
“You serve me dinner when I get home! That is one of the few things that I ask of you, and you can’t even do that!” He hissed.
“I-I’m sorry, Carl. It’s finished. Please, just let me get you another plate,” I whimpered.
“I’m tired of you disobeying me!” He yelled. “You can’t do anything right!”
He grabbed the pot of mashed potatoes before testing how hot it was with a finger. Realizing it wasn’t hot, his eyes snapped back down to me.
“YOU WERE GOING TO FEED ME COLD FOOD!” He roared.
“N-no. I—”
He scooped up a handful of the potatoes before shoving it in my face. “EAT IT!”
I opened my mouth, terrified of not obeying him. He stuffed fistful after fistful of mashed potatoes into my mouth faster than I could swallow it, causing it to drip out of the corners of my mouth. When the pot was empty, he picked up the pot of gravy, which was still hot, having just finished cooking a few minutes prior, and poured it all over me, making me scream out in agony as it burned my skin. He pushed the pan of meatloaf off the stove, laughing coldly when it exploded out of its container before wrapping my hair around his fist again and shoving my face into it.
“EAT IT!”
I started sobbing as the hot meat burned my face, and I jerked myself away from him, pushing myself backward as fast as I could as he approached me. I put my hands out as if they would be enough to stop him from hurting me more.
“C-Carl, p-please. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” I begged.
“You’re right, it won’t,” he snarled as he grabbed me around the throat to throw me back into the mess on the floor. “Eat it! All of it!”
“LET HER GO, CARL!” My sister screamed as she raced into the room, skidding to a halt.
“Get out, Lauren! This is between me and my wife!”
Lauren launched herself toward him, clawing at his neck, but he shoved her away, making her slip in the food. She toppled to the ground while his hand tightened around my neck. I clawed at his hand, pleading with him to let me go.
“I SAID NOW! LET HER GO!” Lauren yelled as a gun was cocked.
Carl turned to look at her before letting me go. I slid down to lie in the food, panting for air as my sister held her pistol trained on him. He looked from her to me and back again before smirking down at me.
“Clean this up! I’m going to Sarah’s.”
He walked out of the house with my sister following him while I lay in shock where he left me. After he drove away, Lauren came back to crouch next to me.
“Are you alright?” she asked worriedly, still clutching her gun in her hand.
“I-I don’t know,” I whimpered.
“Come on, Laurel. Let me take you to the hospital. You have some burns.”
She gently helped me up before leading me toward the door, where I stopped to look down at myself. “I can’t get in your car like this.”
She cursed under her breath before dashing away toward my bedroom, coming back less than 60 seconds later with towels, clean clothes, and a new pair of shoes.
“You can shower at the hospital. You need to be seen, but I don’t want us to be here when he gets home,” she told me as she led me out to her car.
She covered the passenger seat with the towels before pushing me gently into the car. She rushed around to the driver’s side, immediately zooming away from my house as she took my hand, squeezing it softly as she sped toward the hospital, while I sat silently, still in shock over what happened. When we got to the hospital, she grabbed my clothes before getting out to help me. On the way into the hospital, she gave the valet the keys to her car, impatiently waiting for the ticket before ushering me inside. As soon as we got to the registrar’s desk, the woman behind it took us back to a room, telling me to get into the shower while she asked Lauren questions about what happened. As I was drying off, Lauren came into the bathroom to lean against the wall, watching me as I got dressed.
“How are you feeling?” she asked softly, her eyes holding a pity that I didn’t want to see.
“I don’t know,” I answered, my voice as numb as I felt.
“What happened, Laurel?”
“I didn’t have his dinner ready,” I whispered.
She wrapped both of her arms around my shoulders, carefully hugging me from behind. “Oh, Laurel! I’m so sorry. I should have gotten there earlier. I felt something was wrong. I am so sorry. I should have had Lacy pick Ty up from daycare.”
I shook my head as my sobs renewed. “It’s not your fault.”
“SShhh, Laurel. You’re safe now. I promise you that he will never touch you again,” she murmured soothingly.
“We’re married, Lauren. And he’s made sure that I have nothing,” I cried as I turned around to hug her back.
Her arms tightened around me. “You’re wrong, Laurel. You have me. We’re not just sisters; we’re twins. You’re my best friend, and I’m not going to let him hurt you. You felt it when I was hurt all those years ago, and I felt your pain. You were my strength back then when I needed you; let me be yours now.”
I hesitated before tilting my head back to look into her eyes. “What if he hurts Ty or you for helping me?”
Her eyes darkened as she held my gaze. “I dare that motherfucker to try to hurt Ty! I will put 13 bullets between his eyes and plead temporary insanity!”
“Lauren…”
She took a deep breath before letting it out. “Listen to me, Laurel. I have your back. He’s not going to hurt you, me, or Ty. I promise you. If you do what I tell you to do, then we will all be safe from him.”
I hesitated before asking, “What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to get a restraining order. I want you to speak to the officers when they come to talk to you. I want you to file charges,” she told me.
I lowered my head. “What good will that do? A piece of paper is not going to stop him from hurting us.”
“No, but my gun will. I’m licensed to carry. If there is a restraining order and he comes to the house trying to start something, I will shoot him. And I will get off scot-free.”
I stared at her in shock. “I am not quite sure that’s how it works…”
She raised her eyebrow at me. “Isn’t it, though?”
I sighed as I buried my face in her neck. “I think it is time, Lauren.”
“Time for what?”
“Time for me to get a divorce. The last time he hit me, he only slapped me. He’s escalating rapidly.” I took in a shaky breath. “I’m afraid that next time he will kill me.”’
She squeezed me tightly. “Okay. I’ll help you divorce him. But first, you need to speak to the officers. They just walked in.”
I slowly raised my head to look at the officers who had entered the room with a nurse. I swallowed hard as I nodded. I let my arms drop from around Lauren before taking her hand.
“Don’t leave me,” I begged.
“Never, Laurel. Me and you against the world.”
I took a deep breath before turning to face the officers. It was literally now or never, and I was choosing now.