I knew I only had seconds before it was too late.I had to do something.Anything.There was no way that I was going to give in and let him take my baby from me while I bled out on the garage floor.
Knowing that Jason had something to do with this sent a flurry of rage seeping through me as fire singed my blood.I would make him pay for this.I would make sure that he never had another chance to hurt my daughter or me.
I shook my head, forcing myself to focus as he continued cutting my stomach.To my left was a rusty nail.It wasn’t much, but it was the only option.
My hand darted out as I stretched the best I could, given that he still had most of his weight holding me down.I grunted as I pushed further, feeling the sharp pain as the knife went deeper into my stomach as I pulled away from him.I felt the tears prickle my eyes as I grabbed the nail and whipped my hand around as quickly as I could, stabbing him right in the eye as he looked up to see what I was doing.
“You stupid fucking bitch,” he yelled, dropping the knife as he stumbled to the side and crouched down, holding his eye.
Once he was off of me, I scrambled away and rushed to stand up.My heart hammered loudly in my ears as I looked around for something else to use.If I wanted to get away, I was going to have to do more than just stab him in the eye.I didn’t have much time, given the amount of blood I was losing from the cut to my stomach.I was going to have to hurt him badly enough that he wouldn’t be able to get up and come after me, or kill him.My stomach soured at the thought, but I pushed it aside, relying on my survival instincts to kick in.
On the other side of my car was a rack with various dumbbell weights that Jason occasionally used.I grabbed the biggest one I could hold, which was barely five pounds, and rushed over to him, swinging it as a sickening thud rang out in the room when it collided with his head.His body crumpled to the floor in front of me as he lay lifeless.Whether he was dead or not, I didn’t know.But I also didn’t have the time to stand around and find out.If I was going to escape, I needed to act quickly.
I quietly opened the door from the garage into the house and stopped for a second to listen for the sound of voices.Jason was supposed to be at work, but that didn’t mean anything.Obviously, this guy had been given access to our house to try to kill me and take my baby, so I had no idea who or what else might be waiting for me.
I tiptoed around the corner and went into our bedroom, locking the door behind me.I checked the bathroom and closet quickly to make sure no one was in there before rushing back to the bathroom and lifting my blood-soaked shirt to examine my stomach.There were several deep cuts, but the bleeding wasn’t as bad as it had been a few minutes ago, so I was thankful that it didn’t appear that I would need stitches.While it felt worse than it looked, I was relieved that he wasted so much of his time torturing me rather than actually doing the job he had been sent to do.Never in my life had I felt more protected by a guardian angel than I had in that moment.
There wasn’t time to stop and take care of my stomach, so I grabbed a duffel bag from under the bed and began filling it with clothes and first aid supplies.I had no idea where I was going, but I knew I couldn’t come back without risking my life.I had to pack with the intention of never coming back to this house, ever again.Whoever Jason was working with was ruthless, and they would make sure the job was finished, especially if I killed one of their guys.I grabbed a few pictures from my nightstand and tucked them into the bag, reminding myself that I didn’t have time to stop and be emotional.If I wanted to survive, I had to keep moving.
We had a small safe in our closet, but I knew it would be empty.Nothing was safe around Jason these days, especially money.Thankfully, he didn’t know about the secret one I had hidden behind the shoe rack that I installed shortly after finding out about his gambling problem.I opened it and pulled out the stack of cash I had been saving for a rainy day, not knowing that I would now be heading into the biggest storm of my life.
Two
Charlie
Iwalked through thedoor of a rundown-looking bar, thankful for the warm air that rushed over me once I was inside.I kept my head down and walked toward the bar in the back as I ignored the curious looks I got from those sitting at the tables around me.It was a small town, so it shouldn’t have surprised me that everyone would stop what they were doing the second a stranger walked in.
“Hi.Can I get a glass of iced tea, please?”I asked as I attempted to climb onto the barstool.I avoided looking at the man behind the bar as he studied me intently.I adjusted my hair, trying to pull it over my shoulders in an attempt to hide the bruises along my throat.The last thing I needed was for anyone to start asking questions about how they got there.
“Iced tea?”he asked, his deep voice surprising me enough to get me to look up at him.
I nodded my head and then quickly looked away before he could say anything else.
He grabbed a pitcher from behind the bar and filled a glass before setting it in front of me.
“Thank you.”I grabbed the glass and held it between my hands for a few seconds to let the cold calm my nerves a bit.“Is there a restroom I can use?”
