One Thousand Miles

That's Not What I Had Planned: Part One

One Thousand Miles

Chapter  |  That's Not What I Had Planned

Part  |  One

The day after John had laid a hand on me, went okay. After I finished crying in the break room I caked my face with makeup to hide the bruises and refrained from crying throughout the day. I didn't think anybody would notice that there was something wrong with me, but Todd did. He did as soon as I told him I couldn't go to lunch with him. 

He stares at me with a puzzled look before finally an award winning smile breaks out on his face. "Oh, I see. You want to try to spend your break with your husband, right?"

I couldn't answer him back because of how scared I felt when he mentioned John. I was too scared to go home because I didn't know if tonight would be anything like yesterday night. I haven't talked to him since dinner last night. He had locked himself in his office to finish work and eventually came to bed while I was sleeping. This morning I woke up earlier than my normal time, left him a note saying his breakfast was in the microwave, even added a smiley face, and sprinted out the door. From the time I walked out the door and the normal time I started for work I drove to a McDonald's in the city and had breakfast there.

"Steph, are you okay? You're starting to scare me, is everything okay?" Todd asks, managing to break me out of my thoughts.

I look at him for a moment then smile. "Yeah, why wouldn't everything be okay? I'm fine, no need to worry about me!" I say cheerfully.

He must have noticed because his concerned expression stayed. "Stephanie, is everything alright, please tell me the truth, I can tell when you're lying. Is everything alright at home?"

My husband just beat me yesterday, which is totally normal, so everything is just peachy at home!

I sigh and move my hair out of my face before placing it on Todd's shoulder. "Look, there is nothing wrong with me. I'm just tired, okay? I didn't get much sleep last night."

"John keep you up?" he asked with a wink.

I looked at him with disbelief, but it soon vanished and a smile appeared on my lips before it dropped. He wasn't wrong. Almost every hour I'd wake up because of the same nightmare I kept having. It was exactly how it had happened in real life too; John slapped, then kicked, and lastly punched me before I woke up. "Yeah, you can say something like that."

Todd hadn't questioned me after that, which I was glad for. The rest of the day I didn't see much of him, which was also a plus even though I really needed a friend to take my mind off of things. The moment I pulled up in front of the big iron gates, fear shot throughout my whole body. The guard didn't have to ask who I was since he knew who I was, and opened up the gates for me. I knew John wouldn't be home for at least another hour, so I quickly made dinner, ate as fast as I could, and stuck John's plate in the refrigerator. I didn't want to have to face John, so I quickly ran out the kitchen and started up the stairs until a very familiar voice stopped me.

"Hey," I heard John say from behind me.

I froze on the fourth step and clutched the railing tight. I squeezed my eyes shut and blamed myself for not eating fast enough. Since it was my fault that I was having this run-in with John, I had to make a decision. I could either hurry up the stairs and act like I didn't hear him, or turn around and acknowledge his presence. I decided to go with the latter, I'm sure he wouldn't have liked it if I ignored him. It just seemed like the less violent option.

"Hey," I say quietly.

He's standing there holding his briefcase in one hand and in the other he's holding a bouquet of flowers. "I missed you this morning, why did you leave so early?"