The First ~10K~ (book 3)

8.) Zoey

(Pete's model above)

Zoey POV—(this takes place before she met Tommy to go into detail about what she went through. If you are uncomfortable with mentions of abuse, please read with caution. Thank you.)

I was sleeping next to a monster.

I don't know how I didn't see it before. Was I really that blind? I was blinded by the fact he saved me that I couldn't see what he was until it was too late.

I looked down at my wrist and lightly traced over the new purple and blue bruise he gave me a few days ago, just by telling him I was tired.

When I told him, his eyes filled with rage. A rage I was all too familiar with. He raised his hand and smacked me across the face before pushing me into a wall, pinning my wrists above my head. He spat in my face and told me I was worthless before letting me go and storming out.

It wasn't the first time he did something like that, and I knew it wouldn't be the last.

I swung my legs over the bed and sat up quietly, trying not to wake him. I did that once by mistake and I got a punch in the jaw for it.

He stirred but didn't wake up. I got up and quietly left the room and headed to the living room.

I grabbed my jacket, slipped on my shoes and put my pistol in my coat pocket and left the house.

The night air was crisp and smelled of wet grass. It had rained all day and finally turned into a mist. I could feel it wetting my hair and face already as I started walking.

Of course we got the house. Everyone treated us like we were royalty. He loved it, I hated it. I wasn't royal, and neither was he, but because he was the leader and I married him, that made me 'The First Lady'. Stupid shit.

The rest of the group slept in or around the small trailer that was parked behind the house. The kids slept on the inside and the adults slept in tents around it or on the roof. Watch outs were on the roof of the house or along the end of the road.

I went to a spot I found when we got here. It was a bunch of bushes that hid a small patch of grass. I found a few kids around here and accidentally scared them off. They never came back, so I took it as my own spot.

I sat on the ground and pulled out a cigarette. Ever since I opened my eyes with how Pete treated me, I found myself smoking almost three times a day, which was more than I ever have in my life.

I looked up at the night sky. The stars filled the whole thing, twinkling and shining down on the world beneath it. I wondered what it was like to be where they were. Away. Free.

"Zoey?" I heard a soft voice say.

I jumped out of my skin when a face appeared in the bushes. I recognized it immediately.

It was Patty, a mom of two and a widow. She wasn't much older than me but looked much older. The stress of the world and being a single mom took a toll on her.

"Shit, Patty," I sighed. "You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry," She said, welcoming herself in. She sat next to me. "I didn't mean to."

"What're you doing out here?" I asked her, putting out my cigarette.

"I could ask you the same thing," She said. Her southern accent was thick.

"I just needed some fresh air," I half lied. It was the truth, but not the whole truth. Really, I just wanted to get away from Pete.

"That was some pretty fresh air you were suckin' into your lungs just now." She joked, pointing at the cigarette bud.