Life's Unexpected Turn

Prologue

From the moment Parker Avery was born, to say her life was easy would be quite an understatement. She was thrown into the system at a young age when her parents suddenly lost their lives to a drunk driver. Parker's only memory of her mother and father is an old picture of them together on the day she was born. In her later years, she focused on school and quickly realized she was very talented in many forms of art, which made her utterly content. Parker had this uncanny ability to understand and replicate any art movement and always make it her own. She soon discovered that if she honed her skills, she could also make a career out of doing something she loved.

Unfortunately, Parker's life had taken a turn for the worst when she fell in love with Brooklynn Stone, a drug trafficker. Many would say that their life together was quite normal, happy, and loving. However, according to several police reports, there was something darker transpiring beneath the surface. Years later, at the hands of this vile woman, everything would come to light. Parker suffered cruel amounts of torture, beatings, threats, and every form of abuse known to man. How did she survive it all? To this day, only she truly knows... Although Police Officer Shay Keller, her best friend, might have some idea.

On one fateful evening, an unexpected police raid, led by Shay, found a near-death Parker. What this young police officer found practically made her cry at the sight. You've heard the stories out there; how people can harm others, torture or murder them? Well, in all her years on the beat, she had never witnessed such a scene before. Chained on the nearly frozen basement floor was none other than Parker Avery. She suffered numerous types of burns that covered thirty-two percent of her body. In addition to that, she had been mutilated with severe lacerations, old and new, all infected. To top it all off, she had a semi-fatal gunshot wound to the head and was slowly bleeding out.

It took multiple surgeries and several months before Parker awoke from her coma. When she did, Shay was there to help her. Fortunately enough, Parker remembered this cop, and she felt glad to have someone in her life that cared about her well-being. After roughly a year of doctor visits and physical therapy, Parker was genuinely able to begin the process of healing her mental scars. She spent the next year making changes in her life, one part at a time. Parker started by covering every single scar on her body with tattoos, ones that were beautiful and full of color. Her main goal was to make sure no one could see her painful past.

As much as the tattoos somewhat aided her in this process, in the end, nothing actually helped. It didn't matter what Parker did or tried; everything had constantly reminded her of the trauma she underwent at the hands of her ex-lover. One afternoon, as a joke, Shay brought up the idea of leaving, moving to a new state. Her words; 'Fuck it, let's get the hell out of dodge and start over. We might as well at this point, cuz there isn't anything keeping us here anyway.' Unbeknownst to Shay, Parker honestly considered this her only option to heal. It took just an additional month before she told her best friend that she wanted to move.

Shay was thrilled and eager to join Parker on this journey. These two spent countless hours searching, and when they found an affordable home to rent in Rhode Island, they immediately started packing. At first, Parker was worried that Shay would ruin her career, but apparently, that wasn't the case. Shay informed her that she could easily transfer to the police department in that city, and all would be peachy. As for Parker, she would need to figure out what to do for income. Together, they departed on an exciting and memorable car ride to their new home.

The second they drove off, Parker felt instant relief; she could finally breathe. She knew she made the right decision at that moment, though it was hard to believe. But there she was, with her friend, driving away from her past and all that bound her from moving on. Upon arrival, Parker and Shay unpacked, decorated, and made their new home something others would dream of. It didn't take long for these two friends to get into a comfortable day-to-day groove. Parker also began a routine of self-defense training and jogged daily around their neighborhood. One month following their move, she was hired as an Art Professor at Rhode Island College.

Though she still has daily struggles with her trauma, Parker utilizes her artistic skills to paint her pain away; so to speak. The only fundamental goal for her now was to find true happiness... if that meant Parker had to discover it within herself, she was ready to do so for the first time in her life.

~

Bailey Adams was born into a loving family with a dog and two cats. Her life, to others, would be described as sickeningly dull and ordinary. This was something that she was more than happy about. From an early age, Bailey knew she liked girls, and at first, she was worried about coming out to her family. After all, her family was the most important thing in her life. As it turns out, her mother and father welcomed their daughter with open arms, showing her that love is all that matters... if only that were the case when it mattered most.

During her high school years, Bailey fell in love with Victoria Vandenburg, and for her, it was love at first sight. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Victoria was the most popular and sought-out cheerleader at their school. These two exchanged phone numbers, hung out, and eventually started to date. Days turned to months, and months turned into years. When prom rolled around, the couple spent their evening as any couple should. They danced all night long, sang, kissed, laughed, and made love.

Even though Victoria was popular and rich, Bailey wasn't interested in such things. She didn't need to be the center of attention like Victoria needed. Victoria thrived on power and control. Unfortunately, Bailey never realized what kind of behavior this could entail. Bailey was in love and blind to what would follow. Their relationship, in the beginning, was wonderful. She had an accepting family, a loving girlfriend, and a scholarship; her life was on the right track. Her family simply adored Victoria, and they both were accepted into Rhode Island College.

However, as fate would have it, things soon changed, and not in a good way. Victoria began to manipulate Bailey, convincing her of all her wrongdoings. What started as mental abuse very quickly escalated into verbal abuse. Bailey began to believe everything she was doing was wrong, that she was the cause of their many fights. She hoped that if she changed, and did things better, maybe then Victoria would be happier with her. That was not the case because nothing Bailey did was good enough, and everything started setting her girlfriend off.

A few months into the verbal abuse had marked the crucial change in Victoria that Bailey never expected. Her once high school sweetheart had turned into someone she couldn't recognize. From the first time Victoria laid her hands on Bailey, she knew she had power over her. It took a few months of bruises and broken bones for Bailey to speak up about the physical abuse she endured. She reached out to the only people she could trust; her parents. Victoria, being the silver-tongued manipulator that she was, had Bailey's parents wrapped around her finger. She convinced them Bailey had caused her own injuries, that she was a danger to herself. It broke Bailey's heart when her parents said how disappointed they were with her.

A couple of years had passed, and Bailey did her best to deal with the abuse, covering her daily bruises with makeup. Depending on how pissed Victoria became, she decided to harm Bailey in more painful ways. The more scared she was, the better. Somehow, Bailey kept quiet about all of the abuse she suffered, that is, until Victoria began to force her to have sex. Throughout the abuse, Bailey slowly lost herself; she hardly even remembers the woman she once was.

The next time Bailey attempted to seek help, she went to one of her teachers, and again... no one helped her. Victoria had every single person convinced she was an angel, and to top it all off; she had her own way of blackmailing everyone. It wasn't common knowledge to Bailey, but Victoria was quite the slut; she would sleep around with men and women alike. As this was happening, she would video record her meetings with whomever the target was at the time. That was how Victoria maintained the upper hand with everybody at the college. No one would cross her; they were too afraid of their dirty little secret coming to light.

If Bailey defies her or speaks out of turn, Victoria lashes out in unimaginable ways. Bailey fears for her life every single day and cries herself to sleep. She often wonders how long it will be until she dies at the hands of someone she thought she'd spend the rest of her life with.