As he had promised, Shane took Carl to catch frogs to distract him and give Yasmin a break. He had been particularly clingy since his father had left and while Yasmin enjoyed his company it made it hard to do any of her chores. Despite needing a break from her son Yasmin kept him within hearing distance, going as far as to do her least favourite chore. Laundry.
She could feel Ed's gaze digging into her back, the abusive cretin hating her almost as much as he did his wife. He was 'observing' the women as they did their chores. Yasmin had, in his eyes, but her nose in when it didn't belong too many times, taking his daughter and wife away from him.
"Can someone explain to me how the women wound up doing all the Hattie McDaniel work?" Jacqui complained as she worked on her pile of clothes.
"The world ended. Didn't you get the memo?" Amy joked from beside Yasmin.
Yasmin hid her snort well, instead watching as Shane and Carl started catching frogs again.
"It's just the way it is," Carol sighed, turning her gaze from a smoking Ed and back to her pile of laundry.
Yasmin couldn't pretend to hide her disdain for laundry, scrunching her nose at the feeling of soggy clothes and dirty water. The group of women had been scrubbing for a while, and Yasmin could feel an ache working its way up her shoulders and into her fingers.
"I do miss my Maytag." Carol piped up, scrubbing particularly hard on a pair of jeans that Yasmin was sure she'd seen Ed wear.
"I miss my Benz, my sat nav," Andrea added.
Yasmin hummed. While she had never owned a Benz, she missed her car and the GPS inside it. Before she owned it, she had constantly gotten lost. Until she met a certain Sheriff who helped her find her way.
"I miss my baseball set. Me and Carl would play catch in the front yard in summer after dinner," Yasmin smiled, reminiscing on some of the best times in her life.
"I miss my coffeemaker with that dual-drip filter and built-in grinder, honey." Jacqui almost moaned.
"My computer... and texting."
There was a pause before Andrea decided to speak again.
"I miss my vibrator," she smirked.
"Yes!" Yasmin cheered.
The group giggled amongst themselves quietly, but it quickly settled.
"Me too," Carol whispered, after checking if anyone else was in hearing distance.
The group once again burst into laughter, Yasmin the loudest. She was almost slapping Amy's arm, trying to hold herself up. The women didn't notice Ed making his way over until it was too late.
"What's so funny," he snarled, a lit cigarette raised to his lips after his words.
"Just swapping war stories, Ed," Andrea tried to soothe.
No one wanted to deal with Ed, but more than that no one wanted him to hurt his family more than he already did. Yasmin would never admit it, but she wished he would be attacked by a walker and die a horrible, miserable death.
The silence that fell over the women was uncomfortable at best. Being near Ed was like walking on eggshells. He loomed over everyone's shoulders, watching as they worked. Carol had started being gentler on the jeans she was washing. Yasmin bit her tongue, knowing nothing good would come from confronting the bigoted man. Andrea didn't have the same control.
"Problem, Ed," she provoked, stopping what she had been doing.
"Nothin' that concerns you," he scowled, flicking some of the ash off of his cigarette.
The ash landed on Yasmin's exposed neck, burning the skin. She quickly swiped it away, glaring at the dirt. She wished she could've done something but the last thing she wanted to do was make anything worse for Carol and Sophia. She refused to admit that she was scared. Refused to admit that Ed reminded her of her father.
"And you ought to focus on your work," he scolded. "This ain't no comedy club."
Andrea huffed, slamming the scrubber she was using in the pot of water. From the distance Yasmin could see Shane talking to Carl before the child started heading back to camp. She was glad he was gone, she could sense a fight brewing and didn't want him to see anyone get hurt. Even if Ed deserved it. The women continued washing, but Yasmin could feel Andrea's anger like it was something tangible. Finally, the blonde snapped and stood up, a wet shirt in her grip.
"Ed, I'll tell you what. You don't like how your laundry is done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself," she sneered as she stormed towards the man until she was only a foot away from him. "Here."
Andrea tossed the shirt at Ed's chest lightly. Ed, being the fragile man he was, threw the shirt back at Andrea and hit her in the throat. Hearing the wet slap Amy moved to stand with Andrea. Yasmin sat with Carol still, their hands clasped together.
"Ain't my job, missy."
Amy tried to stop Andrea, grabbing for her wrist but Andrea pulled away. The older sister had always been hot-headed and it was a flaw that Yasmin was sure would prove to be fatal.
"What is your job, Ed? Sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?" she rhetorically asked.
"Well, it sure as hell ain't listening to some uppity smart-mouth bitch," Ed insulted. "Tell you what, come on. Let's go," he ordered Carol.
Carol stood, Yasmin and Jacqui following, and started walking towards Ed. Yasmin gripped Carol's hand harder as she tried to stop her from following after Ed.
"I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you, Ed," Andrea fought back.
"And I say it's none of your business. Now come on. You heard me," he argued.
Yasmin tried to hold Carol back, but she wouldn't stop squirming. Andrea also tried to hold her back, making Carol start to beg.
"Hey, don't think I won't knock y'all on your ass, just cause you some college-educated cooze," Ed smirked at Andrea and Yasmin, the latter moving in front of Andrea and Carol protectively.
Yasmin laughed in his face. Ed's eyes widened with anger, flashing dangerously. Yasmin knew she was fucked but she was hoping if Ed took it out on her he would leave Carol and Sophia alone.
"Come on now or you're going to regret it later," he, once again, demanded Carol.
Yasmin scoffed.
"So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed? Yeah, we've seen them," Jacqui snarled.
Ed laughed. He couldn't believe the people he thought most pathetic, other than the children, had the gall to stand up to him. He started yelling at Carol to follow him, attracting the attention of Shane. Ed went to open his mouth again to spew more shit but Yasmin had had enough.
"Ed, you touch that woman again and I will knock you clean on your ass," she snapped.
That was when Ed lost it. He slapped Carol, whose arm he had in a firm grip, and then he back-handed Yasmin. Yasmin smiled back at Ed, blood coating her teeth. She had bitten her cheek as she had been slapped which ripped the skin.The women around Yasmin went to comfort her but she shook them off before punching Ed in the nose. She went to hit him again, but Shane ran over and tackled Ed to the ground instead. Shane sat on top of Ed laying punch after punch after punch into Ed's pathetic face.
The women begged Shane to stop, all of them but Yasmin. Oddly, she was glad that Shane was hurting Ed. She wanted Ed to remember what would happen if he hurt someone as he did to his family every time he felt his swollen face. Shane whispered something to Ed that Yasmin couldn't hear, but she assumed it wasn't good by the way Ed got punched and kicked after. Carol ran to Ed, sobbing over him as she apologised over and over. Yasmin held no sympathy for Ed, and if it wasn't for Carol she would have spat on his face.
أنت تقرأ
All I Wanted
قصص الهواة"𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐞'𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐀𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬" Yasmin...
