A Love Like Ours

Chapter 3 (revised)

Home. When most people think of home they think safe haven, a place to go to relax, and/or a peaceful getaway. When I think of home I think hurt, pain, and disappointment. Coming home is something that I dread to do everyday when work is over, mainly because I never know how Joshua's day is going or what mood he will be in. It has gotten to the point to where I have contemplated renting a hotel just to keep from coming home, but that would just cause more problems. If I'm being honest, deep down I know that my marriage is over, I'm just not ready to face that yet. Therefore I stay and deal with the pain and frustration of what has been my daily life for going on eight months now.

Joshua and I have been married for almost 7 years. We first met when I was seventeen and he was twenty and have been together ever since. He and I were together for four years before he proposed and a year later we were married. The first year of our marriage, I thought was going good, then I found out that I was being cheated on. He had been sleeping with a woman from his job for six months. He apologized and agreed to go to therapy so I stayed not wanting this marriage to fail. Now almost six years later I have the same feeling I did when he cheated the first time. He has started to act the same and even treats me the same as back then.

One very long weeks ago, when I came home early from the office, Joshua was nowhere to be seen. Thank God. I took a long hot bath and tried to get all the things from that day out of my head. After my bath I went to cook supper, when I heard the front door of our apartment open and saw Joshua walk in. I could tell by just looking at him that he was mad. I knew that it was going to be a long and aggravating night. Joshua walked up to me and looked over my shoulder at what I was cooking before grabbing the pan and throwing it in the floor. I could smell the alcohol on him so I knew he was drunk. He told me that he wasn't going to eat what I had cooked, because he wasn't in the mood for it. I was scared because he had never acted this was, never once had he been violent in any way. I felt him grab me by the back of my neck and he pushed me to the floor. He pulled me over to where he had thrown the pan and told me I needed to clean it up. Then I was to fix him something else to eat. I cleaned the mess and then fixed something else for him to eat. After eating, he went to take a shower and I went to my bed. We have been sleeping in separate beds for the past eight months and we haven't been intimate in over a year. He hasn't even tried to touch me in that way. He says I disgust him, so why would he want to be with me. Laying in bed I heard the shower turn off and just assumed he would go to his room to sleep, boy was I wrong. He barged into my room in a rage and pulled me out of the bed by my hair, before slapping me several times. He was hollering the whole time about how I was no good and he deserved a better wife. I was so scared. Somehow I managed to get away from him and ran through the house grabbing my purse and out the door. I went to my best friend Kylie's house and have been here ever since.

"Amelia get up, I made you breakfast." I hear Kylie call from the living area.

"Coming."

Crawling out of bed I make my way to the kitchen. I think about how my life has gotten to the point where I have to stay at a friend's house to even feel safe. I know he only done what he did because he was drunk, but that doesn't give him the right to treat me or anyone else that way. I haven't told Austin or Tyler what happened in fear of what they might do or say, but I know at some point I will have to tell them. I sit down at the bar and Kylie places an omelet in front of me.

"Yum, this look delicious." I say cutting a piece and putting it in my mouth.

"I figured you would like a good meal before work."

"Thank you and I don't just mean for the omelet. Thank you for letting me stay here and for taking care of me. I honesty don't know what I would do without you."I say trying not to get emotional. This girl has been my friend since we where little and she means more to me that anyone could ever imagine.