Truth Comes Second

Had To Be Done

Tommy looked over his shoulder at the park and then back over to me. He ran his hand over his hair and nodded his head.

"Fine," he said. "Just for a few a minutes."

He put his hand on the small of my back and pushed me towards the the park. I could see a jungle gym in the shadows. It was dark and only a few lights from a couple of houses were the only thing allowing us to see. The damp grass was tickling my ankles. Tommy dropped the bag down next to a metal bench and sat down. He stretched out his leg and rubbed the sore muscles. I went to sit down, but Tommy's hand shot out and stopped me.

"Put Hunter down," he told me.

"There's nowhere to put him," I said.

"Down on the ground."

"The grass is wet."

"Juliet, we'll get back up and keep walking."

If we kept walking, Tommy would be holding onto my arm or waist and I'd never be able to grab the knife. I unzipped the bag and pulled out a sweater. I lied it down on the grass and placed Hunter down on top of it. While I was crouched in the dark, I pulled the knife out of my tights and slid it up into my sleeve.

Tommy grabbed my hips and pulled me onto his lap. My knees were on each side of him, and I put my hand with the knife up my sleeve on the back of the bench behind Tommy's head. He dug his fingers into my hips as he pressed his lips against mine.

My mind raced as I felt the cold metal press into my arm. This was my perfect opportunity to use it. There was no way for me to get to his eye. He'd see me trying. His eyes were closed as he was kissing me, and I needed to exploit that.

I tilted my head to the side, and Tommy's head followed. The side of his neck was exposed. I slipped the knife out of my sleeve and into my hand. My fingers tightened around the handle and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I swung my arm down and forced the blade into his neck.

Tommy let out a scream and pushed me off of his lap. I heard a clang of metal, and I knew I mustn't have plunged the blade into his neck very far. Tommy pinned me down onto the ground, and I felt something wet drip down onto my face. It was Tommy's blood.

Tommy's fist connected with my nose. I screamed, but was quickly cut off when he wrapped his fingers around my neck. I could hear Hunter screaming.

"You're such a bitch," Tommy snarled. "Dad said you were a fighter, but Jim denied it."

I was gasping, but I couldn't breathe. I tried to peel his fingers off of my neck but they wouldn't move. A metallic taste filled my mouth. I swung my fists out and hit him in the crook of his elbow. Tommy let go of my throat and I brought my knee up. Tommy rolled off of me. I jumped on top of him. I took a quick look around for the knife, but I couldn't see it in the dark. I balled up my fist and punched Tommy in the jaw.

The handle of Tommy's gun was poking out of his pocket. I grabbed it and pointed it down at him. The weight of the gun felt awkward in my hands. I had never held one before. I put my finger on the trigger, but I could see my hands shake.

"Jules," Tommy started to say.

Before he could finish, I pulled the trigger.

I rocked back when I the bullet came flying out with a deafening sound. I could barely see Tommy in the dark, but I could tell that part of his skull was missing. There was a warm sticky spray of blood against my face. I dropped the gun next to his body.

I got up off of Tommy and stumbled over to Hunter. I picked him up and bounced and cooed to him trying to get him to calm down. I hurried out of the park as fast as I could, but I was dragging my bad leg behind me. When I got back onto the sidewalk, I saw one house with a light still on. As I walked up the steps of their porch I saw a couple sitting on the couch watching television.

I banged on the front door with my fist until one of them opened the door. A woman with a blonde ponytail opened the door and her jaw dropped when she saw me.

"Oh my god," she said. "Are you okay?"

Another woman with shorter hair came up behind her. Her eyes widened when she saw me. She reached out and put her hand on my back and guided me into the house.

"What happened?" she asked. "Where are you hurt?"

"It isn't my blood," I told her.

She sat me down on the bottom step of their stairs. The girl with the blonde ponytail came back and with a wet towel and handed it to me. The other woman sat on her heels in front of me. The woman with the ponytail was on the phone and I knew she was dialing 911.

"What's your name?" the woman in front of me asked.

"Juliet Miller," I said.

The woman's eyes managed to grow even larger.

"You've been missing," she said. I nodded my head and started to wash Tommy's blood off of my face. "My name is Cecilia and this is my wife Amanda. Are you sure you're not hurt?"

My nose ached and blood was flowing from it. I pressed the towel up against it to try and stop the blood. I could hear Amanda talking to the police. Cecilia was asking me questions and I was giving her one word answers.

"I want to go home," I said.

There was another knock on the door and when Amanda opened it Detective Cameron and a couple of police officers were standing there.