Heart Shaped Lies

Chapter One

"Please stop! I'm sorry! Stop!"
She threw her arms up to try to protect herself, her tears mixing with blood and painting her face scarlet. He paused, only momentarily, before hitting her again, sending her tumbling to the floor. As she scrambled up on all fours, she turned burning, anguished eyes upon this man.
Her husband. Her mind quickly flitted to their wedding day, when he had taken her in his arms and said his vows, swearing before God to protect her, to love her, to take care of her. Staring up at him now, his face contorted with drunken rage, she knew that the man she had married was gone, that this was a stranger, a monster. How could he do this to her?
A feeling of anger washed over her, taking her by surprise. It quickly melted into hatred, so strong it frightened her as it simultaneously gave her the courage to climb to her feet and face him. Her husband looked as stunned as she felt, but she let this resentment fuel her courage as she slapped him across the face with every ounce of strength she could muster.
"I hate you! I hope you rot in hell!" she screamed as he swayed unsteadily on his feet. He recovered quickly, grinning malevolently as he pushed away from the counter.
The gun was in his hand before she had time to realize why he had reached swiftly into the waistband of his jeans. His fingers were steady as they flexed around it, one finger hovering the trigger.
"Tell me again," he said softly, calmly. She turned tormented eyes on the nearly forgotten little girl huddled behind the couch in the living room. The child was crying silently, her hands clasped over her mouth. I love you, she mouthed to the child. Close your eyes.
She drew in a long, shuddering breath, knowing it would be her last.
"I hate you," she said bravely, her voice steady, pouring every ounce loathing she felt into those three words. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger. The deafening blast drowned out the heartbroken screams of the little girl with her eyes still wide open.
        
Ten Years Later
   At seventeen, Hannah  Miller was the kind of girl that had a kind word and warm smile for everyone she crossed paths with, easily making her one of the most popular girls in her small Pennsylvania high school. With coppery red hair that fell in silky curls down her back and emerald green eyes, she was also one of the most beautiful, made even more stunning by her lack of her vanity. She was the total package, and could've had her pick of any guy in school, but only wanted one. She headed for the double doors leading out of the school after the last bell rang, her eyes focused on the familiar, broad frame that waited for her there.
"How's it going, beautiful?" Sawyer Harvey greeted Hannah  as she stepped out into the sunlight. He leaned down and planted a quick kiss on her lips as he took her backpack from her, slinging it over his shoulder and taking her hand in his.
Hannah  and Sawyer had been dating for over a year, and Sawyer still lost his breath every time she smiled at him.
"You ready to go?" Sawyer asked her. "I have to swing by the gas station on the way to your house."
Hannah  nodded and followed Sawyer to his car. If there was anything in the world that he loved almost as much as he loved Hannah , it was his car. Sawyer's 1969 Dodge Charger was his pride and joy, something he had worked for and restored himself. Rays of sunlight sparkled off the jet black exterior. Hannah  knew many girls that would complain about a guy so obsessed with a car, but it didn't bother her. She was so lost in her thoughts she barely noticed as Sawyer guided the car smoothly to the gas station and hopped out gracefully.
"You want to come in with me?" he asked. Hannah  climbed out of the car and followed Sawyer inside. She stood beside him as he paid for his stuff at the counter, her eyes grazing over the tedious magazine headlines before falling on the newspaper. The front page headline caught her attention and she quickly began to read:
Man Escapes South Carolina Prison
William Hawkins, convicted ten years ago in the shooting death of his wife, Alison Hawkins, escaped from the prison around midnight...Prison employees are puzzled as to how the inmate managed to flee unnoticed...Police are concerned he may be searching for his daughter...
Sawyer turned to Hannah  as a low whimper escaped her lips. She looked unsteady and frightened, a newspaper clutched tightly to her chest.
"Hannah ? Hannah , baby, what is it?" Sawyer's panicked voice sounded so far away. She was barely aware of his hands on her shoulders. "Hannah !"
But Hannah  didn't hear him. Memories exploded in her head. A young, beautiful woman looking at her with eyes filled with terror, telling her to close her eyes, telling her she loved her. A bullet screaming from the chamber, hitting the woman point blank in the face. There was blood, so much blood, as her mother's lifeless body fell just a few feet from Hannah 's hiding place, while Hannah  screamed and screamed and scampered out of the house, slipping in the blood, nearly falling, as her father scrambled after her, covered in her mother's blood...
"Hannah !" Sawyer screamed her name this time, and Hannah  flinched, plummeting back to the present. She looked around, at Sawyer's pale face, at the frightened cashier, at the newspaper gripped so tightly in her hands that her knuckles were white. She opened her mouth to speak, but the terrible words stuck in her throat. Her knees buckled, and darkness swallowed her as she collapsed into Sawyer's arms.