Abused Annie

Ch.1 - Why do bad things happen to good people ?

"Ouuuuchhhh!" . Another cooking incident where I'm moving so fast , I forget the pots are hot . I only rush because if dinner isn't ready by 7 , I get punished .

As I'm setting the table and serving the food , I hear the door open . "Hey, get in here!" , he calls from the living room . I look at the clock as I hurry , 7:05 . " What did you ..." he stares at me , " You look disgusting " , he scorns . "No make-up , no heels , your hair isn't even done ! ugh , this dinner better be good..no not good, spectacular " . I sigh , " Good evening Jeff, I made baked chicken with rice and broccoli and carrots dipped in butter". He looks at me with a little less anger in his eyes then begins walking towards the kitchen.

I watch him with anticipation as he cuts his chicken up and brings one piece to his mouth. "This is awful, why the hell is it so dry?!" "I ..." , I began as I watched the plate get shattered on the floor ."SHUT UP! Shut the hell up!" . I stayed quiet and made my way toward the mess he made. As I bent down I felt a firm grip on my throat and the air flowing through my lungs stopped. All I saw was colors and then darkness.
*********** 3 hours later *************

I woke up to bruised wrists and ankles , the sound of chains rattling and the smell of musk in the air.. I was in 'the cage'.Well that's what I like to call it, Jeff calls it time out to make is sound better than what it really is. He puts me in here when I've been "bad" and the chains are just so I can't move or cut my way out if he leaves the house, he didn't say this but I know and he knows that I know.

Jeff is my husband and we've been married for 3 years. He wasn't like this when we met or the first year of our marriage , which is why I didn't see it . When he first started hitting me, I thought it was the stress of his new job that drove him to do those things but then it advanced and I realized that I married a monster . He can abuse me all day long and then treat me like his princess , like the best thing in the world. I don't know if he's bipolar or if he just does this to play with me . Even when he treats me the way he should , I never fall for it , I just go along with it to save myself a beating.

I bet you're wondering why I'm still here with him . It's not that I don't want to leave , it's that I can't. He padlocks all the doors when he leaves and takes the keys with him, he only lets me leave the house with him and even that's rare. When the house needs something , he makes me write it down because asking him directly is "rude".

I always ask myself how I got in this predicament . I was a good child , I never did drugs , never got drunk , got good grades , stayed in school and always did what I was supposed to .. Why me ?