SECOND CHANCES (ORIGINAL WORK)

CHAPTER TWO

Angeline bit her lip, contemplating. Veronica was right; she didn't want to live the rest of her days in fear. She closed her eyes, reliving happier times, and wondered what she did wrong, what she'd said to make him hate her so much.

If she was going to leave, everything she'd worked so hard for would no longer exist, but it was a price she had to pay for freedom. There was a knot in her stomach as she mulled it over, mind working overtime to process her options.

"I don't know, Veronica. This is all too soon. Don't you think it requires a little more planning?" Angeline stumbled over her words as she spoke, fighting back the prickling in her eyes.

"I can't just leave this place behind." She was unsure now. Unsure and scared of all the blank spaces in her best friend's suggestion, despite knowing deep inside her that it was the only logical way to have her life become hers again.

"This place is not more important than your freaking life, Angeline. Do you hear me?" Veronica's voice broke towards the end of her statement, eyes boring into her friends' as it glimmered with tears in the bright orange glow of the light.

Angeline nodded, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She had no more arguments on the tip of her tongue, and though her brain had found all of the obvious plot holes, like where she would even find enough money to move far enough for her husband not to find her, she let herself find hope in the soft smile that Veronica shared as she pulled her into a hug, reassuring her everything would be okay.

"Wait right here, I have something for you," Veronica said once they had disconnected, from the hug, tears still fresh on their cheeks. She pulled away from their embrace and left the room. When she came back, she was carrying her favorite thrift Coach purse, and she set it down on the counter beside the sink, pulling out a small manila envelope and handing it over to Angeline.

"I don't know why you never talked to me about it, but I've always known and I've been patiently waiting until you came around, which you technically still haven't." she rambled. There was complete silence for a full three seconds, before she spoke again.

"I started keeping this aside since I found out, for whenever you were ready. It's not much, but it'll get you where you need to go and then some."

While Veronica explained, Angeline opened the envelope and gaped. There must have been over six grand in her hand, not to mention what was left in the envelope. She shoved the money back into the envelope and tried to hand it back to Veronica. "I can't accept this," she said. "It's too much."

"I insist. There's a business card inside. He's a friend of a friend. He'll take you wherever you want to go and more."

An uneasy knot formed in Angeline's stomach. "Um..."

"You can trust him. You have my word. No one will know where he's taking you. Not even me."

"Thank you." Angeline squeezed Veronica's hand. This time, she couldn't hold back the tears that fell free down her face.

"Take this." Veronica pulled out a taser from the side pocket of her purse. "When you get the chance, you shock the living shit out of him. I guarantee you the son of a bitch will drop down to his knees."

After years of living in this hellish nightmare, a faint smile formed on the corners of Angeline's lips. "You're the best friend I've ever had."

"Me too," Veronica said.

"No, you don't understand..."Angeline's voice held a certain firmness to it before her sentence broke. She had been about to say, "You're the only friend I've ever had," but that made her seem so lame, and besides, it was still an inadequate expression of what she felt for this girl. They were, indeed, like sisters.