Prologue:
All my life I have always ended up in the wrong situations. When I was ten, I was under investigation because my step-father decided to hide drugs in my book bag when I went into school. When I was sixteen I found myself sitting in jail because my friend decided to rob a gas station. Seventeen was not much better. I met Landon when I was seventeen.
Landon was handsome, funny, and smart. He drew you in like a moth to the flame. At twenty-one, he made his living by singing in bars. What a beautiful voice he had too. Little did I know that this cover of his was only a cover. I started dating him two weeks after we met. For the first month everything was perfect. Only for the first month. One day at one of his gigs, he saw me talking to some random guy. That didn't sit too well with Landon.
Despite his charms, he was a monster. Every once in a while, due to his actions, I would wind up in the ER. He had everyone fooled though. No one thought that he had caused any of the damage. Not the police, not the doctors, not even my family or friends. Everyone saw him as clumsy Elle's perfect boyfriend.
“Did you pick up any more beer?” he asks, coming home from a night of poker with his friends.
“Why don't you go pick it up yourself?” I ask him. I still had two more years before I could legally go pick up his beer for him. There was no way in hell that I would get away with picking it up right now.
He growls. “You don't want me to be angry, doll. You know what happens when I'm not happy.”
“Are you forgetting that I'm nineteen, Landon? I'm barely out of high school!” I said. “I can't go pick up your alcohol.”
He shoved me back against the kitchen counter. “I said not to make me angry.”
Landon had a bit of a drinking problem. When he went out with his buddies, he tended to drink a lot. Especially when they played with poker. Poker was not Landon's game. Every time he played, he would lose big. Losing was something that Landon despised more than anything.
“I didn't mean to make you angry.” I said, trying to calm him down. “How about you go watch some TV. I'll make you a nice cup of coffee?” I gave him a peck on the lips. “Maybe after you've had some coffee, I can make the night a little better.”
He groans. “Fine.”
With that said, he went into the living room. The sound of the TV filled our tiny trailer. Landon didn't get paid very much for working in bars. During the day he worked on a construction site. I wasn't allowed to work, so there was no way for me to contribute to the income. We lived from paycheck to paycheck, due to his gambling and drinking problem.
I set to work making the coffee. Hopefully this will sober him up a bit before he has his way with me. If it didn't sober him up in time, I would have more bruises covering my body. Last time he had drunken sex with me, I couldn't move the next day- not in a good way either.
The smell of coffee filled the air. As it was brewing, I added coffee to the grocery list. I had to pick up our groceries for the week tomorrow, otherwise we wouldn't have anything to eat. So far the list was just the bare minerals. I usually went in on Fridays to pick up more stuff for our weekend dinners.
“How much longer before I get my coffee?” Landon asks.
“Just a little while longer.” I assure him. “The pots almost full now.”
Once it was full, I poured it into his favorite cup. Making sure that he wasn't looking, I slipped the contents of a benadryl capsule into his coffee. It wasn't decaff coffee, so maybe this will be just enough to lull him to sleep. I stirred the coffee, adding a single packet of sweetener to the mix. Landon didn't like any creamer in his coffee. He said it took away from the taste.
“Here you go.” I said, handing it to him. “Careful, it's hot.”
I made my way back into the kitchen, hoping to dispose of the capsule before he found it.
“Sit with me.” he says, patting his lap.
I kissed him. “I need to go clean up the kitchen.”
“You can do that tomorrow.”
I shook my head. “I have to go into town tomorrow, Landon.”
“I said sit down.” he growls.
“Yes, sir.” I sit down on his lap.
Ordering me turns him on. He likes to pretend that it turns me on as well, when really it disgusts me. I don't want to be controlled like a puppy. I want to be treated like a human being.
Love hasn't been in this relationship for sometime now. At first I had fooled myself by thinking that he was my savior. That he had taken me out of my miserable life. I had moved in with him not even a month after we started dating, just so I could get away from home. Now I know that he is a monster who won't let me go. I have tried and tried to leave him. No matter what I do, I can't get away from him.
“It's empty.” he says, looking down at him cup.
“I'll go fix you another.” I said, hopping up off his lap.
“No, no, I've got it.” he tells me.
Landon makes his way into the kitchen. I hear him set down the cup on the counter, angrily. Since it is his favorite cup, he won't break it. That's the only reason it wasn't thrown at me or against he wall. He had seen the capsule, I knew that without even turning around.
“What the hell did you put in my drink?” he shouts at me.
“Just something to make sure you won't have a hangover.” I told him.
“Then why did you tell me?” he shoves me off the couch. “If it was to help me, why did you just tell me? What are you hiding?”
“Nothing!” I cried out. My head was pounding after hitting it against the coffee table.
“Lying bitch!” he drags me into the bedroom.
When he's angry, I don't get the bed. He thinks I don't deserve the comfort of the bed when I defy him. Instead he will take me on the floor, as hard as he can. Once he has finished with me, I'm shoved into his tiny closet. The door locks, making sure that I won't escape until he lets me out.
I wrap my arms around my naked body, trying my best not to whimper. I know that if I took down one of his shirts or jackets to keep myself warm, that he would only get more pissed off. This was my punishment. To him, I didn't deserve comfort.
I had to get out of here. One of these days, I will get away from him. I will get out from under his thumb. He won't be able to control me. He won't be able to find me this time. Not like he did the last time. I had to think of something. Some way that he won't be able to find me. Some way to stay hidden.
One day he won't be able to find me.