Impulse

Emma sat quietly in the small space that was the hallway closet. Thighs pressed to her chest as she covered her mouth with her right hand, her stomach caved in, sobs pushed against her lips. She let out a shaky breath through her nose, the sound ten times louder than she had expected. Footsteps came down the hallway, dragging, forcing the floors to creak underneath his weight.

Brian stood in the hallway, the house was dimly lit, the light from their room illuminating their hallway, quiet. Hands curled into fists, Brian looked around, listening for her. Stepping forward, he listened to the sound of creaking floorboards. She had run away from him, he knew she was upstairs, where she was, he wasn’t sure. He was waiting for her to sniffle, sob, or whimper. He knew she would, he was going to be patient, she couldn’t stay quiet for long.

Emma swallowed hard, warm tears falling down her face quickly as she backed away from the door. She pulled her hand away from her face, wiping at her nose, she smeared blood to her cheeks. Bruises littered her back, chest, and legs. Four cigarette burns covered Emma’s right forearm, a cut was above her eyebrow, another on her cheek. Her nose was bleeding, possibly broken.

After Emma had gotten her phone from Julian, one week ago. Things had become worse between her and Brian. His attitude towards his wife had become colder, almost hateful. Beatings had become worse, lasting hours, becoming games of hide and seek. He had resulted in humiliating Emma, spitting on the woman, calling her worthless, a failure. Screaming in her face, mocking her when she would cry, leaving her alone for hours at a time.

Forcing sex upon Emma had been one of Brian’s nightly activities, it seemed to be his favorite. She remembered the way he moved, the way he moaned and grabbed her roughly. The bruises on her hips and thighs was proof. A shadow cast over her, letting her know that Brian was standing in front of the door. Closing her eyes, she clamped a hand over her mouth.

Brian stood outside of the door, his breathing ragged as he listened for her. Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Looking down at the closet, he backed away enough to where his shadow was gone. Watching closely, he smirked, he knew where she was. Taking in a breath, Brian stepped towards the door, grabbing the knob, twisting it and pulling the door open.

Looking up at Brian in fear, Emma cowered away, the wind knocked out of her as his shoe covered foot struck her in the stomach. She groaned loudly, pain erupting through her body as he grabbed her by her shirt collar. Jerking his wife up, Brian looked down at her face, his fist snapping back in a fast motion, striking forward just as quick.

Emma took the punch, she knew there wasn’t anything she could do. Her legs ached, her body throbbed, she was too tired, too timorous, too ineffectual to fight back. He had her where he wanted her, and she realized that there wasn’t anything she could do to get out of this situation. A cold liquid hit her in the face, she knew he had spit on her. She was dropped to the ground, her body curling into the fetal position. Wiping the saliva from her face, Emma cried out when Brian stomped down on her hand.

He picked her up, turning her around so that her back was against his front. He gripped her hair, pushing forward with great force, he slammed her face into the white wall in front of her. The girl went limp, unable to brace herself for the next head on collision with the wall, or the two that came after that. Satisfied, Brian dropped her, watching as she fell backwards to the floor.

Emma’s eyes stay closed, her head throbbing, her nose’s bleeding becoming more aggressive. Saliva landed on the girl’s face for the second time that night, the sound of Brian chuckling came afterward. He walked away, the noise of his footsteps retreating was music to Emma’s ears as she lay in the middle of the hallway, the blood from her nose clogged her sinuses, forcing her to breathe through her mouth.

She could feel sleep creeping ever so swiftly over her. Her body was sore, throbbing, her mind exhausted. She swallowed, opening her mouth again, breathing in and out in a slow pace as she began to slip. Coughing as blood ran down her throat, she turned to her side, blood sliding down her face before dripping to the floor. Yawning soundlessly, Emma closed her eyes, fatigue taking over her body.

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James Owen Sullivan sat in front of the Haner house hold. His phone was pressed to his ear as he tapped his foot against the gas pedal. He needed to grab an acoustic guitar from Brian, he had told his friend what time he would be over, and not to leave. Hanging up his phone, he pushed it into his pocket. He cursed under his breath and got out of the car, seeing Emma’s vehicle in the driveway.

Walking up to the house, Jimmy wrapped long fingers around the knob, pushing the door open. Looking around, he noticed that the living room was messy, a lamp broken next to the couch, and the photo that hung beside their door now lay beside his feet, large pieces of glass surrounding it. Furrowing his eyebrows, he closed the door behind him, walking further into the house.

“Brian? Emma? Are you guys home?” He asked.

Looking around, he peeked into the kitchen, one of the drawers were open, a large knife sat on the floor. Raising his eyebrows, Jimmy walked on to the staircase. Grabbing the railing, he walked up the stairs slowly. Reaching the top, he stopped, staring into their bedroom. He pushed the door open, filling the hallway with light as he stepped inside. Seeing the guitar sitting next to the bed, he walks over, grabbing the instrument by the neck.

Turning off the light, Jimmy walked out of the room. Shutting the door behind him, he turned his head to the left, hearing the noise of nails against the hardwood floors. A look of confusion washed over the tall man’s features as he reached to his side, turning of the hallway light. Panic hit at what he saw, dropping the guitar to the floor as he jogged over to where she was.

“Emma. Look at me, what happened?” He asked, kneeling down to grab her head in his hands.

She didn’t respond, instead she turned over on her side, her head resting on his legs. Sniffling, Emma swallowed blood, and before she knew it she was being lifted from the ground. She rested her head against his chest, the sound of him muttering curses under his breath made a smile come over her lips softly. She felt as if something finally cared.

Almost running downstairs and outside, Jimmy unlocked his car doors, opening the back door to place Emma in the seat. She crawled inside, instantly laying down on the leather seats. Sighing, Jimmy shut the door, quickly pulling out his cell phone from his pocket. Walking around to the driver’s side, he opened the door and got inside, slamming it quickly as the person on the other end answered.

“Matt, you will not believe what I found in Brian’s house”