Impulse

Emma sat in her living room, hand wrapped protectively around her phone as her leg bounced up and down, a sign of impatience and nervousness. She chewed at her bottom lip, her curly hair pulled back into a ponytail. It was 10:34 at night, Julian was on his way to Emma’s house, the man had called her 10 minutes ago, letting her know.

Ripping skin from her lip, Emma groaned at the stinging pain that came only seconds later. Sighing softly, she pressed her index finger to her lip; pulling away to see red tint the skin. A loud knock came from the front door; Emma stood slowly, running her hands over her leggings as she walked over. Opening the door; she smiled at Julian who had two bags of food in his hands.

“Thought you might be hungry. I got McDonalds, I hope that’s okay, it was on my way from work” He explained, stepping into the house.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” She answered; back turned to him as she looked around for Brian’s car.

Seeing nothing, she shut the door and turned around, seeing Julian pull out various hamburgers from the bags. Walking over, she took a seat next to him and smiled as he handed her a box. She mentally sighed, her nerves were beginning to take over, her heart rate increasing as she thought about what she was about to do. She knew it was going to help her out of what she was in, help her get away, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to.

She took a bite from the Big ‘N Tasty and sighed, chewing slowly as she thought of the words she was going to say. She wondered how he was going to react, was he going to call her stupid? Was he going to try to help her? She could only imagine, she knew she had to tell, she told him she would. She wanted to tell the truth, she wanted to let him into her life, so he can help her through such a time, she knew there was only so much her family could do.

Something inside told her not to do it, that nothing good would come out of it. Something else told her to do it, to get it over with, that he was going to help her, and get her away from Brian. Pessimism, and optimism . The two sides were so different, yet, no matter how optimistic Emma could be, she knew that he was going to find her, no matter where she went, and if he went to jail, he was going to find her when he got out.

At first, she thought it was love. She thought the man had love for her, that he couldn’t stand to see her with anybody but himself. Only part of that was true. She was a piece of property to him, something that body else should touch, for if they did, there was hell to pay. For once in her life, Emma felt selfish for putting everybody through this, she should just go back to Brian, she thought.

“So, are you going to explain to me why you can‘t go on a date with me? Or are you just going to sit there and stare out the window?” Julian’s voice broke her from her dreaming.

“Huh? Oh, right. Sorry, I just drifted” She chuckled nervously.

“Look, Julian. I’m married. That’s why I can’t go on a date with you, it would be wrong. I don’t want to be unfaithful to my husband” She explained.

“Figured… Was he the only at the café last week?” He asked.

“Uhm, yeah, that was him” She nodded.

“He sure does treat you well, Emma” He said, sitting back.

“Stop that. He’s a good man, Julian. He just gets angry sometimes” She said, looking at him.

“Angry? Is that why he snatched you up like that? Because he was angry that you were having harmless interaction with another person of the opposite sex? Is he that afraid of losing you, that he has to shut you off from the rest of the male population?’ He asked, leaning towards her.

“No. I have male friends, too” She said, quietly.

“Yeah? Male friends that just so happen to be his friends too, am I right?” He asked.

“Well yeah, but we all grew up together, its different” She explained, playing with her nails.

“So, what makes me so different than them? Is it because I don’t know your husband? Does he not trust you, Emma?” He asked.

“I-I don’t know, Julian” She said, truthfully.

“So, why are you here?” He asked, looking at her.

“Just to visit my parents, and Jacob” She nodded.

“Really?” He asked.

“Really” She confirmed.

“So that’s why you’re not wearing your wedding ring? And where did those bruises on your face come from? And the cuts?” He asked.

Emma looked up at Julian, her eyes blank. She was stumped, she didn’t know what to say to him. He had her backed into a corner, she was going to have to tell him. She didn’t know if she could trust him not to tell anybody, she bit her bottom lip. She had to lie to him, she had to find a way out of this. She couldn’t tell him that her husband has been beating her for the past two years.

“Look. Me and Brian aren’t on the best terms right now. So, I came over here to get away from him, there, are you happy now?” She asked.

“If you’ve come to get away, then why is he always around? Don’t think I don’t see him, Emma , because I do. The man has gone full stalker mode on you, he’s always around, he was watching us when we were at the beach, he followed us back to your parents house!” He exclaimed.

“He just wants to make sure I’m okay, Julian” She said.

“What has he done to you to put you in hiding? Tell me the truth, Em. You can trust me, I won’t tell a soul, I promise” He said, placing his hand on top of hers.

“He hurts me. He beats me, he does whatever he can to fulfill his needs. He’s after me, he’s going to get me”

---
Allison Haner sat in her living room, her 2 year old Corgi, Iggy sat in her lap, his head resting against her thigh as he slept peacefully. Allison chewed the gum in her mouth, blowing a bubble when there was a violent knock at her door. Iggy jumped from her lap quickly, the small dog running to the front door. Cursing under her breath, Allison stood up, running over to her front door, the sound of her dog barking becoming almost unbearable.

Opening the door, she was shocked to see her twin brother, Brian standing in front of her, Iggy smelling his shoes. Letting Brian in, Allison shut the door behind him, walking after him. Allison was Brian’s twin sister, older by only a minute. She was surprised not to see Emma with him. She shrugged, figuring they had gotten into a fight.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, sitting beside him.

“What do you mean by that? I can’t come by and see my sister for once?” He asked, scratching Iggy’s stomach.

“No, you only come over here when something is wrong. Now, tell me what happened” She said, shooing Iggy away.

“Nothing, me and Emma got in a fight is all” He explained, running his fingers through his hair.

Allison nodded, sitting back. Inside, Allison had always wanted to have children, and have a husband to call her own. To be totally truthful, Allison was jealous of Brian, she was jealous that he had a woman who loved him, and a child. Yes, she knew that Amelia had been taken away, she still didn’t know why to this day. Seeing Brian was rare, the two seemed to be happy.

“Wanna talk about it?” She asked.

“Nothing big. Emma just wants to have another baby, you know. I said no, she freaked out on me and ran off to her parents house. I saw her last night with some creep, I think she might be cheating. Now here I am” He said.

“Oh. Why don’t you want to have another baby?” She asked.

“Not the right time” He answered, shrugging his shoulders.

“Oh, understandable” She said.

“Hey, I need you to do me a favor, okay?” He asked.

“Uhm, yeah. Sure. What is it?” She retorted.

Brian stared at his sister intently. She looked confused, and slightly frightened. He smiled at her, his hands gripping the material of his jeans as he chewed at his bottom lip. He was going to have her back, very soon, he knew it. He had to get her in the right place, at the right time, and he knew exactly how to do it. The smile faded, covered with a serious look.

“I need you to follow Emma, for me. Make sure she‘s not going off with another man. If she does, I want you to tell me, and when she does, I want you to find her, and bring her to me. I‘ll take care of things after that” He explained.

“You want me to spy, on your wife? And then you want me to basically kidnap her and bring her… To you?” She asked, eyebrow raised.

“You got the first part right, cupcake. I don’t want you to kidnap her. I want you to “run” into her at the place she just so happens to be at. Invite her to come back to your place, so you two can catch up, and I’ll be waiting here for you. Turn her over to me, and that will be it” He explained.

“Why? Why can’t you do it yourself?” She asked.

“Because she’s mad at me, Allison. She’s not going to want to talk to me, so when you get here, I’m going to try to talk to her, and if she doesn’t want to talk to me, then I’ll let her go” He lied.

“Fine” She said, sighing.

“We’ve got a deal then?” He asked.

“Deal”