You're So Pretty On the Outside

John and Gena had decided to go out for the night, so Will was staying over. We were in my bed kissing when Grace began to cry.

I pushed him off of me and rushed to pick her up out of her crib. When she didn’t stop crying I bounced her a bit.

“Jesus Christ. Make that child shut up.”

I glared at him a bit and went to leave the room.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“I’m just bringing her out here until she falls asleep so she won’t keep you up.”

“Give her to me.”

He yanked her out of my arms and stormed into the living room.

“Will, what are you doing?” I questioned. He threw her onto the couch and I freaked out. “William, what the fuck are you doing?!”

I tried to go to her and pick her up, but he pushed me away.

“Stay away from her. Let her cry herself to sleep. We can come back and get her later.”

“You son of a bitch. Don’t tell me what to do with my kid.”

I pushed him back, causing him to fall to the ground. He sprang back to his feet and slapped me before I could even comprehend his actions.

“Don’t ever touch me again, bitch. I’ll fucking kill you,” he growled.

I was seething at that point. He was lucky I didn’t take a kitchen knife and shove it into his stomach.

“Get the fuck out of my house!”

“I’ll leave when I’m ready.”

Without thought, I reached forward to grab his wrist and began to drag him toward the front door.

“I thought I told you not to touch me!”

I flinched when he yelled the last four words of his sentence and he shoved me against the wall. He punched me in the stomach and I doubled over, gasping for air.

“Bring her to that fucking babysitter in the morning. I’ll be in bed when you decide to come in.”

I stared at his retreating back in shock as I clutched my abdomen. Grace was still crying hysterically on the couch and I moved to pick her up.

I winced when her body put pressure on the newly forming bruise. It was a rare moment that Grace actually quieted down at the contact.

“It’s okay, Baby. You’re okay. He’ll die if he ever tries to touch you like that. We’ll sleep in Aunt Gena’s room for tonight.”

When we got to the bedroom, I locked the door before going to the bed. I placed her next to me and pulled the blankets over the two of us before drifting into a fitful sleep.

--------------------------------

I woke up the next morning to someone pounding on the door. It was John. I rubbed my eyes as I opened the door for him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, confusion laced in his voice.

“Will and I got in a fight. It was too late for him to leave,” I lied.

He looked at me suspiciously, but didn’t ask about it anymore. Grace was still asleep so he told me to just leave her in the bed.

I did as he said and began making my way to the bathroom. On the way someone yanked on my arm, pulling me into my bedroom. I glanced up to see a furious William looking down at me.

“Why didn’t you come back last night?” he demanded.

“You told me to come back when I was ready. I wasn’t ready,” I said, slightly scared of what he would do to me.

“I wasn’t actually giving you the option. Next time you better listen to me, damn it.”

My eyes slammed shut when he hit the wall behind my head. He lifted my shirt a bit and pushed harshly on the bruise that he had left.

“Think about this spot the next time you decide to act out. I won’t hesitate to do it again.”

I nodded a bit. He had already hit me twice. I didn’t doubt that he would do it again.

“Good girl. Now drop that little hellion of yours off. We’re going to spend the day together.”

I clinched my fists when he insulted my daughter, but I resisted the urge to hit him. I just turned and left the room as quick as possible. I locked myself in the bathroom to shower. I finished quickly and dried off. After deciding not to deal with any makeup, I left the bathroom.

Sam didn’t care what I looked like and neither did anyone in my house. Will was the only person who cared and, if anything, I wanted to look like shit around him. Maybe it would make him stop liking me and just leave.

Luckily, I was on my period and he was too disgusted by it to have sex with me so I could wear whatever I wanted without worrying about him trying to jump me.

I pulled on a simple dress and flats along with a sweater before getting all of Grace’s stuff ready.

“You know, I can’t remember the last time I saw you leave the house without makeup,” Gena commented. “It must have been back when you were still in middle school before you discovered eyeliner.”

I just shrugged. “I was feeling lazy today, I guess.”

“Will told us that he was planning on taking you out after he got back. Don’t you want to be a bit more dressed up for that?”

“Nope,” I said with a bit of an attitude.

My sister just looked at me strangely before wandering off to her room.

I juggled Grace and her diaper bag as I made my way to the car. The drive to Sam’s house wasn’t too far so we arrived within about 10 minutes.

“Hey, Sammie,” I greeted with a smile when he opened the door.

“Hi, Anna. Hello, Gracie Pie,” he cooed.

I smiled fondly when he took Grace out of my arms and into his own. He didn’t mind when she reached up to play with his hair and yanked it. He just laughed. It was heartwarming to see how close the two of them were after only a few months.

“Are you picking her up at the usual time?” he questioned.

He winced when Grace accidentally pulled too hard on one of his longer curls and I laughed, nodding to confirm his question.

We talked for a little bit longer before William texted me saying that he was back at my house. I began the dreaded drive back home wishing that I lived farther away from Sam.