A Place on My Pillow

Polly returned home and stared at the mess that Darren had made. He stood with his back to Polly and she could tell that his good mood was done for. She was in trouble. She was gone too long. She set the bags from the store gently on the counter, trying not to let the pasta make too much noise or the can of mushroom soup hit the countertop too violently. This effort made no difference. Darren swung around and stalked towards her, his eyes dark with pure anger. She could feel the pain in her cheek already, the impact alarming the sensory nerves beneath her skin and sending messages to her brain to make it stop. She would betray herself and not make it stop. She’d let the pain go on. She’d let the impacts cause the nerves to send messages to her brain and her brain making sense when it said to fight back. She wouldn’t fight back. She was too weak. She’d lost the street spunk she had had. She had been tamed.

“Where have you been?” he snarled, shoving her back. She felt the counter dig into the small of her back. It could’ve been worse, she thought.

“I couldn’t find the pasta we like so I had to search for awhile for it.”

Darren didn’t look convinced.

“You went to see Alex, didn’t you?” he snarled, pressing a hand into Polly’s throat. Her torso was pushed backwards until she hit the cabinet behind her. She let out a small whimper.

“N-no,” she said, tearing beginning to fill her eyes.

“I don’t believe you,” he snarled. “I don’t like when you lie to me.”

He lifted her up, her feet raising from the floor. She scratched at his hands, her airway blocked. He chuckled, the sound dark and sinister. She couldn’t think of anything, except for how Alex was right.

“Let me go,” Polly choked out. Darren smiled darkly and let go. Polly crashed to the ground, probably breaking her leg or something equally as painful. She briefly wondered if she’d make it out alive but she cast the thought away. It wasn’t the time for such thoughts. She needed to focus on not crying. Although, with the sudden kick to her gut, she wasn’t sure that was a possibility. Several followed, to her stomach and ribs and shoulders. She wasn’t sure where after that, since every single part of her body was exploding with pain. Darren dragged her by her ankles out of the kitchen and into their dining room. He sat her up, watched as she swayed back and forth. Tears coated her cheeks and her lip trembled. She was leaned against the wall as Darren pushed her head, letting it loll from side to side. He leaned in and pressed a harsh kiss to her lips before he drew away and CRACK, his fist collided with her nose. She couldn’t tell if it hurt or not. She guessed it had. Her body was now trying to use all of it’s energy to keep all her organs working. It had abandoned the pain response about three hits ago.

“Please, Darren. Stop.”

“No.”

He gripped her hair, smirked and slammed her head backwards once, twice, three times. He sat back and watched as her body tried to stay conscious, half of her fighting to let the pain take over while the other half fought to stay alive. The sides warred inside of her and finally, it was all too much. She fell to the side and was out. He let out a dark, almost sinister chuckle, picked up her limp body and carried her out of the apartment.