I Am Your Safe Haven

I pulled on my Rochester Americans sweatshirt and sat down on my couch. I had been home for twenty minutes but couldn't stop thinking about this afternoon. Kelly kept dropping hints that Brayden was interested in me. I knew I wasn't the type of girl he would be interested in. That's just the way it was. He needed the typical, model-like girl. I was the down home girl who wanted to stay in sweats with no makeup and eat fried foods.

I had my flaws, namely my judge of character. If my judge of character was great, I wouldn't have married Nathan at 18. I wasn't the skin and bones girl, I had quite a bit of meat on me since I loved my fried chicken although I had less meat on my bones due to my last year of marriage.

I looked at the paper on my coffee table and wondered if it was Brayden who left his phone number or if it was a joke. I picked it up and Skittles jumped up, knocking it out of my hand. She rubbed all over me and started to purr.

"If I don't get anybody else, at least I have you," I said, rubbing her head and leaning back.

She rubbed my nose and kissed the end of it, purring loudly the whole time. "Mommy loves you too Skittles," I said, feeling my eyelids get heavy.

********************

I tried to get up but was frozen in fear. This was new. Nathan never pulled his gun on me before. "No Nathan, please don't..." I said, my voice quivering. "I will do anything..."

"Shut up you whore!" he roared at me. "Don't speak!"

I shut my mouth, knowing it would be better to not aggravate him further. We stared at each other for the longest time and I knew that I needed to get out. I couldn't stay married to him. Even though it would be hard I knew I had to leave.

As I took a deep breath, he dropped his gun and fell down to his knees. "I am so sorry baby! I didn't mean it, I didn't mean any of it!" he said, grabbing me in his arms.

I didn't resist him and it was hard not to, knowing that I wasn't in love with him anymore.

*********************

I sat up and seen Skittles curled up on top of the coffee table. A snow plow hit the street with a thunk and I checked out the window to see more snow. My TV was on the Rochester Americans game and I seen Brayden skate to the bench. He said something to Luke Adam and Luke just shook his head.

I turned the TV off and went into my bedroom after grabbing my leftover chicken tenders. I turned my TV on the game in my room and soon after, Skittles sauntered in. "It was just a dream again Skittles," I said. "I wish it all was just a dream."

They showed Brayden skating around the goal and him being chased by his opponent as he waited for the line change. Skittles looked at me and then back at the TV where Brayden was still displayed. I knew in her own strange way, she was trying to tell me that Brayden wasn't just a dream.