Pushing Me Away

(Luna's POV/Narrator)

Luna woke up in a daze, not really remembering exactly what had happened in the moments before she went unconscious. She stood up from off of the floor, trying to keep her balance steady. She somehow managed to make it to the bathroom where she looks herself over in the large mirror. She's absolutely mortified by what she sees. Her face is swollen and puffy, her right eye is completely shut, there's bloodstains that linger around her mouth and chin where Adam must have hit her repeatedly. She collapses in a heap on the cold tile, the tears rushing down her face. She had no idea what time it was but from the eerie silence that echoed off of the walls she knew Adam was gone out of the house. She eventually pulls it together long enough to make it to her bedroom. She reaches for her address book still safely tucked away inside her bag and this time scans it over slowly and with less urgency. It's then she finds a small note scribbled in a handwriting she had never seen before. Her eyes widened in disbelief and her heart begins to race some rapidly when she suddenly realizes that it must be from Chester, the man she had met in the coffee shop earlier in the morning after her interview.

It read as follows; If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always willing to listen and help. Stay strong- Chester. Then at the very bottom, was in fact, his phone number. But Luna couldn't call him from her phone, Adam had kept constant watch on it and monitored all of her messages and calls. Damn it, she cursed loudly. It seemed that there was no way for her to escape, no way for her to reach out to the awfully sweet man who offered to help her. Luna felt as if she was never going to break free of Adam's hold. On the verge of tears once more, she finally decided to look at the clock that sat atop her nightstand. It was four in the afternoon, meaning that she had been out cold for hours. A sense of anger suddenly overcomes her as she then starts to remember that Adam was out, seeing that other woman. How could she be so stupid? She never should have returned home, she should have asked for help when Chester had immediately offered it to her. Then she wouldn't have suffered and endured the painful punishment that she did. If only he could see me now, she thought to herself. He wouldn't want to get involved, he'd probably just run away, like all the others did.

(Chester's POV/Narrator)

When Chester had finally returned home that afternoon, he knew that Ava had already finished with her business with that "Adam" person. He could tell by the smell that lingered in the air once he had walked in, he could tell by the mess of blankets that lay on the floor, he could tell by the smile on Ava's face as she slept soundly in their bed. In the event of starting an argument, he didn't bother to disturb her by saying that he was home, instead, he went directly into the living room and sat on the sofa. The tears burned hot as they ran down his face. Why did he continue to live his life like this? Why couldn't he just find the courage to tell her that he was through, that he didn't want to hurt anymore? Why did he have to be so naive and truly believe that things would get better between the two if he just tried harder to fix it? It was wishful thinking, was all it was. Ava didn't want to work on it, Ava didn't want things to get better. She just wanted to keep things the way they were that way she could have her cake and eat it too. She got to have nice things, go on trips, and still see her lover. But not Chester, he was completely empty. Not a thing inside except his heart that beat sadly.

As he flips through the channels on the Tv aimlessly, he starts to wonder about Luna. He wonders if she's okay, if she made it home, if she was the one who was in danger. He didn't want to mention it on the off chance that he would upset her more, but he saw the bruises she tried so hard to cover up when he first saw her fully. He saw the terrible scars and blotches on her skin, it made his blood boil to think that someone was laying a hand on her. She was too beautiful, too delicate, too sweet to be treated like a dog on the side of the road. She was a human being for God's sake, not just some punching bag. He stared up at the clock and checked his phone every so often, secretly hoping, wishing, that she would call or message him. He also hoped that whoever was doing those awful things to her didn't find his note. He didn't want to cause more harm or get her into any sort of danger more than she was already dealing with. "When did you get here?" Comes Ava's voice from behind him. He shrugs his shoulders casually, flatly stating that he had been home for over an hour already. "Well, you're still sleeping here." Was all she retorts before walking away from him and heading back into their bedroom. Chester can hear the sounds of her laughing, probably on the phone with "Adam". He turned the volume to a maximum to drown out the sounds as best as he could.

I glance down a few minutes later, seeing my phone light up instantly. A number I didn't recognize was calling me, and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I really hoped that it was Luna who was calling. "Hello?" I asked curiously, hearing the complete sound of silence on the other end. A voice finally responded after a few moments, it was so low and soft I could hardly make out what it was trying to say. It definitely had to be her, there was no doubt about it now. "Luna? Hey, is everything okay?" She sounds like if she's trying to stay quiet and hidden, I listen as hard as I can until she instructs me to meet her at a park not too far from my home, actually. I tell her that I'll be there as quickly as I can and that I'll meet her underneath the big oak tree in the center. She agrees and tells me to hurry. I slip on my shoes and grab my keys, not bothering to even mention it to Ava that I was leaving and bolt out of the front door. The drive to the park is short, only about four minutes, I shut off the engine and start on the small journey to where we had agreed to meet. The spot is vacant once I arrive, immediately causing a sense of panic to rise in me. I hope she can make it.

(Luna's POV/Narrator)

This is it, I finally am going to break out, Luna repeats that to herself over and over as she rounds up a few of her personal belongings and a few articles of clothing into a large bag. She's really doing this, she's really going to trust a complete stranger to help get her out. But anything is better than being abused and tortured by Adam, she could care less if the man was a serial killer for all she knew. But something told Luna to trust him, that she could count on him, and that's what she did. She grabbed her phone and keys before hoisting the bag over her shoulder. Adam still hadn't returned from wherever he went to and she knew time was running out fast, he could be pulling up at any moment. She tried not to think about what would happen if she were to get caught or if he were to see her leaving, surely she'd be killed by him this time, there was no doubting that. Hell, Luna was surprised that he didn't manage to kill her just this last time. The pain radiated from her face to her head, making it hard to keep her focus as she tried to remember if she left anything behind. With her vision blurred, she did her best to walk towards the front door without falling down.

When she finally managed to turn the knob, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming up the small flight of steps. She slips into panic mode, the fear gripping tightly onto her as she races the opposite way, hiding herself in the small linen closet. The tears had started to pour down Luna's face as she began to curse silently at herself for taking so long, now she was never going to break free. "Luna? Luna, where are you?" She could hear Adam's deep voice coming closer and closer as he started to rummage through different places she could be hiding. She knew she couldn't risk another beating, she couldn't risk the chance that Adam would find out about Chester, so without much thinking, she slid her phone into a pocket of a coat hanging beside her and drew in a sharp breath before revealing herself. "I'm right here." She says, her voice hoarse and raw from all the screaming and crying that had occurred earlier. Adam comes to her side, taking her still swollen face in his hands. "You look awful, you really shouldn't be seen, especially like that. Make sure you don't leave the house for a few weeks, you might scare away half of the town." His jokes are cruel and hurtful, but Luna does her best to disregard his comments. She was so close, she thought. So damn close.

"What were you doing in there anyways?" His voice suddenly starts to become irritated, Luna knows this could mean trouble. "I was sorting clothes, trying to find stuff to donate to the Goodwill." Another lie, but it was to save her own self. Adam opens the door roughly, looking around inside instinctively as if he's going to find something he shouldn't. There's nothing suspicious, except when he stops suddenly, the sound of vibration could be heard. He reaches into the exact pocket that Luna had stashed her cell phone. He glares at her menacingly before proceeding to answer it. "Hello? Who's this? How did you get this number?" Clearly there's no response on the other end as Adam now grows more frustrated. "Don't fucking call this number again, whoever you are. Or you'll regret it." He then does the unthinkable and smashes the phone into tiny pieces underneath him. Luna watches in horror as her only means of ever leaving are torn to shreds. He starts to reach for her, but she backs away slowly. "Adam, don't. I don't know who that was, it was probably a wrong number." Her voice is trembling now as she starts to shake violently. "Shut up! I don't want to hear your lies! You're a liar!" His voice is deadly now as he lunges at her, this time managing to grab a hold of her already torn shirt collar. "You're going to pay for playing these games with me."

(Chester's POV/Narrator)

Chester stood there in complete shock, his heart instantly breaking as he heard the sound of dial tone on the other end of the phone. It was too late, Luna had been clearly found when she didn't want to be. But that voice, that damn voice sounded so familiar. He just couldn't remember where he had exactly heard it before. It was raspy and deep, almost like it belonged to an old man. Why, why was this so hard to figure out! He thought long and hard as he sat on the lonely bench, his head hanging low in his hands. "I couldn't save her, I couldn't fucking do a thing to help." Tears were seeming to run down his face now as he pictured a horrific scene. He could imagine Luna, laying there motionless and beaten. It absolutely tore him apart inside, he had never even met this woman before until today and now all of a sudden his world was being turned upside down by it. He didn't care if she didn't know him, he didn't care if he didn't even really know her or who she was, what he really cared about was being able to help her when she clearly needed it. He knew for a fact she was a victim of domestic violence, that she was being hurt by someone, he had seen it before, the signs were all too familiar. He couldn't go to the police, he had no idea where she lived or anything.

He decided to call her again but this time it went straight to voicemail. He didn't dare leave a message, but he continued on for the next fifteen minutes, leaving a total of twenty calls. He had to know that she was okay, he had to know that she was at least still alive. "Fuck!" He cursed loudly into the sky as the same thing happened each time, no answer. Clearly defeated after he waited for another ten minutes without any sort of response, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked back to his car. He had no other choice, he didn't know what else to do. "Please, God. I need to know that she's okay, please." But there was no indication of that happening anytime soon as his phone rang but it was only Ava, frantically screaming for him to come home because she didn't say that he could leave or go somewhere without asking or at least telling her first. He didn't say anything in reply, instead he simply just hung up on her. He had more important things to worry about and she wasn't one of them anymore. "Please, let Luna be okay. Please, don't let anything happen to her." He pleaded a few more times before slamming his fists angrily into the steering wheel. He wasn't going to get very far like this, he had to figure out a way to get to her. But how?

(Narrator)

Adam had relentlessly kicked, smacked, hit, and choked Luna until the very last gasp of air was sucked out of her. He dropped her, like a piece of trash onto the floor, a bloody and bruised mess. She was knocked out cold, both eyes almost completely swollen shut this time. "I hope you're happy with yourself, Luna. You did this, you pushed me to go this far. Now this time you'll know that I mean what I say. Don't cross me again, or you won't be lucky enough to wake up anymore. And if I found out you're cheating, I'll do the same to whoever he is." His words were laced with an awful venom as he spoke, but Luna obviously couldn't respond. She only managed to hear the last part and it shook her to the core. She couldn't let him find out about Chester, she had to keep him hidden away at all costs. Even if she didn't know this man, she knew deep down that there was something special about him. She couldn't let Adam get to him, she swore that on her life, she would protect this mystery angel of a man as long as she could. She had to erase any trace of him, she had to pretend he didn't exist. It was for the best right now, it was for the best of them both.