Life Over Love (3 page)

 
          Even though Chelsea had her own twin bed, they slept together, one at the foot and the other at the head.
          He was glad they played well together and genuinely wanted them to be close to each other.  Brody had already turned over towards the wall when he came in to tuck them in, but Chelsea was laying quietly expectantly looking up at him.
          “Daddy are you too mad to read me a story?”  He swallowed hard before answering “No, baby have I ever been too mad to read to you?”  She brightened and said “K, cuz I love when you read my favorite stories.” She snuggled into the pillow.  He sat on the floor by the bed and read sleeping beauty.  When he finished the story Chelsea’s green eyes were flickering sleepily as she tried to stay awake longer.
              He bent down to kiss her good night, and her little arms curled around his neck.  “Daddy, can I marry a prince when I grow and be a princess?” He smiled “yes baby, you’ll marry a prince.”  She was almost asleep, but kept talking. “I wanna marry a handsome prince like you daddy, but not a mean one, daddy, you’re a mean prince.”
          He looked taken aback for a minute; he wasn’t sure what to say. He cleared his tight throat “uh hem, well, I love you baby goodnight.”  She’d rolled over and murmured “I love you too.”  Mike closed the door, cleaned up the living room, and worried about that conversation all night.
          While they were in church, he’d spent the day thinking about what he had done, and had hoped to talk to Brianna about how much he really loved her. He vowed that he wasn’t going to lose it like that ever again.
On the way home Brianna sat with her head back and pretended to sleep.                                                                                        She wanted to avoid meaningless conversation, so when Mike asked how church went, she ignored him, and he just turned up the radio.  She thought if it happens one more time, I’m calling that number, before one of us has to die, I’m calling that number.
          That night she prayed for guidance and love.  She prayed that things could work out for their family, and for a long while she thought things were really back to good. Her life felt right for a while…

4

M
any months went by that were wonderful for her family. So much so that Brianna started to feel as if the pain of the past were nothing more than a few bad dreams.  Things were going great and just like that, something created by Mike’s explosive imagination, snapped in him, and he resumed the destruction of Brianna’s hope.
          Fights became a constant in their home once again, but this was the most brutal attack to date. It was a fierce war brought on by some twisted jealous fit; Brianna’s refusal to back down had nearly landed her in the morgue.
          When she came to, she had felt disoriented, but her aching body served as a reminder of exactly where she was.   After what seemed like hours she got out of the bath, dried her bruised sore body, and donned the softest night gown she could find. 
            She would have liked to go to church, but she was in no condition.  She got out her bible and settled down to read herself to sleep.  Brianna decided to read the book of Esther, when something scrawled across the bottom of the thin page caught her eye.  There it was in green crayon, a phone number that she had forgotten all about until now. 
          Mike was out, he had taken the kids to visit his mom, almost an hour away.  She got up too quickly and winced from the pain.  She started looking for the phone.  She could not remember where she had left the dang blasted phone.   Some people just shouldn’t be trusted with remotes, keys, or portable freakin’ phones!
          It must have gotten tossed around during their fight because she found the batteries on the floor, and after picking up a turned over armchair, she found the phone.  In her excitement she felt less damaged and walked a little faster to get the number.  A plan was formed. 
          As hard as it was to tell a perfect stranger her situation, the soft voice on the other line provided comfort.  They discussed a way to meet.  If she could get a ride to the police station someone trustworthy would be there with in minutes to pick her up, on the date of her choice.  Her mind worked in a frenzy to think of a day that she could leave without him knowing her plans. 
          Truthfully she wanted to leave right then and was a little disappointed to know that she would have to involve someone she knew in her deceit.  She wouldn’t really have left her babies anyways, so she decided on the Saturday after next.  It was no coincidence however that it also happened to be a very important day.  A day to celebrate, it was after all Mike’s birthday.
         Mike came home to a Brianna he’d grown to miss.  She was smiling again, although her eyes had dark circles underneath, they shined like they used to when he’d walked her home from school.  She was talkative and happy again.  He promised himself that this would be a new fresh start, a chance for him to be better this time. 
          She told him that she was going to donate some of the kid’s old clothes to a shelter in Atlanta. He helped her with the laundry.  She felt giddy with anticipation.  She went through the kids clothes every day, instead of getting rid of their outgrown clothes, she put all the clothes that still fit into trash bags, and marked DONATE on each one. 
          She enlisted the help of her mom, once she was on board Brianna’s worries that somehow she would be found out began to be replaced by confidence that she would not fail. 

5

T
he days approaching Mike’s party were busy, filled with her preparations to fix her future.  She made sure to put a few articles of her clothing into the donation bags, she put her address book in her purse, and frequently squirreled away spare change just in case. 
          Everything was falling into place.  Under the guise of a day of shopping with her mom, Mike expected Brianna to drop off the donation bags, and meet him at his mom’s house, where his family was throwing a big birthday bash in his honor. 
          The mixture of elation, nervousness, and terror were enough to make her sick, but when her mom showed up ready to “shop” she and the kids were ready. 
          Her mom visited for a while and Mike helped put the bags in the trunk.  He got the kids situated in their car seats and turned towards Brianna.  She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him like she did when they were teenagers. 
          “I’ll see ya at the party Mike.” She put her cheek on his then whispered in his ear “happy birthday.”  She turned on her heel, jumped in the car, and never looked back.
          Mike watched the car leave.  He wasn’t sure why he felt like he was in for the worst surprise of his life.  It was all he could do not to run after the car.  He shook off the weird feeling, went into the house, and started getting ready for his party. The ride to the police station was quiet.  Brianna’s mother was usually a spunky little lady, with mischievous green eyes, and had a witty sense of humor. 

If she hadn’t been so worried about her daughter, she would have been more excited about her James Bond like role in their plan of escape.
“So what’s next, babe?”  Mary asked without taking her eyes off the road.  Brianna looked out the window for a minute before she answered.  “There’s supposed to be a phone that I can use at the station to call the number the lady gave me.  Someone from the shelter is going to pick us up from there.” 
          Brianna felt betrayed by the tears that threatened.  Her emotions were raw and her mind was confused.  Brianna had anticipated a liberated feeling, one of endless possibilities.  Instead of the lighthearted feeling she had expected, she felt nervous to the point of distraction. 
          She worried that instead of fleeing towards a safe haven, she was taking not only herself, but her precious babies, to an unfamiliar place, around strangers, and having learned the hard way that sometimes you can’t even trust those you love, she was scared.  That thought alone was enough to cause her heart to pound loudly in her ears.  Instead of freedom she felt oppression.
          Her throat was so tight, she felt sure to choke, and she could barely speak for fear that she would cry out loud all the doubts filling her mind.
Mary sensed the fear her daughter was feeling, although she didn’t know the extent of the abuse Brianna had been suffering for so long, she knew Brianna’s fiercely loyal nature made the decision to leave a hard one, and she knew that it must’ve been horrific if it warranted taking those babies out of the only home they’d ever know. 
          They had spent increasingly less time together over the years.  Brianna had let relationships with close family and friends fade away.  She had cocooned herself in her home.  She had isolated herself, too ashamed of the pitiful state of her life.  Mary wished she could erase the pain she heard in her baby’s voice, but she felt confident that Brianna would be fine. 
          For so long Mary feared that Brianna had been lost, that her spirit had been crushed, but when she saw the defiant look she gave Mike right before that good bye kiss, she knew her baby was back!
          She smiled and covered Brianna’s hand with her own.  “Call me when you get settled baby, I know you didn’t make this decision lightly.  I have faith in my heart, thing are going to work out fine, so you can be happy sweetie.” 
          Brianna turned away from the window and looked at her mother’s hand covering hers.  Those hands so small, yet so sure, so much like her own had always held her in times when she needed strength.  They never failed to comfort her. 
          The love in that gesture along with her words, were enough to calm the hysterics.  Where doubt and regret had threatened to drown her, her mother had planted a seed of encouragement that made room for hope.  She felt sad that she had let her embarrassment rob her of the close relationship they once shared. 
          As soon as they turned into the parking lot of the city police station Brianna impulsively hugged her mother tight.  “I will mom, I love you.” They held each other like that for a while, neither one wanting to let go.  Reluctantly Mary released her hold on her daughter and together they all went inside.