The Wreckage chapter 2

The nightlight part two

    The training exercise continued to play in my thoughts, just like years of practice.  I reacted in the same manner. Touch the weapon. Fire the weapon. Set the weapon down, check target. Then fire again, but I had no need to fire again. I set the Ruger down on the edge of my bed. Trapped in Jason’s gaze, I felt numb.  His gleaming stare searched my soul, demanding answers.  Heat welled up from the pit of my stomach. What had I done? I blinked in self-defense.  I wanted to run but to where?
 
Merging on the floor were all my fears and rage there with his blood. I always knew this day would come.  If not today, years from now. He would never be able to walk away from his hate and shame. The only way he could lay it down was in death. Now my question is, will I be able to lay this down? I strained to blink. I just took a life. Car doors shut in the distance. They seemed a world away.
 
 This room would no longer be a peaceful oasis. Lavender and crimson don't mix. Even if I could lift the stain, I cannot erase this memory.  Jason and I would be bound by this act, binding us for always.

I wanted to leave the room, but my bare feet were lead-filled.  A deafening silence filled the room with heaviness.  I stood at his side and trembled. The screaming and yelling from moments earlier played in my thoughts.
 
My ears started ringing. The pounding in my head wouldn't stop. My trembling body started shaking. I couldn't catch my breath; intense heat washed over me.  The sound of the sirens brought me back from some distant trap,  a mental loop I kept replaying. Still tied to his gaze I tried to speak, but no words came. The pounding and the ringing rushed together. Images of him yelling, hitting, kicking and then reasoning echoed in a round-robin fashion.
 
I reached to rub the pain in my left shoulder and found a sticky mess repulsive to the touch. I quickly recoiled my hand, shocked to see it covered in blood. My knees buckled. I wanted to move, but I could not escape his defiant stare.  A loud pounding surrounded me. Light fled the room. Blackness swept over me as I swam in endless twilight; I thought I spied something in his gaze.
 
“Cindy, Cindy can you hear me?” Deputy James asked. I could hear his voice calling me back, but I could not find the light. A speck of hope that hovered somewhere in the distance. Somehow it eluded me, leaving me alone with nothing but the memory of his gaze.

 “Quite the wreckage” officer James stated.
 
“Hard to believe I just saw her at the Town N Country this morning.” Melissa the EMT said. “She has a severe gash on the back of her head and has lost a lot of blood.
 I could hear them but seemed to be floating, whirling, reaching for something to grab on to. Melissa took my pulse. With the touch of her hand, her warmth freed me from my slumber. I began gasping for breath, as my eyes came into focus I could see the smelling salts in her hand. “I’m sorry.” Rang out for no real reason. Then I saw his foot, and every detail burst into place. I sat up.
 
“Slow down.” They said in unison.
 
“I think I fainted. I couldn’t stop looking at his eyes.”
 
“Cindy,” the voice came from behind me. I turned my head to see the town sheriff and my secret love.

 I reached my hand toward Greg. “Sheriff,” I said like I hardly knew the man.  He took my hand and helped me to my feet.

A bolt of lightning fired, it began to rain, and with the rain, my tears were freed.

“I'm going to let my deputy process this mess. I’ll follow the ambulance to the ER. They can give you a quick once-over. Then you can give me a statement.” I knew his on the clock voice all too well. I dispatched for the man for over a decade; not to mention we had been secretly dating for a very long time. If it hadn't been for Mother's cancer, I would still be dispatching. I nodded my head, the order of events were set. Nothing left but to clean up the wreckage.

Author's Note

the ending soon to follow

Reviews

[Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn..]

Had to stop in for a second look ... I see a smoothly presented progression into the meat and heart of your story unfolding ...

[Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn..]

A smoking piece of writing that I found a great revelation as to the intestinal fortitude of those men tend to consider as helpless, defenseless, dainty, and feminine, for even the weak and meek will rise to defend themselves if tormented long enough ... The question now remains of where she will go from here? ... Freed from one abusive relationship by her gut survival instincts and the contemplative smoldering flame of many previous beatings, will she find a way to live a happier, fuller, life, or will she naively seek out another relationship that will yield her a return to the same type of abuse, failing to recognize that the very traits that attract her to a man are also the carriers of the very abusive traits that have led her to the actions of this night of wreckage? … I am sure you will weave your words into a marvelous way of answering these questions your readers may hold forth … I am curious to see how this story turns out upon its completion, awaiting the next segment ...

Marvin Thomas Cox-Flynn

[Cherrie Palmer]

I've been fighting with myself on the ending