A Sad Truth

"Where were you?!" Dean shouted at Lauren when she closed the front door. It was four in the morning and she was very tired. He sat in a lounge chair in the living room that you had to pass to get to the stairs. His face was angry and his lips were firm and thin.

"It's none of your business where I go." Lauren said trying to make a run for the stairs. Dean quickly blocked the stairs..

"It was the last time you went out with a guy."

"That was three years ago. I'm not a teenager anymore."

"You're still my little sister."

"Just because I'm the youngest of three doesn't matter. I love Jacob and he loves me for me."

"You said that the last time. Was beating you until you bruised a way of love?"

"If he wanted to hurt me, he would've done it already. He's different than the others."

 

Dean looked very hard at Lauren. He knew he wasn't going to win this argument.

"Fine. If I find out that he hurts you..." Dean started to say.

"What? You'll nearly kill him?" Lauren asked interrupting her older brother.

"Go to bed." Dean said getting out of the way of the stairs.

 

Lauren walked up the stairs and into her room. She plopped down on the cool bed and starred out the window into the dead of night. In her reflection on the window, she saw the nineteen year old girl. She had bruises on her arms and her right eye was black. Lauren closed her eyes and three years ago came to her...

 

..."Ron?" Lauren asked her boyfriend who was in the bathroom at a party. He was drunk and started going toward her. She backed up from him until she found herself cornered. When he got closer, he started to go for her chest.

"Ron, what are you doing?!" She slapped him when he barely put his hand on her. He looked back at Lauren and when she almost got to the door, he pulled her back by her hair. She hit the tile floor and heard the sound of the door being locked.

"Come here." Ron said very angrily. He rolled her over and got on top of her. She saw his fist come at her...

 

She awoke from the nightmare with her heart beating faster than normal. The sun now started to peek through her window. She sat up in her bed, trying to slow her breathing. Tears started arise around her eyes as she put her knees to her chest.

 

The morning seemed long. Lauren sat out in the fields, feeling the breeze of the morning. The silence consumed her as she sat alone in the grass.

 

When she walked back to the house, she saw her father reading the Sunday Times.

"Is it Sunday?" She asked her father who sat at the kitchen table with a steaming cup of coffee.

"Yes it is, Darling." Her father answered from behind the gray sheets of paper. She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Last service starts in about an hour."

"Thanks, Dad." Lauren said hurrying up the wood stairs to her room.

 

Her hair was a mess and she had no idea what she was going to do. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. "What am I going to do?" She thought to herself. Lauren searched through her closet to find a suitable outfit to wear to church. Shirts and pants were put aside. A dress or skirt would work.

 

"Much better." Lauren said to herself as she admired the skirt and blouse she found. Looking at her phone, she noticed that time was running out. She quickly threw her clothes on and hurried down the stairs. She threw open the door and hurried out to her truck.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Lauren could hear the singing of the choir when she pulled up in front of the white church. She quietly opened the door and crept in. A seat in the very back row was open. When she got there, the reverend stepped up to the podium to begin his sermon.

 

As she strained to listen to every word the pastor had to say, she couldn't focus at all. She slipped in and out of thought. Thoughts that she tucked away for a long time and in a dark place where no one needed to see. The church bell rang as noon passed.

 

"Jacob, I need to talk to you." Lauren said to him through her cell phone as she climbed into her truck.

"Sure, what about?" He asked concerned. She didn't feel like talking to him over the phone.

"I'll tell you later, but can you meet me near the lake?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Thanks. I love you."

"I love you, too."

 

She parked off the dirt road that led to the lake and waited for Jacob to come down the road. A trail of dust flew behind his old Chevy as he slowed down. When he climbed out of the truck, Lauren held him tightly.

 

"What is it?" He asked when she let go. He noticed something shiny forming in her eyes.

"Do you remember last night?" She asked looking up at him.

"Yes. I can't stop thinking about it."

"Last night, I..."

"It's ok. Don't be sorry for what happened. It was my fault."

"No. I'm not talking about when I was with you. I'm talking about after you gave me a lift home."

"Slow down. What are you talking about?"

"After you dropped me off, Dean was waiting for me. And he brought up something I've been burying for years."

 

"My last boyfriend abused me, and raped me." Lauren said painfully to him. Jacob's eyes grew wider as he began to understand. "When I got to my room, the memory of that night haunted me. I wasn't able to get any sleep, heck, I couldn't focus in church this morning."

Jacob stared at her in disbelief. "What did he do to you?"

"He.. he... punched me... tore my clothes off..."

"Ok, ok. Come here." He said taking her into his arms. A warm drop of liquid fell onto his sleeve as she rested her head on his shoulder. "No one's going to hurt you like that again. I promise." He said looking her in the eye.

 

She returned to his shoulder and let a few more tears drop. Her face became sweaty and warm as she cried.

"I thought cowgirls don't cry." Jacob teased trying to get her to smile. A smile came to her wet face and a little chuckle. "Actually, we do sometimes."

Author's Note

Feedback is helpful.
Pic not by me

Reviews

[Heather Maria]

I liked the progression of this chapter and the use of flashback. This is what I meant by a deeper character development. Nice work! I'm super curious to know what happened in the back of that truck. Obviously I don't want to read a lemon, but whether or not Jacob held to his standards.

[J. F. Charleston]

That's something to look forward to. Actually I think I'll add that. If that's alright with you.

[Heather Maria]

A lemon? lol that's up to you, but I think it would be great to add that night with what happened.

[J. F. Charleston]

No not a lemon. To see what Jacob did with his standards.

[Heather Maria]

Yes, I would love to read about that.