It was getting unbearable and every time Lea looked into the mirror, she had a different set of scars. Her eyes had been black and blue so many times she could hardly remember what her real skin tone on her face looked like anymore. She dipped the towel into the cold water and pressed it against the new cut on her face and hissed as the coldness stung.
She gritted her teeth and continued cleaning the wound. Dunking the towel into the sink filled with cold water she squeezed her eyes shut. A slamming door caused her to jerk up and spin around. Water splashed everywhere and she hurriedly cleaned it up.
This was getting out of hand. She had always tried to make excuses for him but now, she had to get out. The next time he grabbed her, he could kill her.
"Lea?" a worried voice called and she darted from the bathroom. She rushed into the open arms of her best friend Morgana and just sobbed.
"Oh Lord," Morgana moaned as she pulled at Lea, "let me see you. Oh, Lea ... do you still want to make excuses for him?"
"I thought he was going to kill me this time, Morg," Lea sobbed and pressed back into Morgana's chest.
"That's it, you're coming home with me." Morgana pulled away from her and dragged Lea after her. "Pack your things. You're going back to Davis Bay with me. And don't bother arguing because it's either that or I move in here. This ain't happening again because this sista don't play these games!"
Lea didn't argue, she knew that Morgana was right. She stumbled after her friend and began packing, by shoving things into her suitcase. She looked up to see Morgana with an armload of things so Lea stepped out of the way and allowed her friend to shove them into the case. The two women sat on top of the suitcase to close it then dragged it clunking down the wooden stairs of the large house.
Lea Sharpe was a girlfriend--fiancée. She was beautiful with long, flowing, natural blonde hair, blue eyes and legs to the North Pole; she could have been a runway model without even trying. Her parents had set her up with her boyfriend because they thought they would make a great business pair and she would help him look good in the media. She was happy because Michael Palmer was everything that any woman could want. He was gorgeous with the perfect body, lips she couldn't get enough of ... and loaded. The bliss lasted a year until they got engaged then the storm came.
The first time he slapped her, she had gone flying across the room and smashed her head through a glass coffee table. At the hospital he told the doctors she had slipped and fell and she backed him up. He said he was sorry and that he didn't mean it and like a fool she bought it.
As Morgana helped her into the car, Lea wondered what she was going to do now. She couldn't go back to her parents because they would never understand. Her mother would say, "For all Michael is doing for you, you should suck it up!"
Her father would just say, "You're the one making him angry. Stop making him angry."
She felt sick to her stomach and as the door closed Lea kept on telling herself that she could keep it all in. Thinking she was ready to go she began slipping into her seat belt when suddenly she shoved the door open to hurl on the ground barely missing Morgana's shoes.
As the two drove through the large black gates out they saw Michael returning home. Something told Lea to hide but she was too scared to move. She watched as Michael's eyes locked with hers and he simple gave her the evil eye and continued driving up the lane and in through the gates.
"I can't believe him," Morgana frowned as she turned down the street and sped toward Davis Bay, "how can he do something like this."
"Can we not talk about it?" Lea pleaded.
"No," Morgana snapped, "we've not talked about this for six months and look what happened?" Lea didn't want to hear it but she knew that no matter what, Morgana wouldn't just shut up. Morgana had been good and hadn't said anything about it for a while because Lea had begged her not to, but Lea also knew that Morgana was a Gemini ... she wouldn't stay quiet for long.
Sighing, Lea turned in her seat and fixed the seat belt between her breasts. "He was perfect Morgana ... God--"
"I never liked him ... remember me saying that? I could see through his bull. I don't know how your parents could have been so wrong. I am taking pictures of your face; just in case."
"You don't have to do--"
"Talk to the hand, lady," Morgana said with finality while holding out a hand at Lea, "because these ears, ain't listenin'. I don't wanna hear it."
)
