And then it hit me

[squillyfer]

I started writing this ago just thought I'd post it

Part 1 - Sleeping with the enemy

Laurie stretched a protective arm across her slowly expanding stomach and waited for the blow. It came hard and fast, leaving her motionless on the floor. Her husbands’ anger diminished and he left her to search the apartment for some much needed alcohol, his chosen form of relief, whilst she pulled herself up and staggered towards the nearest mirror. Then she sat down to inspect the latest bruises.
She looked at herself, she was not old and yet her face was worn and her body tired as though wanting to give up on life itself. Her appearance made Laurie want to cry until there were no tears left inside her but she did not for the fear of her husbands’ harsh chastisement should she show any sign of weakness, besides tears denoted sadness and that was not what she wanted to concentrate on. She had to stay positive ... for her baby’s’ sake.
She could hear her husband pacing the bedroom waiting for her. She took one last look at her battered face and the brownish bruises that had still not faded from the last incident then stood up and slowly, ignoring the pain in her aching limbs, edged towards the bedroom door. She paused for a second to pat her tummy and sooth the pain within but she dare not wait any longer for her husband was shouting for her and she could hear by the tone of his voice that he was not willing to be patient. She let a single tear squeeze its way from beneath her eyelid before turning the cold metal door handle on the bedroom door and stepping in to face the monster inside...
Her husband satisfied and every inch of her body aching Laurie could finally rest a little. Only in these few short hours between his cruelty at night and abrasive awakening in the morning could she exercise her freedom to think. Only whilst he slept could she dream of peace and a life of relative ease.
Her life was a mess and sooner or later it would come to and end either as a result of her husbands’ abuse or the inevitable factor of old age. Sometimes Laurie even considered taking her own life to end the pain and suffering and to achieve the peace that she longed for so earnestly. It could be the answer to all her problems, and an end to the inner turmoil inside of her, but no, she wouldn’t do it, she couldn’t. Taking her own life was one thing but taking the life of an innocent was quite another because Laurie would never even consider taking the life of her unborn child and every time the tiny life that was dwelling inside of her made its presence known by the method of a sharp kick Laurie was reminded that her body may have given up but her mind was still fighting and she had to continue for the sake of her baby. Ironically the very thing that kept her going was her largest reason for concern. Laurie knew that somehow she could survive her husbands beatings but what about her baby, the little person who even before its birth had had its life endangered several times by its own fathers brutality, could Laurie really protect it too?


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[melonb]

wow this is great!!! but do we know laurie??

[di marco]

brill! wow that was amazing! poor laurie, hope the babys alright! more very soon please, cant wait

[Tamzi]

Hope Laurie and her baby is alright. This is great. More please
xxx

[squillyfer]

Thanks for the replies

Chapter 2 - Affairs of the heart


The next morning Laurie woke to the sound of her husband on the phone. He sounded happy and was laughing loudly. Laurie opened her eyes and propped herself up on the firm feather pillows.
She looked around the immaculate room at the pale cream walls that were gently complimented by the soft light that was slowly filtering through the lemon coloured curtains. It was a modern room and had been tastefully decorated in the same fashion as the rest of the apartment. Her and Nick had decorated it together during happier times. They had only been married just over a year but to Laurie it seemed more like an eternity.
It had been a whirlwind romance. They had met at the annual company outing; he was a managing director and she was the secretary. They were an unlikely pairing but he was charming and thoughtful and Laurie fell head over heals in love with him. Within three months they were married and a month after that she fell pregnant but at just two months she miscarried and that’s when the problems started.
The kind, caring man she had known was gone and in his place was a beast of a man who would use his fists to end an argument at every possible opportunity. The happy carefree days that Laurie had grown accustom to were no more and instead Laurie was left feeling empty and tormented, trapped in an unhappy marriage with no visible signs of escape and just as she thought things couldn’t get any worse she had once again fallen pregnant with his child. For a while the fighting stopped and all he did was coo over her like a small child and tell her how much he loved her but after a while the novelty of being a parent wore off and all she had to do was smile politely at a door attendant or tip the taxi driver too much and all of a sudden he would turn again and she would be seen the next morning sporting a cut lip or bruised face due to the fresh allegations of an affair that his twisted little mind had concocted.
It was fair to say that she didn’t love him anymore in fact she loathed him with every ounce of her soul and she believed that he no longer loved her either. Oh, he said he did. After every beating he would come crawling back to her saying how sorry he was and how she shouldn’t provoke him into doing things he didn’t want to do. Sometimes he insisted that he had never meant to hurt her but she never believed him. And then there were the times when he pretended as if nothing had even happened and treated her like he did when they first met, all soft and gentle. Yes Laurie was sure he didn’t love her especially now he was receiving these mysterious phone calls at strange times of the day and kept coming home at different times each night then making it up to her by taking her out somewhere only to meet the same attractive blonde everywhere they went. She was sure he was having and affair, beyond a shadow of a doubt she was sure of it, not that she could say anything of course nor could she leave. No, she could never leave because if Nick ever went after her and found her...well she was better off dead.
Laurie shook herself from these thoughts and tried to listen in on Nick’s conversation. He sounded happy. He was laughing again. He was talking to Her, the blonde. Through the crack in the door Laurie was able to hear Nicks half of their conversation as she lye still and aching in the bed.
‘Yeah, I’ll try and get away later’... ‘No of course not, she has no idea’... ‘No, she’s too wrapped up in all this stupid baby stuff to notice what’s right under her nose, anyway what’s she gonna do, she can’t stop me I’m a big boy now...’ Nick laughed and Laurie felt the sudden urge to be sick. ‘Yeah ok babe see ya later, bye’
He put the phone down and walked into the kitchen. And from the bedroom Laurie could hear him boiling the kettle for his daily morning coffee.


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[di marco]

fab! poor laurie, you wrote that really well, i really enjoyed reading it! more very soon please, cant wait

[melonb]

awww poor laurie!! nasty nick!!
more soon please!!

[squillyfer]

It may sound odd but i really enjoy writing this story cos its more challenging. Thanks for the replies

chapter 3 - The green eyed monster


A sudden feeling came over Laurie and she began to ignore her pain and rushed to get dressed so she could see Nick before he went to work. Then she realised. She was jealous. Laurie came to the realisation that whomever this woman was she was slightly jealous of the time Nick was spending with her and the affection he was obviously showing her.
Laurie pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind and finished getting ready and then, finally, she tied her hair up only to let it back down again to cover the bruise on her cheek.
Laurie took this moment to pause and examine herself in the full-length mirror beside her dressing table. She was dressed in loose yellow summer dress which was patterned with tiny pin-prick flowers and over that she wore a beige coloured jacket to serve as some protection against the harsh October weather. Her poker-straight auburn hair hung by her face. The baby kicked and for the first time in two days that face was filled with some colour. Laurie smiled to herself and stepped out into the living room.
Nick was sat on the sofa, drinking his coffee and reading his morning paper. Laurie smoothed the front of her dress best she could considering her bump. She sat next to Nick and cleared her throat.
‘So, what are you doing today Love?’ She enquired calmly.
‘Work’ He replied monotonously, not even looking up from his paper.
‘Oh...well maybe we could meet for lunch?’ she persisted.
‘No, I don’t think so, I have to meet someone at lunch’ Nick replied, putting down his paper and leaning back, staring into his coffee mug.
Laurie paused and looked down into her knees before daring to ask ‘Who?’
Nick looked up at her before smugly saying ‘No one you know’ He then simply walked off into the kitchen leaving Laurie alone and bewildered on the sofa.
Laurie got up and called after him ‘Nick if you cant do lunch how about we go out tonight, just the two of us’ Laurie waited. No reply came. ‘What do you think, it would be nice to spend some time together before the baby’s born’ Again, no reply.
Laurie walked into the kitchen and stood in front of Nick, who was leaned against the door frame and was massaging his temples slowly and methodically.
‘Are you even listening to me’ She enquired, hands on hips and face stern.
‘Oh just shut up will ya’ Nick cried before throwing his hands up in the air and turning to make another cup of coffee. Laurie stood their not knowing what to say. ‘Nick...?’ Laurie said whilst placing her hand delicately on his shoulder.
‘I said shut up and will you get off me’ he shrugged her hand away ‘That’s all I’ve heard for eight bloomin’ months, baby this, baby that well I’ll tell you something shall I ...I don’t give a damn about the bloody baby.’ And with that he stormed out of the kitchen. He bustled around in the living room as Laurie leaned against the worktop trying to take in what had just been said. The door slammed and Laurie was once again left alone and confused.

[di marco]

fab! i feel so sorry for laurie, how evil is nick! more very soon please, cant wait

[squillyfer]

Dont know when i will post the next part but should be soon I'm trying to concentrate on my other script, 'keeping the faith' which should be finished soon but is still important as their are about 5 parts left but her eis part 4 of this anyway. By the way you dont know laurie, they live in an apartment in manchester and laurie has no family nearby.

Chapter 4 - Dont wait up

Laurie walked from the kitchen back to the living room where she sat down on the cream sofa. She pulled her knees up and curled them underneath herself. She pulled her arms around herself and rocked. She shivered from the draft in the apartment and regretted her choice of clothing. She couldn’t believe Nick had said that. In her mind she had always known it but now Nick had openly voiced the fact that he couldn’t care less for the child that Laurie was carrying...his child.
Laurie was overwhelmed with despair. Secretly in the back of her mind she had always dreamt that once the baby was born Nick would become the kind loving man he had once been and Laurie would have the contented family life she had always wanted but now Nick returning to his old self was looking very unlikely and Lauries’ dream was slipping from her grasp.
Laurie got up and walked to the window. Looking out she saw the effects of the harsh weather outside and because of this she decided to stay in for the day. This was no surprise and the weather was more of a comforting excuse than a reason. The truth was that Laurie stayed in most days now, for two reasons. The first reason was that if she went out Nick would be constantly quizzing her on her whereabouts and having wild suspicions of affairs and the second reason was that if she went out she ran the risk of meeting someone she knew and then she would have to explain her bruises.
So Laurie stayed inside and pottered around the apartment. She cleaned from top to bottom, re-organised the furniture in the babys’ room, ready for its arrival, changed the bed, and finally, made Nicks tea. He was due home any minute but Laurie was in no state to worry about him, she was exhausted. Her back was killing her and her mad attempt to keep busy had meant she had had no time to eat so she was also starting to feel slightly sick. Laurie made herself a cup of tea and took it into the living room, she then sat down on the settee, her body drained of energy, and quickly fell asleep.
When Laurie awoke several hours later the room was dark and she could see the streetlamps outside through the window. She sat up and flicked on the lamp then peered at the small clock on the table beside the sofa. It was 11.15pm; Nick should have been home hours ago.
Laurie walked into the kitchen and looked at the two cold plates of food that should have been their tea. She picked them up and scraped them into the bin with a sigh. It wasn’t like Nick to be late. Laurie could even remember a time when he’d rush home just to be with her. Things had certainly changed.
Laurie leant against the pristine marble worktops and sighed again. She had everything she had wanted as a little girl, a nice home, money, pretty clothes and a baby on the way but as she had grown up the things Laurie wanted had changed. Now she dreamed of a happy family, a loving husband, security and peace of mind but Laurie realised that her perspective on things had changed, for now her dreams did not seem attainable and she had no silly notion that her dreams would come true because for her they held no conviction and were almost without meaning.