A Close Call..

..She packed her bags hurriedly as if her life depended on it and well, it did. Some of her things fell to the floor but she could care less. Her left eye was swollen shut, an angry red bruise was darkening on her arm, her chest and ribs were throbbing in agony and she was pretty sure a tooth was loose in her mouth. Her hands shook so badly, she shut her good eye, took a deep breath and willed herself to be strong. This man will kill me; she thought to herself. One of these days, these close calls I keep escaping will be my reality, he will actually kill me and it’ll be all over. There was a sickening metallic taste in her mouth, she knew from experience that it was blood but she had to keep packing, she could break down later. Finally she was done. She craned her neck and looked into the crib where her daughter lay. She picked her up, and winced at the blinding pain in her arm but she kept going. Her sister was in the car outside waiting for her and all she had to do was make it to the car. In a few minutes, they were driving off at the speed of light. She cradled her daughter to her chest and heaved a deep sigh of relief. Her marriage was over for real this time and that was fine by her, you have to be alive to stay married. Each mile they drove put her old life behind her, and as she drifted off into exhausted sleep, she thanked God fervently for giving her the strength to walk away when she did. He was in a drunken stupor somewhere and by the time he woke up this time, she would be long gone..