Chapter 1 - The Third Knock
Trevor’s fist struck the side of Rebecca’s face while she was still holding Emma.
Pain flashed behind her eyes.
She twisted her body before hitting the hardwood floor, taking the impact on her shoulder so her two-year-old daughter would not be crushed beneath her.
Emma screamed.
Rebecca curled around the toddler, one hand protecting her swollen belly and the other shielding Emma’s head.
Trevor stood over them.
“Look what you made me do.”
Rebecca tasted blood.
Small scratches burned along her cheek where his wedding ring had cut her skin.
She did not answer.
Silence had become part of surviving him.
Trevor stepped closer and grabbed her arm.
His fingers pressed directly into an older bruise.
“You fell down the stairs,” he said. “That’s all you say.”
Emma buried her face against Rebecca’s pink maternity dress.
Then three heavy knocks shook the front door.
Trevor froze.
Rebecca stopped breathing.
“Rebecca?” a man called from outside. “Open this door!”
Her father.
Richard Lawson had not visited in almost a year.
Trevor’s face changed.
He looked toward the door, then back at Rebecca.
“You say one word, and you’ll regret it.”
Rebecca looked at Emma.
Her daughter’s cheeks were wet.
Her tiny body trembled.
Rebecca pushed herself upright.
Every muscle screamed.
She reached for the doorknob.
Trevor moved behind her.
She could feel him close enough to strike again.
Rebecca opened the door.
Richard stood on the porch in a dark suit.
Concern crossed his face first.
Then he saw the bruises.
He saw Emma crying.
He saw Trevor’s hand still gripping Rebecca’s arm.
Richard’s expression became something Rebecca had never seen before.
Not shock.
May you like
Not anger.
War.
