"I Was Free"

Warning: This short story contains physical abuse, please read at your discretion.


By: Jensen Bodholdt 

   The thrashing of the waves could be heard in the distance. My nose burned from the salt that lingered in the air from the sea. The hot sun was beaming straight down on my face. I could feel a warm breeze on my bare arms, wrapping me in a warm embrace. My faded bruises were shining in the sunlight. I closed my eyes and let the warmth enter my entire body. I felt like I was floating on a cloud, but the only thing I could think of was that I was free from him.

    His rough hands closed around my neck. I could feel everything. My lungs were pumping so hard just to get some air. I couldn’t breathe. It felt like my rib cage was about to collapse. He let go and let me drop to the floor. He hit my face again. The pain was shooting through my cheeks. He pushed me down more. Now I was laying flat on the ground. He pulled me to my back and pinned me down. I could feel his warm breath on my neck racing with rage. I knew now that this time was serious.

    He’s done this before. It wasn’t so bad those times. Sometimes he just got high and then hit me around a little bit. I had gotten used to it, it happened almost every day. I didn’t know that he would get so angry this time. I didn’t think that he would do this to me. He was so emotional but strong. I could have left him, but I loved him, and he scared me. I didn’t want to leave him, I thought he would get better. I guess I was wrong.

    He stopped pushing me down, he looked into my eyes and started to tear up. He got off of me. Pulled me up onto the bed. He told me that he was sorry. He started to cry. Big wet tears were streaming down his face. He sat down in the chair. I got up and told him that it was okay. I hadn’t noticed that I was crying until then. I could start to feel the pain in my neck though. I sniffled and wiped my tears. That’s when it happened.

    I never thought that he would change so much in a short amount of time. He used to be a football player for our high school. After we graduated, he started to meet up with some people. I didn’t know they did the stuff they did until the night he came home drunk. I asked him what he was doing with his friends. He didn’t answer. I kept asking him more questions. He just ignored me and slumped over to the couch and passed out.

    His arm shot up and smacked me across the face. He stood up and pushed me into the table. I hit my shoulder on the corner. I could feel blood seeping through my shirt and my nose. It was warm and it had a nauseating smell to it. I couldn’t breathe that much, I must have broken a couple of ribs. A pain shot through my body. He stabbed my leg. I could see the sharp metal go through my jeans, the blood was already halfway down my leg. For a second I could only feel the blood seeping out of my body. I tried to get up, my heart was pounding, and my long blonde hair was covered with blood. He grabbed my neck and pushed me against a wall. Pushing harder each minute. I could feel my throat closing. My time was creeping away, just like all the blood from my heart. The last thing I saw was my reflection in the mirror across the room. That person stared back at me and slowly lost color in their face. My eyes fell shut and my body went limp. I knew I was going to die.

    When I opened my eyes, I was in a whole different scene. It’s like I was dreaming. My eyelids were light as a feather. The blood was gone, my bruises were fading and I couldn’t feel a thing. I didn’t know what had happened at first. Was I in a dream? Was I in heaven? I stood there waiting on the beach for what seemed like forever. I was so calm and rested, I didn’t even notice her standing there. She was dressed in all white and something about her made me happy. She smiled and held out her hand. I reached over, she cupped my hand, and we were gone. I was free.