“Ohhh...” I have to pull the phone away from my ear at Mom’s squeal. “Ava, finally. What happened? Why didn’t you call us?” Her voice is filled with concern.
Guilt leaves as quickly as it came. “I told you things weren’t good between me and Beau.”
There’s a momentary silence.
“But it’s a marriage. You don’t leave when it gets tough.” The clip in her tone makes me choke. I have to pat my chest to get my bearings.Did she really just say that?
“He hit me. That isn’t what a loving marriage is about.”
“He told us he accidentally pushed you and you fell. He feels terrible. Look, you just need to give it some time. You two will work it out.”
“He said that, did he?” I ask, spitting venom. That distinct burn fires through me. “He lost control and hurt me,” I say, louder this time. “I was black and blue. How can you defend a man that abuses his wife? I’m your daughter! In what world am I the villain and he’s the victim?”
She breathes heavily through the phone. “You know I love you, but you’re saying he hit you, and he’s saying he accidentally pushed you. Then you leave without a word. Is it possible that you misconstrued the situation, thinking the accident was deliberate?”
My heartbeat is frantic, and my breathing is out of control. I’m desperately trying to reign in my emotions. “Why aren’t you listening to me? He is lying to you. I refuse to live like that anymore. He controlled every aspect of my life and made me miserable. I want the parts of me he stole. I want to be happy again.”
“Beau has been over here every day, seeing if we have spoken to you. He was crying, Ava. If he doesn’t reconcile with you, he’s thought about killing himself. He’s sorry, and he loves you.”
I laugh, but it’s cold and flat.
“There’s nothing funny about this!” Her tone is curt.
“They were crocodile tears, and I don’t believe him. It’s the ultimate manipulation, threatening to kill himself, so that I’ll return. He shows you what he wants you to see. You haven’t met the other side of him. He didn’t love me. He liked to control me. He’s mentally ill, Mom. He needs help.”
I’m baring my soul to her, but I wonder if it’s a waste of time.
“How do you have empathy for him and not for me?” My voice is uneven as I struggle not to cry. “Would he have to beat me so bad that I’m hospitalized or dead for you to understand how dangerous he is?”
She sniffles and a muffled voice chimes in, “Ava, it’s Dad. Your mom’s very upset about everything.”
“She’s upset?” I ask in a high-pitched tone. I’m the one tormented in a domestic violence relationship for years, so how are my mom and Beau more upset than me?
“She has been beside herself since you left. We put up posters and were calling around town. We were so worried.”
“I’m sorry for worrying you, but do you understand that this is the reason I never called? You two are encouraging me to go back to an abuser. You would rather me be unhappy or end up dead so no one in the church finds out your daughter left her husband.”
“How could you say that?” he asks, sounding offended.
“Beau will not change! I want to feel safe, and I want to be loved. Why won’t you support that?”
“You’re going from a person who you said abused you to staying with a motorcycle gang? You must see how that is hard for us to comprehend. One day you’re smiling with Beau, and the next we find out you’re having an affair with a biker.”
“Excuse me? What makes you think that?”
“A woman who was living in the MC ended up connecting with Beau, and she said you were with the president of the MC called Reaper.Reaper... really, Ava?”
I think back to Vera. She’s a pain! But I’m not embarrassed at being close to Reaper, either.
“Of course he told you,” I reply sarcastically. “Well, Dad, you know it’s bad when I have to go to an MC clubhouse for safety and that manReaper,” I mock in the same tone he used, “has treated me better than Beau ever did.”
He lets out a long sigh. “We miss you. When are you coming home? You can stay with us.”
Holding the bridge of my nose, I take two breaths before answering. “You live in the same town as him, and you welcome him into your home. There’s no way I am going anywhere near him. I’m getting a divorce.”
Dad sighs again. “Your mother won’t be happy about that.”
“I’m the one who has gone through hell. If you want to talk to me, I guess you two will have to come to the clubhouse and then you can seebothof your daughters.”
