Chapter 1
1
Sabrina
“ Y ou stupid bitch, look what you made me do!”
The pain in my jaw is sharp and unrelenting, but I can’t stop moving. Not now. Not while Christopher’s voice echoes close behind me, each furious word fueling my desperation. My hands tremble as I fumble with the lock on the apartment door. It finally opens and I yank it wide, stumbling out into the hallway.
“Sabrina, get back here!” his voice roars, even closer now. Too close.
I don’t look back. I might falter or look into his dark brown eyes and somehow convince myself that this is all just a misunderstanding, the way I always do.
And I can’t afford either option this time. He’s gone too far and something in me finally woke up, finally snapped. I have to get as far away from him as I can as quickly as possible.
“I mean it Sabrina, get back here!”
Clutching my throbbing jaw with one hand and my purse with the other, I sprint down the hall, my bare feet slapping against the cold floor. My vision blurs with tears, though I can’t tell if they are from pain, fear, or sheer heartbreak. Likely all three. But the first two emotions fuel me forward and keep me moving toward freedom.
I shove open the stairwell door and hurtle down, two steps at a time. Behind me, I hear Christopher’s heavy footsteps pounding against the floor, still screaming, though the words are now indistinguishable. My breath comes in short, panicked gasps, my chest heaving as I finally reach the bottom floor.
Bursting out onto the street, the cool night air hits me like a slap to the face, causing me to wince against the cold and the pain, but I don’t dare stop. My car is just a block away, close enough to run to.
The sound of Christopher’s pursuit grows fainter as I dart around the corner, but I know better than to assume I’ve lost him. He won’t give up that easily.
The moment I reach my car, I fling open the door and jump inside, slamming it shut and locking it in one frantic motion. My fingers fumble with the keys, slipping once, then twice, before finally finding their place. The engine roars to life, and I throw the car into drive just as Christopher appears at the end of the street, his face contorted in fury.
“Sabrina!” he bellows, his voice carrying over the sound of the engine. He starts running toward me, but I don’t wait to see how close he gets. My foot slams down on the gas pedal, and the car lurches forward, tires screeching against the pavement like nails on a chalkboard.
I don’t stop. I don’t even look in the rearview mirror. My hands grip the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turn white, and my vision swims as tears stream down my face. The adrenaline coursing through my veins is the only thing keeping me upright, keeping me moving forward.
It isn’t until I’m several blocks away that I dare to take a breath, though it comes out in a ragged sob. My jaw throbs with every movement, a cruel reminder of what just happened. Of what he’d done. My stomach churns, and for a moment, I think I might pull over to throw up. But I can’t risk stopping. Not yet. I have to get somewhere safe, somewhere Christopher won’t be able to hurt me.
My father’s apartment. The only place that feels even remotely secure. My hands shake as I navigate the familiar streets, each turn bringing me closer to a place I haven’t seen in a long time. I’d left for college years ago, determined to carve out a life for myself, and I’d rarely been back since. But now, it’s the only place I could even think to go.
I don’t have many friends, mostly because of Christopher’s doing. It hasn’t always been like this, but little by little, he’d chipped away at my support system until I had only him to rely on. He’d designed it that way, exactly for a moment like this, and as the thought crashes over me like a violent wave, I sob again, kicking myself for being so stupid.
How had things gone so wrong? How had someone so loving and thoughtful turned into someone so cruel, manipulative and controlling? I can’t dwell on it, though. As each streetlight brings me closer and closer to the place that used to be my home, I finally feel the weight on my chest subside. He’d never think of coming here, and that is my only solace.
When I finally pull into the small parking garage next to the building, I kill the engine and sit here for a moment, my body trembling. My jaw aches relentlessly, and I press my fingers gingerly against it, wincing at the sharp pain that radiates through my skull. I don’t need a mirror to know it’s already bruising.
With a shaky breath, I reach into my bag and pull out the spare key my father had given me years ago. The metal feels cool and reassuring in my hand, grounding me as I climb out of the car and make my way to the front door. The building is quiet, the only sound being the faint hum of a nearby streetlamp. I let myself in and head up the stairs, each step feeling heavier than the last.
When I reach the door to my father’s apartment, I pause. The familiarity of it hits me like a wave, bringing with it a strange mixture of comfort and guilt. He’s probably still at work, busy running the deli he’d poured his heart and soul into. I’d never wanted to burden him with my problems, wanting him to see I could take care of myself, but now I had no choice.
Sliding the key into the lock, I turn it and push the door open. The apartment looks the same as it always did, a small, crowded space that severely lacks a woman’s touch. The walls are bare, save for a few pictures of our family before Mom died. I step inside, immediately locking the door behind me, and finally allow myself to collapse onto the worn couch in the living room. My body feels heavy, like all the adrenaline has drained out of me at once.
I pull out my phone, my fingers trembling as I scroll through my contacts. Names fly by that I hadn’t spoken to in months or years, people Christopher systematically cut me off from. There is only one person he hadn’t completely alienated from. Only one person I trust with my life. My childhood best friend, Natalia.
The phone rings twice before she picks up, her familiar voice immediately calming some of the storm inside me.
“Sabrina?” she answers cheerfully. “This is a surprise! What’s going on?”
I can’t even get the words out at first. My voice breaks on the first syllable, and I have to take a moment to steady myself.
“I’m in the area,” I squeak out with the little breath I have left in my lungs. “At my dad’s place. Can you come over?”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” she says without hesitation.
It doesn’t matter to her that it has been a year since we’d seen each other. We are true friends for life, and she is willing to drop everything for me. More tears spill from my eyes, though these have more to do with Natalia’s kindness. For the first time all night, I feel a sense of relief rush over me.
True to her word, it isn’t long before I hear the sound of her patented rhythmic knock. When I open the door, she takes one look at me and gasps.
“Oh, my God, Sabrina!” she screams, her eyes going wide with concern. “What the fuck happened?”
Her expression and tone break me even further. I begin violently sobbing as I tell her everything. I tell her how Christopher had stopped being Prince Charming long ago. I tell her about our fight, about how I’d barely gotten away with my life. Natalia’s face goes from shocked to furious in a matter of seconds. I’m sure that if Christopher had been in the room, she would have kicked his ass.
“That son of a bitch,” she spits, pacing the room like a caged lion. “I’m taking you to the hospital. Right now.”
“I can’t,” I protest weakly, but she isn’t having it.
“Yes, you can,” she insists, pulling me into a gentle embrace. “But we can wait for your dad to get home first if you like. I don’t want you going anywhere without someone watching your back, and he needs to know what’s going on.”
I nod weakly, agreeing both to the hospital and to waiting for my dad. My father finally arrives an hour later, his face pale as a sheet when he sees us sitting there on the couch.
“Sabrina,” he says, his voice shaking with a mix of anger and worry. “Who did this to you?”
I explain as much as I can to him, my voice steadier and surer this time. In the last hour, Natalia has helped me calm down and find a better head space. By the end, his hands are clenched into fists, his jaw tight with barely contained rage.
“You’re going to the hospital right now,” he says, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Natalia winks at me with an I told you so expression and helps me down to her car, her hand on my shoulder as if to shield me from the world. As we drive, I can’t shake the feeling that we are being followed. A sleek black car has been behind us for several blocks, and every time we turn, it turns too.
“Natalia,” I whisper hesitantly, a pit forming in my stomach. “I think someone is following us.”
She glances in the rearview mirror and then waves a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it,” she answers casually. “It’s just my security. My brother’s a little paranoid these days.”
I want to ask more, but my jaw aches too much to speak. The extra protection helps me relax a bit more. I lean back against the seat, my eyes closing as I try to block out the pain.
At the hospital, the doctor confirms what I’d suspected. My jaw was nearly broken. No surgery would be needed, but I’d be in pain for weeks. The massive bruise already forming on my face would also remain as a stark reminder of how much worse this could have been.
Natalia and my dad stay by my side the whole time, their presence a comforting anchor. When we finally leave, Natalia insists I come back to her place, but I shake my head.
“I want to stay with my dad,” I say softly. “I think I need to be home right now.”
She understands completely and doesn’t argue. Instead, she hugs me tightly, letting me know she would aways be there.
I’d escaped. For now. But I know Christopher won’t let this go easily. Tomorrow or the next day, he’ll try to love bomb me with apologies and explanations. I need to be strong then, to walk away from him and not look back. As for tonight, my only job is to try and heal.