4. Chapter 4
Melissa Peterson sat behind the wheel of her old minivan, her fingers curled tight around the steering wheel as she stared into the rearview mirror. The glass was streaked, like everything else in her life—smudged, imperfect, and worn thin from too much use.
Her reflection stared back at her, sad and hollow, shoulders slumped and heavy. Overall, Melissa knew that she looked…pathetic.
She used to be vibrant. She used to be the one other teachers sought out in the staff lounge, coffee cups clutched in nervous hands as they asked how she’d handle a lesson plan, or a difficult parent, or a child who couldn’t sit still.
She’d guided them all, encouraged them, reminded them why they’d chosen this profession in the first place.
Once, she’d even considered creating an online curriculum, a resource that could reach teachers across the country.
She’d won awards, for goodness’ sake. She’d been a success!
Now, she was no one. She was a shadow of her former self.
No, it was worse than that. She was a pariah.
Her ex-husband had made sure of that.
Tom’s lies had poisoned everything—her reputation, her career, her friendships. He’d convinced a court she was unstable, a danger to her own children. He’d destroyed her in front of the judge with the same smug efficiency he used in his business dealings – with lies!
And after the judge had given over full custody of her two boys to that monster, when she’d thought she might still hold on to her teaching job, he’d gone further, whispering poison into the principal’s ear until she’d been dismissed.
The only thing she had left was this car. And only because she’d paid for it herself before the marriage. Tom had tried to take it, of course. He’d tried to take everything. Including her dignity.
Now she stocked shelves and rang up purchases at a retail store, her back aching by the end of every shift, her spirit worn down further with every hollow smile she forced for customers who barely noticed she was there. There was no satisfaction in her work. No joy.
And worst of all—her boys.
Her precious Mark. Her sweet Jacob.
They were in that vile man’s house, breathing in his cruelty, mimicking his arrogance.
She watched them sometimes, from a distance, of course, careful not to be seen.
She’d seen Jacob shove another child at the playground.
She’d watched Mark’s smirk as he mocked a little girl.
Her babies, her beautiful boys, were becoming bullies. Just like their father.
Melissa’s chest ached as she lifted her gaze to the mirror again.
Her hair hung limp, too long since its last trim.
She pushed it out of her eyes with a weary sigh.
Her clothes were ragged and she needed new shoes, since her toe was about to break through the bottom of the pair she’d been wearing for the past several months.
And the itching! Good grief, her ex-husband had given her a sexually transmitted disease! Thank goodness, the county health department ran free STD clinics. They’d given her antibiotics, which had cleared it up, but that also proved the bastard had cheated on her.
Sighing, she dropped her hands into her lap as she gazed out the window at the streets. Everyone she could see was smiling, laughing together as they strolled. They all looked like they had happy lives. Everyone had what she used to have!
Survival had consumed her—finding work, paying rent at the tiny studio apartment, keeping cheap food in her cupboards. Everything else had fallen away.
The only joy in her life now were these stolen moments when she got to see her boys. Yeah, it was from so far away and her body ached to feel their sweet, innocent hugs.
But this kind of existence had to change.
She couldn’t keep living this way—letting Tom dictate every breath she took, even from a distance.
There had to be some way to get her boys back. To remind them of who they were before Tom had twisted their sweet personalities.
Melissa’s eyes in the mirror were still tired, still ringed with shadows. But when she looked closely, really looked, she saw the faintest flicker of something more. Something she’d thought she’d lost forever.
Resolve.
Her life was miserable. Her boys were slipping away.
And that had to change.