Saving Grace

by JL Hallow

  Saving Grace

  JL Hallow

  First published January 2019

  Republished September 2020

  Copyright © JL Hallow All rights reserved.

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  https://www.facebook.com/JLAuthor/

  Cover text: http://typodermicfonts.com/license/ (Font name: Engebrechtre)

  Cover design: Kamayama Design

  Signature page photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash.com

  Internal font: http://www.glukfonts.pl (Kleymissky)

  Jlhallow.com

  DISCLAIMER

  The book as well as the characters in this book are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  License

  All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the author, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

  Table of Contents

  Dedications and Acknowledgements

  Chapter One: Good Morning

  Chapter Two: Everybody's A Critic

  Chapter Three: Jesus Take The Wheel

  Chapter Four: Luck

  Chapter Five: Where It All Began

  Chapter Six: So You See

  Chapter Seven: Loss

  Chapter Eight: Conversation

  Chapter Nine: Safe

  Chapter Ten: Battle to be Won

  Chapter Eleven: Insight

  Chapter Twelve: Til Death Do Us Part

  Chapter Thirteen: Not Her Biggest Fan

  Chapter Fourteen: Picture Perfect

  Chapter Fifteen: Truth

  Chapter Sixteen: Violence

  Chapter Seventeen: Coming Clean

  Chapter Eighteen: You Find Out Who Your Friends Are

  Chapter Nineteen: Information

  Chapter Twenty: Run

  Chapter Twenty-One: Bravery

  Chapter Twenty-Two: Making A Plan

  Chapter Twenty-Three: Saving Grace

  Chapter Twenty-Four: Perspective

  Chapter Twenty-Five: Divorce

  Chapter Twenty-Six: Sign or Die

  Chapter Twenty-Seven: Fight

  Chapter Twenty-Eight: Impatience

  Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Disagreement

  Chapter Thirty: Reflection

  Chapter Thirty-One: Twenty Questions

  Chapter Thirty-Two: On Fire

  Chapter Thirty-Three: Hope

  Chapter Thirty-Four: Safe

  Chapter Thirty-Five: Gabe's Girl

  Chapter Thirty-Six: Battle

  Chapter Thirty-Seven: Explosion

  Chapter Thirty-Eight: Home Sweet Home

  Chapter Thirty-Nine: Help

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Other Books

  Connect with JL Hallow

  Dedications and Acknowledgements

  First and foremost, I would like to dedicate this book to those that have and have not survived the evils of domestic violence. May we all stand together to end the violence.

  I would also like to dedicate to this to my mother, Donna, who gave me the idea to write this book.

  Finally, the friends and family members that supported my dream of publishing this book after ten long years. Thank you for pushing me and never allowing me to quit. Thank you for reading it, loving it, and supporting it. I appreciate you all more than I could ever truly put into words.

  Special thank you to authorbydesign.com for helping me with the excellent synopsis!

  Chapter One: Good Morning

  Present day, Grace

  “How many times do I have to tell you? Do you think I like repeating myself?” Aaron hollered.

  His tone was cold, like it always was those days. There was no love left in the man. None at all. He moved through the kitchen like a predator on a mission, long legs sleek and steady as he came to a stop at the stove. The stove that was full of the pots and pans containing their dinner. Destruction was what he did best and tonight seemed like it wasn’t going to be any different. It was almost like he got joy out of ruining the things Grace worked so hard on.

  Aaron snatched up the pan resting on the edge of the stove and whipped it across the kitchen. The distinct clang of metal colliding with wood echoed throughout the room as the pan bounced off the wall, mere inches from Grace’s head. Mushrooms and onions splattered across the kitchen floor. The single, quiet whimper that escaped her trembling lips only seemed to spur his anger on as he continued his assault on their kitchen.

  By the time he was finished, nearly fifteen minutes later, shards of glass decorated the kitchen floor, the meatloaf was hidden somewhere in the mess, and the mashed potatoes had splattered across the cabinets, decorating them with the thick white fluff. His angry screams seemed to go on forever but finally, there was silence.

  It was kind of like the eerie silence after a natural disaster when the sun came back out after the black clouds vanished. The type that chilled you to the bone. Grace finally lifted her head and peeked up at the kitchen from her spot crumpled on the floor. She surveyed the damage. Dinner was ruined and there was no doubt the blame would be set squarely on her shoulders, despite her taking no part in making the mess. Movement caught her attention and Grace’s gaze tracked it. Her chin tipped up, her only show of defiance as she scrambled to her feet. She was ready this time. Her husband stalked toward her, red-faced with a raised hand that was expected to inflict pain. She expected it, planned for it, her body bracing for the familiar sting of pain; the impact when that heavy hand came down across her cheek and made contact like it had so many times…

  ~

  But that pain never came.

  Grace bolted upright, her hands groping her body fiercely. Only a nightmare, she thought. “Just a nightmare.” She repeated out loud.

  It was a weak attempt at reassuring herself, to calm those fears; Aaron was not in the house, he had no idea where she lived and he couldn’t harm her. She told herself that a million times. Not again. He couldn’t do it ever again. Turning her head slightly, she glanced at the clock; 4:32 A.M.

  That left her with two hours before she had to leave the house. Six hours before she would be standing in front of a judge to fight for full custody of their daughter. She would be standing less than ten feet away from the man who dragged her through Hell and back after gifting her with the greatest thing in her life; her child. Could she do this?

  Her gaze drifted to the framed photo on the side of her bed. It was her and Victoria at the zoo three months prior. Yeah, she absolutely could.

  Looking at that little girl’s smile gave her the strength she needed to pull the covers back and swing her legs over the side of the bed.

  Shower, she told herself. Go shower.

  Grace rubbed her hands over her face, feeling that regular twinge of exhaustion take over already. After taking a moment to regroup, she stood; the hardwood floor cold on her bare feet. She blew out a breath as she turned her attention to making the bed, surprised she couldn’t see her own breath with how cold the house was. She worked quietly, pulling the flat sheet back into place before tugging the comforter over it. Then she rearranged the pillows until they sat neatly over the smoothed-out bedding. Satisfied it was neatly made and every pillow was in place, she headed for the bathroom that was attached to her bedroom. Her pajamas, a pair of green plaid flannels and a black t-shirt, were shed piece-by-piece and by the time she reached the bathroom, she was naked.

  Grace closed the door behind her and moved across the small space to turn the shower on. The worst part about the winters in Vermont was the bitter, harsh cold. Then agai
n, wasn’t that the worst thing about winter anywhere? Grace waited until the bathroom was steamed, ensuring the water was hot enough before she stepped into the shower. Her body sagged, a groan escaping from her lips as the hot water engulfed her small frame. This was exactly what she needed to erase the lingering emotions from her nightmare.

  Her hand moved out to steady herself against the wall, body tipping forward to allow the hot water to cascade over her back. Without warning, she started to cry. That emotional release was short-lived and Grace jerked upright when the bathroom door opened abruptly.

  “Mommy?” She knew that sleepy little voice.

  It belonged to Victoria; Her daughter, her entire world. “Mama?” She repeated again.

  “I’m here, baby.” Grace choked out as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

  The attempt to clear her tears was useless, the water just left her cheeks wet anyhow. Forcing a smile, she pulled the curtain back and peeked out.

  “Go back to bed. I’ll be out soon and then we’ll get you ready to go to Grandma’s house!” She forced her voice to cooperate with her to hide the sorrow she actually felt.

  “Okay.” Victoria nodded and turned around, heading back to bed with her ragged bear in tow.

  Grace cupped her hands and let them fill with water before splashing her face with it. She sighed, hand moving toward the faucet to shut it off. Stepping out of the shower, Grace grabbed the towel hanging on the rack, delicately wrapping it around her body.

  Bracing against the sink, she stared at her reflection. It was the first time in a long time that she actually took a moment to look at herself. Her skin was normally pale but now it was almost transparent, emerald-hued eyes were red and surrounded by dark circles that screamed she didn’t sleep well the night before. Whether it was the stress of the trial or the nightmares, she wasn’t entirely sure.

  Grace stretched her arms out in front of her to take a good look at her pale skin. Just months ago her skin had been covered in bruises, marks from hands that had been too rough. Despite those marks being gone, she was still able to see them so clearly. A frustrated grunt was expelled before she turned on her heel and headed back into the bedroom. It had only been seven weeks since she had entirely cut ties with her now ex-husband. Having him sign those papers had been Hell; A six-month battle. Getting out had been the easier part, breaking the ties? That had been the hardest and required help from two of her closest friends. Without them, she was certain she would have never gotten those papers signed.

  Laid out neatly across the back of her desk chair were the clothes she picked out the night before. She had spent a solid hour and a half seeking out the perfect outfit, going as far as selecting a matching bra and panty set from the depths of her closet. Of course, no one in the courtroom would see them, but there was something about a nice set of underwear that boosted a woman’s confidence; and those black lacy boy shorts did just that for her.

  Grace plucked up the panties from the chair and stepped into them, taking a second to admire the way they clung to her body. She was working on gaining the much-needed weight back. Despite not being at the ideal weight, she was pleased with the progress she had made so far. Slowly and steadily she was taking back control of her life. Next, she reached for the black dress pants and slid into them. They too, still hung loosely around her hips, but it was nothing a belt wouldn’t fix. Grace moved around to the closet and fished out a black belt, eyes scanning the room looking for the shirt she had taken from the closet and hung up where she could find it easily… There it was! Hanging neatly from the plastic hanger on the back of her bedroom door, Grace picked up the silky lavender blouse and slipped into it one arm at a time. She managed to get it three quarters of the way buttoned when the sound of soft sniffles caught her attention.

  She was at her bedroom door, peering down the hallway before Victoria rounded the corner with tears streaming down her face. It was like a sixth sense. She should have told her to go into her bed instead of sending her back to her own room. Grace frowned, momentarily feeling terrible.

  “Mama…” Victoria hiccupped, small hand rubbing away her tears.

  Grace bent over and scooped Victoria up into her arms. “What is it, baby?”

  “Is Daddy coming back?” Victoria wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck before burying her face into the space of her collar bone.

  “No. He’s not. I promise you don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Grace stroked her hand through her daughter’s dark locks.

  How anyone in the legal system could side with Aaron was beyond her. If the bruises on her body from past medical history reports weren’t enough proof, Victoria breaking down into tears at the mere mention of his name should have been.

  Grace lowered the girl to the floor, hand moving to her chin to tilt her head back to look at her. “Come on, let’s go get you dressed and then maybe if we have enough time, we can stop at McDonald’s for a McGriddle. Maybe.” Victoria lit up at the promise, two chubby hands clapping together as she bounced on her toes.

  “Okay Mama, I’ll be quick!” A second later, she was racing back down the hallway with those tears long forgotten.

  Clearly the bribery of a syrupy pancake sandwich was enough to will away the sadness and fear.

  Chapter Two: Everybody’s A Critic

  Present day, Grace

  A half an hour later, the two were outside and heading for the car when Victoria stopped halfway there. “Wait! We forgot Gia!” Grace smiled and took the girl’s hand, heading back for the house.

  “Now how can we forget Gia?” Once again, she lifted Victoria into her arms and settled her at her hip before she climbed up the front steps.

  She called for the dog before the door was even unlocked. “Come on, G” The older German Shepherd lumbered out of the living room, a lazy expression plastered across her greying muzzle.

  “Come.” Grace repeated that command a little louder.

  “Wanna go for a ride?” That had her ears perking up as she let out a bark.

  Ducking down, Grace grabbed Gia’s leash from the floor and stepped back onto the porch, just barely moving out of the way as Gia bolted out into the snow.

  Grace locked and shut the door to the house before following their dog to the car. She opened the back door of the SUV, moving Victoria from her hip to the booster seat. Once Victoria was safely buckled, Grace took a step back and shut her in, blocking out the cold air. Coming around the back of the SUV, Grace opened the opposite door, letting Gia hop into the back seat with some assistance. Victoria squealed and threw her arms around the dog’s neck, nuzzling her face into the soft fur. Grace offered up a smile and closed the door.

  A minute later, she was in the front seat, turning the key to kick-start that engine to life. “Who’s ready to go see Grandma?” Victoria giggled and Gia barked behind her.

  “Well, I’ll take that as both of you.” Grace’s foot lowered onto the gas pedal and the SUV pulled forward, tires crunching over the blanket of snow that fell the night before.

  The drive should have taken twenty-five minutes but with the snowfall the night before and the grey skies releasing yet another layer of it, the drive had taken double that. Grace was white-knuckled by the time she pulled into the driveway of her step-mother’s house.

  “GRANDMA’S!” Victoria yelled from the back seat, clapping her hands together as she wiggled in place.

  Grace laughed softly and turned the car off, turning to face Victoria as she grinned. All of that tension seemed to ease from her shoulders. “Alright kiddo, let’s go. I’m going to be late.” She reached for her seat belt and unbuckled it.

  For a split second there, she was thankful Victoria forgot all about their breakfast stop. Her hand reached out for the door handle, opened the door and then she hopped down to the ground. “Gia stay in the back.” She closed the door and moved around to Victoria’s side first.

  Before she reached the other side of the car, Victoria and Gia had alre
ady let themselves out and were and bulldozing toward the front door; not even stopping when they plowed through a heavy pile of snow. “Well then…” The two easily beat her to the door.

  ~

  “Stomp your feet so we don’t get snow in Grandma’s house.” Grace looked down at her daughter making sure she followed her directions before opening the door to her step-mother’s old-fashioned farmhouse.

  The same home Grace grew up in.

  “Eileen?” Grace called out, wiping her feet on the rug.

  “In here darling, the kitchen.” Eileen replied and Grace barely refrained from rolling her eyes.

  Darling.

  Grace did her best to ignore it as she snagged Victoria and peeled her coat off; hanging it up before walking towards the kitchen, having let the four-year-old and the dog loose. It was like unleashing two Tasmanian devils.

  “I only have a few minutes before I have to get going but thank you again for taking her. I really appreciate it.” Grace said.

  Eileen smiled and took her step-daughter’s hand “Although I don’t agree with what you’re doing, and I don’t think your father would either, I don’t mind taking my grandchild.”

  Grace twitched when the words ‘my grandchild’ rolled off Eileen’s tongue. Technically, she wasn’t Victoria's grandmother, and to be frank, Grace didn’t care for her much herself. Grace shook her head and pulled her hands away. “As much as you like to think you are…” She sucked in a breath of air as she paused, “You, are not my mother. And honestly, I’ll never see you as that, so stop trying to tell me I’m wrong. It has nothing to do with you. The only reason I come around still is because Victoria adores you. Your opinions on a situation you truly don’t understand mean absolutely nothing to me.”

  Eileen shook her head “Your father would not be proud of you, Grace.”

  Grace narrowed her eyes “Unlike you, Dad would have understood. I wouldn’t be in this mess. He only knew the good Aaron and wouldn’t have tolerated what I’ve gone through for a second. But none of that means anything to you. You’re too perfect in your own little…” Her mouth snapped shut.