Love Don't Have to Hurt

by Lucinda John

  Twisting the caps off the Tylenol bottles, I threw them all in my mouth, washing them down with the soapy bath water. When I didn’t feel anything, I grabbed the Advil’s and threw them down my throat as well. I could feel the room spinning as my eyes began to get fuzzy.

  “I’m coming, daddy,” I whispered before sinking down in the water.

  Chapter 12

  Lucas

  Finding Aimee unconscious in her bath water fucked me up in the head. When I was able to detect a faint pulse, I called the paramedics and Aimee was rushed to the hospital. After pumping her stomach, she fell into a deep sleep for a week. Once the doctors cleared her for release, they sent her to Henderson Behavior Clinic for a two-week psych evaluation.

  “I hope when you bring her home you learn how to keep your hands to yourself,” Jordan said as we sat at my parent’s dinner table.

  “Shut the fuck up! What did I tell you about being in my business?” I yelled.

  “I’m just saying, that poor girl is going to lose her fucking life messing with you. This is Tootsie Roll all over again. I should have known better than to think you’d changed your sick ways,” my brother rambled on.

  “Shut your lover boy ass up. Maybe if you would have slapped Gina’s bitch ass around, she wouldn’t have left,” I said, hitting him below the belt.

  Pissed, Jordan jumped up from the table and punched me in the face. His hit didn’t do anything but further infuriate me. Biting the side of my lip, I hit my brother with a two-piece, causing him to crash into the table.

  “Oh my God! James, honey, come break up this fight!” my mother yelled.

  “They’re men, let them fight,” my father replied.

  The fight went on for a good five minutes, until my father broke us up.

  “Why the fuck y’all tearing up my fucking house?” my father asked.

  “Jordan’s pussy ass don’t know how to mind his own fucking business,” I replied.

  “I’m a pussy because I don’t put my hands on women? Nah, you the pussy!” he shouted.

  “How else are you going to keep your bitch in check?” my father said, taking the words out of my mouth.

  “I don’t have to put my hands on my woman to have a successful relationship.”

  “That’s why Gina left you, you’re too weak. Women hate weak men!” my father shouted, causing me to chuckle.

  “Well, my woman loves me the way that I am,” Jordan smirked.

  “Who the stripper hoe?” I asked.

  “Newsflash! Your bitch used to strip for me, too!” Jordan snarled.

  “Fellas, that’s enough. Agree to disagree. Lucas, handle your relationship the way you see fit, and Jordan you do the same. Now get the fuck out of my house!” my father replied, walking out of the kitchen.

  My mother looked as if she wanted to say something, but she knew better. That’s how I wanted Aimee to be. If Aimee could be a good bitch like my mother was to my father, then there wouldn’t be a reason for me to put my hands on her.

  ******

  When the day to pick up Aimee arrived, I hired a maid service to clean our house and cook dinner so she wouldn’t have to.

  “I better catch this nut before I get to the hospital,” I said to Peanut, who was in the passenger seat sucking my dick while I drove to pick up Aimee.

  “Shhhhh daddy, let me do my job,” she replied before swallowing me whole.

  After swallowing my seeds, I gave her a couple of dollars and dropped her off at the bus stop that was a block away from the hospital. When I pulled up in the parking lot, Aimee was sitting in a wheelchair with a smiling nurse standing behind her.

  “Hey beautiful,” I smiled, handing her the yellow roses I got her.

  Instead of replying to me, she kept her eyes trained on the ongoing traffic. I wanted to slap her ass for ignoring me, but gave her a one-day free pass. With the help of the nurse, I put Aimee and her things in the car and headed home.

  “Are you hungry?” I asked.

  “No,” she replied.

  “Listen to me, Aimee. Things don’t have to be this way. If you just do what I ask and refrain from questioning me, things could return back to normal,” I said, grabbing her hands. I twirled her wedding ring between my fingers and thought back to our special day.

  “I have a surprise for you.”

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “The beauty of a surprise is not knowing what it is until it’s presented to you,” I smiled.

  When we got home, I ordered her to shower and pack a small weekend bag for both of us. Once she was done, we sat down and had lunch before heading to my jet. On the jet, we cuddled on the king-sized bed and waited until we reached our destination.

  When the jet landed in beautiful Giethoorn, Holland, Aimee was sleeping.

  “Baby, we’re here,” I replied, gently shaking her.

  She stirred in her sleep before finally waking up and stretching. I grabbed her shoes off the ground and placed them on her feet. I carried her bridal style off the jet, while staring into her beautiful eyes. I really did love my wife with all my heart. I could see our relationship flourishing into something beautiful, whenever she decided to catch on and do what was expected of her.

  “This is beautiful,” she replied, as we rode a boat to our cabin house.

  The village of Giethoorn didn’t have any roads. The only way to get around was by boat or by bike. The first time I came here, I fell in love with it. I knew Aimee would appreciate it as much as I did because she loved nature.

  “Baby, I don’t want things to be like this between us,” I said, placing her in my lap.

  “Me either,” she replied.

  “Just be the wife I need you to be, and in return, I promise to give you the world.”

  “Ok,” she agreed.

  “When we get home, I want you to make an appointment to have your IUD removed.”

  When we got together, it was my idea that she get an IUD until I felt we were ready for children. Yes, I had Leah, but I needed a child that lived in the same household with me. Maybe if Aimee had a baby she would come to her senses and I wouldn’t have to put my hands on her all the time.

  “Are you sure this is the right time to have a baby?” she asked.

  “Yes. We’re financially stable and we followed through with our career paths, the next step is a baby,” I replied, kissing her on the cheek.

  “We should start practicing now,” I said, slipping my hands up her dress.

  “We’re in public.”

  “So? Who cares, just lift your dress and sit on daddy’s dick.”

  Unzipping my cargos, I pulled my dick out. Removing Aimee’s panties, I eased her onto my dick. I used her dress to cover us as she began rocking back and forth.

  “Mmm baby, I missed this pussy so much,” I confessed, lost in her wetness.

  Aimee always did have the type of pussy that could bring any nigga to his knees. That’s probably why I was so crazy over her ass. I was putting all the blame on the pussy. There was no way in hell it was supposed to be feeling this good.

  “Oooh daddy, I’m about to cum.”

  “Let it go A, cum on daddy’s dick. Wet my shit up just the way I like it.”

  A few minutes later, Aimee was drowning my dick in her cum. Her pussy was so wet that I thought somehow the boat had tipped over and we were sinking under water. Unable to control myself, I shot my hot lava inside of her and watched her bounce up and down from the impact of my nut.

  “Stay right here, I just want to enjoy this moment,” I said, holding onto her waist.

  “I love you, Lucas,” Aimee said with tears slipping from her eyes.

  “I love you more,” I replied, brushing the tears away with my thumbs.

  Chapter 13

  Aimee

  (One month later)

  “Davia, I said Attitude. That is not how you do an Attitude. Gabby, please show Davia the proper way to do an Attitude,” I called out during my ballet rehearsal.
r />   I was preparing my four, five, and six years olds for the Mini-Dancers’ Recital, and I wanted to make sure they were on point. With me missing so many practices, there was a lot of work to be done, so I decided that I would personally come to practice five days a week. Dance was my everything, my escape from reality. I saw potential in my girls and it was my job to push them to be the best dancers they could be.

  “Nice to have you back,” Rick, one of my male choreographers, said.

  “It’s great to be back,” I smiled.

  “You up for a routine? You look out of shape,” he smirked.

  “Bring it on,” I challenged. “Becky, cover for me, please.”

  Rick and I walked to a private room in the studio, so we could work on dance moves.

  “Those high kicks looking low,” Rick joked.

  “Aww, come on. I know you see these pointed toes” I replied, doing a high jump, landing on the tips of my toes.

  “Hmm, I don’t know. Let me show you how it should be done,” he said, coming behind me.

  He placed one of his hands on my hips, then used his other hand to push my feet straight in the air.

  “Hold it. Hold it. Point those toes,” he said, smacking the back of my feet.

  “I am a little out of shape,” I giggled.

  “At least your physique looks good,” he flirted.

  “Oh, I’m always going to keep that on point. My husband loves me this way,” I replied, waving him off.

  “Rotate position,” he said, helping me stretch my other leg the furthest it could go.

  “Ahem,” someone behind us cleared their throat.

  When I looked up and saw Lucas, my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. The past month my body had caught a break from his abuse, and I was sure this was going to earn me a beating. Even though I wasn’t doing anything wrong, from the outside looking in, the position Rick and I were in didn’t look very innocent.

  “Hey baby!” I nervously greeted Lucas.

  “I’m sorry, was I interrupting anything?” he asked.

  “No, we were just finishing up,” I replied.

  “Don’t allow me to interrupt your practice. I just came by to treat you to lunch. I can wait until you’re finished,” he replied, kissing me on the lips.

  “It’s fine. I’m hungry anyways. Rick, take over for me.”

  “Will do, Mrs. Stinger.”

  “Thanks. Let me just go grab my bag,” I said to Lucas.

  As I walked to my office, my heart was beating a mile per minute. I knew I was in deep trouble. I could just feel it in the pit of my stomach. Lucas’ steps following closely behind mine, made my stomach turn in fear. We both walked in my office. Lucas closed and locked the door behind him.

  WHAP!

  A swift slap to my face had me crashing to the floor.

  “You love fucking with me, don’t you?” he said, fixing his tie.

  “I wasn’t doing anything,” I cried.

  “Shut your hoe ass up. Hurry up and clean your face, I’m hungry,” he barked.

  Lifting myself from the ground, I walked into the bathroom that was adjoined to my office. In the mirror, I could see that my lip was split, but the bruise wasn’t too bad. After cleaning the drops of blood off my lips, I applied some midnight black lipstick. Changing out of my dance clothes, I slipped into a pair of jeans, with a t-shirt that had the name of my dance company printed on it. Grabbing my black Nikes, I laced them up on my feet and was ready to go.

  “Throw those jeans out when we get home,” Lucas said, wrapping his arms around my waist as we walked out of the studio.

  “Ok,” I replied without arguing.

  After lunch at Ruby Tuesday’s, Lucas dropped me off at home and told me to take the rest of the day off. There wasn’t anything else for me to do, so I called Shanice and asked her if she would spend the rest of the day with me. She was almost seven months pregnant now and was as big as a house. I made sure I had lunch prepared for the greedy little thing. Shanice was the type to bitch until she had food in her system.

  “Hey girl, it’s been a minute,” Shanice said, walking through the door, glowing as if she were related to the sun.

  “Hey boo! Look at that belly,” I said, rubbing my godson.

  “When are you going to get a belly?” she asked.

  “I had my IUD removed, so whenever nature takes it course, I guess,” I replied.

  “How are things going with you and Lucas?” she asked, walking to the kitchen.

  “Things are great, ya know. What about you and Jordan?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “Surprisingly, things between me and Jordan are good.”

  “Why are you surprised?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. I figured he would be the biggest man whore alive since he owns a strip club.”

  “That’s good,” I replied with tears coming down my face.

  “What’s wrong, Aimee?” Shanice asked, wrapping her arms around me.

  “I’m just tired.”

  “Tired of what?” she asked.

  “The abuse. It’s never going to end.”

  “Abuse! What abuse?” she shouted.

  “Lucas has been hitting me,” I replied, putting my head down.

  “What the fuck do you mean Lucas has been hitting you? Why are you still with his ass and why isn’t he in jail?” Shanice yelled.

  “Because I’m her husband,” Lucas replied, shocking us.

  “You stupid motherfucker!” Shanice yelled, charging Lucas.

  She smacked him hard in the face before he pushed her, causing her to lose her footing.

  “You stupid son of a bitch! You pushed me; I’m calling the fucking cops. That’s assault!” Shanice yelled, grabbing her phone.

  “You put your hands on me first, you stupid trick!” he yelled, smacking her in the face again.

  I was frozen in place, in fear. I didn’t know what to do, so I watched everything unfold with tears falling down my face. With red eyes, Shanice gathered her things to prepare and leave.

  “Aimee, let’s go, now! We are going to the cops,” she yelled, tugging my hand.

  I wanted to move and follow her, but it was like my feet were glued to the ground. Just as I’d found the courage to move and follow her, Lucas grabbed my hand. He gave me a look that said it was in my best interest to stay my ass put.

  “Shanice, I can’t” I said, ashamed of myself.

  “You can’t do what?” she asked, getting in my face.

  “I can’t leave him, he’s my husband.”

  “He is going to fucking kill you if you stay with him!”

  “Shanice, get the fuck out of my house now,” Lucas intervened, grabbing her by the hand and leading her to the front door.

  As Shanice shouted how stupid I was for staying with a man that beat me, I felt my heart break. Never in a million years did I think things between Shanice and I would play out like this. I knew it was my fault for opening my big mouth in the first place; I just needed someone to talk to. I didn’t expect for everything to blow up in my face like this. Looking down at the pearl tattoo with the locket that had the words ‘best friends’ written in it, I thought back to the day we got it. It was like our way of promising to be best friends for life. Now, because of my stupidity, I may have lost the only friend I had.

  “So, you’re going around spreading our personal business?” Lucas asked, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt.

  Before he could lift his hand and strike me, there was a series of loud knocks at the front door.

  “FORT LAUDERDALE POLICE, OPEN UP NOW!” an officer yelled from the other side of the door.

  “That stupid bitch called the cops!” Lucas yelled.

  He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and sent three text messages.

  “I will deal with your ass later. Now go open the fucking door and keep your mouth shut!” he demanded.

  Slowly walking to the front door, I opened it and came face to face with two officers and
a hysterical Shanice.

  “Ma’am, follow me, please,” the female officer said.

  She walked me to where Shanice was standing, screaming obscenities.

  “Is it right that your husband put his hands on her?” the officer asked.

  “Mm… I…I don’t know,” I stumbled on my words.

  “It’s ok, you can tell me. He’s not going to hurt you,” she assured me.

  “Aimee, tell her, please. Tell her how he hits you, tell her how he just smacked me in the face, disregarding that I am with child,” Shanice demanded.

  “My husband doesn’t beat me and I didn’t see anything. Am I free to go now?” I asked, feeling my heart shatter. The look on Shanice’s face told me that it was a wrap for our friendship.

  I wanted to tell them so badly, but I couldn’t put my husband in jail. If I did, things weren’t going to play out in my favor in the end. Besides, I still loved him, despite it all.

  “Yes, we’re done,” the female officer replied.

  “I can’t believe you,” Shanice snarled. “Well, arrest him. This handprint on my cheek didn’t magically happen.”

  The female officer walked over to the male officer that was questioning Lucas. She whispered something in her partner’s ear, making him reach for his handcuffs. I could hear as he read Lucas his rights, then hauled him off to jail. The officer waited until Shanice pulled off, before disappearing with my husband in the backseat of their cruiser.

  The next day, my husband was still in custody. He didn’t call me, so I assumed he was handling everything on his own. That night, I didn’t get one ounce of sleep, tossing and turning, waiting for Lucas to come home and drag me out of bed by my hair.

  My nerves were so bad that I kept cleaning an already clean house. I was so jittery that I didn’t know what to do with myself. I wanted to grab my things and run far away, but Lucas would always find me. I wanted grab a knife and slit my vein, completing my suicide this time, but I was too chicken to follow through with that plan.

  The day came and went and it was now nine in the evening. I was sitting on the couch, watching a blank TV screen, when the front door opened and shut. My heart rate began racing when Lucas appeared in front of me.