VirtuaScape
Page 19
When Mason returned to room the to dress for the debate, Grace ignored him. She sat in the living area, her anger fuming. She acknowledged Connor as he left, and promised to message him if she needed him. She had sat there for hours as she tried to come to terms with the voicemails she had listened to. Her entire world had been turned upside down, and though she had tried and tried to make the words she had heard mean something else, but she continued to run into a brick wall. It seemed to be a dead end, much like what her marriage was turning out to be. All this time she had been debating over whether to tell anyone about the coded message she had found. To protect Mason. To protect their marriage. To protect her family. To abide by her marriage vows in the eyes of the Lord. But to now face that it was all a sham. That he had been lying to her all this time. Near a rage, she got up off the couch, and stormed into the bedroom.
“Hi, honey.” Mason said, as he pulled on fresh slacks.
“You son of a bitch!”
“Grace?”
“You heard me, you lying son of a bitch.”
“What the hell, Grace!” He fired back.
“Admit it! Say it!”
“Say what, damn it?”
“Her! That...that whore! Admit it!”
“What the hell are you-”
“Teresa!” She yelled. He fastened his pants, and stood there shirtless staring back at her. His expression gradually shifted from confusion to one of concern.
“What? Grace, we talked about that this morning. I explained-”
“You lied!”
“I-”
“You! Lied!” She spat out, too angry to allow her tears to flow. His expression changed to one of anger.
“Look. I don’t know what you think you know, but you need to get a grip on yourself.”
“I know everything I need to know! How long, you son-of-a-bitch? How long?”
“Settle down, Grace. You’re over reacting.”
“Over reacting? Is that what you call this? You have desecrated the sacred bonds of our marriage, and I’m over reacting? Unbelievable!”
“Grace! I have not-”
“You’re a damn liar!” She yelled. He paused, as he considered her venomous accusations. Then he stepped towards her. On the second step, she began to back away, her anger suddenly morphing into fear. He closed the gap in two more steps and grabbed her by the throat, and slammed her against the wall. She squirmed under his vice-like grip. Her breath escaped her as her back hit the wall, as the fear filled her eyes. He lifted her off the ground by one hand, her feet kicked uselessly beneath her.
“Look, you crazy bitch! You just need to shut the fuck up! I have had it with your psycho bullshit! Do you hear me?” She tried to answer, but his grip was too tight. No air could escape her throat as she felt his fingers tighten even further. “Fucking PTSD my ass, you whining little bitch. Why don’t you just take some more drugs, you fucking whore! Drink another case of wine, you god damn alcoholic! That’ll just make everything better! Right? Right, Grace?” She began to feel light headed, so much so that the pain in her throat began to dim. She stopped kicking as she began to see white spots, and could feel herself begin to lose consciousness. She tried to speak, to beg him to let her go, but could not form the words. “You...are fucking pathetic.” He said, and slung her towards the bed. She landed roughly, just barely hanging on to lucidity. She finally was able to take a breath, and began to cough and wretch. He walked over to her, as she tried to scramble away from him.
“No.” She tried to say, but the sound was unintelligible.
“Don’t you say a fucking word to me, you bitch.” She frantically tried to move away from him. He reached out and grabbed her by the leg, and yanked her back towards him. She fought to get away, and he yanked her again. “And don’t you ever!” He yelled, pulling her roughly closer to him. “Ever!” he yelled, as he grabbed her by the throat again, and brought her up to his face. “Say her name again! Do you understand me? You will never say the name Teresa again! As long as you live!” Again the pressure on her throat was unbearable. “Say you understand!” She tried to, but could not speak. “Say it!” He spat out at her, and backhanded her across the face. Stars exploded inside her head, as her neck snapped around. For a moment, all motion ceased. White spots began to blossom into darkness, and then the pain from the blow exploded across the side of her face. Nearly incapacitated, she weakly nodded. He threw her down on the bed. She tried to crawl away from him, but her arms and legs would not cooperate.
“Well...I’m glad we’ve got that out of the way. I don’t know how you found out, and you know what, Grace? I don’t give a fuck. You just couldn’t leave well enough alone could you? Well here’s the deal, Grace...Honey...you’re going to keep your fucking mouth shut. I want to make sure that you understand me. Nod!” She nodded. “Good. You will do what I tell you, when I tell you. Do you understand?” She nodded again. “And if you open your mouth about this...” He leaned towards her. “To anyone...” His head came near hers. “I will fucking kill you.” She could feel his breath against her burning cheek. “Do you understand?” She laid there, frozen, and afraid to move. “Grace? Do you?” She shakily nodded. He hovered a moment longer, and then rose up and entered the bathroom. She lay there in shock, in pain, and in total heart break.
Chapter 20