Free Eternal Soulmate by Brooklyn Taylor Page B

smile. Her eyes look sad. I’m hoping we can make those happy again. She has hand mark bruises all over her neck. She has a bruise on her temple from a gun barrel. She doesn’t talk, she just nods. She finally told me her name is Crystal.  She won’t open up to me more than that. I asked her if she knows who did this to her and she wouldn’t answer me. Not that I am surprised - most don’t.
    I got her clean clothes, a shower and a warm meal and tried to get her settled as best I could. I took her to a cot and she layed down. She asked me to stay in the room with her since she hasn’t slept in as long as she can remember.  She finally fell asleep and I checked my phone for any texts or messages, nothing there. I sat there drifting off in my thoughts, thinking of how lucky I was to escape when I did. As a child, it was horrible, but, as an adult, I don’t know if I could have fought through it. The lady started to cry and shake after a short time asleep. I tried to wake her but she was turning her body back and forth.
    Oh my God, please give me the will to get through this day. Just watching this poor woman breaking down hurt me. I get flashbacks of mom and Nick.  I try to picture what he would be like now. It has been eight years. I’m sure he has aged and not gracefully. I might not recognize his looks but his smell, his voice and his presence, I would notice him out of a million people.  Everything about him screams abuser. He smelt like a brewery - that stinky BO beer smell. If I walk past anyone and smell it today, I instantly am reminded of him in my face or my mom’s.
     
    ღ
    ~Ashlynn~
    Age 7
    I hear the yelling and try as hard as I can to block it out, but to no avail nothing can get the yelling and wails of my mommy out of my head. Usually it is over pretty quick, but this beating seems to be taking longer than normal. Nick has started to drink more and more.  Mom is not smiling as much anymore like she used to and it makes me sad. I hear my mom crying. I listen to hear Nick’s yelling about how useless she is and how she never removes the superglue from between her legs. I don’t know what that means but it sounds scary. I hear my name and Nick saying she better find the superglue remover or he will use me. I hear mama screaming; a slap, and then silence. I count to 100 and hope it is safe for me to go find mama. I finally open my closet and pull off the mountain of blankets I have piled on top of me for protection.
    I finally see her in the bathroom trying to wash her face. There always seemed to be only a little bit of blood, but this time, her eye is black as night. She sees me coming around the corner and stops. She knows I heard everything as I do every time this happens. He normally hits her where she can hide it with her clothes. She is trying so hard to keep me safe from this monster she has married. He promised to love me and my mommy and is now killing her in more ways than one. I often would go into the kitchen in the morning after he leaves for work before my bus, and pour out any beer cans I see. He used to be nicer to us when he wasn’t drinking them. It doesn’t really matter though because I know he will buy more. I have not heard from my daddy in months now.  He must have forgotten about me just like I knew he would.
     
    AGE 10
    I am outside playing on my bike playing cops and robbers with my next door neighbor. It’s a beautiful day outside and we’ve been out for hours. We haven’t wanted to go in not even to go potty or get water. We pee on the side of the house and drink water from the hose. The day is ours.  I see Nick pull up from work and within 10 minutes the fighting starts. My mom had been inside cooking dinner. I guess it wasn’t what he wanted when he got home. I try to ride my bike further down the cul-de-sac so I couldn’t hear it, but I can’t tune it out. The voices get louder and louder and I hear my mom begging for him to stop. I head back to the house and