Free Wilson's Hard Lesson by K. Anderson

tears were flying down her face. Her stone cold demeanor was
struck with despair like nothing Marie had ever seen before. She was striking a
chord and that hurt, but the woman had done it to herself.
    “You ain’t leavin’!” Phyllis ran at her with her fists
flailing, weakly slamming against her chest. She fell to the floor in a pile of
tears at her daughter’s feet. “Please. You’re all I have.”
    “Mama, I’m going and there’s nothing you can do. I love you.
I’ll call you and you can come see me.”
    “No! You stay here with me. You ain’t married yet.” Marie
tried to push her aside but she couldn’t. Phyllis was too strong. She hit the
back of Marie’s knees and the girl fell to the floor.
    “Mama! You know I’m an adult. I can call the police.” The
girl was crying too now. She went to hug her mother but the woman sat up and
raked her fingernails against Marie’s face like a badger.
    Marie shrieked and warm blood fell to the carpet. “Now
you’ve done it, Mama! You push me away. You treat me like a prisoner!” She was
on her feet. “You take every single bit of joy out of my life and then you
attack me,” she kicked the woman in the head, “when I’m trying to gain my life
back. You will never see me again.” She’d never talked like that before
to anyone. “I can promise you that.” She mustered strength she didn’t even know
she have when she stomped the woman’s head into the carpet till blood poured
out and walked over her.
    When she got to the parlor to leave, she took one of the
white and gold ceramic angels on the coffee table and picked it up, she pulled
her arm back to swing it onto the wall, but a firm hand stopped her then there
was a sharp butcher’s knife to her neck.
    “Get it your room,” the woman growled. “You ain’t leaving it
for a week. You can go in a bucket for all I care, but you’re not disgracing
my family.”
    With one hand on Marie’s shirt collar and the other holding
a knife to her throat Phyllis dragged her daughter to her room to lock the
door. “It will not stop me!” According to Phyllis, defiance was one of
the dirtiest words there ever was and that was exactly what was driving Marie,
but she was a woman being forced into a cage. She was being asked to give up
any chance of living, loving and seeing the world like she needed to do.
    Her mother had her suitcase or she’d be out the door. She
had to figure out a way to get it. She could try going out the window and into
the front door, but Phyllis had locked that for certain—she always did. She
could try banging down the door, but it was solid wood. The thing wasn’t hollow
and she wasn’t going to get out that way. The best she could think of was to
make her way out the window and hope that her mother didn’t lock it behind her.
That way she could get Drake to come and get her out of there.
    Reached down in her pocket. She couldn’t believe it. She
should’ve called Drake the moment this stuff happened, but it didn’t even enter
her mind. He could get her out of this. He’d put her in her place for certain.
    She dialed his number and waited. He didn’t pick up on the
first ring, which might not go through on his end, and he didn’t pick up the
second either. All that could mean was that he couldn’t reach it in time. Then
the third ring came and she was starting to worry. The seconds were passing and
they were supposed to have met by then. He wasn’t answering. Each and every
single time she called, he didn’t answer. Something must’ve happened to him,
but what? He said that he had to do something before they met, but what did
that mean? Was he in danger?
    She paced around, calling as much as she could. She hit the
button, put it on speaker and waited, and when it didn’t work, she tried again.
She must’ve called him at least 600 times by the time she plopped onto the bed.
    Maybe he missed her when he didn’t see her. He might’ve just
gone home thinking it was a waste,