Free A Christmas for Hope by Kassanna Page A

lips spread in a big smile while Hope blinked back tears.
     
    “Did you forget your place, baby girl? I mean I leave to handle business for a minute and you bring in another man. I have to say I’m not surprised considering your upbringing.” He leaned forward. His alcohol-ripe breath made her gag. “Are you going to invite me in?”
     
    “Charlie, I’m going say this once. Leave.” She averted his stare and focused on a point beyond his body.
     
    “Hope, baby, look at me.” Charlie raised his hand.
     
    Hope flinched, covering her belly with an arm. He dropped the appendage and skated his fingers along her limb. She stepped out of his reach and eased behind the door. Charlie narrowed his eyes and shook his head.
     
    “I won’t have another man take what’s mine, Hope. I suggest you get rid of the boy or someone could end up hurt. Do you understand me?” The sound of flesh slapping the wall caused her to jump then he turned on his heel and walked down the walkway. Mid-step he stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll give you a week to let the guy down easy then I’ll be back. That way we can start the New Year off right.” Charlie whistled a Christmas carol as he strode away.
     
    Hope closed the door with a soft click. Quickly turning the deadbolt, she leaned against the barrier. She wrapped her arms around her torso and let the tears stream down her cheeks. Hiccups racked her body as she slid to the linoleum floor. She stared at the ornament-laden tree with the brightly wrapped presents that Lucas insisted on buying for her and Kira. Hope closed her eyes to stem the flow.
     
    Memories ran through her mind like a movie reel. Her first encounter with Charlie when he was so attentive. Something she’d never experienced. Her mother was never around, working two, sometimes three, jobs to keep a roof over their heads. Her daddy…she snorted, she couldn’t remember ever meeting the man. But Charlie, he swooped right in and filled that void of loneliness, taking her out, showing her off to his friends. He was older and always around the neighborhood she’d grown up in. He felt safe. For the first time she’d felt cherished. Giddy in the knowledge that she was loved and desired. Hope wiped a hand down her face but the recollections wouldn’t be pushed aside so easily.
     
    She gently bumped her head against the wood. Her mother hadn’t liked Charlie and told her he’d had the same gleam in his eye as her daddy. Hope couldn’t remember her father so she had no reference to compare him too. Linda had made it quite clear Charlie wasn’t welcome in her home which forced Hope to make a choice. It was years later before she realized she’d selected the wrong path. So many times she’d covered up the bruises and the black eyes, always making excuses.
     
    The only thing she did do was finish school and that was with her mother’s help. Secretly attending classes when he thought she was attending to her ailing mom. Hope opened her eyes and gazed at the ceiling, stuck in the past. She didn’t even get a chance to go to her own graduation. When her mother passed, no one questioned the dark marks that appeared on her body. Quietly, she started saving funds. With that and the small inheritance her mother had left her, she’d get out and vanish to a place where he would never find her.
     
    Until he found her checkbook and savings statement. That night he’d beaten her until it’d hurt to move, until she didn’t have any fight left in her. She’d crawled into the bathroom and slept in the tub. A month later, Hope discovered she was pregnant. Worry had eaten away at psyche, had he hurt the baby? Determination filled her. It was no longer about her. She had to protect her child and come hell or high water that is what she would do. She’d stood up to him again and this time she added she was pregnant. The beatings would stop. He’d raised his fist. She’d lifted her chin, she would protect the