from me, ya little cunt?"
She tried to roll away with a panicked cry that sounded like a squeak from beneath his palm, but he straddled her body in the narrow bed and his free hand clutched at her throat, bringing her to a state of terror she hadn't felt since she'd run from him.
"Found yerself a cowboy to fuck? Figure yer too good fer the one who kept a roof ever yer head all these years?' His foul breath choked her almost as much as the hand around her throat. Her stomach rolled as she clawed at his wrists to loosen his grip on her. His face was hidden in darkness, but she could see in her mind the ugly rage that filled him. She could hear it in his voice.
Knowing that she had only moments of life unless he loosened his grip on her throat, Lily closed her eyes and went for his face with her hands and fingernails, gouging and clawing and then her teeth sank into the palm over her mouth as he released her face to hit her. The terror that had left her voiceless and helpless before evaporated into a red sea of rage as she fought back with every ounce of strength she possessed.
The shriek that awoke the rest of the household wasn't hers...it was his as her thumb gouged deep into his eye socket, and her teeth clamped hard over the webbing between his thumb and his first finger. For the briefest of moments, Jacob Proctor's weight was pressing her hard into her mattress...and then he was gone. Light blinded her as she rolled aside off her bed onto the oak floor, and wildly shimmied under the heavy bed frame.
The sound of the struggle above her was muffled by the oak bed and the thick mattress, and by her own arms wound over her head as she sobbed and held back shrieks of rage. She hoped that Flint and Curly and Ned tore the son of a bitch's head off. She could only guess who was beating the shit out of him, but she fervently prayed that they would maim him.
As the battle above her came to a halt, Dora's face appeared as the woman knelt beside the bed to assess her condition. She could hear Jacob's ranting voice telling everyone there that she was his...she belonged to him...that he'd gotten rid of her mom so he could have Lily to himself...and without a single thought, she struggled out from under the bed and flew across the mattress at the sick, crazy bastard held between two furious men, her fingers going for his uninjured eye. But arms came around her from behind, and she was dragged back.
"He ain't worth it, honey...let the menfolk take care of him. They'll make sure he gets what's comin' to him."
Lily blinked up at Dora's set face as the astonishing strong older woman wrapped arms around her and rocked her. For one long, pain filled moment, Lily stared at the man who'd made her life hell, and then she lost the ability to focus. His bloody face wavered in and out, and then he vanished as she sank back into Dora's arms, and let blessed blackness take everything away.
Epilogue
The court had decided she had acted in self defense in the matter of her striking Jacob Proctor with a metal object. They had dismissed all charges against her. The court had remanded Proctor into custody for a psychiatric evaluation. Jacob would undergo a psych evaluation at the state hospital to determine if he could reasonably defend himself in the cases the police had opened for the premeditated murders of five women.
It had been a stressful day in court dealing with the legal issues. Lily sat in the vinyl booth, staring off into space.
"Hey, darlin'...where are you?" Flint's raspy voice brought her back to the present, and she blinked up into his dark eyes. The people surrounding her looked concerned as she sorted out her mind and swallowed the hard lump that threatened to block speech completely.
"Um...I'm okay...just too much running through my mind, I guess. I can't believe I'm free of him. I can't believe I'll never have to look over my shoulder every time I hear a footstep. It's like I'm just waking from a nightmare." She
She tried to roll away with a panicked cry that sounded like a squeak from beneath his palm, but he straddled her body in the narrow bed and his free hand clutched at her throat, bringing her to a state of terror she hadn't felt since she'd run from him.
"Found yerself a cowboy to fuck? Figure yer too good fer the one who kept a roof ever yer head all these years?' His foul breath choked her almost as much as the hand around her throat. Her stomach rolled as she clawed at his wrists to loosen his grip on her. His face was hidden in darkness, but she could see in her mind the ugly rage that filled him. She could hear it in his voice.
Knowing that she had only moments of life unless he loosened his grip on her throat, Lily closed her eyes and went for his face with her hands and fingernails, gouging and clawing and then her teeth sank into the palm over her mouth as he released her face to hit her. The terror that had left her voiceless and helpless before evaporated into a red sea of rage as she fought back with every ounce of strength she possessed.
The shriek that awoke the rest of the household wasn't hers...it was his as her thumb gouged deep into his eye socket, and her teeth clamped hard over the webbing between his thumb and his first finger. For the briefest of moments, Jacob Proctor's weight was pressing her hard into her mattress...and then he was gone. Light blinded her as she rolled aside off her bed onto the oak floor, and wildly shimmied under the heavy bed frame.
The sound of the struggle above her was muffled by the oak bed and the thick mattress, and by her own arms wound over her head as she sobbed and held back shrieks of rage. She hoped that Flint and Curly and Ned tore the son of a bitch's head off. She could only guess who was beating the shit out of him, but she fervently prayed that they would maim him.
As the battle above her came to a halt, Dora's face appeared as the woman knelt beside the bed to assess her condition. She could hear Jacob's ranting voice telling everyone there that she was his...she belonged to him...that he'd gotten rid of her mom so he could have Lily to himself...and without a single thought, she struggled out from under the bed and flew across the mattress at the sick, crazy bastard held between two furious men, her fingers going for his uninjured eye. But arms came around her from behind, and she was dragged back.
"He ain't worth it, honey...let the menfolk take care of him. They'll make sure he gets what's comin' to him."
Lily blinked up at Dora's set face as the astonishing strong older woman wrapped arms around her and rocked her. For one long, pain filled moment, Lily stared at the man who'd made her life hell, and then she lost the ability to focus. His bloody face wavered in and out, and then he vanished as she sank back into Dora's arms, and let blessed blackness take everything away.
Epilogue
The court had decided she had acted in self defense in the matter of her striking Jacob Proctor with a metal object. They had dismissed all charges against her. The court had remanded Proctor into custody for a psychiatric evaluation. Jacob would undergo a psych evaluation at the state hospital to determine if he could reasonably defend himself in the cases the police had opened for the premeditated murders of five women.
It had been a stressful day in court dealing with the legal issues. Lily sat in the vinyl booth, staring off into space.
"Hey, darlin'...where are you?" Flint's raspy voice brought her back to the present, and she blinked up into his dark eyes. The people surrounding her looked concerned as she sorted out her mind and swallowed the hard lump that threatened to block speech completely.
"Um...I'm okay...just too much running through my mind, I guess. I can't believe I'm free of him. I can't believe I'll never have to look over my shoulder every time I hear a footstep. It's like I'm just waking from a nightmare." She
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