One Thousand Miles

Chapter  |  Power And Control

Part  |  One

Months had passed and nothing seemed to change other than me. It was actually a brand new year. The beatings became more frequent and the bruises became harder to hide. Well hard to hide from my co-workers, but from my family? Not so much. I didn't really talk or visit my family anymore. John told me that I didn't need them because he had me. He also said the same thing about Tanya, but he never questioned why I stopped talking to her which was a good thing.

Speaking of Tanya, it's been a while since I've heard anything from her. She said she would give me a month to call for 'help', but I never did. I didn't need the help. John made me a promise and he always went through with them, so I didn't care if I had to wait a week, a month, or a year for him to follow through with it.

The longest John has gone without lying a hand on me is so far two weeks. It was the first two weeks of November when he just stopped. I thought he had stopped for good, but I was proven wrong when he had hit me in the mouth for talking back.

We had just left some event for his company and we were arguing. He'd caught me talking to some guy who worked for him and was livid. He'd immediately marched over to where we sat in the corner and pulled my away saying he wanted to introduce me somebody. He had taken me back to our table and we sat there for the rest of the night quietly. I could tell he was still pissed since the deadly look on his face never disappeared until somebody came to talk to him. The tight grip on my hand that was sure to leave a bruise was another clue.

As we're driving home he's yelling while tightly holding onto the wheel. He would turn to look at me every few minutes, and the look he would give me wasn't a good one.

"You will learn to do as I say. When I tell you not to talk to certain people you don't disobey me," he says as we come to a stop at a red light.

"You don't control me," I mumbled. I didn't think he heard me, but he did. One quick punch in the mouth shut me up for the rest of the car ride.

"Watch your mouth," he said as he pointed a finger in my direction. After a few seconds when the light turned green he turned around and placed his hands back on the wheel. "You will learn..."

"Mom I'm sorry, I've just been busy lately," I say into my phone. I dig through the cabinets for more ingredients as I listen to my mother speaks.

"I know I'm sure you're busy, but it's like you're always busy. Even on weekends! You could at least come by or give us a call," she says. I could hear the sadness in her voice. I swallow back tears and close my eyes.

I sigh before placing my phone between my ear and shoulder. "Look mom I'm sorry. Yes I know that I could come and visit on weekends but I..." I say as I roll up my shirt sleeve. My whole left arm was black and blue and I'm sure my right was the same. I pulled it down and lifted up the bottom of my shirt to see bruises covering my sides. Some were so big they went from my side all the way to my back. "Like I said before mom, I've just been...busy."

She sighs. "Well you should really make some free time for your sister. Katie really misses you."

"I miss her too," I say quietly as I continue to look down at my bruised sides. Suddenly the sound of the front door slamming shut caught my attention. I quickly pulled my shirt back down and continued to cook dinner. "Look mom I have to go I---"

"Now you just hold it right there young lady! You may be twenty-three years old, but I refuse to let you treat us like you're doing now. You've been acting less and less like a Hersh should and this is where I draw the line. You don't show up for Thanksgiving dinner or even Christmas, and nor do you visit or bother to call on those days and weekends when you're off. What are you so busy with that isn't work?" she asks.

I was just about to respond when John stepped into the kitchen holding a dozen red roses. He smiles at me, but his smile soon falls when he notices the phone pressed in between my ear and shoulder. I look at him for a moment before turning away. "Look mom I really have to go. John's home and---"

"John's a great guy and all, but you'll hang up on your own mother to speak to your husband?" she asks in disbelief.

I groan. "Mom please just let me call you later okay? John needs me right now and I---"

"He needs you, for what? The guy is twenty-five years old. Whatever it is he can do it himself."

I look over at John and notice that his eyes are narrowed and his arms are cross over his chest. I sigh and turn away once again. "Mom I'll talk to you later, I love you."

She starts to speak once again, but I quickly hang up. I didn't want it to be like this, but John didn't like it when I talked to my family on the phone or anybody really.

Not wanting to get on John's bad side I place my phone down on the counter and turn towards him with a huge smile. I skip over to him and cup both of his cheeks in my hands before leaning in and placing a kiss on his lips. He doesn't kiss me back, but when I pull away the smile is still on my lips. "Hey babe, I missed you. How was work?"

His eyes are still narrowed and his arms are still cross over his chest. "Good. Who was that on the phone?"

I was scared of how he would react once I told him who it was, but still kept the smile on my face. "Oh it was just my mother. We didn't really say much."

"Well what did you say?" he asks.

I sigh and push my hair back. "Nothing really, she asked why I haven't called lately or visited and I told her I've been busy."

He continues to look at me with narrowed eyes before finally he lets out a sigh and drops his arms to his side before wrapping them around me. He pulls me into him and gives me a small smile. "Good girl, but that bitch really needs to stop treating you as if you're eleven. You're a grown woman, you don't need to see or talk to them every day of your life."

I would have snapped at him for calling my mother a bitch, but I didn't need another beating. "She knows that I'm an adult now, but she's always been like that. Her checking in on me every day is just one way of her showing me how much she loves me."

He sighs and shakes his head. "She may love you, but I love you more. I get that she's just trying to show you that she loves and cares for you, but she needs to realize that I'm your husband and I'm the one who takes care of you now."

I nod my head and give him a quick peck before pulling away from him and turning to head back towards the stove. I don't get very far because John suddenly grabs onto my bruised right wrist and pulls me back. I wince in pain, but quickly hide my pained look.

"Why don't we skip dinner and let's go straight for dessert."

I look at him over my shoulder and smile. "I've only ate one little apple today, so why don't we eat dinner then go have dessert? Does that sound good?"

His eyes narrow once again. "It seems as though our sex life is non-existent these days."

I groan and turn to face him. "John that isn't true and plus I don't want our marriage to be just sex."

"It isn't, but I'm a grown man with needs," he says while crossing his arms over his chest.

I sigh and look down at the floor. I really needed to watch what I said next because anything could easily cause him to flip out. "Please John. Can't you wait until after dinner?"

I look up at him and notice he's staring right back at me with narrowed eyes. I gulp and close my eyes. I was scared he was going to unexpectedly raise his hand or smack me, but instead he surprised me by mumbling the word, "Whatever."

I open my eyes and look at him in shock. He rolls his eyes and storms out the kitchen. I watch as he makes his way through the dining room and down the hall towards his office. I continue to stare at where he had disappeared until I hear his door slam shut. I stand for a few minutes shocked that he had actually dropped the subject. Normally he would continue to argue, but the only way the argument came to an end is if I gave in or said something I shouldn't have causing him to hit me. And tonight he hadn't hit me. Maybe just maybe,

He was slowly changing.