~Earlier That Day~

Vera looked at her reflection in the mirror with a weary sigh. There were dark circles under her once radiant brown eyes, and she had lost so much weight since her son left that her cheeks were caved in. She was happy that he was able to get away from the abuse he'd endured for so long, but with him gone she was left without a friend in the world, and her family was treating her worse than ever before.

Tears swelled in her eyes and she reached for the bottle of raspberry wine stashed under the bathroom sink, shaking her head in shame as she poured herself a large glass.  There was a time in her life where she never would have guessed that she would be sneaking in sips of alcohol to hold on to what sanity she had left, but she made the mistake of falling in love with a man who treated her like a punching bag.

Despite his terrible ways, Vera truly believed that there was good in her husband, and that there was still a chance she could change him into the loving husband and father that he was more than capable of being.

The sound of the front door opening pulled her back to reality, and she shoved the bottle of wine back underneath the sink. She smeared a little foundation on her cheeks before going to greet Victor and Violet in the living room.

"How was the movie?" She asked, handing her husband his pair of slippers, like she did every day when he returned home. 

"Total suck fest."  Victor grumbled, collapsing into his black recliner.

"Yeah!" Violet agreed, "It wasn't even scary! I told Daddy we shoulda got our money back!"

Vera forced herself to smile at them. "Sorry to hear that. Would you like me to go to the video store later? I'll find us a good movie to watch."

"No, thanks." Victor said, grabbing the remote control off of the coffee table. "The last time I sent you to the video store you returned with a corny family movie. Your taste sucks."

"I'm sorry." Vera sighed, looking down at the floor. "I guess I'll go cook dinner while you find something on television."

She started to walk away, but Violet stepped in front of her with her hands on her hips. "I sure hope it's better than those tacos you made last night. Those were disgusting!"

Vera looked to her husband to see if he would come to her aid, but as usual he simply laughed and agreed with his little princess. She sighed again and made her way into the kitchen to cook a package of pork chops she'd purchased earlier in the day.  As they simmered in the pan, she thought about how her son was always sure to tell her how thankful he was that she took the time to cook for him.  The thought brought a small smile to her face, and she found herself missing him that much more.

When she finished cooking dinner, she fixed Victor's plate and carried it to him.  "Here you go, sweetheart."  She said, "I hope that you-"

"Shhhh!"  He hissed, snatching the plate from her hands.  His eyes were fixed on an episode of Law and Order.

Vera shook her head and fixed her daughter a plate before going back to her bedroom. She poured herself another large glass of wine and reminisced on the good times she had with her son. She stayed alone in her room for several hours, hiding the evidence of her depression until it was time to go to sleep.

Victor came in and changed into his pajamas, looking at his wife with disdain as he laid next to her in the bed. "What the hell's the matter with you lately? You've been moping around for weeks, and you look like a pile of shit."

She sucked in a deep breath and confessed, "I miss our son."

"Why? Things have been great around here ever since the little bastard left."

Vera averted her gaze away from his, finding it difficult not to glare at him. "Yeah, maybe for you." She muttered, regretting the words as soon as they left her lips.

Victor's eyebrows raised, and he folded his arms over his chest. "Why, Vera....if I didn't know any better I'd say your getting sassy mouthed with me."

"I wasn't trying to, Victor. I'm sorry."

"You would do well to keep your thoughts to yourself. I did what was best for the family by allowing him to live with Ma. The boy was a ticking time bomb"

"He was scared to death because of what you did to Jordan. Can you blame him for-?"

Victor slapped her across the face hard before she could finish her thought. "I told you never to mention that name in this house again! Are you hard of hearing or just fucking stupid!?"

"I'm not stupid!!" Vera screamed, surprising herself and her husband.  She clasped on to her burning cheek as she climbed out of their bed, throwing her robe around herself.   "I'm sick of you treating me like a second class citizen!"

Victor stared at his wife in disbelief before a dark smile played on his lips.  "Oh, really?  And just what do you intend to do about it?"

Vera opened the closet door and pulled out the small brown bag she had packed for herself months ago.  "I'm leaving, Victor."

The smile disappeared from Victor's face as he climbed out of the bed, snatching the bag away from his wife.  "You're out of your mind if you think I'm letting you leave this house."

"You have no right to keep me here.  I should have taken Vincent and left a long time ago."

"Where would you go?"  Victor asked, amused by his wife's newfound boldness.  "You don't have a penny to your name, sweetheart."

"I don't care!"  Vera screamed, "I would rather live on the streets than with you and Violet!"

Victor tossed her bag aside and stepped closer to her, his muscular body pushing her frail one against the wall.  She tried to get away from him, but he pinned her wrists above her head with one hand, his smile returning as she tried again to free herself from his grasp.  "You need to take a deep breath and calm down, woman."

"Please, let me go, Victor.  I promise I won't tell anyone about the abuse.  I just want out!"

"I told you that you're not going anywhere, so you may as well just settle down before-"

"Before what!?  You hit me again!?"  Vera said, her eyes burning into his with a fiery rage she had no idea was in her.  "You know what?  Go ahead and hit me if that's what it takes to make you feel like a man."

Victor could not believe his ears.  His wife had never spoken to him this way before!  He stood there in stunned silence until she decided to push him even further. 

"What's the matter?"  She asked, "Can't believe that I finally found a voice after so long?"

Victor clamped his hand over her mouth before she could say another word.  "I don't know what the hell has gotten into you tonight, but if you don't calm down and get back into bed I'm going to strangle that puny neck of yours."

She shook her head and uttered a few muffled cries of protest, knowing good and well that he would kill her.  She thought about all of the times he slapped her around, then she closed her eyes and kneed her husband in the groin. 

Victor immediately released her and grabbed on to his throbbing testicles.  "You bitch..."

Vera grabbed her bag from the floor and slung it over her shoulder.  "How does it feel?"  She asked with a shaky voice, looking back at him before she walked out of the room. 

She made sure that Violet was fast asleep in her bed before grabbing her car keys from the counter and going outside to her car.

Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest from what she had done that she found it difficult to steady her hands long enough to start the engine.  When she did manage to start it, she peeled out of the driveway and smiled as the night wind blew through her hair. 

She was finally free, and there was only one thing she had left to do before she left this terrible life behind forever.

She had to go get her son.