The Four

Shay Ryans

(this chapter contains details of domestic abuse)

   This time Shay Ryans didn't even see the punch coming, he only felt it. The cry that the boy let out was anything but confident. Shay tentatively lifted his hand to touch his left cheek that was now slowly leaking blood. He gave the woman in front of him a death glare and pushed himself back up off of the wall.

   Jenna didn't falter at his large height or murderous glare with his deep brown eyes. Shay knew she wouldn't and she never did.

    "What Shay? Are you going to hit me back?" Her voice was mockful and stung like ice. They both knew he would never lay a hand on her. Jenna happily used that to her advantage.

    In response Shay just shook his head and pushed past her to their shared bedroom. Which was the wrong fucking move, because the next thing Shay knew was that he was down on the ground.

    The boy groaned and turned to face Jenna, when his vision started to go blurry. Shay's eyes widened when he saw the baseball bat death gripped in her hands. The look on her face almost made him want to run away but he didn't, he couldn't. All Shay could do was shield his head from the bat coming down on him.

   'Where the hell did she get a bat from?' was the first thought that crossed his mind.

   Then he realized she must have grabbed the bat that the couple keeps by the front door in case anyone ever breaks in, her idea and now it's her weapon.

   The pain Shay was feeling was getting unbearable. How he got in this position was unbelievable to him, it always had been. There were no red flags, no warnings, nothing.

When he first met Jenna Malec she was this shy redhead who stuttered over every word when she talked to him. But the person in front of Shay now wasn't the woman that he fell in love with during their sophomore year of college. No, this person was a monster.

It all started in their eighth month together. She had a bad day, failed a test and unfortunately lost her job.

So, being the caring boyfriend he was, Shay arranged to cook something for her to try and make her day at least a little better. But when she came home... Something was different.

Jenna smelled of a mixture of whiskey, cigarettes and multiple perfumes. It wasn't hard to tell that she had cheated on him with someone or someones. If Shay was being honest he completely lost it on her. He was screaming and cursing at her but the only response he got back was this high pitched giggle.

Then she hit him. She punched him right in the nose, hurt like hell. Jenna didn't stop after that. She repeatedly hit Shay and mocked him for what felt like an eternity.

When she finally had enough entertainment she grabbed the wine bottle that Shay had picked out for them and went back to her dorm room.

Shay was fucking humilated. He felt weaker than he had ever felt before. The pain he was feeling was much more than a surface level pain. It was so deep that Shay felt like he was suffocating. Jenna had taken away his pride and she continued to take it away three years later.

Shay always prided himself on his 6'2 frame, and his confidence. But when he was around her, he felt weak, like he was the small sixth grade boy being made fun of for living on a farm.

The monster in front of him had total control over his life and Shay hated it. The only escape he had was his shop with his one and only friend, Emmet Jones, who had moved to the U.S. from Australia when he was seventeen. What was unknown to their boss and the rest of the shop workers was the underground street racing that they participated in. Shay fixes the cars and Emmet drives them. The pair were sort of known as the dynamic duo of the underground racing world.

He was also the only one who knew about Jenna and the abuse. You can't exactly blame a black eye on hitting a wall after just healing from one a month ago.

It kind of shocked Shay that he believed him when Shay first confided in him. Shay had tried to tell his parents back when the abuse first started just to have a support system but naturally they didn't believe him. They told him that only women get abused and that Shay should just suck it up and be a man.

After that Shay kind of just shut down again. They were kind of right. It is more common to hear stories about women getting abused. In Shay's own opinion no one should ever be abused regardless of their gender. No one deserves to get hurt by someone that they love and it definitely shouldn't be common amongst a gender.

But still the abuse fucked him up in more ways than just physical. Shay was always a quiet kid but after getting beat up by the woman that he loved repeatedly he wasnt that open anymore. Shay was more reserved, wasn't smiling as often and his teammate noticed that and dragged the truth out of him. Emmet is currently the only one that Shay will joke around with or even smile at.

A searing pain in Shay's leg brought him back to the present. Fucking Jenna hit him where his weak spot was. Shay had broken his leg when he was eighteen and it never fully healed properly.

Shay's eyes widened at the unrecognizable demon in front of him as she drunkenly laughed and attempted to hit him again only to miss.

Shay used this to his advantage and limped up towards the bed grabbing the getaway bag he was packing. That's why she started hitting him tonight, she had caught him packing his bag to leave her.

Shay eyed her carefully as she stumbled around the room trying to find her balance. A miniscule smile of relief tugs at the corners of his mouth as he grabbed the duffle bag and makes a run for it.

There was a shriek and a loud thump as Shay ran down the hallway to get to the door. Loud high heeled foot steps followed close behind but he managed to slam the door shut just in time.

Shay didn't even hesitate, he just ran. He made it into the elevator and closed the doors just as Jenna appeared in front of him. Shay let out a small sigh and leaned against the wall of the elevator with his eyes closed.

The ding interrupted his peace and he opened his eyes again. Shay made his way down to the parking garage and stepped into his car sinking into the leather seats.

Shaking his head Shay immediately turned the car on knowing there was no time to waste. At this point he wasn't even thinking, just running on pure adrenaline.

He didn't even bother checking any of the mirrors or his surroundings as he pulled away from his designated spot. Jenna could easily show up at any second so there was truly no time to waste.

The door to the parking garage swung open with a loud bang causing Shay to jump in the driver's seat. The flash of red was the only clue that he got on who had just opened the door.

This was it, Shay's last chance to get away from the person who had been controlling his life for four years. Shay pressed down on the gas pedal hearing the familiar roar of the engine as he drove down the hallway of the parking garage and out into the nearly empty streets.

Shay was speeding at this point but he didn't care, he had to get away. Shay risked taking a glance over his shoulder but to his relief there was no one behind him but the wide open streets. Shay turned back around to assure that he wouldn't crash the car.

As Shay drives down the pathway to freedom he couldn't help but let out a loud laugh. He was finally free from Jenna Malec. He could focus on his career and actually start his life again with no fear.

For once in his life he was genuinely happy.

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all I can say about shay is that he is a #dadfriend. so just be prepared for some cute moments with him and his roomie.

thank you for reading, commenting and voting!! it means a lot!

-xoxo m <3