Silent Screams

Long Time No See

LAUREN'S POV

I looked at the different boxes of cereal that were on the shelf. At the moment, I wasn't looking for anything in particular. I was just glad to be in a safe place at the time.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look what I found," I heard my daughter, Emily, say and I looked over at her to see that she was holding up her favorite box of cereal. "Can I get it, please?" she begged with a smile on her face.

"Of course, sweetheart," I answered with a smile and she placed it into the shopping cart with the rest of the groceries.

She held onto the side of the shopping cart as we headed to the next aisle.  We turned the corner and started down the next aisle when I saw a familiar guy standing there with a little girl that looked to be around the same age as Emily. I continued to walk down the aisle and he did a double-take as he looked at me.

"Lauren?" he asked with a shocked voice as we locked eyes.

"Sean...hey," I said with a smile as I reached where he was. "I thought that was you, but I wasn't sure."

"Yeah, just doing some shopping with my girl," he replied as he glanced down at his daughter and wrapped an arm around her.  "Maddy, this is Lauren and..." he said as he looked at my daughter.

"Emily," I said as I glanced at her. "Hi, Maddy. It's nice to meet you," I said with a smile.

"Hi," Maddy said in a shy voice as she looked up at me.

"I haven't seen you in a few years. Are you back in town?" he asked as he looked at me again.

"Yeah, I just recently moved back. My...boyfriend...he got a job here, so we ended up moving back here so he can be closer to work," I replied as I nodded my head.

"Daddy," Maddy said as she tugged on Sean's arm a little.

"Yeah, sweetie," he said as he looked down at her.

"I have to go to the bathroom," she whispered so only he would hear and Sean let out a little chuckle.

"Okay, sweetie. Can I have your number? Maybe we could hang out sometime and catch up," he asked as he looked at me again.

"Sure," I said as I opened up my purse and got out a pen and paper.

I wrote my number down on small piece of paper and handed it over to him.

"Thanks. It was nice seeing you again," he said with a smile.

"You too, Sean. Bye, guys," I said as I looked at the both of them.

"Bye," Maddy said as she waved at me and they made their way to the nearest restroom.

We continued to get the groceries that we needed before we headed over to the checkouts. Once we got everything bagged up and paid for, we headed out towards the car. Emily helped me load the bags into the back of the car and even pushed the cart to the return station that was next to the car.

"Thank you, sweetie," I said as she pushed the cart into the empty side.

"You're welcome, mommy," she said in a happy voice as I got her into the backseat.

Once we were both in the car, we headed back to the house.

When we arrived at the house, I saw that Billy's car was still not home. I let out a sigh of relief and parked in my usual spot. I heard my phone go off. I reached in my purse, took it out, and saw that Sean had sent me a text message.

Hey. This is Sean.
This is my number.
Let me know about lunch!

I smiled at the message, but then thought about Billy finding out about it. I added him to my contacts and immediately delete the message. I put my phone back in my purse and opened up the car door.

We brought all of the bags into the house and I started to unload them as Emily worked on coloring a picture that she had started earlier that day. Just as I started to unload the last bag, I heard the rumble of Billy's car coming into the driveway. The uneasy feeling started and I continued to work at putting the last of the groceries away. The front door opened and Billy walked into the house, closing the door behind him. He walked into the kitchen where I was and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"Hey," I said as I looked at him. "How was work?" I asked as he threw his keys down on the counter.

"Same as usual," he replied as he walked over to the fridge. "What's for dinner?" he asked as he pulled a beer out of the fridge.

"I'm going to make steak and potatoes," I replied as I grabbed the steaks out of the fridge.

As I set them on the counter, I felt an arm go around my waist and I jumped a little as he stood directly behind me.

"You know the dinner should already be done," he quietly said into my ear and I felt my heart pounding faster in my chest. "You know I don't like to wait," he added as he placed his hand on the back of my neck and I was terrified.

"Mommy, look what I did," I heard Emily's voice say and Billy let go of the back of my neck as I looked over at Emily's picture.

"That's beautiful, sweetie," I said as I did my best to hold my emotions together. "Can you put it on the fridge for me?" I asked and she nodded her head as she walked over to the fridge.

Billy walked out of the kitchen and I could feel my hands shaking as I started to open up the steaks. This was a normal routine for me to be put through. Some nights were worse than others. I knew that I needed to get out of there, but how?

As I grabbed the butter from the fridge, I felt a tear go down my cheek, but I was quick to wipe it away.

"What's wrong, mommy?" I heard Emily ask and I looked over to see her standing there with a concerned look on her face.

"Nothing, sweetie," I said with a small smile as I pulled myself back together. "Would you like to help set the table?" I asked as I grabbed the plates from the cupboard.

"Mmmhmm," she replied and I handed her the plates.

She hummed to herself as she took the plates over to the table and started to place them where they needed to go. She took the silverware and glasses over and placed them in the spots.

"Thank you, sweetie. You can go play until it's time to wash up," I said as I placed a skillet on the stove.

Once dinner was ready, Emily and I sat down at the table as we waited for Billy to sit down with us. He walked into the kitchen and sat down in his chair. I grabbed my glass of water and took a sip as he started to cut up his steak. As usual, we ate in silence. I needed to figure out a way to get me and Emily out of the house. I knew it wasn't safe there and I didn't know how much longer it would take.