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Chapter Eight - Neil

Alright, so not what I was expecting.

I guess we have more in common than I thought.

"You what?"

She only nodded.

"You're kidding."

Esther shook her head and looked back up to meet my eyes.

"He used to beat me," she dropped her gaze back to the path in front of us, "He had grabbed a belt and had it around my neck. My eyes were all bloodshot in court from it, you could barely see the color of my eyes."

"What did you kill him with?" I couldn't help but dive in head first, it seems.

The troubled woman sighed while thinking, not even paying any mind to such a direct question.

"He pulled a knife on me, I guess my fight or flight instincts kicked in and when he set it down I held it, waiting for him to touch me again."

"So it was premeditated."

"No, it was in case I had to defend myself. Which I did. He climbed on me and I held the knife to my chest so that when he lowered himself onto me to... yeah, anyways, he basically stabbed himself. He didn't die instantly though, the handle was lodged in between his ribs I guess and when he moved, it danced about."

I was strangely comforted by her story. But it was so unfair for her. I did my kill intentionally and planned months in advance, and got off.

She did it to protect herself, and she still got time.

"I just remember... there was so much blood. When they found me, they thought it was all mine," she took a pause, "I was on a first name basis with the officers around here. Isn't that just sad?"

I nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"The neighbors would hear screaming and report it but it was nothing but a phone call they made to check in on us. My husband always answered it. I hated him..." 

I couldn't believe that she was telling me all of this, but I guess at the same time, I think I was the only person besides Carol to properly talk with her.

God I fucking hated Carol.

"When did you get married? How old were you?"

Esther slowed her pace down quite a bit before answering, "Sixteen."

'She's into older men.'

"Wow. Why did you get married so young? How old was he at the time?"

Another heavy sigh. She decided that we were gonna sit in the grass along the side of the dirt road, which I'm totally cool with seeing as we've been walking for about two hours.

"He was thirty-five. He made it seem like it was my idea at the time... I had to sign papers stating that I wanted it and he wasn't pressuring me. He knocked me up just before my seventeenth birthday and after I had the baby, the state took him into custody because I had my sentencing already and was in prison."

My blood felt like it was boiling at a rapid pace under my skin. The fucking nerve of a grown ass man preying on a teenage girl like that?

And she was a mom? That adds a whole new layer to this woman.

I decided to brush off the comment I was going to make about the age difference, but I'm sure she's gotten enough shit about it over the years.

"Him? You had a son?"

"Mhm, I didn't even get to name him. I got a total of three hours with him and when he was cleared medically, they took him."

I actually felt awful for Esther. I don't know if she wanted to be a mother, but she seems like she would be the most loving, caring, and amazing figure to that baby.