STAY WITH ME (WATTYS 2023)

CHAPTER 1. BURN

*Author's note: Strong trigger warning! This book contains graphic depictions of violence with some disturbing scenes involving m*rder and the use of weapons, torture, domestic violence, including mental and physical abuse, sexual situations and mature language. It may trigger certain individuals who are sensitive to this subject matter. It is marked mature. You must be 17 or older to read this book.

Do you know what it's like to stare into the eyes of the only man you've ever loved and watch the life slowly drain from his body? Well, I do, and I don't recommend the experience. It changes you, and not in a good way. What I should have said is...it fucks you up! Especially when you're covered in blood and have no memory of what happened.

Chase was the love of my life. We met when we were seniors in highschool and from the moment we met at a friend's party; we were inseparable. Right after graduation, we moved in together. Much to the disappointment of our parents, we both decided to put college on hold. He got a job as a mechanic in his uncle's garage and I got a job as a file clerk at my father's law firm. We were both making pretty good money, and we were doing great. Yeah, we fought sometimes, but we always made up. We were so much in love and nothing seemed like it could ever tear us apart.

Our first year living on our own was wonderful. I usually got off work before him, so I would run home, cook dinner and jump into his arms when he came through the doors. He often surprised me with flowers and gifts. We showered together, watched our favorite shows together, and made love every chance we got. Our sex life was unbelievably hot and during that time, I couldn't imagine being with anyone else.

Our second year together, now that's when everything started to change. He started coming home later and later and would go out drinking with his buddies instead of coming home to me. I would eat alone and watch our shows by myself. When he got home, we would fight.

After we fought, I would stomp off to our bedroom and slam the door. He'd follow me and apologize. We would have incredible make up sex and all would be right with the world again. But then suddenly, none of that happened. He would just ignore me. I would instead cry myself to sleep and come out hours later to find him passed out on the living room sofa. Oh, but he was always nice enough to leave me a big mess to clean up before I could go back to bed. He would throw beer cans and trash all over the floor and his dinner plate would still be sitting on the table, untouched.

We were at a breaking point and I knew it. I had tried everything I could think of to get things back to how they used to be, but it was beginning to be a lost cause. He had become an angry drunk, mad at the world, and he resented me for how his life had turned out. Looking back, I should have just left him, and none of this would have happened. But, as the old saying goes, live and learn.

It was a Friday afternoon and my dad had surprised the whole law firm with the afternoon off. I was so excited that I could hardly get my computer shut down fast enough to get out of there. I was the very last one to leave though, so I turned off all the lights and locked up.

I was sitting in my car, debating on whether I should call Chase or not to let him know I got off early. When I thought about the argument we had just had before bed though, I decided not to. I was really looking forward to spending the day alone enjoying a little "me" time and after everything he had put me through lately, I thought I deserved it.

When I turned the corner to our house, I noticed his truck was parked in the driveway. It was unusual for him to be home early on a Friday afternoon. The garage was usually extremely busy on Fridays, so this was puzzling to me. I decided to be very quiet and sneak in. I wanted to surprise him and see what he was up to.

As I turned the key to the door and pushed it open, I immediately heard moans coming from inside the house. I threw my purse in a nearby chair and tiptoed down the hall. The moans got louder and the rage inside of me grew with each step that I took toward our bedroom. As I slowly opened the door and saw him having sex with another woman, my eyes completely glazed over and I became unglued.