The Weaker Sex (Unedited)

Chapter 30

It took all of me not to call the police, but I did call the next best thing—Jean-Louise. She found me curled up in the bed, terrified of even looking at the staircase. She knelt beside me lightly stroking my head to coax me to look at her. She pulled my head onto her lap asking me what was wrong. Tobias would likely kill me, but he was not going to let me suffer through this alone. Through a choked voice I managed to tell her from what I remembered. We were at the top of the staircase. He told me my heels were too high then I just, fell over. Or, he pushed me... Jean-Louise's eyes washed over with tears that streaked down her cheeks. She held me in her arms until I was able to breathe calmly and steadily.

She brought me a glass of water then helped me to the bathroom. Everything was still hurting down there and with all the blood... I felt like I was hemorrhaging. My body felt empty, like a shell devoid of what made it a real thing. After showering and changing into more comfortable clothing, Jean-Louise brought me a dose of acetaminophen to help with any pain. I sat at the window seat looking out into the garden.

"Madison, if everything you said is true, we have to go to Sheriff Whitley. He can do something." She said.

Her words seemed slide to off my skin and wither on the floor. "He won't ever believe it. He'll think that I'm just going crazy because the baby just died. Am I going to crazy?"

Jean-Louise gave me a sorry look before shaking her head.

"You're not crazy, but this is a tragic thing. It's going to take a long time to get over this, but you're going to do it. I will help you. My parents will help you, but you have to let us help you." She said.

"You can't, you can't win against him."

"He's only a man."

But he was a loved man. This town would never believe he was less than perfect.

"No... It was an accident. It was my fault, I did this." I sunk onto the floor, holding my head.

It throbbed, making the back of my eyes ache. Jean-Louise looked at me utter disbelief.

"Listen to yourself. He killed your baby and he almost killed you!" she cried.

I glared at her, remembering how Tobias warned me that others wouldn't understand. She didn't know what it was like to lose a baby.

"I did this! He told me not to wear high heels. He told me they were too high. He was right, I was an idiot thinking that wearing high heels was a good idea especially to go down the stairs in!" I yelled back.

"He pushed you down!"

"I fell! I tripped over my feet and fell down. He tried to catch me, but he couldn't."

"I can't believe you. You just told me he pushed you down."

"You don't understand! Tobias would never do that to me. He loved this baby, he still does and I know it's killing him that we lost her. That I lost her, and that's why he left me here."

"Don't be blind Madison. He's making you think you're at fault, but you're not. He isn't above doing something like that. You always thought he'd never hurt you, but he's beat you and cheated on you."

I shook my head, regretting it once the throbbing intensified.

"He was right about you. You wouldn't understand. He didn't do this to me, I did it to myself and if he hits me it's because I bring it upon myself." I said.

"Stop saying those things." She demanded.

"You're not this person. Where's the girl I met 8 years ago?"