TW: This book has a lot of descriptions of abuse and because of how often it is, there are no trigger warnings at the beginning of chapters. Take this as a warning for the whole book.
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Samuel never thought that moving out of his childhood home wo...
Hey! As I promised, I have come to warn you that this chapter has some slight description of violence, though it is not too detailed. Yet.
Enjoy!
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xii. Shattered Glass
I had ended up having to stay a little later than normal. I'd worked through lunch, and Pete was kind enough to bring me something to eat since I hadn't eaten anything for the whole day.
In the evening when I made my way back to my apartment, I bumped into Margaret as I was stepping through the main entrance. She didn't look anywhere near as tired as I was, and her eyes lit up when she saw me.
"Oh hello, Samuel," She said with a sweet smile. "I didn't know you lived in this building."
I looked at her, "Hey Margaret. How are you doing? And yeah, I do live here. I assume you do too?"
"I do," She told me, "I'm doing just fine, thank you. My hearing has been getting getting a bit worse, though."
I frowned at that. "Oh, I'm sorry. Have you heard from your neighbours recently?" I asked. I was genuinely curious because I happened to be in the same kind of situation with how worried I was getting when it came to Taylor and Benjamin's relationship and their constant fights.
"I did, actually. They've gone back to fighting recently and I asked Lorrie about it. She told me not to worry and that it wasn't anything huge. I don't really know what to think, to be honest," She told me, and it made my frown got deeper.
We chatted for a while longer before I excused myself so I could finally go to sleep. Taylor and Benjamin didn't seem to be fighting tonight. Or at least, I couldn't hear them yet.
I'd just inserted my key into the keyhole when I realised: Lorrie and Ben. Taylorand Benjamin. How had I missed it? It was so obvious. I looked down at the key that was still in the lock. This must be the place I realise things. I twisted the key and pushed the door open.
Stepping inside my apartment, I let out a choked out, whine-like sound when I saw the state the place was in. I didn't remember it to have looked this bad when I left. I nearly cried. The apartment looked horrible and I knew I should clean it sooner rather than later, but that wouldn't happen today.
I threw my jacket onto the floor. I was way too lazy to do anything. I just dragged myself to the shower to clean myself up before I could -hopefully- go to sleep.
Twenty minutes later, I was laying in my bed, wearing pyjama pants and no shirt, listening to the upsetting sounds of the couple upstairs fighting again.
A lump formed into my throat as I listened to the muffled words that were meant to only hurt the person they were directed at. I didn't hear everything that was said, but certain words and sentences stood out amongst the incoherent yells and cries.
"You're pathetic."
"You'd be nothing without me."
"You can't do anything right."
"Do I have to slap you so you'll learn?"
The last sentence made me halt my breathing. I waited for the dreaded sound of something being thrown, or something hitting something. I waited until I had to breath. I laid in silence, barely breathing, as I waited.
I waited for so long that my eyelids were drooping down, just barely staying open. It was silent. The silence was calming, but at the same time, it was chilling. As if it was the moment of silence and calm right before the worst, most dangerous part of the storm.
I had just shut my eyes, expecting to be allowed to let sleep come over me when I heard it.
The loud crash of glass shattering, followed shortly by a whimper loud enough to be just barely heard and a door slamming shut as someone exited the apartment. My heart dropped at the sound and I wanted to jump out of bed and march up the old concrete stairs, but I was too exhausted to do so.
In the seconds before I fell into the peaceful bliss of sleep, I decided that tomorrow would be the day I went up there when I woke up. I needed to know that whoever was left in the apartment, was still alive.
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Because of reasons I mentioned in the last chapter, this one is quite a bit shorter than the others.
