Wicked

Chapter 16

Faith POV:

I wince as Scott storms around the room, his voice booming off the walls. He occasionally grabs something breakable and tosses it, as if that would help the situation. His hand is currently wrapped around a glass of scotch that has been refilled at least five times so far. I start to think that maybe he's going to get so drunk, he'll just pass out and go to sleep, but he continues to argue.

"Fuck!" He screams, slamming his fist against our dresser, making me jump. I stare at the plastic stick sitting on the nightstand, along with the six other ones lying on the dresser. He looks at them, as if they were mocking him, before turning back toward me. "I told you, we weren't going to have a kid." He slurs, as I continue to watch the stick near me, praying the second pink line would simply disappear. "So who the hell did you have sex with?" He shouts, slowly moving onto the next topic. I cringe, looking down at my lap. "If it was fucking Tim..." He warns, as I shut my eyes. He notices my motion, causing his anger to grow. "You're getting an abortion." He orders, before I shake my head. He freezes, as if the motion were other-worldly.

"No." I assert, watching him clench his fists. "I'm not going to." I stand, watching him grow furious.

"I'm not going to raise someone else's kid, Faith." He shouts, as I throw up my hands.

"Then don't! I don't need your help." I reply quickly, as he fills up another glass of scotch. "Under no circumstance am I getting an abortion." I assert once more. He doesn't know about what happened years ago, or how traumatic the entire experience was for me. I couldn't bring myself to go through that, even if I wanted to.

"Fucking whore..." He spits out, before taking a drink from his glass. The words send me over the edge.

"Scott, I'm done." I shout, watching him turn toward me. He looks at me as if he were about to hit me. "I can't do this anymore. I can't keep sacrificing what I want for you... I'm done." I admit, the words feeling relieving as they enter the air. His gaze toward me, however, is anything but. He clenches his fist as I walk over and grab my purse. I toss in a pair of leggings and a spare t-shirt, before grabbing my toothbrush from the bathroom. I turn around in time to feel his fist smash into the side of my face, knocking me unconscious.

I come to on the bathroom floor, feeling my head spin as I try to catch my bearings. My head throbs, as I taste blood. I look down to see he's dumped my purse out on the bathroom floor. I sit up slowly, looking through the pile of things that occupied my bag, before noticing that he's taken my keys. I grab onto the counter, slowly pulling myself up before noticing how swollen my eye is. It's a deep shade of purple, like I've blown blood vessels, making my chest stop. I glance back toward my bag, now feeling fear set in as I realize that he hit me, and he hit me hard.

I grab my phone, dialing Tim's number. The phone rings constantly, before going to his voicemail.

"You've reached Tim. Leave a message at the beep." His voice says, as I shut my eyes. I hang my head, hearing the beep. 

"Tim, I need you to come pick me up..." I cry out, before covering my mouth, feeling myself start to fall apart. "Scott... he's... he hit me and took my keys. Please come get me." I let out, before hearing a bang. I hang up the phone, before shoving everything back into my bag. I carry my bag out into the bedroom, tiptoeing before setting it on the bed. 

Scott sits in the chair in the corner, a bag of frozen peas over his bruising knuckles. He refuses to look at me, as whiskey drips down the wall, where he threw the bottle. I watch the whiskey run down like rain on a window. 

"If you want to leave, fine. But if you leave, you'll be destroying your career." His voice rasps as I turn to look at him. I narrow my eyes, feeling my heart pound. 

"Are you threatening me?" I question, as his eyes turn toward me. He shakes his head slowly, before looking down at the frozen bag on his hand. He sets the bag on the dresser, stretching out his fist, wincing as he does so. 

"I'm just warning you about the reality of this. A female country singer becoming pregnant with another man's child, nonetheless a married man's child... they'll eat you alive." He says, as I grab onto my bag, ready to take the risk. I put my bag on my shoulder, digging out my phone to see if Tim's responded. He hasn't. "Not to mention that he has a kid." He lets out, making me freeze. He looks up at me once more, shrugging. "His marriage would be destroyed, although I really don't think you care about that." He remarks, as I feel myself grow painfully tense. "He'd lose his son, because of you..." His cold eyes stare directly into mine as my heart sinks. I shake my head, trying to refute the possibility. 

"Kristine wouldn't–" I start, before Scott stands. 

"She'd have custody in a heartbeat. After his whole incident with Gordon and the affair, there's no doubt that he would lose complete custody." He shouts over me as I step back, feeling the thought run like poison through me. "And you'd be to blame... All because of some fucking pipe dream, he'd lose everything." He spews as I cling to my bag. He takes a few steps toward me. "He'd resent you, and you both would have nothing. You'd both lose your careers, your families, and for what? For some summer fling, where he got sloppy and knocked you up." He remarks, getting too close for comfort. My stomach twists, before he reaches out and lays his hand on my swollen cheek as tears well in my eyes. "I'm still willing to work this out, baby... But you can't keep letting yourself get caught up in some fantasy that you two are going to somehow run away together and lead a happy little life." He says, as I struggle to breathe, my chest feeling like it's wrapped in barbed wire. My body rattles, trembling from the overwhelming battle in my head. 

"Stop..." I let out, trying to back away from his touch. He allows me to step back, listening to me struggle for air, as I double over, feeling sharp pains in my chest. 

"Faith, he knew this. He knew that you two could never be together. He was just using you like a cheap whore." Scott starts, as I shut my eyes, feeling my throat grow tight. I shake my head profusely, as he steps toward me. "He played you, Faith. He got what he wanted from you, and then went home to his happy little family and left you here, looking like a damn fool." He shouts as tears burn my eyes. I grab my chest, feeling it roar under my fingers. "How can you not see it, Faith? The moment Kristine came along, you were put on a back burner. You were his mistress and nothing more." He continues, as I clamp my hands over my mouth, loud sobs leaving me. I back myself against the wall, sliding down as I feel myself tremble violently. Scott looks down at me, sighing as he cocks his head. He kneels down in front of me, pushing my hair behind my ear before brushing away a few tears. "I still love you, Faith. I know you messed up, but I still love you." He says, leaning his forehead upon mine as I cry. "We'll get through this, alright baby?"