Lost (Parrlyn)

Chapter 1

(In the past)

'CATHERINE, OPEN THE DAMM DOOR!'

I lay down on my bed, covering my face with both of my arms. I let the tears pour down my cheeks, releasing the emotions I'd been bottling away. My arms were shaking uncontrollably from fear. Fear of what Henry might do to me, fear of what would become of myself in the future, fear of what he would say to me. 

'CATHERINE, JUST OPEN THE DOOR! STOP BEING DIFFICULT!'

I hugged my knees up to my chest while rocking forwards and backwards, trying to keep my breathing steady and even. I could feel my heart hammering away powerfully in my chest, whilst my legs shook.

'IF YOU DON'T OPEN THE DOOR IN THREE SECONDS I'LL-' I could hear my husband, Henry scream.

'YOU'LL WHAT?' I fought back, screaming through my sobs. 'YOU'LL WHAT EXACTLY?!'

He ignored me and carried on knocking the door. I pushed both of my fingertips into my ears, not wanting to hear his response. 

I couldn't hide behind a locked door for any longer, or listen to his continuous knocking, so with a sinking heart I dragged my feet over to my door, and with shaking hands, I unlocked the door with a small click. The door flew open and there stood Henry, his face contorted with fury. His eyes were gleaming spitefully, and his mouth was curled into a scowl.

'You are the most DIFFICULT WIFE I HAVE EVER BEEN WITH!

'Right,' I whimpered, taking several frightened steps backwards. 'Of course.'

Despite being under his gaze, I let my fists clench, as I desperately tried to keep my cool and contain the burning fury that was sizzling inside.

Some days, Henry can really be a jerk.

He began to smirk slightly, his lip jutting out, giving him a rather malicious look, and his eyes were radiating with scorn. He took several halted steps towards me, licking his lips and then I knew there was no escape. I was trapped in Henry's everlasting cycle of pained love, and I couldn't shake him off.

I didn't have a job, and Henry had so much money that we didn't even need to work. He stayed home all day, goggling his eyes at me while I casually tried to avoid him as much as possible. It was impossible though as he wanted to be with me 24/7. He pawed at me, like I was a piece of meat, and made snarky comments about how I could be prettier if I did this, or if I styled my hair like that, or even if I wore different clothes. They chipped away at my self-esteem, making myself feel less sure and confident about myself. From then onwards, I lost interest in boys, and I started turning to girls.

I would dream of meeting a girl who would understand my insecurities, love me with their heart, and have a charming, cute nature. I would spend my nights lying in bed, dreaming up about this non-existent girl that was fit, just for me and me only. It motivated me through life as I'd imagine that one day I would meet her, and she would take me away, away from Henry, and we would live our own happy life together. Just us, and no Henry and no worries.

Henry started to kiss my neck passionately as I stood there uncomfortably. His snake-like hands slid around my waist, gently squeezing my stomach, pinching me playfully. I wished I was a million miles away from this bloke, who treated me like an object rather than a human, who treated me as if I had no emotions, who treated me as if I was a walking disaster that was handed to him, asking to be put right.

He got on my nerves every single day, and as every day rolled by, my tolerance of him got shorter and shorter and shorter. Sometimes I would snap at him, and he would make me feel so guilty afterwards, that I would regret everything I said bitterly. While other times I would keep my mouth quiet and let him do what he wanted to, and regret not speaking up while I had the chance. That's what our relationship was, just one, big regret.

He started touching me in several places where I didn't tolerate, parts that women only let people they trust touch, and I most definitely didn't trust Henry. I grew more uncomfortable by the minute and I decided that it was time I opened my mouth and said something.

'Henry, stop!' I hissed, throwing his arms off me. He looked up at me in surprise, his smirk sliding off his face.

'What? Do you want me to be more sexual?' He said slyly, casually taking a large step towards me. He grabbed onto both of my shoulders and tried to plant a kiss onto my lips, but missed and ended up licking my ear instead, for I had tried to shake him off.

'Not exactly,' I responded calmly, taking a step backwards. His enthusiastic smile that was on his face faded until it was replaced with a closed up and disgruntled look.

'Honestly, Cathy, You're no fun.' He groaned, reaching a large, beefy hand out to feel through my hair. I dodged his grasp, rolling my eyes.

'So you think touching a lady in her parts is fun for you?'

'Yeah, you could say that.'

'That's sick! I snapped, pretending to vomit, 'I really pity all of the five women who had to suffer through your constant pawing and your rude remarks.'

Henry didn't say anything, but he lunged at me, seizing me by the waist. I caught a small glimpse of his face, and to my greatest surprise, I saw a small flicker of pain slashed across his cheekbones.

And then there came guilt. The guilt of hurting the man I was supposed to love, the guilt of making somebody feel uncomfortable and happy, the guilt of the fact that I never really loved him.

But this time, instead of letting my guilty conscience take over my decisions conquer my emotions, I fought back aggressively, feeling the familiar tug of rage surge through my brain, making the choice of what I thought was right. I threw his arms off my waist wildly, letting his limbs fly loose and I wrenched myself out of his reach.

'Get off me you creep.' I hissed, giving him my most frightening glare.

'What?' He whispered.

'I said, get off me you creep.' I echoed, raising my voice slightly. 

Then there was a silence. I could tell Henry was still pondering over what to say to me, but my instincts told me, it was nothing good. Then he opened his mouth and said possibly the best thing that could have come out of this scenario. But at the same time, it was probably the worst. 

'Get out.'

I was lost for words. 

Thanks for reading! Also, give me your honest feelings about this! I love receiving constructive criticism, so I don't be afraid to tell me what you really think!

I like cliffhangers. Please don't steal my kneecaps. Or my toe nails. Or my eyebrows. Or anything. They are precious to me.

(Also I tried to keep this as PG as possible just in case I was going to enter this into any awards that didn't tolerate mature themes.)