A Little Too Much | CM

1.14

One of Michelle Amelia LaMontagne's favourite past times was cooking recipe's from her mother's family's cookbook. It was full from cover to cover of different meals and there wasn't a single one she had tried that she didn't like.

So when she was waiting for her boyfriend to get home from work, she decided to give a new one a try.

"Justin? Is that you!" She called as she heard the front door open and shut as she was plating up. She had expected him home before she put the dish in the oven which was almost an hour ago now, so she couldn't decide whether she expected him or a cop to tell her he had been in some sort of accident.

"Yeah." The reply was slurred and shortly followed by the familiar thud of him dropping his duffel at the basement door which was where they did their laundry, or she did the laundry.

The next thing to hit her senses was the all too familiar smell of smoke. Not the smoke you expect firefighters to smell like but the cigarette kind.

"I've just finished dinner? Do you want some?" She asked, turning around with two plates in her hands. She didn't get a reply in the time it took her to take the plates to the dining room table so she turned around to look for him, not expecting him to be stood directly behind her. "Are you drunk? Did you just drive home?" She asked, smelling the liquor on his breath and worrying about the pileup he could've caused on his way home.

"Who are you? My mother?" 

Lia ignored the comment and sat down to eat, hoping he would join her and the food would sober him up but instead she was subjected to the pain of a cigarette burning into the flesh of her shoulder causing her to freeze up. She had learnt long ago that showing pain made it worse.

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She didn't know how long it had been when there was a knock at the door, Justin had just left her alone to clean up the mess of smashed dishes and glass. She quickly shrugged on the turtleneck sweater she kept near the door before answering it.

"Oh, hey Michelle." The officer instantly recognised the daughter of Detective LaMontagne, who he had worked under until he was killed during Katrina.

"Hi, um, what seems to be the problem?" She asked, watching as his eyes surveyed her face and ultimately coming to rest on her split lip.

"One of your neighbours called in a noise complaint." He said, choosing not to use the term 'domestic disturbance' in case someone was listening.

"Sorry about that, Justin's had a couple too many drinks and he got too excited about his football game." She lied seamlessly. 

"Michelle..." The officer's tine was pitiful and she hated it, she knew Justin wasn't a bad guy but most people saw him as such. "I can call Billy, get him to help you."

"I don't need-"

"Who is it?" Justin asked, stumbling slightly as he approached the door, clamping a hand on Michelle's shoulder to steady himself causing a searing pain to flood through her body as he squeezed the fresh burn that he had inflicted earlier that afternoon.

"One of our neighbours called in a noise complaint, we were just talking about Billy though." Michelle explained.

"I'm sorry about wasting your time officer but we should probably get back inside." Justin said, pulling Michelle back in with him and closing the door behind them. He waited for a few seconds until he heard the cop car's door shut before speaking. "Where's your phone?" The hatred dripped off his voice as he continued to dig his palm into her shoulder.

"What? Why? You don't think I called them do you?" She panicked.

"I asked you for your phone. Not your life story." Justin snapped, harshly pulling her jumper to the side to expose the other shoulder and putting out his cigarette on it.

"It's upstairs, next to the bed, on charge." Michelle said, fighting back the tears.

Justin disappeared up the stairs and for a second, she contemplated running. The door was unlocked and the cops were probably still outside but where would she go? Billy had his perfect new life that she would just ruin and she had no one else so she stayed.

She didn't register what was in Justin's hand until he dropped it on the floor at her feet, her phone was broken in half, something she didn't even know was possible, and her phone case was shattered into several pieces.

Losing her phone was one of the final nails in the coffin of their relationship as it was her only lifeline, and he knew that, it was her only way of reaching out to Will.

"Aw, don't cry." Justin said sarcastically, making Michelle realise there were tears falling down her cheeks. "It just means we'll be together forever. You and me against the world."

Feeling a sudden flicker of courage, Michelle fought back. "What if I didn't want that? What if I wanted to see my brother?"

"What did you just say!" And that was the regret taking over from the courage. "Are you cheating on me!?"

"No, you know I would never do that."

"I do, because no one would ever want someone as ugly and fat as you."

"What the hell did you do?!"

"She's not moving..."

"Is she breathing?"