ChapterOne
She did it. She really left him. Tears blurred her vision as she maneuvered the Honda along the twisting and turning road.
Jessa had no particular destination in mind, but getting as far away as possible from Paul was her first priority.
She had been driving for the past three hours, yet her tears continued to flow. Her chest hurt from the wracking sobs, and her eyes felt swollen. She had sworn to herself never again, but like a damn fool she had believed his words, believed that he wouldn’t hurt her again.
“You stupid, foolish girl!” She wiped angrily at her tears and turned the steering wheel sharply to the left.
The snow continued its steady assault on the little car. Slick roads and near whiteout conditions made it nearly impossible to keep control of the car. The smart thing for her to do was slow down, or better yet pull off to the shoulder until her emotions calmed, but all she kept seeing was Paul coming after her with the drunken look of rage in his eyes.
He would have killed her tonight. That much she was certain of.
The car fishtailed when she pumped her brakes to take another twisting turn down the mountain. Once she had the vehicle in control she forced her tears to stop. Why in the hell are you crying over him?
Take away the facts she had been with him for the past five years and he was the only man she had been with in every sense of the word, Paul Madden was an abusive, alcoholic asshole who liked to use her as a punching bag.
She should have left him the first time he raised his hand to her. Hell, she should have kicked his ass to the curb when she found out he cheated on her with her so called best friend. But no, she had to be some kind of masochistic moron.
“Never again.” Straightening her shoulders, she told herself over and over again that she would never be the docile woman who stood back and let a man walk all over her.
She was starting her life over. With no family to fall back on, she was all on her own, but that was something she was looking forward to, especially after the life she had lived with Paul.
With only three hundred dollars to her name and a handful of clothes thrown haphazardly in a bag, Jessa didn’t know how much of a new life she could have.
Leaving had obviously not been planned, and even though she didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, a huge weight had already been lifted off her shoulders. Paul would never again control her. That was for damn sure.
She slammed her hand on the steering wheel over and over again until her palms ached. Opening her mouth, she let out the scream that had been festering inside of her for the past five years. The tires caught a slick strip of black ice and did a complete one-eighty.
The air left her lungs as she braced herself for the inevitable crash. The side of the car made impact, and everything went dark.