A New Day for Bella

On a cool winter morning, with its dreary haze, Bella had made a difficult, yet overdue decision. He would no longer hurt her, nor the children. Oh the children, innocent, trusting, now broken children. Their innocence ripped away, he’d broken their trust.

Bella took her last sip of morning coffee and placed the empty, used mug in the sink. She stopped and wondered how her life had come to this. She kissed him goodbye as he left for work, their final goodbye. Guy had been working as a police sergeant in Cotton Falls for the last ten years. He had a prestigious reputation, he was loved and respected by the whole town of 1,000 citizens. He helped so many with their troubles. Went above and beyond to help them better their lives. He must not have been a monster then, right? It must have been all in her head, at least that’s how he made her feel. He’d gone to work, it was time. She had eight hours. As she woke up the children, she grabbed a garbage bag to throw in some of their clothes. The shelter only allowed two garbage bags of personal items per family. She frantically stuffed the black, once empty garbage bag. It was then filled with hope, possibility. The kids got dressed and picked out a couple of their favorite toys. They did not know when they will be able to get the rest, if ever.

Loading the car, her heart felt as if it was going to rip through her chest and hit the cold, unforgiving concrete. She had never been so scared in her life. If he drove by, patrolling, and saw her and the kids leaving him, there’s no telling what he’d do. When someone throws your whole pots and pans collection out of the sliding glass door, just because you didn’t wash the dishes quickly enough, there is no predicting their behavior. The kids got into the black SUV. As she closed the door, she said goodbye to that life, to the abuse.

As she drove down the highway, she saw the sun setting in her rear view mirror. The last straw was two days ago. Her son back-talked him, he should have known better. The autism, it hindered his ability to get the social cues, to see him for what he really was, a monster. He was angry, saw red when Kyle stuck up for himself. He pulled Kyle by the leg and dragged him off the couch. His younger brother, Trevor, screamed and cried at the horrifying seen. While Kyle laid on the floor crying, Guy kicked him, an autistic child, an innocent who trusted him to be a father, to love him unconditionally. “Don’t kick him when he’s down!” Trevor pleaded through his bitter tears. “Please dad, stop!” Kyle begged for his life. Bella grabbed Kyle off the floor and held him as she held back angry tears. Her strength gave them strength. She started to plot their escape in her head. What else could she do? She couldn’t call the police. Guys deputy would show up. She saw how that would play out. A lecture to Kyle about how he shouldn’t talk back to his father. Further bruising the boys self-esteem and validating how Guy made it all Kyles fault. Guys behavior, was all their fault, the children and Bella’s. The next day, when Guy was at work, she phoned the shelter. They had an opening in two days.

The shelter was surprisingly clean, well kept. The room had two bunk beds, leaving one bed empty. As they unpacked their clothes, and placed them in a clean drawer, the world left Bella’s shoulders. The children played, for the first time in years, they played, as children should be allowed to do. They played with other children, made friends. As she watched the children laugh and run, one final tear escaped down her cheek, she smiled, this time unforced. It was finally over.