The next morning, the sun travels in through the window and hits my eyelids. The sudden intrusion of light causes my eyelids to shoot open in surprise. Once my eyelids pop open, the pain that stings my body almost makes me collapse again. 

It feels like I'm being beaten with a cactus, and all the spines are being hammered in so they go all the way in. I can feel the cuts on my feet stinging with each step I take. The pain in the back of my head throbs like someone hitting me with a mallet. The smell of liquor has died down, yet it's still very present. Shakily, I use my arms to prop myself up from off the ground. The intense pain causes my eyes to tear up. 

I stand up, trembling, and I waddle over to the bathroom. I switch on the light, and I look at myself in the mirror. I look like I had gotten into a nasty bar fight. My lip is cut, and blood encrusts it. My forehead has a nasty reddish-purple bruise on it, like someone had accidentally spilled both colors of paint on my forehead. 

My arms are cut in many places, and the blood is congealed all over my arms. The tears in my eyes start to flow out and onto my face. I'm done with Colin. I'm done with the abuse that I had suffered for the past 3 years. I've been tortured long enough, I think to myself.  

While I was sobbing about my injuries, a certain feeling built up inside of me. It was a certain form of willpower. I felt the nagging need to just call Mark and get out of this hellhole. He was probably the only person that I wanted to call right now. Ash was also a huge option, but I haven't seen him or talked to him in a while. 

I needed to call someone to tell about the abuse to Colin. I prop myself up with my arms, and then use the bed as a balance. Once the bottoms of my feet meet the floor, I nearly collapse again from the pain. The cold floor presses against the cuts in my feet, which feels like I'm walking on sharp needles. 

I waddle over to the bathroom, and I jerk open a drawer. I lift up each foot and examine to see if there's any shards of glass embedded in my feet. Thankfully, there aren't, which only gives me another feeling of relief. My fingers wrap around some bandages, and I loosely wrap them around the cuts on my feet. Shakily, I limp over to where the phone is, and I slowly press my fingers to the combination of numbers that is Mark's phone number. 

I lift the phone up to my ear, and I hear it ring. Eventually, I hear the line click, and a gentle voice portrays itself through the phone. "Hello?" Mark's gentle voice asks. My breath hitches a little bit, and I bawl into the phone. 

"M-Mark," I sob. I hear Mark's breath hitch, and him exhale in pure pity. 

"Is everything ok?" he asks. 

I shake my head. "C-Colin. He hurt m-me badly," I weep. 

Mark gasps at my revelation. "I'll be there in 20 minutes. Don't move," he says. 

I nod. "P-Please. Come quickly," I plead. I hear the sharp click of the line being cut, and I know that Mark's hurrying to get to me. I wobble over to the stairs and I grip the banister so that I don't tumble down them. 

Eventually, I limp to the bottom of the steps, and I see nothing has budged one centimeter since last night. The shot glasses are still on the counter, smelling like old booze. "Wow. He doesn't even know how to clean up after himself," I think to myself. 

I sit down on the couch and I lay in peace. I am not only scared for myself, but I am scared for Mark. I don't know if he is going to be able to make it out without Colin questioning him. If Colin sees through his act, then he's going to be dead within seconds. And then he's going to come and do things that I don't want to imagine. I just hope that he'll be okay.

 As I'm waiting, I notice that Mark is taking an awfully long time. Colin's work is about 15 minutes away from our house. Mark shouldn't be taking this long. Then, the horrible thought plagues my mind. Was Colin not fooled by Mark? Did Colin find out about him helping me? Gosh, I hope not. I don't need anything happening to the only person who has been so nice to me these past 3 years. He doesn't deserve to suffer the torture that Colin can exhibit. 

While I'm worrying about Mark's well being, I hear a knock on the door. I pick myself up, and I drag myself to the door. I put my hand on the doorknob, and I turn it sharply. I pull the door, and there are two police officers standing there. 

My heart accelerates immediately. Mark said he was going to be here. What are two police officers doing here? "Nicole Mitchell?" one of them asks. The sound of Colin's last name and my name together is sickening. I resist the urge to gag, yet I nod. 

"You need to come with us. We got a report about domestic violence," the other officer says. I start to shake. Mark must have told the police about Colin abusing me. Gosh, this can't be good. The other police officer notices my reaction. 

"Miss, we're not going to do anything to you. We just need you to come down to the station with us," he says. I swallow the lump in my throat and I step out of the house. The officer leads me to his black cruiser, and they drive me to the police station. 

As I'm driving, I'm wondering how Mark slipped past Colin without a mass interrogation. Mark must be a really good liar if he got past Colin. Mark passed the human lie detector. 

I should get him a medal saying that. 

Eventually, the car jolts, and I realize that we've stopped at the police station. The police officer opens the door for me, and I get out. I have difficulty getting out of the car due to the severity of my injuries. 

A police officer puts their arm around me and helps me walk inside the police station. The police officers lead me to a little interrogation room, and they ask me to sit down. "Miss, we were called by Mr. Mark Hill not long ago. He claimed that you were the victim of domestic violence. Can you give us some details?" she asks. 

A lump starts to form at the back of my throat. Sweat glistens my forehead, and I entwine my fingers together. The officers notice my nervousness, and they soften up a bit. 

"Miss, if you tell us, then we can get this done faster and easier. If you don't, then you'll only make this harder for yourself," the officer says. I swallow the lump that forms in the back of my throat. I take my hand and I wipe the sweat that starts to form on my forehead. I open my mouth, and I let the words fly out like birds. 

"Colin has abused me so much throughout our marriage. It's started since the first day, and it's only gotten gradually worse since then," I say. Tears start to form in my eyes while thinking about it. The officer takes notes, and he looks back at me. 

"Can you describe the abuse?" he asks. I look away, and just thinking about it makes me wince. I can't look the officer in the eye while I'm telling my story. He'd think I'm disgusting or a slut. 

"I've been his punching bag since day one. He's mentally abused me, and told me that no one wanted me since my mother forced me into the marriage. He said that I'm his only hope, and he's the only person who will ever love me. He's also taken advantage of me. He never takes no for an answer. No matter how many times I've told him to stop, he always does it. He has no respect for me at all, and I can't stand him," I say, with the tears flowing out of my eyes like a river. The officer doesn't budge, and he keeps on writing notes like nothing is happening. "Miss, do you have any evidence of abuse?" he asks. 

I swallow hard. There was a piece of evidence, but I didn't want to show it. "I'm pretty sure there are bruises on my head and my body," I say. The officer gets up, and he goes into another room.

"We'll need you to take your clothes off. Leave the underwear, but take the clothes off," the officer says. My heart stops when my ears hear those words. I can't take off my clothes in front of him. I was so insecure about my body because of Colin's words against me. 

"Miss, don't worry. We won't do anything to you. It's just for evidence," he says, and he closes the door. Hesitantly, my hand drops to my shirt hem and I rip it off of my body. My hand grabs the seam of my sweatpants and I slip them off. 

I examine my body, and panic over the amount of bruises that I have due to that monster. My arms slide over to cross my body, as the insecurity consumes me from the inside. Colin has always beat me down for my body. He'd always chew me out for being fat and ugly. When I examine myself, his words replayed in my head like a broken record. 

"You're ugly! No one will want you because you're so ugly!" "Ugh, you're so fat. Not even a cow has that much meat on it." Tears start to fill my eyes. I start to feel hot and sweaty, and my breathing is restricted. I feel like my heart is going haywire, and I can't do anything to stop it. "Colin! Stop! I'm begging you!" I scream, while sobbing. 

I crumple to the ground, in heavy sobs. "Miss! You're okay! He's not here!" a voice says in my ear. Two hands rest on my shoulders, and they help me up. 

"Miss. Please, face me," the officer says gently. I turn around, and the officer is there with a calm look on her face. 

"I assure you, miss. We will try our best to solve the case for you. Don't you worry," she says, and the nerves start to dial down a little bit. I gulp, and my hand swipes the tears off of my face. 

"Now, face the camera, please," she says, as she glides over to the table. My arms, again, cross themselves over my body. 

"Miss, please face me and uncover your body. The faster we get this done, the faster the case will progress," she pleads gently. Inhaling deeply, I turn to face her, and her camera is pointing towards me. I'm almost immediately blinded by the flash that the camera produces. 

"Turn around, miss," she says, and I obey. I can feel the flash on my back, and then the officer says, "Come closer." I turn around, and I walk towards her. She examines my head, and she takes pictures of the bruises that are forming on my head. She then lowers her camera, and then looks at me. 

"You're good to go. And please, go see a doctor after this," she says, and exits the room. I put my clothes back on in a hurry, and I rush out of the room. The officer stops me, and he brings me back to the interrogation room. 

"Well, Mrs. Mitchell, we have filed the police report. We'll let you know in a week if we have anything," they say. I nod. 

"Thank you," I say, and I walk out of the room. 

"Nicole!" a voice calls. I turn around, and Mark is running towards me. 

"I want you to stay at my place for a while. I can't let you go back there," he says. I shake my head. 

"Mark, you've done so much for me. I couldn't ask for anything more," I say. He smiles. 

"It's for a friend. I'll take you to the hospital. Those injuries aren't looking too great. Good?" he asks. I smile, and blush tinges my cheeks. 

"Thank you, Mark. For everything," I say. 

He smiles. "Of course. Now let's go," he says, and he leads me out of the police station.

*********

Mark drives me to the hospital as fast as he can. Considering that there's a risk that I'm very badly injured, I know that he doesn't want to take it. He periodically glances at me, just to make sure my consciousness doesn't decide to slip away from me. 

Eventually, we get to the hospital, where I waste no time in pulling off my seat belt. Mark gets out of the car, and immediately rushes over to my side to assist me. He yanks open the car door, and takes my hand. I step out, and my feet immediately start to sting a little bit when they hit the ground. 

Mark gently takes my hand and says, "It's okay. I'm right here." While I start to limp a little bit, Mark leads me to the lobby of the hospital, where a receptionist is sitting, filing through paperwork. She looks like she's so invested in work that she will stab someone who decides to bother for an unnecessary reason. 

Mark goes up to her, and says, "Hi. My friend here is hurt, badly, so do you think we could get some medical assistance?" 

The receptionist looks up, and says, "Oh my! Please, come this way!" The receptionist stands up, and she leads me to a room where it looks like heaven, because everything is white. The murmurs of doctors discussing patients' conditions make it seem less heavenly, but I know that it's just trying to calm us down. 

"Stay in here. The doctor will be with you very shortly," the lady says, and with that, the door slamming signifies my security in a safe place. 

Mark looks back at me, and says, "Lie back on the bed. The doctor will be with you pretty shortly." I do so, look back at Mark, and say, "Mark, why are you so nice to me?"

 Mark sits on the bed with me, and says, "What do you mean?" 

I lift my head up a little bit, and say, "You've been so nice to me no matter what. Why? What did I do to deserve this?" 

Mark lets out a sigh, and says, "I don't tolerate domestic abuse, Nicole. Seeing you hurt kills me inside, because you're such a good person," Mark says. 

I smile at him, and say, "You're amazing. You know your wife is really lucky to have you." 

Mark smiles. "I'm luckier. She's pretty awesome." 

Not long after that, the doctor walks in, and says, "Good morning, Nicole. My name is Dr. Brown, and I'm here to help you. Tell me, what brings you here today?" Dr. Brown asks. I gulp a little bit, because recounting the incident makes me feel insanely uncomfortable. 

Mark puts a hand on my shoulder, gently, and says, "It's okay. I'm here." 

I take a deep breath, and say, "Well, I hit my head against the wall, and slipped on a broken liquor bottle and hit the floor, then fell unconscious. This all happened last night. My feet are cut as well. I'm just worried about the worst possible outcomes. I haven't had any bad symptoms yet, just a minor headache." 

Dr. Brown writes all of this down, and says, "Okay. Tell you what, I'll do a physical on you, and then we'll see if there's any brain damage or bleeding, okay? I don't think you have a concussion, or anything major, but I just want to be safe," he tells me. I nod, and lie back on the little bed. 

Dr. Brown comes over and just does the normal checks, such as blood pressure, pulse, and the other norms. After that, he just writes down a few things, and says, "Well, nothing seems to be wrong here. I don't think you broke anything. I think it's all just bruised. So, let's take you to the x-ray room so that we can get a CT scan. I want to make sure there's no internal bleeding." He leads me to another room, where I sit down on a mattress thing, and enter a large tube. 

I lay there for a good thirty minutes, and just think about everything I've been through. It's surreal that I'm finally out of that hell hole, and I've got a sense of individuality. I'm out, and I don't have to worry about him choking me, beating me, or assaulting me. 

I want to pinch myself at this moment. After a while, we exit the tube, and I get out. I go back to the doctor, and he says, "I'll write you a prescription for an antiseptic. Just so that the cuts on your feet won't get infected." 

I nod, as he scribbles something down, and I say, "Thank you, doc. It means a lot." He smiles. 

"Of course. Get some rest, and ice your head, okay? It'll help." I nod, and I follow Mark out of the place.

"Elise is home. I'll have her put some ice on your head, and you can rest, while I get your prescription and things from Colin's house. Sounds good?" he instructs. 

I nod. "Perfect," I tell him. At that moment, Mark pulls up into his house, and swings open the car door. I shakingly push open the car door as well, and stagger to stand up straight. Mark closes the door behind me, and I waddle into the house, with my feet still sore from the cuts. 

Elise comes rushing in, and says, "Nicole! Lie down on the couch. You need some rest," she says. I walk over to the couch, and flop back on it. Elise sets an ice pack under my head, and a very cold towel on my forehead. Mark sets his keys down, and plants a kiss on Elise's lips. 

"How's the baby doing, Elise?" he asks, as Elise hands him a plate of food. 

He starts to wolf it down, and she says, "The baby is doing great. She's kicked a little bit today, but not much." 

My eyelids shoot open, and I ask, "Oh my, your pregnancy! How is it going?" 

Elise chuckles a little bit, and says, "Don't worry. You're good. It's going fine, and I've got maybe 11 weeks until I'm due. I'm excited to meet little Esther. You don't worry, I'm okay. Get some rest." I nod, and obey her instructions a little bit too much, as I almost immediately fall asleep.

******

I slowly wake up, this time, not with Colin screaming in my ear or because of pain. Mark is opening a little bag, and I raise an eyebrow. "What's going on?" I ask. 

Mark just shrugs. "I got your prescription. It's gonna sting, so fair warning. The doctor also found no signs of internal bleeding, so that's great. He said to ice your head though. Your head's pretty bruised, for sure. Your clothes and belongings are in the other room. But other than that, everything else is good." 

I smile, and Mark takes a little cotton ball, and squirts a little bit of the medicine on it. He takes my feet, and he slowly starts to rub the ball over it. I bite my lip a little bit, because it does hurt, and he just keeps on treating my wounds. "Uh, Mark, can I ask you for your help on something?" I ask. 

He looks up, and says, "Come on. You know the answer to that. What's up?" he asks. 

I gulp a little bit, and say, "I want to find my brother and sister." 

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I'm gonna be honest, I'm glad this chapter is out. Call me horrible, but it's because I hated seeing Nicole abused by Colin. Considering that he did some really bad things to her, then this chapter is almost kind of a relief. So, Nicole's finally out! And she wants to find Dominic and Elena! How do you guys think Colin is going to react to the fact that he may get arrested? Let me know in the comments. 

Hey everyone! How are you all? Good? So, I have a question for you all. What is your favorite movie to watch? I don't know, I really want to watch some movies lately, and I'd love recommendations! (hell, even R-rated movies, because I have a very high tolerance to horror). 

Welp, that's pretty much it. Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all next Saturday with a new chapter of Phoenix! Have a great week!

Love you guys, 

Shree.