It Can Happen to Anyone

As Tatiana Matthews left her job, she tried to mask a face of fear by her well-rehearsed, "I'm fine! I'm going home to my wonderful husband who probably has a romantic, candlelit dinner ready and waiting for me!" response to anyone who asked her if anything was wrong. But everything wasn't fine. Beneath her cheerful disposition was lurking a deep, dark secret...

Glen Matthews sat in his red velvet recliner chair drinking a Pepsi and watching football. His keen hearing heard the engine of his wife's blue Cadillac. Calmly, he rose from his chair and walking into the kitchen. He stood right by the unset table. When Tatiana walked in, he crossed his arms, she knew she was in trouble.

"You're late and I'm hungry." He said as he pointed angrily to the table.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was caught in traffic! It's not my fault!" Tatiana protested. She dropped the paper bag full of groceries to the floor as apples, oranges, bananas, grapes and other fruits scattered across the kitchen floor. He walked over to her with the familiar stomp of his boots. The sound made her shudder with fear. Slowly, she looked up at him with fear in her eyes. He liked that he had power over women. That's how it was ever since the day they married. Tatiana thought that she had met the man of her dreams, until she found out how violent he could be. Tatiana cowered in fear at the man she once loved that was looming above waiting to strike her.

"You were with another man, weren't you?!" He accused.

"No! I swear! I wasn't!" She cried.

"Liar!!" He said as his hand balled into a fist and came down with excruciating pain on her skull. Tatiana's first reaction was "play dead mode" as her vision went black. She limply laid her head on the floor, and waited for the pain to stop and her vision to come back. Glen simply walked away.

About half an hour later, Tatiana awoke and slowly rose to her feet, feeling dizzy. It took a minute for the feeling to pass, and, after it did she started to cook dinner. She felt the place where Glen punched her. She almost collapsed in pain. It was unbearable. It felt like someone had dropped a thousand pound weight on her head. She left dinner to simmer on the stove while she went to talk to Glen. When she walked into the TV room, Glen looked shocked to see her.

"What are you doing in here?" He demanded.

"I...I wanted to ask you..."

"What?"

"Why did you hit me?" She inquired.

Glen sighed.

"You know that I need to keep you in line. Men need to do that in a relationship. All women are weak and need to be slapped around to gain strength. Right"

Tatiana didn't reply.

"Right??"

Still no answer.

"ANSWER ME NOW!!" Glen screamed. He raised his hand, and smacked her in the face.

"Right?"

"Right..." Tatiana replied through her sobbing.

"Good. Now, why are you still in here? Go fix me my dinner!! NOW!"

Tatinana complied and walked away.

In the kitchen, Glen's words were racing through her mind as she cooked. She raised her hand to where Glen smacked her. It felt hot to the touch. A burning sensation overwhelmed her whole face. She looked in the mirror and saw a huge, red handprint.

"Is dinner ready?" Glen approached her from behind.

"Y-yes." She replied.

"Good." He said as he took his place at the table.

Tatiana prepared him a plate, and set it down in front of him. He just stared at it.

"Is something wrong?" She asked him.

"Wrong? Wrong! What is this plate of crap?!" He screamed at her.

"But this is your favorite! Roast beef, mashed potatoes, and macaroni and cheese!" She protested.

"Yes, you're right about that, but you forgot something. For one: there's no butter on the mashed potatoes, and two: there's no gravy on my roast beef!" He went ballistic. He shot up out of his chair, grabbed Tatiana by her hair, snatched up a pan, and whacked her with it on her stomach.

"I'm in charge of you! You will listen to me! I'm the man of the house! I own you!" He said as her hit her harder each time. With every hit, Tatiana coughed up more blood. He pushed her down, and started kicking her in the stomach with his boots. By the time he stopped, there was a pool of red on the carpet. Glen sat down, and started eating. Tatiana stayed laying on the floor holding her stomach.

"Go get cleaned up you useless, worthless piece of trash."

She slowly got up and walked upstairs to the bathroom.

In the bathroom, Tatiana could not get the taste of blood out of her mouth. It tasted like metal. She though of running away. But quickly backed out of the idea knowing that he would somehow find her. Then, she realized what she had to do...

"Tatiana? Are you coming down?" Glen's voice drifted up from downstairs.

"Just a minute!" She called, muffling the sound of bullets being loaded into the .45 caliber handgun that Glen kept under his side of the mattress. Glen started coming up the stairs. She panicked, but didn't put the gun down.

This has to be done. She thought to herself. Glen walked into the room, and stopped dead in his tracks.

"What are you doing with my gun?!" He yelled.

Tatiana scoffed.

I'm doing this for me, and everyone else Glen has hurt in the past. She thought.

"I'm not going to ask you again." He said. His tone was violent.

Before Tatiana could answer, Glen was flying through the air, and tackled her to the ground. The gun went skidding across the floor. He wrapped his hands around her throat, and put all his weight on her chest. Tatiana's breathing became heavy as her vision began to fade to black. She could hear tiny little cracks coming from her neck.

No! I won't die like this! She thought.

The gun was just within reach. She reached her hand over her head, grabbed it, and shot Glen in the stomach. His face changed from violent anger, to utter agony.

Now he knows what it feels like. Tatiana thought.

"You don't own me anymore!" She screamed. Then, she pulled the trigger and let the bullet fly into Glen's neck.

He deserves to suffer. Like I suffered for five years. She thought.

She watched him take his last breath. When she was sure he was dead, she dropped to the floor and cried. Not out of saddness, but out of happiness. She could finally live her life, without Glen dictating her every move. It felt good. She was her own person, she was free, but most of all, she was alive.