Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Mark’s face twisted into an angry caricature of itself and he bore his teeth, like a rabid beast, giving him every bit the appearance of something evil.
Pain splintered throughout her entire body and the pull of darkness grew stronger.
Yes, she was certain this would be the day she’d die.
One would think by the anger radiating from her attacker that they were the aggrieved party. Probably in his twisted mind he was, but Amina was simply a convenient punching bag for whenever he needed to vent some of his many frustrations in life, either real or imaginary.
Maybe this was her fault for accepting this for so long and not leaving the first time he put his hands on her. How had this escalated to this point? What happened to the kind man who would give her sweet compliments and put a smile on her face? How had the disrespect become so normalized that he thought nothing of sleeping with her cousin in their bed and not giving a single damn.
When did her Prince Charming turn into a monster?
Was it around the time he wiped out their joint accounts to pay off gambling debts he’d racked up? Or was it when he lost his job for missing too many days to go to the horse tracks? Maybe it was when he began to show deference to her cousin Candace whom they’d taken into their home…no her home, as a favor?
Candace.
That was another betrayal for her to swallow on top of everything else. Ever since they were children, Candace went out of her way to make her feel unworthy of love, unattractive and a loser. Amina’s mistake was thinking her cousin had changed and wanted to repair their relationship when Candace had come to her begging for help and an occasional place to stay when things were unstable in her life.
But in the end it was all just a ruse. Candace was a user and a horrible person just like the rest of her family. Flashes of her life played like a movie in the back of Amina’s mind.
From a young age, all she knew was neglect and abuse. Her father had been in the military and died overseas shortly after she was born. Unable to handle raising her child alone, Amina’s mother ushered a series of ‘uncles’ into her life. Some were okay, some were creepy and others were downright scary and violent.
The last one ended up killing her mother leaving Amina in the hands of the foster system. When she was eight, she was claimed by her mother’s older sister. Amina thought she’d be a part of a real family that consisted of her aunt, uncle and three cousins.
Instead of being cherished like a valued member of the family, she was treated little better than a slave. She did most of the cooking and cleaning, all while her aunt made Amina express her gratitude for them taking her in. She had been a modern-day Cinderella, only clothed in hand-me-downs, and made to eat alone in the kitchen away from the rest of the family. She didn’t even have her own bedroom. She had to sleep on the living room floor in with a tattered comforter and one of her cousin’s discarded, drool-stained pillows.
That all changed when she was 13 and her paternal grandmother found her and fought for custody. Those years with her grandmother were the happiest Amina had ever experience. Grandma had been eccentric and heavily into the occult but she was loving and for the first time in her life, Amina felt safe and happy.
When her grandmother was taken away from her by illness, Mark entered the picture to fill the void.
Little did Amina know, welcoming Mark into her life would ultimately be her downfall.
There was one face that flashed in her mind that took her by surprise. Her former boss. He had always been kind to her and she wished she had the courage to be as friendly toward him as the rest of her coworkers. He seemed like a nice person and had very kind eyes.
No!
She couldn’t give up just yet. She could hear grandmother’s voice that screamed, “fight!”
Using a move she’d seen in an action movie Amina brought her hands up slapped them against Mark’s ear’s with all her might.
“You fucking bitch!” Mark screamed, clutching his ears.
She managed to push him away and wobbled to her feet. This time when she made it to the door, she was successful in getting outside. She blindly raced to the street, and didn’t notice the oncoming car until she found herself flying.
Her body hit the concrete with a crunch but there was no pain, only a euphoric sensation as she grandmother stood over her and held out her hand.
A smile briefly crossed her lips as she closed her eyes and walked into death’s embrace.