Dragon Journal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dragonjournal) wrote2011-01-27 11:43 am
dragonjournal) wrote2011-01-27 11:43 am
Entry tags:
Bingo Spam #5
Title: Second Chance
Prompt: Friend in Need
Rating: R (just in case, because of the themes)
Summary/Warnings: PLEASE HEED THIS WARNING: Domestic violence, attempted suicide
Her shoulder was soaked. Her arms tightened around the thin shaking shoulders. Her eyes were hard, but she knew her anger wouldn’t do any good right now. Her eyes slid over to the bathroom where things were waiting for her.
They could wait.
“I’m sorry.” The weak, watery words floated up from her shoulder. “I’m so sorry.” There came a wet sniffle.
Harriet just smiled tightly and offered her friend a box of tissues. “Don’t apologize.” She didn’t care that her shirt was filthy. She could change it later. “Lemme get you some ice, okay?” At her friend’s nod, Harriet pushed herself up and fetched one of the ice packs in the freezer.
They were about the only thing in there. She was glad that her friend couldn’t see into the kitchen, or she’d just add to the burden that the woman was bearing now.
“Did you call the police?” Harriet carefully wrapped the ice pack and came back pressing it against the swelling cheek of her friend. “Cassie?”
Cassie shook her head. “He said…” She swallowed and blew her nose. “He said he’d…” Her hand pressed to her flat belly and Harriet blinked.
“Cassie, are you pregnant?”
That changed everything. Harriet wasn’t really one for letting anyone raise a hand to anyone else. But if Cassie was pregnant, that meant something completely different.
Cassie began crying again and just nodded. “That’s why he…” She gestured feebly at her face.
Harriet just got to her feet and grabbed her phone. “I’d like to report an assault. My friend’s boyfriend hit her.” She ignored the whimpered, weak protests from Cassie. She gave her address to the dispatcher and then hung up. “Cassie, you can’t let him get away with this.”
Cassie just nodded weakly. Her tears had dried to salt streaks on too pale cheeks. Harriet didn’t know what to do, so she just sat there and held her friend’s hand. Then, she excused herself.
Walking into the bathroom, she looked at the razor blade resting on the side of sink. She’d tested the edge on her finger earlier. Her eyes strayed to the bathtub, where cold water sat, having been waiting for her. She pushed up her sleeve and let out the water.
There was a note on the mirror. Harriet read it; it wasn’t long. In it, she’d apologized and simply said that she couldn’t deal with it any more – the pain and the loss, the ache in her chest every day, the trying to pretend it was all normal. She’d wanted it all to end. Just wanted the pain to go away so she could breathe.
Instead, there’d been a knock on her door, and Cassie, sporting a swiftly blackening eye, had practically fallen into her apartment.
Harriet’s fingers were unsteady when she picked up the razor. She pulled the note off of the mirror and wrapped it around the blade. Then both were tossed into the garbage.
Then, she walked into the living room just as the police knocked.
Prompt: Friend in Need
Rating: R (just in case, because of the themes)
Summary/Warnings: PLEASE HEED THIS WARNING: Domestic violence, attempted suicide
Her shoulder was soaked. Her arms tightened around the thin shaking shoulders. Her eyes were hard, but she knew her anger wouldn’t do any good right now. Her eyes slid over to the bathroom where things were waiting for her.
They could wait.
“I’m sorry.” The weak, watery words floated up from her shoulder. “I’m so sorry.” There came a wet sniffle.
Harriet just smiled tightly and offered her friend a box of tissues. “Don’t apologize.” She didn’t care that her shirt was filthy. She could change it later. “Lemme get you some ice, okay?” At her friend’s nod, Harriet pushed herself up and fetched one of the ice packs in the freezer.
They were about the only thing in there. She was glad that her friend couldn’t see into the kitchen, or she’d just add to the burden that the woman was bearing now.
“Did you call the police?” Harriet carefully wrapped the ice pack and came back pressing it against the swelling cheek of her friend. “Cassie?”
Cassie shook her head. “He said…” She swallowed and blew her nose. “He said he’d…” Her hand pressed to her flat belly and Harriet blinked.
“Cassie, are you pregnant?”
That changed everything. Harriet wasn’t really one for letting anyone raise a hand to anyone else. But if Cassie was pregnant, that meant something completely different.
Cassie began crying again and just nodded. “That’s why he…” She gestured feebly at her face.
Harriet just got to her feet and grabbed her phone. “I’d like to report an assault. My friend’s boyfriend hit her.” She ignored the whimpered, weak protests from Cassie. She gave her address to the dispatcher and then hung up. “Cassie, you can’t let him get away with this.”
Cassie just nodded weakly. Her tears had dried to salt streaks on too pale cheeks. Harriet didn’t know what to do, so she just sat there and held her friend’s hand. Then, she excused herself.
Walking into the bathroom, she looked at the razor blade resting on the side of sink. She’d tested the edge on her finger earlier. Her eyes strayed to the bathtub, where cold water sat, having been waiting for her. She pushed up her sleeve and let out the water.
There was a note on the mirror. Harriet read it; it wasn’t long. In it, she’d apologized and simply said that she couldn’t deal with it any more – the pain and the loss, the ache in her chest every day, the trying to pretend it was all normal. She’d wanted it all to end. Just wanted the pain to go away so she could breathe.
Instead, there’d been a knock on her door, and Cassie, sporting a swiftly blackening eye, had practically fallen into her apartment.
Harriet’s fingers were unsteady when she picked up the razor. She pulled the note off of the mirror and wrapped it around the blade. Then both were tossed into the garbage.
Then, she walked into the living room just as the police knocked.