Everything was fine for another two months, then things started happening. I never forgot that mysterious girl's warning. Slowly, everything that she said was starting to come true. Dominic was starting to become possessive and dominant. He always wanted to know where I was at all times. If I got home later than I said, he got angry.

The alarm clock rang from the nightstand, startling me out of my sleep. I quickly turned it off and got out of bed. Pain coursed from my legs and up to my abdomen causing me to softly cry out. I glanced over at Dominic who was still peacefully sleeping.

Why do I let myself sleep next to this monster?

I walked into the bathroom and turned the light on, squinting as my eyes adjusted. I walked over to the sink, not bothering to look at myself in the mirror. I already knew I looked like hell. It wasn't until I reached for the faucet that I realized how bad I really looked.

My eyes were bloodshot and my nose was red and puffy, along with the rest of my face, due to me crying myself to sleep. Green and purple fingerprints covered my wrists and neck. I gasped, clasping a hand over my mouth as I fell to the floor, sobs racking my body.

"You've got to pull yourself together," I reprimanded myself.

Slowly I stood up, wincing in pain. I turned the sink on, splashing cold water on my face. I stood there for a minute, letting it drip down as I took a deep breath. I did my makeup, finished getting ready and got dressed per usual, but this time I grabbed a scarf and tied it around my neck. I headed out the door, slamming it as hard as I could behind me. I sprinted down the stairs and out the building, making my way to Shelby's, as I did every morning.

"Good morning," I rasped once Shelby answered.

"Oh my god. You look and sound like hell. Everything alright?" Shelby asked.

"I'm fine," I lied, faking a smile.

"Why don't I believe you? Get in here," Shelby said grabbing me by the wrist a dragging me in.

"Ouch!" I cried, stumbling behind her as I yanked my hand back.

Shelby stopped and looked at me worriedly, her eyes glancing down at my wrists.

"Lift your sleeves up."

"Huh?"

"Just do it!" Shelby said, pulling my sleeves up herself.

She gasped as she stared at my badly bruised wrists. She looked me in the eyes, a mixture of sympathy and fear all over her face.

"Grace...."

"I'm fine," I replied.

"No, you're not! Something happened last night that you're not telling me! And what's with the scarf? Since when do you ever wear scarves?" Shelby cried.

"Since today!"

"Don't lie to me!" Shelby said, reaching for my scarf.

"No, Shelby, please!" I said swatting her hands away.

Too late. She already got it off. I watched her eyes widen as the scarf fell out of her hands and onto the floor.

"Did Dominic ra--"

"No!" I shouted, cutting her off.

"Grace! If he's hurting you, you need to let someone know! Those bruises don't just appear out of nowhere!" Shelby cried, grabbing my hands, her voice softening, "Dominic forced himself on you last night, didn't he?"

A tear involuntarily fell from my eye. I quickly wiped it away.

"I can't deal with this right now Shelby. I'm late for work," I said snatching my hand back and hurrying out the door.

"Grace!" Shelby yelled after me, but I ignored her as I made my way to the diner.

That night in particular, I was at work later that usual. I slowly turned the key and opened the door as quietly as possible. I dreaded walking into that apartment.I glanced over at the clock, 1:08 am.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath.

I closed the door behind me and pressed my back against it, breathing a sigh of relief. Dominic was asleep. But of course, knowing my luck, the light turned on. I jumped.

"Dominic!" I exclaimed.

"Where the hell were you?" He asked angrily.

"None of your damn business!" I snapped.

Wrong move, Grace.

Dominic slammed my wrists against the door forcefully. I winced, turning my face, not daring to look at him.

"Get your fucking hands off of me!" I shouted.

"Not until you tell me where you were!"

Without thinking, I lifted my leg up and kicked him where the sun doesn't shine. He collapsed, his lips pursed tightly together in pain. I gasped, my hand flying up to cover my mouth.

What have I done?

My first instinct was to run like hell out of that apartment, but I was so frozen in fear that I couldn't move. I stood there watching him on the ground. He was absolutely livid. For the first time, I actually feared for my life.

"I'm going to fucking kill you," Dominic growled, slowly standing up.

He grabbed me, throwing me down to the ground. I screamed as I fell, hitting my head on the table as I did so. My head throbbed and I felt incredibly dizzy. I raised my hand to rub my forehead when I touched something warm and slightly sticky. I pulled my hand back in fear. Even though I knew what it was, I was still terrified to look at it.

I looked up at Dominic who was glaring down at me. I wiped my hand on my pants and pondered my next move. I made a beeline for it. I got the the door and opened it, but I was quickly yanked backwards.

"Did you really think that was going to work?" Dominic yelled.

I backed up into the kitchen counter, my hands sweeping across frantically, searching for something to defend myself with as Dominic walked over to me. And then, my hand touched a knife. I grabbed it cautiously, gripping it so hard that my knuckles turned white.

I whipped my arm out from behind my back, ready to stab him. Dominic grabbed my hand and reversed it, pushing his body against mine and dragging my hand down. It all happened so fast that I didn't know what happened until I felt the agonizing pain in my right side. I was able to manage to kick him away, but I was in too much pain to do much more. I looked around once more and my eyes landed on a bottle of vodka.

I snatched it off of the counter and crashed it into his face. Glass shattered all around accompanied by the vodka drenching us both. Dominic collapsed, unconscious, falling on the broken pieces of the glass bottle. Pieces of glass were wedged in his cheek, dribbling blood on the floor.

I held the top of the bottle, staring at the bloody, jagged edges in horror. I fell to my knees in pain and horror. I inhaled sharply and ripped the knife out of my side, screaming in pain. I stood up and half limped half ran to bathroom and grabbed a towel, desperate to stop the bleeding. It wasn't until then that I actually saw how bad it really was. It was a long gash stretching from the bottom of my rib cage down to my hip. I tied the towel around my torso and ran into the bedroom where Dominic kept his wallet. I grabbed all of the money plus all of mine, stuffing it into a backpack. I grabbed as much clothes as possible and bolted back into the kitchen.

Dominic was still on the floor, unconscious, except now there was a pool of blood spreading around him.

"Oh my god," I gasped.

I've killed him.

No time to stand around and feel guilty. What's done is done. This was my only chance to get away and I had to take it.

I raced out of the apartment and ran to Shelby's. Police sirens wailed in the background. No doubt someone called the cops with all my screaming.  My side stung and throbbed and I knew that I wouldn't be able to last much longer if I didn't get help soon.

"Shelby!" I screamed pounding on her door, "Shelby please!" I screamed, my voice shrill and scratchy.

The door opened immediately and Shelby squinted from the light of the hallway.

"Oh my god!" She gasped once she laid eyes on me.

Shelby pulled me inside and sat me on the worn down couch. I clutched my side, sobbing in agony and fear.

"Connor!" She screamed, "Connor wake up!"

"What's wrong?" Connor yelled, sprinting out of his room.

"Oh god!" He cried, falling to his knees beside me.

"We have to get her to a hospital!" Shelby shouted.

"No!" I screamed, "No! I can't! They'll ask too many questions!"

"What do you mean? What happened?" Shelby questioned anxiously.

"I think I killed him!" I breathed.

Shelby's eyes widened in horror, "Dominic?"

I nodded, "He attacked me, and I did it in self defense, but I think he's really dead! Shelby, I have to get out of here!"

"Calm down," Shelby said sternly, looking me in the eyes, "You're going to be fine."

"Shelby, you don't understand! I can get arrested! They'll haul me in for life! It's not safe for me here, I have to leave!"

"Where would you even go?"

I thought about it for a second, "Santa Fe. It's always been our dream since we were little girls. Now I'm going to make it a reality."

"I'm going with you then," Shelby said.

"Wait what?" Connor asked.

"Grace is like family, and I can't let her go alone," Shelby answered.

"Shelby.." Connor started.

"No, Connor. I'm going."

Connor nodded, almost in defeat, "Well I guess it won't matter what I say. You've already made up your mind."

Shelby hugged him tightly, "I'm not a little girl anymore. I'm eighteen now. I'll be able to handle myself. I promise that I will write and call you everyday."

"Alright," Connor said, "Come on Grace, let's get you cleaned up."

Shelby grabbed a towel, a bottle of rubbing alcohol, bandages and gauzes.

"I'm going to need you to sit up, alright?" Shelby said guiding me up as she laid the towel underneath me.

Pain shot through my side and I cried out.

"I'm sorry! Oh god, I don't want to hurt you!"

"It's fine," I gasped, "I can take it."

Shelby peeled my shirt up to reveal the large wound. She gasped and Connor grimaced, looking away.

"Just breathe, alright?" Shelby instructed.

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath, attempting to brace myself for the pain. She poured the cold alcohol over the wound and the pain spread coursed through my side. The pain was unlike anything I've ever experienced before. It stung and burned like I was on fire. I yelled in pain as tears started pouring down my cheeks.

Shelby set the bottle down and started crying as well, "I can't do this. I don't want to hurt you!"

"Shelby don't worry about me. I can't heal unless it gets cleaned and bandaged up. The worst part is done," I said.

Shelby took a shaky breath and grabbed a paper towel, dabbing away the excess blood and alcohol. She grabbed the roll of gauze and wrapped it around me, pinning it secure with a safety pin. She placed a band aid on my forehead and helped me sit up.

"Good as new," She smiled weakly.

"I'm going to go get my stuff ready, sit tight, okay?"

A few minutes later, she came out of her room with a small suitcase, almost busting open from all of her clothes. She handed me a clean shirt and pair of pants to change into as she threw out my bloodied ones.

I finished changing and stood up, waiting for her as she said goodbye to her brother.

"Be careful Shelby. You're all I got," Connor said.

"Don't worry about me. Focus on yourself for once. Ever since mom died, you've never taken any time for you. It's always been me," Shelby said, hugging him.

They stayed like that for a minute, and I couldn't help but start to tear up watching the bittersweet moment.

"I love you Shelby," Connor said.

"I love you too, big brother,"

"Grace, get over here. You're family too," Connor said waving me over.

I walked over to him and he wrapped me in a gentle hug, careful not to hurt me.

"Take care of yourself. And make sure Shelby behaves."

"Don't worry about a thing Connor, I'll make sure she does and that she writes you everyday," I said, pulling away.

"You ready?" Shelby asked.

I nodded and we walked out of the apartment to the bus station. We walked up to the ticket clerk, who gave us a strange look, but didn't ask any questions.

"Can I help you ladies?" He asked.

"Can we get two tickets to Santa Fe, New Mexico please?" Shelby asked.

"That bus doesn't arrive for another two days. You two look like you're kinda in a pinch. Are you sure you'd want to wait that long?" He asked.

"What's the soonest bus that you have arriving?" I asked.

"The bus to Tulsa, Oklahoma arrives in three hours, at 5 am," He answered.

I looked over at Shelby who nodded.

"We'll take it," I said handing him the money.