30

"
"Things were good for me and Rick at the start. I thought that he had changed and you were wrong. But then one morning, Riley and I had an argument," she began, her voice wavering a little as she stared out the window, swallowing hard. She blinked away the tears in her eyes and continued, "we just had sex and he yelled at me for not being on the pill."
I stopped at a red light, my eyes flickering over to her. Sighing, she went on as the light went green, "then he stormed off and left after arguing about who should be using protection. Thank the Lord I'm not pregnant," she whispered at the end, sighing in relief as she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them once more, gazing out.
"Then he came back in the night, drunk and angry about some kind of deal that went wrong. I yelled at him because I thought he was done with illegal stuff and because he wasn't taking his pills, then we argued some more and he hit me after I threatened to leave."
Tori licked her lips, swallowing and pausing for a moment. I stayed silent, letting her take her time. "Then he started hitting his head against the wall."
At the red light, I looked at her in shock, a strange look on my face. She glanced over and noticed my face, quickly saying, "he's got PTSD." In realisation, my eyebrows raised in surprise. I looked away, back on the road.
"I think that's what made me feel guilty and stay with him because. .he has mental health problems and. . .I'm the only person who's helped him through it."
"So, I felt bad and comforted him and helped him calm down. I started apologising even though none of it was my fault. . .right?"
"Right," I answered, giving her a firm, bold look. She nodded, exhaling slowly as if I had assured her.
"Then I helped him sober up and we went to bed. He apologised in the morning and all that crappy love stuff and I forgave him, as usual. Then for the next week, we kept arguing because he kept coming home late, drunk and smelling of sex. One day, I couldn't take it anymore and while he was with the baby, I just went out with some friends for fun. I didn't tell him so when I got back, he was pissed. So pissed that he started throwing stuff at me and. . .that's when things went worse."
"He got angry at every little thing I did and criticised me. He hit me and said I was a terrible mom and that I was a slut and so much more," Tori explained, a traitor tear rolling down her cheek as she tried not to cry. She sniffed, wiping it away swiftly before quickly wrapping her arms around her baby. "Once it was really bad and I-I ran in the bathroom and he kept hitting my head against the sink and choking me in the bath," she tearfully croaked, wiping her eyes as more tears came.
"Then on the final day," Tori quavered, shivering a little which made me tense up. "I was breastfeeding and I forgot to buy his stupid drink." She paused for a moment, looking down at the baby she held to her chest, the child's head buried in her neck.
"He said he'd never hurt a hair on his daughter and I knew he wouldn't because he loves her more than me, I can see it. But that day, it was all a lie. I didn't want him to hurt me so I didn't put the baby down and I was crying so she was crying, a-and he didn't like all the noise so he hit her so she'd stop. Then he grabbed her and threw her on the bed before hitting me. He got the belt and - " she stopped again, rubbing her hand through her hair as she exhaled loudly.
"When I finally managed to run away," Tori started, her voice so thick with hurt. "I thought it would be over. But it's not. No matter where I go, he'll find me, Rose, and I don't know what to do. I was gonna try and find you."
I looked over at her in surprise. "Why?" I softly asked, "why did you think of me?"
She looked over at me and replied, "I hate to say this but you know Cristiano Rossi and I thought-"
"That he could help," I finished quietly. Tori averted her eyes but I wasn't angry. I licked my lips and smiled saying, "we're going to my place now. Just know that after today, you won't see that bastard again."
We locked eyes and I smiled, looking back over to the road. I parked in the garage, turning off the engine.
I took off my seatbelt and Tori did the same, the child shifting in her arms as she woke up. I hadn't seen her face yet.
"Let me see her," I softly asked, a kind smile on my face. She returned the gesture and kissed her baby's cheek before giving her over to me.
The baby rubbed her eye that had a dark patch over it, that caught my attention, and looked up at me in surprise before yawning and resting her head on my chest, closing her eyes. She was beautiful. Tori chuckled, watching her baby as she smiled.
I shook my head, frowning. "God, this is so messed up. How old is she?"
"Eight months," Tori answered, smiling at her baby sadly.
I smiled as I looked down at her. "She's got nice, curly hair, just like her mama." Tori chuckled, moving her brown hair away from her caramel face. She had toned, glowing biracial skin and her daughter had it too.
"I called her Mira," Tori told me with a sweet smile. "My miracle." Mira's arms went out for her mother and I smiled, handing her over. Tori kissed her daughter, holding her close as she cuddled her.