She got off the phone with Elijah an hour ago. It was soon to be dark, she sat outside on the rocking armchair, her legs stretched out on the table, she saw her neighbor's children playing in front of their house.
She wished that she was a mother yet, well she would have been one though if Adolf didn't abuse her till she almost had to bleed to death with a baby in her womb.
It was tough for her those years she was with Adolf.
He was an example of the devil wear Prada, the devil in human form.
She was a pretty girl who was sweet-talked and fell hard in love. She was just 21 and was coming back from work as a babysitter, she finished college earlier, it was just a three years course.
Flashback
Her boot made a clinking sound on the granite floor, her brown coat buttoned-down, covering her turtle neck top and leather trousers.
Muffler around her neck and gloves covering her hands. Her bag slung over her shoulder. She was engrossed with her thought that she didn't hear someone calling her name until he had touched her.
"Hey " he pants softly.
"Hi" she replied coldly. But the stranger didn't seem to mind.
"I'm sorry for bothering you but if you can spare me some minutes to talk to you like a friend" I'd appreciate, he gestured for her to follow him for a cup of coffee and snacks at the restaurant, shrugging her shoulder she agreed to go with him after all she needed the distractions to get her mind off the stress.
That night they'd clicked off as if they've known each other for a very long time.
Adolf was a type of guy every girl dreamed of, tall, lanky, funny, easy-going, and every good thing a girl wanted but he was a very hot temperamental person, she never saw that side of him until he had proposed to her and she started living with him.
Adolf was always there for her, in her weakest days, he was there, he was always there whenever she needed him.
He was her soulmate or so she had thought then.
The first time he hit her, she thought he would never do it again, she took the blame, because she did what she thought was normal "I was too tired to prepare dinner but I ordered some pizza" she had told him and felt the stinging slap on her cheek.
Her eyes saw stars.
The funniest part was that every time Adolf hit her, he would storm out of the house angrily and come back the next day reeking of alcohol and smelling like sex.
Later that day he would take her out and buy some expensive stuff for her. Adrianna smiled, as she took a sip of her orange juice.
She remembered when she told him she was pregnant, the following week he beat the life out of her, she had put up a fight with him that he cheats a lot and drink too much to the point of getting drunk and she won't let him leave the house that night.
Having said all that, he slapped her hard and she fell on the chair.
"I'm pregnant Adolf" she screamed at him but he was adamant and so he hit her more and left, leaving her all by herself. She had managed to get her phone and dialed 911.
She lost her pregnancy and had to use crutches for a while. Adolf was lucky she didn't press charges against him, she moved out of his house and never saw him again.
Two years with Adolf was something she never wants to experience again, she never for once thought she will be in an abused relationship, getting hit for no reasonable reasons.
It was a year after she moved on with her life she met Elijah, the CEO of a marketing company. It took her three months to finally agree to be with him, he was so patient, even when he knew about her ex-fiance, he didn't look down upon her. He loved her truly.
Flashback end.
Ugh! I'm tired, she muttered, her mind wandered away from her lover's thought, she noticed her neighbor walking towards her direction.
"Hi Adrianna" she greeted hugging her cardigan closer to her body, the evening was quite chilly.
NEXT DAY
"Good morning Mrs. Braham" she greeted as soon as she opened the door slightly revealing only her face.
"Morning to my exquisite neighbor!
What brings you to my sweet home this early?" She asked with a smirk.
"Ermmmm... Ehhhh" Adrianna stuttered but Mrs. Braham interrupted.
"If you think I'll reveal your do me I do you game to your gumdrop then forget it!
"I understand your body needed it, so not to worry, I'll keep my lips sealed," she said "I understand" she added and slam the door on her face.
"Wow, that was wow" she stood there mouth agape, she rubbed her forehead and adjusted her pink cardigan before knocking on Mrs. Braham's door again.
"Did you not understand all I've said, young Lady" she was beginning to feel annoyed.
"Of course I did, and I appreciated it, but do not refuse my apple pie" she smiled showing her neatly set of white teeth.
Thanks to the dentist who had referred what to use. She eyed the apple pie before collecting it, this time she slammed the door.
"Whoa, thank you Mrs. Braham" she shouted and left for her house.
She stood at her door debating on whether she'd go in or not, or she should just change to her office wears and get to work, but what's the point of going to work, when she could do that from home, she craned her neck to Savannah's porch, but her car wasn't parked outside. She must have gone to work or somewhere else.
Just as she was about to go in. A teenage guy came over to her.
"Hi miss, my grandma said you could come over for tea and toast bread"
"Oh" she exclaimed smiling "I'd like that"
She followed him back to Mrs. Braham's house.
"She's at the backyard," he told her after they've entered the apartment.
She turned to the backyard and found her sitting on a chair with an empty one in front of her. She gestured for her to take a seat.
"The apple pie was nice" she commented.
"Thank you" pouring herself a cup of tea.
"You can have some toasts too". Mrs. Braham cleared her throat and spit out phlegm.
"I remember when I used to be just like you, not too tall, moderate booty and big boobs and slim waist". Mrs. Braham chuckled.
"I was regular at the gym and I used to love expensive stuff and men! "Ahhh!" She exclaimed!
"I have sex at least... Counting her fingers, out of seven days in the week, I left two days out, it was like I was addicted, I barely said no when it comes to sex. "
You want to know what happened when I met Phil?"
"She nodded her head.
"When I started dating Phil, I still cheated on him but it wasn't much, I did have sex whenever I want to even when he was around"
"And then one day, I sat down outside my house and a friend of mine came, we talked about random stuff and then she dropped the question like a bomb, she said
"Comfort when are you going to stop finding comfort in other men when you've got Phil?"
I was stunned. I couldn't answer and then that night I had a call from Phil saying he wanted us to meet and he came over to my house. He was sad because he already knew I've been sleeping with other men and the fact that he knew two of those men I slept with was a slap to his face. that night we broke up.
"I felt a pang of pain in my heart. I left Ohio and I came to settle down in Albany, to change my life.
"I met Austin some few months later, I told him about my past and you know what he said?"
'"She shakes her head" signifying No.
"He said 'we will check for therapists online and get you signed up for how to manage sex and all of that?' she paused.
"Few weeks after he had gotten me signed up, he bought dildos, instead of me having sex with other men, I'd use that instead, it was hard but I had Austin and other people from the team, a year later after I'd gotten married and Austin and I had our first child, I ran into Phil at the coffee shop, he was surprised to see me, so was I, we exchanged pleasantries and then we were talking and he asked if I was still a sex addict.
"I smiled knowing I overcame it, I was proud to tell him that I've found that man who helped me curb my sex life and we're married with a child.
I saw a wind of regret pass his face but I didn't care and then he asked if I still loved him, I stood up and blatantly said "No" and left and that was the last time I saw him.
She placed her hands on Adrianna's hand and continued
"Tell your fiance what you're going through before it's too late and I want you to know that when your life starts getting more better, your ex would show up, it's bound to happen but it's up to you to fight that urge" she concluded.
Adrianna took some minutes to sink in everything the woman had told her.
"What about your husband and who is that boy?" she asked an already tired woman.
"My husband is dead, and that's my grandson, my granddaughters would be back soon, I have three already married children".
"Oh that's nice" she smiled. She was about to say something when the boy spoke first.
"If my grandma doesn't mind, I want to take her to her room to rest," he said.
"Oh yeah, I need to rest, I'm getting old every day, we will see some other time young lady, right now I want to have a conversation with my husband in my sleep," Mrs. Braham told her, her grandson holding her hand and leading her inside.
"Thank you ma, rest well," Adrianna said amidst laughter.