The Love that Hurts: A Story of Domestic Violence (The Relationship Quo Series Book 6) by Nicole Strycharz

Author:Nicole Strycharz [Strycharz, Nicole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-25T18:30:00+00:00

RIDGE

My team and I were trying to paint the exterior of the new post office. Painting compared to everything else we do, was one of the easiest things. That day, it was the hardest.

All I saw in my mind, was the night before.

I saw the pain on Josie’s face when my fist connected to her cheek. I saw myself dragging her into the house. I saw her hitting the floor and cowering on the opposite side of the room from me.

The thought of seeing her with those men from the bar, caused that angry heat to collect in my head and chest. But in truth, the heat had been collecting for a while beforehand.

I heard wheels spinning into the parking lot and looked out the window to see Moss’ truck whipping in. Moss doesn’t visit my worksites. My first thought was that something could be wrong with Mom.

But when Moss stepped out of his car and slammed the door behind him, displaying such a fit of rare anger, I knew it was something else.

I kept painting, too occupied by my guilt over Josie to care.

“What the fuck did you do to her?” Moss’ voice, usually soft-spoken, and never riddled with profanities, boomed. The three men I was working with in the room were Mexican and spoke zero English, even Juan, Josie’s cousin. I didn’t worry about their presence.

“What’s your problem, Moss?” I asked without looking his way.

“My problem is Josefina’s face! What did you do?”

“What goes on with us, is none of your damn business. Drop it—”

“I’m not going to drop it! Did you or did you not, hit her?”

Even hearing it from someone else’s mouth made me bleed on the inside. “What did she say?” I asked.

“That she fell out of her truck,” he snorted. “Like I was born yesterday. I know what kind of mark that is. Mom had them, you had them, all of us had them!”

“Take it easy,” I stopped pouring paint into the tray at my feet.

“Take it easy?”

Of all my brothers, Moss coming to me about it stripped me of something. Moss and Mom were the only two people in the world I had never raised a hand or fist to because I knew they couldn’t take it. My other brothers could take it, Josefina could take it. But that belief didn’t help me to breathe better.

I decided to deflect.

I pushed the paint roller up the wall. “Why are you so concerned?” I put the roller aside and dipped a smaller brush in the paint. Crouching down, I fixed an edge. I let my paranoia talk again. “If you wanted her, you should have met her first. Should have been able to make words in front of women.”

Moss kicked my paint can over, igniting my rage again. “You don’t have to want to fuck a woman to respect her. You want to be like that piece of shit father we had, then marry a blow-up doll. She’s not your punching bag!”

“You need to cool

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