Pulling into the driveway you were still excited- it finally felt like you had made a genuine friend even though it's a bit one-sided on the talking department but that didn't bother you- it was nice to be able to talk to someone so much and just know they're listening to plus it's not like Tommy can't communicate, he's very expressive in his way plus the more time you spend with him it's easier to tell what he's trying to get across.

Entering into your little house humming a tune you ran to the bathroom to shower off the Texas heat sticking to your skin off, after you had dried off you decided to sit in the kitchen and read in the natural light.

A few hours later James entered the front door and he gave a small shout from the living room, you immediately went to the living room to throw yourself next to him on the couch- he leaned to give you a quick kiss on the cheek, things felt a bit tense but you couldn't pinpoint why exactly, you just assumed he was stressed from starting his job so you thought maybe talking about your day would help him relax

"So I kinda love it here, I'm catching onto this job pretty quickly! Luda says I can kinda be by myself tomorrow because she slightly trusts me to not start a kitchen fire and she needs to manage the store so it'll balance out probably"

You both chuckle at that

"Oh also I'm gonna be leaving early tomorrow because she asked me to pick up her son Tommy before work since she can't anymore"

James' head snapped up at that

"Tommy? The butcher you told me about?"

You didn't notice his discomfort as you immediately smiled

"Yeah! He's great, he so sweet and we're gonna start eating lunch together because I work with some real a1 bitches, I think I'm gonna hang out with him on my day off in a few days I saw a bowling alley on my way home and I think it would be hilarious to see that giant hold a bowl-"

You were cut off suddenly by a hand grabbing harshly at your wrist

"Ow what the fuck James let me go that fucking hurts"

Your plea only made his grip tighten as he pulled you close

"Are you kidding me? You've been in this hell hole for less than a week and you've already moved on with the town retard all of the people? Yeah, I've heard what the guys at work say about him, he's dangerous and I don't want you anywhere near him. I didn't even want you to get a job! I told you how many times before moving you didn't need to"

His grip was white-knuckled as he pulled the both of you into a standing position you started losing feeling in your hand, the sensation of having your wrist bones rub together left a cry in your throat as tears began to flowed freely, he gave you another sharp tug toward him

"All I wanted was to have someone to come home to, I've been so nice and patient and now that's run thin, I don't want to hear about that ox again and don't even thinking about seeing him on your days off. This conversation over." he proceeded to let go of your hand with a shove, you felt your ass hit the floor roughly, he leaned over you as he grabbed your throat you felt any chances of airflow taken from you

"Do you understand me?"

You feebly tried to nod your head yes but his iron-like hold prevented any neck movement

"You are mine. You don't belong to anyone else and I'm gonna make sure you remember that "

He threw you to the ground and started to walk away, your hand reached up to gently rub your sore throat, he went to your shared bedroom and slammed the door.

Saying you're surprised would be an understatement, James has never been violent the entire time you knew him, he did have a past of violence with small bar fights but you never thought he would do something like this.

Maybe those butterflies Tommy gave you crept into how you talked about him, you mentally slapped yourself as your tears soaked your shirt, you slowly stood and with wobbly legs you went to the kitchen and opened the freezer with your good hand and pulled out a bag of frozen peas while gently resting the bag on your rapidly bruising wrist.

You should leave, you should call the cops you should do anything but what you're doing which is sitting on the couch cradling your frozen peas until you manage to fall asleep despite the hellfire throbbing of your throat and wrist.

You wake up with a startle when your alarm blares from your pocket, you get up and make your way to the bathroom before you even look in the mirror you've already started softly crying, you hoped it was just a fucked up dream but nope you're staring back at a slightly bruised neck that's gonna be impossible to hide, you dare to look at your wrist already knowing what you're gonna see it's pretty much black and black from the your hand to the middle of your elbow.

You test trying to say

"Hey what's up to no need to be concerned here"

You sound like you're talking with sandpaper in your throat and it feels like it. you quickly wash your face and put on some light make up while trying to ignore the burning in your wrist with every movement after leaving the bathroom you run right into James

"Baby I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry I'm so stupid- I've just been under so much pressure and I love you so much that hearing you talking about him with so much kindness made me snap, I promise I'll never touch you again...unless you want me to"

By the end of his mini-speech, he's on his knees holding your legs like a small child, you can't help but feel bad as your stroke his hair with your good hand

"I know you just lost your temper" you whisper, you couldn't tell who you were trying to make feel better him or you. You've already moved your life for this man and just because he lost his temper once doesn't mean you should just jump ship? plus what would you do or where would you go? You have to make this work

He gets to his feet slowly and hugs you tightly

"Never again baby I just love you so much I got so passionate about defending us"

You put your good arm around his back hesitantly still feeling weird about physical contact with him

"I have to go to work"

You separate and head to your car, you felt like you were sleepwalking but you had to pretend everything was okay- it was okay, right?