K2- My Life

When he is sleeping I could watch him all night. The past year has been rough on us. I’ve never thought there was a chance I would have to be a single mother for a little while. But Alex was determined to go back into the reserves. I miss Alex so much, I can’t believe he is still in Iraq, I remember saying goodbye to him like it was yesterday.

We laid in bed for the whole night, neither one of us slept nor talked. We just enjoyed each other’s company. When the alarm when I off I wish time had stopped and I could freeze this moment in time with Alex’s arms around me. When he held me I felt safe and nothing was going to happen with him being by my side. But time didn’t stop no matter how much I wish and prayed it did. That was it our last night together for a year or possibly forever, over. I didn’t want to, couldn’t move. I was paralyzed I didn’t want to let go. Alex pulled me close and kissed me on the head. We laid like that for a minutes but it felt like seconds. When he got up and started to dress in his camouflage, the fear and tears started to roll in.

The rest of the morning went by like a blur. When we arrived at the airport Alex was holding Aden close trying to savor the moment. Aden was only four and didn’t fully comprehend where daddy was going, and I knew has he got older I would have to answer his questions.

But was I prepared to? I would have to be.

Then the announcement I was dreading, it was Alex’s platoon’s turn to deploy. I hugged him as tight as I could; trying to memorize everything and hoping my memory would last and wouldn’t fail. As he pulled away there was no stopping the tears streaming down my face. He turned around before he boarded the plane and smiled his crocked smile, that smile that made me fall in love with me.

Now as I look at him peacefully sleeping, I now know that I am strong enough to protect him, just like Alex protects me. 

                Epilog: I woke up to Aden’s singing in my ear and when I open my eyes Alex is there smiling, he puts him had on my belly. We can’t wait for the new addiction to our family to arrive.  

K1) The Smith's

“That’s it!” said Tom as he was eating dinner, with his wife of two years Katie. The Smiths appeared as a well off suburban family, they were always seen at church and throwing the legendary annual Christmas party. What others saw were just lies. What happened behind closed doors? Why has Katie been away at her sisters for two months? What happened to the happy Smiths that everyone knew and loved? To tell that story we have to reveal the lies.

Tom and Katie were an older couple, who found a second chance at love. Tom’s first wife left him after ten years of bliss. While Katie’s first husband died in a car accident. When the two first met it was like they were finally happy and all the bad things that happened in their life led them to this moment. After a year of dating, they became inseparable of each other and finally got married. For the first year it was marriage bliss, they were truly happy, but then Tom started to get aggressive. He became easily agitated and snapped without warning. As understanding and sweet Katie was she thought he was just stressed from work.
She should’ve ran when she had the chance.

One stormy night when Tom came home from work, Katie knew something wasn’t right, as she tried to comfort her husband. He started to beat her, taking no mercy. After Tom realized what he had done, he felt instant regret and promised his wife it wouldn’t happen again. She believed him and decided to let it go and move forward. She didn’t get that chance. The abuse continued and Katie kept taking it.

Six months went by and the beatings became almost like a routine. When Tom came home from work, he seemed, more agitated than usual, but Katie didn’t pick up on it. As they were eating dinner Tom threw everything off the table and it crashed on floor. Katie became paralyzed in her chair and thought it would be over soon, but once again she was wrong. When Katie looked into her husband’s eyes, she didn’t see the man she fell in love with, she saw a monster. She thought it was finally over, but once she opened her eyes he was standing over her holding a chair. That’s when Katie realized that her husband’s first wife didn’t leave him, he killed her.

Three years later Jamie had a new wonderful husband who would be there for her until death do us part. Her new husband was Tom.