Chapter 2 - The Neighbor and the Lie
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The metallic tang of blood filled my mouth as I struggled to keep my eyes open. Every rise and fall of my chest felt like an anchor pulling me deeper into the floorboards.
A sharp knock suddenly rattled the front door. Our neighbor, Mrs. Gable, must have heard the thud from across the hallway.
"Julian? Ara? Is everything alright in there?" Mrs. Gable called out, her voice muffled through the heavy wood.
In a fraction of a second, Carol transformed. The cold, reptilian sneer vanished from her face, replaced instantly by an expression of pure, theatrical panic. She rushed to the front door, pulling it open and clasping her hands over her heart.
"Oh my God, Mrs. Gable!" Carol sobbed, her voice ringing with fabricated terror. "Thank goodness you're here! Ara lost control! She had another one of her emotional outbursts and tripped over her own feet! Julian tried so hard to catch her!"
Julian stepped into the doorway behind his mother, wiping his hands on his jeans and nodding with a sorrowful, exhausted expression that deserved an award.
"She's just... she's always so dramatic," Julian whispered loudly, shaking his head at Mrs. Gable. "I told her to slow down, but she just threw herself backward."
Lying on the ice-cold floor, watching them weave their narrative in real-time, a strange sense of clarity washed over me through the blinding physical pain. The illusion of my marriage was completely pulverized. I realized right then that I wasn't waiting for them to save me anymore. No one was coming to rescue me except myself.
While Carol kept Mrs. Gable distracted at the threshold, I slowly reached my trembling left hand up to the hallway console table. My fingers brushed against my handbag, dragging it down to the floor. I pulled out my phone, pressed the emergency button, and brought the speaker to my lips.
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"911," I rasped, my voice barely a whisper against the tile. "My husband just assaulted me. I am bleeding from the head. Send an ambulance to Apartment 4B."
Julian spun around, his eyes widening in fury as he saw the illuminated screen in my hand, but it was already too late. The operator's voice echoed through the apartment, loud and clear.
