Her lip split the moment his fist made contact. The force of the blow sent her flying back, slamming her shoulder against the corner of the wall.
Before she had time to think about the pain, he was hauling her away from the wall. The grip on her arms so forceful, the bruises would probably last a while. He threw hard over the couch, her back scraping along the armrest, causing scratches along her back until she lay on the cushions, silently waiting another the anger she knew was coming.
But this was nothing new to Lauren Carter. Sadly enough, this was her life.
"God, you do this every damn time, Lauren! You just can't leave it alone!"
Surprisingly, he didn't come after her. She lay there on the couch, waiting, as if she was simply waiting for the phone to ring. No tears, no fear on her face............just waiting.
He paced angrily in front of her, separated only by the coffee table in front of the couch where Lauren lay. Hands on his hips, his eyes burning red with anger. After a few moments, he turned to her. His green eyes burning into hers.
"You're not worth it." He finally stated. "You can never just leave it alone. You do realize I'm going to do whatever I want, don't you? You can't do enough for me, so I go elsewhere. Accept it, Lauren. Embrace it!" Sarcasm and mocking were thick in his voice. "You knew I was going out with her. And yet, you have the nerve to be hurt when I come home." Leaning across the table bringing his face closer to hers, and with a sickening smirk across his face, he continued. "Face it, baby. You're just not enough."
With that, he turned, and headed into the bedroom in the back of the apartment. When the door finally slammed shut, Lauren allowed herself to breathe. She hadn't even realized she had been holding her breath.
She sat still for a few moments, unsure of whether he was going to return to continue his infliction. When she was confident enough that he had probably gone on to watching sports or even forgotten everything that had just happened already, she sat up. Taking a deep, calming breath, so closed her eyes. Leaning her elbows on her knees, with her head between her hands, she rocked her body lightly, calming her rattled nerves.
This was one of the more severe episodes. He always hit her, mostly pushing her against a wall, just to show his control or dominance. It had never been this bad. He had never left marks where people would actually see them. He was never that stupid.......before now.
He was never around that much, usually out with another girl. But whenever he was home, this was usually how it went. He usually didnt leave that many marks on her body, her career made it hard to hide something like that, being a model, but she hid them well when she needed to. No matter what she had to wear in a shoot, or on a runway, no one ever knew. Or at least Lauren didnt think they knew. Once or twice, one of the other girls would ask about a bruise, but she would immediately dismiss it as falling, or walking into a door. Those usual, stupid excuses every abused girl uses. The only other girl ever to challenge her explanation had been Janssyn.
"Are you sure you got THIS from walking into a door? Its kind of a strange angle for a door to hit you, isn't it?" Janssyn stated, more than asked the question. She knew damn well Lauren hadn't walked into a door.
"What are you saying, Janssyn?" Immediately, Lauren got defensive. No one had ever challenged her answers before, so she figured they believed her. Or maybe they just humored her, not bothering to challenge her. "Of course I walked into the door. You know what a klutz I am. Hell, I just did it walking in here, didn't I?" Lauren added a small smile of humor, to try and lighten the conversation and hide the nervousness in her voice.
"Yeah, I know you're a klutz. It just looks a little bad to be from a door, that's all"
The conversation was cut short, much to Lauren gratitude, as Janssyn was called to makeup, and Lauren to hair. They were backstage at a show, and of course it was insanity. Stylists, makeup artists were running around frantically, while girls sat everywhere, patiently waiting to be called on.
Lauren loved Janssyn. She was like a sister to her. Both girls worked from the same agency, and had spent a lot of time together starting out. Lauren had always envied Janssyn. With her long legs, perfect body, and show-stopping smile, she had always made Lauren jealous. Not in a bad way, but jealous never the less. There were things about a lot of the other girls that Lauren envied. She was certainly not out of her league in the company she kept, however. Tall and slender without being shockingly thin like some of the girls, with a body that curved in all the right places. She was considered more of a 'mens model', due to her curvy figure. Long brown hair and electric blue eyes, she was one of the top girls in the business. Although she never thought of herself as pretty. She just happened to stumble into the business, and really enjoyed it. She loved the people, the travel, and the experience. The slight fame that came along with it was the low point, but something she could live with.
Janssyn met up with Lauren again while waiting to take the runway.
"So, whatcha doing after the show?" Janssyn asked nonchalantly, hoping to ease her way back into the conversation that had been plaguing her all afternoon.
"Going back to the hotel" Lauren replied. She didnt even look over at her friend.
"Want to come out with me? A bunch of us are going out to have a little fun."
"No, thanks though. I just wanna go back to the hotel and take a long bath. Jimmy's probably going to be there, so I want to make sure I'm back" Laurens body noticeably tensed, knowing very well where Janssyn was wanting this conversation to go.
Janssyn tensed at the mention of his name. She hated him. And she didn't hate anyone! Which made her hate him more; the fact that he could cause her to hate.
Jimmy Carrinno was a well known fashion photographer, mostly known for his early work with Lauren. Lauren had made him what he was. Not because his photographs were stunning, but because Lauren was stunning. She was the kind of girl you could photograph with a Polaroid camera, and have the kind of picture that could grace the cover of Vogue. Lauren had met him when she had started out, just as he was starting out, and Jimmy took advantage of the girls beauty and niavity to jump start his career. He had swept Lauren off her feet. Charming, handsome, and obviously interested in Lauren from the start. Mostly because of what she could do for him more than liking her as a person, but that was just the kind of guy he was.
Janssyn had to admit that Jimmy was attractive, even if he was an asshole. Standing 6 foot 1 inches, with light brown hair and green eyes, he was like the posterboy for the all american male. The typical charmer. His smile could make girls swoon, and he knew it. He used that to his advantage whenever he needed.
Things had been pretty good between Lauren and Jimmy, until they moved in together 4 months after they began dating. Now, she was his. In his mind, anyway. He changed almost immediately. It started as just verbal. Nothing physical. Then the cheating. And not even subtly. He would flat out right tell Lauren he was going out with another girl, leaving her home alone. More than once he brought his other girl home with him, Lauren once even catching him having sex with another girl on their couch. The first time she stood up to him was that night. The next morning, she had bruises on her back. This happened a few more times, before Lauren learned to let it go. He would go off with other girls, for days at a time, maybe even longer. It was like Lauren lived alone. She would sometimes sit alone at night, wondering 'Why does he have the time to go out and make other girls fall in love with him, but doesnt have time for the one who already does?'
Just as Janssyn was about to protest, urging her friend to stay out with her, rather than going back to him, the girls were being ushered towards the runway. Before she could say another word, Lauren was gone.
Moments passed, Laurens thoughts carried away with every possible scenario from Jimmy mulling over his anger and turning on her again, to him coming back out, apologizing profusely, and promising never to hit her again. Neither happened.
Lauren raised her head, looking around the room, placing her hands lightly on her knees, rubbing her palms along her jeans. Tears were in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She would be damned if she was going to cry over this! Taking a look around, she sighed. Sniffing lightly, she stood up, quietly reaching for her purse and car keys. Slinging her jacket over her arm, she opened the door to the apartment, and without looking back, or a thought in her head, she left.
There was only one place she could think to go.
