Page 7 of Jack

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Lily

Lillian! Wake up!”

“Uh,” I groan.

Pain shoots through my left side. What just happened?

“Lillian! Did you hear me?” The angry voice shouts louder this time.

My eyes pop open as the realization hits me. My work shoes, under the edge of the bed, lay inches from my face. Oh no. He’s in a bad mood today.

“What?” I quickly scramble to sit up. “I’m up.”

“Are you?” Joel snaps.

“Yes.” I push to my feet and hiss from the pain in my left arm.

Oh my gosh. This idiot literally pushed me out of bed. I look across the bed at him and narrow my eyes. Big mistake.

“You were supposed to be up an hour ago.” Joel storms around the bed and hovers with his face over mine.

“I’m sorry. I worked late. Three ambulances showed up before my shift ended. I had to stay over. I was just tired,” I whisper the last part.

It’s what happened and why I was two hours late getting home this morning. Joel won’t care. He only cares about himself and his high society image.

“That doesn’t explain why it’s 7 pm and you’re still asleep,” he snaps.

“It’s seven?” I gasp. “Oh, no. I’m going to be late for work.”

“Late for work?” Joel grabs my left arm, sending pain shooting up it.

I grit my teeth to keep from crying out. “Yes. I have to be there at eight.”

He knows this. Again, he doesn’t care.

“That’s it. I’m tired of you working all the time. Get on an eight-hour shift like a normal person or quit.” He shoves me away.

The right side of my head hits the doorframe of the master bathroom. I stumble to my knees but quickly force myself to stand. If he sees me down for long, it just gets worse. The pain in my cheek is enough to know I’ll have a bruise before I get to work. I’ll have to take my makeup with me to keep covering it throughout the night.

“I’m not kidding, Lillian.” He stomps to the bedroom door. “This is the last night you work weekend shifts. It’s like you don’t want to be around me.”

Really? I hadn’t noticed. Of course it’s why I work these shifts.

“No. It was what I was told to do,” I lie.

“Well, I’m telling you, it ends today or else!” Joel storms down the hallway, leaving me alone.

One look in the bathroom mirror confirms my fears. Yep. My right eye and cheek will be black and blue within the hour. I don’t have time to think about it or form a plan. I grab my scrubsfrom the closet and quickly put them on. After applying as much makeup as I have time for, I toss the containers into my purse. I slide my shoes on and grab a jacket. I need to get out of here fast before Joel decides we need totalksome more. He doesn’t know how to talk calmly about anything when we’re alone.

I release a long breath before stepping into the hallway. Maybe I can get out of here without him seeing me. The apartment is quiet. Maybe he left. A little hope blooms as I rush to the front door. What did I say about hope? Yeah. It’s never a good thing.

Joel grabs my left arm as I step into the living room. I hiss from the pain. He digs his fingers in deeper and leans toward me.

“That hurt, Lillian?” His eyes practically dance. “Good. It’ll be worse if you work another twelve-hour shift. End it tonight.”

“I have to go.” I jerk my arm.

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