The Night Before the Wedding...Chapter 2

Thirty minutes later...after the rampage

Thirty minutes later...

Everyone in the dining room remained in a state of shock,  as each person slowly tried to rouse and regain
their senses.  Muffled crying could be heard from the two girls.  Ellen was still unconscious. Abbey  filled a table napkin with ice, lightly touching her mother's jaw. Sweat and tears dripped from Abbey's face as she continued to wipe her mothers skin. Slowly her mother began to come back to them. Abbey prayed for her mother to wake up faster. They needed her help.  Ashley was hurt and Matt wanted to kill their father.  Chaos, fear and pain filled the room. Abbey was only 11 years old and didn't know how to fix any of this mess. She had a lot to learn.

When Ellen was fully conscious, she crawled over to Ashley and looked at her beautiful broken daughter.  How could she possibly fix this mess in less than 19 hours?  Ellen felt Matt breathing down her neck.  He winced when he took a deeper breath.   He probably had a cracked rib. He wasn't spitting up blood so hopefully there  was no internal puncture. She would wrap his ribs later, just to be on the safe side and give him some pain medication once they all got up stairs. Hopefully, he would sleep once the medication took effect.

First they would take care of Ashley's hand. She needed to go to the emergency room; in fact all of them needed medical care. Ellen also knew this was out of the question.  For years she had mended her family, she would do it again tonight. Ellen had medical kits stashed in every room. Hidden from Jack, but easily reached if the needy knew where to look.  As far as Jack knew there was only one medical kit and it was in their bathroom.

Ashley looked at her mother, brother and little sister.  She knew what she should do.  She also knew it wouldn't work and they would all pay dearly for the phone call.  Matt had tears in his eyes and so much anger stored up inside. He was close to splitting open, spilling years of hurt and hate across their father's throat.  She knew he dreamed of doing this.  Matt's mantra, he said in times of pain and brutality were, "I won't always be defenseless". One day her father would literally eat those words.

Ellen gently took Ashley's left hand.  It was already starting to swell. The pain was horrible.  She asked Ashley if she could climb the stairs to her bedroom. Ashley nodded her head 'yes'.  Ellen turned to Matt and Abbey, quietly whispering, "Can you clean up the kitchen before your father comes back in here?"  Both kids were stunned but  they knew the drill...make it all disappear, make it look like nothing ever happened...make us look normal.  Then as an after thought Ellen said, "Save the leftovers." As if anyone would ever eat that meal again.

Ellen and Ashley climbed the stairs to Ashley's bedroom.  It was a pretty room painted in shades of lavender and white.  Her wedding dress hung on her closet door. Her long veil was laying on the window seat.

Her mother had Ashley lay down on the bed.  She went to her daughter's closet and found her emergency kit hidden in one of Ashley's shoe boxes.  In her daughter's bathroom she wet several washcloths with cold water.  When Ellen returned to the room she was ready to mend her daughter, hopefully for the last time.  The mother and daughter were quiet. No one talked. Tears rolled from Ashley's eyes. Her mother's heart broke again for the millionth time. All she could do was give her Motrin to help relieve the pain and inflammation.  Gently she placed her daughter's hand on a pillow above her head. Cold compresses were applied to her hand and finger for several hours. Ellen then applied a white splint to Ashley's finger.  She had given her a prescription medication for pain and sleep.  The only thing Ellen could find for her daughter's wrist was a Velcro hand bandage. She would have to replenish some of her supplies.  However,  it would do until Ashley could get to a doctor, hopefully on her honeymoon.  Ellen tucked Ashley in bed giving her a kiss on the forehead.  The bathroom light was left on. The medicine was starting to work. On her way out of Ashley's room, she locked the door.

Ellen proceeded down the hall to Abbey's room. She knocked on the door and asked Abbey if she could come in. "Yes Mama", was all she heard.  Abbey was sitting on her bed holding her American Girl doll close to her heart.  Her tear stained face was blotchy and red.  Her small hands trembled, "We got the kitchen cleaned up." This was all she could think of to say.  "Thank you" whispered her mother.

In the corner of Abbey's room was a wicker rocking chair. Ellen suggested they rock for awhile.  Abbey was more than ready. She needed some comforting in the worst way.  As they rocked, Ellen held Abbey, humming songs with no names.  They were nameless friends to her children. The songs her mother hummed soothed their souls on a godless night and kept the wolf at bay.  Abbey knew that her mother and her aunt were the children who at one time made up these tunes.  Finally, Abbey drifted off to sleep. Ellen placed her in her princess bed and put her doll beside her. If only all their problems could be fixed this easily, life would at least be tolerable.

The room across the hall belonged to Matt.  His door was locked.  Ellen knocked softly and waited. There was no reply.  Quietly, Ellen begged Matt to open his door.  All she heard was the faint sound of music  coming from his ear buds.  He had the music cranked as loud as he could stand it, blocking out all the craziness in this house.  Ellen worried more about Matt that she did the girls, if that was possible.  He held his hate inside, tight and close to his heart.  She knew when he got older that hate would one day be turned loose.  Ellen longed to comfort her son while she could. The door remained locked.

On the other side of the door,  Matt cried softly.  He didn't want to talk to anyone. There was nothing new to say to his mother. She couldn't help them.  No one could.  People would never believe the truth if they told the real story.  At 14 years old, his one goal i life was to stop his father from hurting the people he loved.  He knew one day he would be able to do this.  Sometimes the thought made him nauseous.  Other times he could hardly wait to big enough to get the job done.  Tonight was one of those nights.

Ellen turned around and silently crept down the stairs.  She went to their bedroom and took off her clothes and showered.  The hot water felt good to her neck. She was sure there would be a bruise on her jaw tomorrow.  With enough make up she should be able to hide it.  Over the years she learned to be a make up artist, a poor excuse for a doctor and the best liar in Fulton. All of these attributes went with her job title...abused woman. How did she ever get to this place in her life and how would she ever get out?

Ellen took a nerve pill and a sleeping pill. She needed to miss the rest of this night.  Her husband was through for the night. As far as she knew he was still watching t.v.  There was no use locking their door, if he wanted in ...he would get in.  Luckily he fell asleep on the couch.


Noon Saturday...the wedding day...