After I'm done with all the kitchen work, I go into my closet to find something nice to wear. I find an off shoulder, red dress that falls mid shin. that can hide my bruises really well. I slip it on, and I go to apply an extra layer of concealer on my bruises so that they don't show.

Colin would give me even more bruises if he found out I was deliberately showing them. Then, Colin comes into my room, and he smirks when he sees me. "You look gorgeous, Nicole. This is how you should dress. You shouldn't dress like you're a hoe. This is how you should dress. Nice job," he says. I ignore his meaningless compliment and start to go downstairs.

His compliments are worth almost nothing when he adds his casual sexism, racism, or homophobia in there with them. Colin grabs my upper arm tightly and I turn around. "What do you say?" he asks.

I sigh. I don't need any more of his bull crap today. I've dealt with enough of that for the past few years. "Thank you," I say subtly, and he releases me. I go downstairs, and I get out a lot of pots, pans, and ingredients.

After adding water to one of the pots and bringing it to a boil, I add the potatoes into the boiling water and I start to cook my onions and carrots. I stir and stir as Colin grabs the champagne and glasses from inside the cupboard.

After I add the beef and start to cook it, Colin goes inside our freezer and pulls out a huge tub of ice cream. I look at him holding the ice cream carton, and my mouth starts to water. Ice cream sounds so delicious tonight. Especially the good old mint chocolate chip ice cream. Colin eyes me weirdly.

"If you're thinking you'll get ice cream, then you're mistaken. I don't need you to get fat. You need to stay thin," he says, and that ruins my mood. Of course he has to add that to the butt load of verbal abuse throughout the marriage.  Despite that, I ignore the thought of it and I continue to cook the meat filling for the Shepherd's pie.

I then get the boiled potatoes and I mash them with some cream in order to make the topping. I then put the filling in a casserole dish and the potatoes on top and then I put it in the oven to bake it. "Nicole, go get the place mats now," Colin demands, as he runs around, scrambling to make the place look nice enough for when the clan comes over. I pull the place mats from the drawer and place them on the table.

I then hear the doorbell ring, and Colin's footsteps lead to the door. I try to prepare myself in an attempt to look slightly presentable, so that his friends don't look like I'm growing horns. I run my fingers through my hair, adjust the straps on my dress, and make sure there's nothing out of place. 

"Hey! Colin! What's up?" I hear the familiar voice of Alex say.

"Nothing much! Come in, guys!" he says. The guys' chatting gradually becomes more audible, and they eventually make its way into the dining room. I walk out of the dining room, and all five of the guys are present in the living room. Everyone's wearing nice clothes, a smile on their face, and is talking. I keep an eye on Mark, just in case he tries to signal me with a look. Will notices my entrance, and smiles. 

"Nicole!" Will says, and he walks up to me. I flash a smile, as his arms spread out for a hug. I wrap my arms around him in a loose hug, for two reasons. One, because I'm still sensitive from my bruises. Two, Colin will get murderously jealous and possessive if he feels that I am getting too cozy with him.

"Hi Will!" I say cheerfully. I hug everyone else, and then, the sharp ringing of the timer fills the air. The shepherd's pie is done, and I do not want to get an earful from Colin about how the pie was burnt and tastes nasty.

"Make yourselves at home, guys. I'll get dinner ready," I say. Mark's eyes follow my trail to the kitchen. He almost immediately follows me as I strut off into the kitchen.

"I'll come help you," he offers, as he follows me into the kitchen. Judging by the tone of his offer, I know that I don't have a choice, but I know what's going to come. I'm in no mood to talk about it, because I feel like I will get ripped up from inside if I bring up the topic of Colin's sadism. I turn around and shake my head.

"Mark, it's okay. I'll do it." He shakes his head, with the look in his eye saying, "That wasn't a yes or no question." 

I sigh, knowing that I can't really escape this. "Fine. If you insist." I lead him into the kitchen. He then closes the door so that it's only slightly ajar so that nothing is too suspicious. As I take the Shepherd's pie out of the oven, he brings plates to the kitchen counter.

"Did he hurt you?" he asks, with the concern flowing out of his voice like a waterfall. That question hits me in more than one place internally. I knew that was going to happen, and yet I didn't stop it. I don't divulge a word and I start to spoon the Shepherd's pie onto the plates.

"He hurt you, didn't he?" he asks. The concern in his voice is replaced by a hurt feeling and a thread of anger woven into it. I grab forks and spoons from the drawers.

"Nicole, I can't deal with this anymore. I can't bear seeing you bruised and hurt. You need to get out of here. It's not safe for you." I look at him, with a hopeless look on my face.

"I can't do anything about it, Mark. He'll kill us both if I tell anything about the abuse," I say, with a tear filling my eye. I bite my lip in an attempt to stay strong, but it's hard when someone's concern is the most you've gotten that month. Mark sighs, finally realizing the truth that I'm stuck in the middle of a nasty situation.

"Nicole, promise me this. One day, when he hurts you really bad, go to the police. You have my number. Call me, and I'll take you in and help you," he says. I smile at his act of kindness.

Joy fills my heart like someone pumping it through a bike pump. I feel my eyes light up due to the positivity that's flowing through my blood. I nod my head. "Fine. I promise." He smiles.

"Thank you, Nicole." His eyes also spark a little bit with happiness, which only makes the smile on my face grow bigger, if that was even possible. 

I beam. "No. Thank you for being there for me, Mark," I say, as I hold the plates.

"Everything ok?" Colin calls. I can hear the masking of volatile suspicion like if someone were to bang gongs an inch from my ears. 

"Everything's fine!" I call back, in an attempt to hide the slight fear that's sizzling in the pits of my stomach. Mark and I then lead ourselves out of the kitchen, and we serve dinner to our guests.

The dinner goes really well. The conversation was going smoothly, and we had a lot of fun. I even had a lot of fun, despite the fact that Lucifer's spawn was less than 5 feet away from me. After the dinner, I take some time cleaning the dishes until they're spotless. Sure, it takes me a while. But other than that, it's not something that makes me hate life.

After I'm done, Colin comes down to make sure that I haven't run off anywhere like last time. "Ah, you're finally done. Get upstairs, and sleep," he commands. I sigh, and I go with him to get some sleep. I can't deny it, I'm really tired after everything.

The next morning, as I dust the paintings hanging on the wall, Colin comes down to get his bag for work. "By the way, I'm going for drinks later today with my friends. Don't question me about it. We get to go to work late tomorrow, because we finished a big project, so I don't have to worry about hangovers and whatever," he informs me, and he goes into the fridge to get a bottle of water.

"You have actual friends? What a shock," I think to myself, as I continue to dust the paintings hung on the wall.

******

"I'll be back in a few hours. Don't do anything stupid," he says, as he's halfway out the door.

"Okay. Bye," I call, and before you know it, he slams the door, and locks it before he's to go out to have fun with his so-called friends. In the mean time, I just kick back and watch a movie.

After watching yet another rerun of A Walk to Remember, and bawling my eyes out, I try to wipe my tears. "At least they got married. But why didn't she take the treatment? I wanted to see them grow old together!" I think to myself solemnly. I know that the movie shoves a sword through my heart, but it's so good and I can't get enough of Jamie and Landon. After drying my tears, the loud knocking at the front door interrupts my little movie night. I sniffle a little bit and walk over to the door to answer who is there.

I open the door, and Colin's friends are standing there, with him in their arms. He looks like he had one too many shots of tequila, and he's about to pass out right then and there on the floor. "Yeah, he couldn't stop on the cocktails and the shots. I think we should hand him over to you," they all say, and Colin falls into my small, noodle like arms. His body is limp, with the smell of hard booze, sweat, and several kinds of liquor filling my nose and stinging my nostrils. 

"Uh, thanks, guys?" I say sarcastically, and they chuckle.

"We're sorry about him, Nicole. He wouldn't stop doing shots after shots, even after we told him that his hangover would be worse than an elephant trampling all over him," one of his friends says, and I shrug.

When they tell me that, Colin mumbles a little bit, and stirs in his fairly unconscious state. Deep inside of me, I wish that all the alcohol killed him before his friends could get to him. "Well, he's alive, so there's that," I say, and they all chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyways, good night, Nicole. Take care," they all say, and they run down the stairs to get back home.

"You too, guys," I say, and I look at the unconscious Colin thrown into my arms. I sigh, and I use all of the little strength I have to pull him up to our bedroom. With each step that I climb, he seems to mumble and stir a little bit more. It's almost as if he knows what's happening, or he's experiencing weird, drunken flashbacks. He always experiences a mixture of both.

Eventually, I get him to the bed, and I set him in. When he's in, I stretch my arms a little bit, because carrying your drunken husband up the stairs is not an easy task. My noodle arms were barely able to handle it.

While he's laying there, I bring over a small bucket just in case some of the food he ate earlier today decides to come back up again. The last thing I need is to clean an alcohol and partially digested food concoction on the floor.

I go over to the medicine cabinet, and bring him some Advil, and I take a water glass on the bedside and fill it up with water, because I know the nasty features of a hangover. When I fill up the water glass, Colin starts murmuring something. His eyes are partially open, looking at me, with hatred and fear somehow mixed in as well.

"No. Tina, leave me alone," he slurs, while barely looking at me. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"What the-" I start, but he cuts me off.

"I... don't wanna hear it... I'm sick... of hearing you, Tina... you're.. not the... boss of me..," he slurs, while he weakly points a finger at me. I'm taken back a little bit. I've heard him mumbling the name Tina a little bit, but never at me.

"Colin, I'm not-" I start, but he again cuts me off.

"Enough.... I don't.... wanna talk to you... anymore, Tina... You're.... an evil... worthless piece of... scum," he says to me. I'm taken back a little bit.

I mean, not that I haven't heard him verbally abuse someone, but why Tina though? What did she do to him? And the bigger question, WHO IS SHE? I've never heard about a "Tina" when it comes to Colin's family.

Not that he tells me much anyways, but not even Asher has mentioned a Tina. "Wow. That was weird," I think to myself, and I get into bed with Colin.

As I'm falling asleep, I'm wondering what impact did Tina make on Colin to make him hate her so much? And what exactly did she do to make that impact?

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Kind of a boring chapter, but then I have some of my favorite things to add in end. Questions that make you think! So, yes, we haven't heard of a Tina yet. We will get into who she is much later, but right now, I want to hear your thoughts. Who do you think Tina is? And why does Colin seem to hate her so much? Let me know in the comments.

Hey everyone! How are you all doing? Life's good? Also, I want to hear from you guys. I already know someone's answer to this question, but I want to hear everyone else's answer. What genre of book is your favorite to read? To write? Let me know in the comments.

That's pretty much it. Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all next Saturday with a new chapter of Phoenix. Have a great week!

Love you guys,

Shree