Warning: There is violence in this chapter.

My eyelids lift open slowly to the sunlight creeping in through the window blinds. The usually comforting smell of my brother's breakfast is unfortunately absent. I don't need an alarm clock, because the hot breakfast that is usually made by my brother is enough to bring me out of my deep slumber.

"Dom must have not made breakfast today. Gosh, I can't wait to tell him about the nightmare that I had last night," I think to myself, as I sit up in the bed. I stretch my arms and rub whatever sleep is left in my eyes.

When my eyes fully open, I immediately notice something is off. The decor around my room varies drastically from that in my bedroom. The decor in this room seems almost foreign compared to that back in my house. I look down, and the bed sheets are very different from those back home.

These ones are red and velvety, almost luxurious feeling, while the ones back home are a regular white color, made with a delicate cotton blend. The commotion consisting of Dom's hearty laugh, my dad's strong voice, and Elena's witty remarks are nonexistent downstairs.

"Ugh, it wasn't a dream," I lament to myself, as I throw the covers off and get out of bed. I now have to face my new husband, whom I've never even met once prior to this whole thing, after he choked me last night. The task seems impossible without Elena or Dom-bear by my side.

I drag myself downstairs to face my new husband, whom I don't even know anything about. Considering what happened last night, I don't have many high hopes when it comes to him. There's already a little pit of fear in the bottom of my stomach, because after rethinking last night's altercation, I don't know what violent tendencies he possesses.

When I hit the bottom of the stairs, he's in the kitchen, making something for me. Before I go to talk to him, I inhale deeply. This could go either way. He could be a total prick, who's violent, or a genuinely nice guy, who has intentions of actually starting a relationship with me.

Reluctantly, I head into the living room, where he has a plate in his hand. He looks weirdly triumphant of what he's accomplished when it comes to cooking breakfast. "Good morning. Here's breakfast," he says rather plainly, handing me the plate. Without saying a word, I take the plate and a fork and knife.

"Thanks," I mumble, and I sit down at the table to start eating my food. He takes his plate, with his phone, and he scrolls through presumably his e-mails. Without another word uttered between us, I watch him observe what's in his mailbox, as I cure my hunger.

"Poached eggs. Nice," I think to myself, as I finish up my breakfast and head over to the sink to wash my plate. Once I finish doing so, I head back over to the table, where he has put his phone down and just watches me make my way back there. Seeing him watch me like that makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable. He's just sitting there, idly, like it's just another day for him. I don't know what his intentions are, and a part of me is curious as to what is in store for me. I gulp a little bit, and then sit across from him on the table.

"So, you're Nicole, right?" he asks. I nod.

"Yes. I know that you're Colin," I say. He nods.

"Yeah. I think you figured that out from the vows."

I can't help but chuckle slightly. "You know, maybe he's not as bad as I thought he was. Maybe he's actually a nice guy and he just had a little bit of a fit last night," I think to myself.

Then again, I have no clue what else is hidden beneath that mysterious persona of his. His persona is the heavy cloak that a Dementor wears to cover the horrific truth of what's underneath.

"So, I want to get to know you a little bit more. I saw your family wasn't there at the wedding. Why not?" When I say that, it's like I strike a nerve with that question. The relaxed look he has on his face turns stone solid, with his lips pursing together. His eyes widen, like that question was insanely offending.

"I'd rather not talk about that," he coldly says, without moving another muscle. The pit of fear in the bottom of my stomach is intensifying.

"Did I say something wrong? I'm so-" He cuts me off suddenly, without any warning.

"Just stop! I don't want to talk about it! I already said that I don't want to talk about it! Can't you respect my privacy?!" he explodes. I flinch a little bit at his sudden outburst. I wasn't aware at the fact that family may be a touchy subject for him. 

"Okay, I'm sorry," I plainly say, as he buries his face in his hands. I can hear him taking heavy breaths, and eventually he brings his face out of his hands.

"Enough of me. What about you? Any siblings?" he asks. The remnants of the outburst are somehow absent from his face, which is surprising considering how soon it was after he completely blew up at me for asking about family. I nod.

"Yep. Two older siblings. One brother and one sister," I say, and I smile at all the memories I have with them. Clinging onto my brother's leg as he hung out with his friends, Elena braiding my hair so she could practice because she didn't learn until she was a teenager. Ah, those were such good memories.

"Ah, you have an older brother, like me. Nice. Mine's 8 minutes older than me, as we're twins. What about yours?" he asks.

"Mine's almost 6 years older than me. He's the best brother ever." He nods.

"That's nice. What about your sister?" 

"My sister is almost 5 years older than me. She's awesome." He nods.

"Nice, nice," he says, and he gets up out of his chair. He walks over to me, slowly, like a lion approaching his prey. His eyes are scanning me all over, like a pirate searching on a treasure map. There's a thirst in his eyes that he's determined to quench. He has a way in his mind of how to quench his thirst.

His hand travels up to my hair, where he strokes a lock and lightly tugs it in between his fingers. He's rubbing his lips together, like he's hungry for something. "You know, I really want to get to know you a little bit better in some other ways," he says suggestively, with his hand traveling down to the hem of my shirt.

His two fingers pinch it, and he tugs it lightly. My hand pushes his hand away from my shirt. His other hand travels to the side of my torso, where he runs it down. I swat his hand away from my body. My eyes widen, and I start to feel reclusive because he's moving way too fast. I don't feel comfortable with his actions or his supposed intentions.

Suddenly, his two hands grab the neck of my shirt, yanking it sharply towards him. My hands fly up over his hands, and attempt to pry them off of me. "No! Stop it!" I yell at him. His hands do eventually remove themselves from my shirt, but one of them strikes me across the face very suddenly.

My hand flies up to my now stinging face, where I hold it. Tears start to fill up my eyes from the sudden and sharp stinging. Before I have any more time to react, he throws his arms over me, and drags me out of my chair. "What the hell? Let me go!" I scream, as he drags me upstairs.

"Shut up!" he yells back, as he drags me up the stairs to his bedroom. I struggle violently against his grasp, in an attempt to escape what he has planned. His grasp is just too strong, and it's like escaping from a block of cement wrapped around you.

Eventually, we reach the bedroom, and he throws me inside, while slamming the door. The click of the lock signifies the restraint on my freedom. While I'm on the ground, Colin looks like a wild wolf. He's ready to ravish whatever comes in his way. His eyes are fiery, with his breaths heavy and intense. I can feel the wild freedom with him that's ruthless and ready to do everything that it's wanted to do.

Everything goes downhill from there.

*****************

Trigger warning ahead:

I want to do nothing more than to just disappear beneath the bed that I'm lying in. Pain stings my entire body like a group of bees, from all parts, with some areas more unbearable than others. My voice is as dry as sandpaper from all the screaming that I did throughout this agonizing ordeal.

Warm blood runs from my nose and down onto my lips like a slow moving waterfall. My face is moist with fresh tears that have run all over. I'm sure bruises are going to form on certain parts of my body in due time.

Blood soaks parts of the sheets underneath my body, along with some of it on my arms and legs. Colin's holding a towel, that looks like part of it was dropped in red paint. My body feels limp from all the pain that I'm feeling right now. I feel hopeless, lost, and destroyed inside.

I feel like someone drug a knife throughout my body. My breaths are heavy and uneven, and my movements are jagged and uneven. My soul feels like it was ripped out of me with a large fist, and thrown out of the house.

Colin, however, is shining. He wipes some sweat from his forehead, and straightens himself out. He's taking deep breaths here and there, to relax after the whole ordeal. "Get up. Make some lunch," he barks at me, as he gets off of the bed, and runs out of the room.

I don't move a muscle as he leaps out of the room. I stay lying in the bed, as tears fill my eyes and I start to sob again. How could someone do this to someone else? How did he even have such a nerve to do something like this? What did I do to deserve this? Why was this happening to me?

End trigger warning

All I want is to go back home to Dom-bear, Elena, Dad, and Nina. I miss them so much right now. The seemingly insignificant mock Quidditch matches that we played are something that I would kill for now.

I wish I was a little girl again, clinging onto my brother's leg, as he hung out with his friends. I wish I was still sitting on Elena's bed, as she practiced her French braiding skills on my delicate locks. I just miss everything about home right now.

"GET UP! I'M HUNGRY!" Colin screeches, like a madman. In order to avoid any more of his upcoming future wrath, I jump out of bed and run downstairs. I fix my messy hair, disheveled clothes, and wipe the solidifying blood off and tears off of my face.

I run into the bathroom to wash my face and hands. The cold water is like a shock factor that snaps me into the reality of the monstrosity of the marriage. I wish there was another kind of cold water that acts as like a time machine to go back and get my family out of my mother's abusive grasps sooner so that this wouldn't have happened.

When I get outside, he's standing by the table, as if he's counting down the time until he can punish me again. "I assume you know how to cook?" he asks. I nod, while wiping my nose of any more possible blood.

"Good. Crab manicotti today. I have all the ingredients inside. Get cooking," he orders, and I scramble into the kitchen to make food. Thankfully, it's one of the recipes that Dom actually taught me how to do. It's one of his non Venezuelan specialties, which happens to also be one of my own as well.

As I scramble to pull everything together, another question plagues my mind. What does he have in store for me for the next few years, assuming I stay in the relationship?

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I don't know, Nicole. What do you guys think is going to happen in the next few years? Let me know in the comments.

Hey everyone. So, before I get into my usual author's note, I just want to say a few things. So, as we saw in the chapter, Nicole's already enduring some pretty bad domestic violence. I want to take this opportunity to tell everyone who is reading this that DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS NOT A JOKE. I've seen so many stories romanticizing domestic violence and abuse. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE STORIES.

I am in no way romanticizing or glorifying abuse and violence in any sort of way. I'm here to say that it's not right. It isn't something to be taken lightly, or to be made fun of or joked about. It's an extremely serious matter.

Also, to all those affected by domestic violence and abuse, my prayers go out to you. Just remember, YOU AREN'T ALONE. You are never alone. If you are suffering from abuse and domestic violence, there are two hotlines you can call.

Rape, Sexual Assault, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN)- (800)-656-HOPE

National Domestic Violence Hotline/Child Abuse/Sexual Abuse- (800)-799-7233

If you know anyone who is suffering from domestic violence, please speak up and let them know they aren't alone. They don't have to suffer like this. Nobody deserves to suffer like this. At all.

Other than that, that's all I have to say. I hope you guys liked the 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