IN THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS (3 page)

It was a lake with a Sandy beach. This wasn't any ordinary lake though. The water wasn't the color of any water that she had ever seen before. It was the most beautiful shade of blue that she had ever seen. The only thing she had to compare it to were paintings that she had seen. It was almost as though the water had been untouched by any humans before. Then she noticed the beach. There were candles placed neatly around a blanket in the sand. It was almost as though the place had known she would be here. She knew better than that though. She knew that it was him.

CHAPTER:11

He had known that he was going to bring her to this location.

He left off her hand and positioned himself down on the blanket gently pulling her down beside him. He positioned his hands on her cheeks forcing her to look at him. He then pulled her close to him and passionately kissed her. Then he stopped and looked into her eyes. "Do you want me to stop
?
" He asked hoping she would say no as he slid his hand down to her breast. Ashley didn't want him to stop as her body tingled from his touch. Joe had been the first man to make her feel that way before. She whispered no as she softly moaned from his electrifying touch. He leaned in and gently kissed her neck. Ashley could feel the desire building up in her. He unbuttoned her blouse exposing her lacy black bra. Then he stared at her beautiful skin as it seemed to glimmer from the moonlight. There was no doubt in his mind that he was falling head over heals for this beautiful woman. He unhooked her bra exposing her breasts. He positioned his lips on her left breast taking her nipple into his mouth. Just as Ashley thought she could take no more he stopped. "That's enough. Get dressed. It's time to go home." he snapped as he got up and walked away from her. Ashley had no idea what had just happened. She was prepared to allow this man to take her virginity and now he was acting like he was disgusted by her. She quickly dressed herself and walked past him without giving him a second glance as she got into the car. After thinking about it Joe realized how it must have seemed to Ashley. He knew that he would have to explain his action or it would be over before it started. "I'm sorry that I snapped at you." He said gently putting his hand on her chin to make her face him. "It's just that I think I might be falling in love with you and I didn't want our first time to be like that. When we make love I want to make sure it is something that we both want. I didn't want you to feel obligated to do something that you would regret to lease me. Do you understand?" He asked gently squeezing her chin. As angry as Ashley was she supposed that his reasoning had been noble enough. She couldn't stay mad at him for caring about her. "I understand, but you could have explained it then instead of making me feel like that." she explained to him. "Truth is you are the first girlfriend that I have ever had. So if it seems like I do things wrong sometimes please be patient. I am a work in progress." he said giving her an innocent smile. Ashley was gleaming with excitement from what he had said. He had called himself her boyfriend. "By the way, I know that you still live at home with your parents. You could have just told me. I would have understood. I don't want you to keep anything from me." He said as he star gazed out the window. Ashley was shocked by his remark. "How did you know I still lived at home?" she asked him suspiciously.

Joe sat there like a deer caught in the headlights desperately searching for an explanation to his knowledge. "I heard it from Nancy Peters." he said hoping she would except that answer and change the subject. Then he reached in his pocket and pulled out a key. "This is the key to my house anytime you just want to get away you are welcome to use it." he said placing the key into her hand and squeezing it closed. Then he released her hand form his grip and turned back toward the steering wheel. When they arrived back at her home the whole house was lit up. That meant that where ever her parents had been they had returned. Joe could see the uneasiness in Ashley's eyes as she stared at the house. "Just remember if things get too hard you have a key. You are an adult now. If you want you can move your stuff in. I live in a big house so there is plenty of room. We can even sleep in separate beds if you prefer. If you decide not to sleep in a separate bed I'm going to be taking a lot of cold showers." he said with an evil grin. Ashley hadn't really thought about taking him up on his offer. She knew that it was too soon for anything like that. Ashley held her breath and opened up the door. When she walked in she saw her father sitting at the table with a half drank beer.

CHAPTER: 12

Her mother on the other hand was no where to be found. "I tried to call you the other night. I guess you where out with your friends or something.
That is if
you have
any
friends?
" Her dad say
s
never taking his gaze off of his beer. "Is there some particular reason you were trying to call me?" Ashley asked uncomfortably. "I think you better set down." he said patting the seat next to him. Ashley knew then that something was horribly wrong. Her father wasn't being his mean nasty self. There was a part of him that almost seemed human. Ashley did as he asked not wanting to upset him. She fidgeted around in the seat few a few minutes. Then she made herself comfortable. "Ashley your momma killed herself the other night while you were away. I was out getting a case of beer. When I came back i found her. She has been sick for a real long time. I don't have to tell you that. I suppose the illness finally got the best of her." he said with no emotion in his face what so ever. As Ashley sat there the tears started streaming down her face. Her and her mom hadn't really been that close. Still there was a part of Ashley that hoped way day her mom would
accept
her. Maybe even show her that she cared once in a while. Now all of her hope was gone. "I can see you got yourself all whored up again." her dad spat. Ashley ran to her room and slammed the door behind her. She had completely forgotten what Joe had told her. The next morning she wasn't feeling up to going in to work so she called Neil. As luck would have it Neil was down with the flu. He had no one else to cover for the two of them. Ashley didn't explain to him about her mom. She just asked for the day off. She knew that Neil was old and frail and he had developed an unspoken bond with her mom. After hanging up the phone she knew she had no choice. She would have to go in to the deli whether she wanted to or not. When she got there just like the other day Joe was waiting. He had himself propped up against the wall just like before. This morning was different though

Ashley didn't seem so happy to see him. She seemed distant and withdrawn. He begged her numerous times to tell him what was going on, but she declined. "Ashley pleas
e
, you have to tell me what is wrong." he begged. "There is nothing wrong. I'm just really busy and I'm running late." she lied. Thinking back
about
it
now
she
probably should have told him the truth. The truth however would require her to tell him all of the messy details about her mom. That wasn't something that she wanted to do. Not yet anyway. When Joe realized he was fighting a losing battle. He stormed off without
as
much as a word. Ashley went in to the deli without knowing if she would ever see him again. At that point it didn't seem that important. Nothing seemed to be important. She worked her shift and locked up for the night. As she walked out the door there he was. Just like nothing had happened. She was prepared at that point to walk away from him and never look back for the way he acted. "I know you are angry with me and you have every right. I just got so frustrated when you wouldn't talk to me. I was terrified that I was going to lose you." he said as a tear streamed down his cheek. Ashley had never seen a man cry before
;
e
specially not over her.

CHAPTER: 13

She took him in her arms. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you." he cried. "You don't have to worry about it. You are not going to lose me." she whispered in his ear.
After she said that
he would be at the deli waiting for her when she arrived and when she left. He kept pushing the subject of her moving in. Every day her answer would be the same. It is just too soon. Until one day he finally wore her down enough that she agreed. That in her eyes was the biggest mistake of her life. As soon as she moved in something in him changed. He wasn't the same sweet man that she had fallen in love with. Now he was downright mean. She would have left, but he convinced her that she had no where to go. She can still remember the day that he came home and dinner wasn't ready. "
YOU ARE A WORTHLESS BITCH!
I
GO OUT AND WORK ALL DAY
AND I DON’T EVEN GET A MEAL WHEN I COME HOME!
" he screamed at her
.

S
he
was in shock that he had just spoken to her like that. The tears rolled down her face as he mocked her.

"
THAT’S RIGHT CRY YOU DAMN LITTLE BABY!
" he said as he shook his head in disgust.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she cried.

"
WHY AM I DOING THIS TO YOU?  WHAT ABOUT ME!
I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME
?
I TELL YOU WHAT YOU HAVE DONE; THAT IS NOTHING.”
He
said putting his fist through the wall by her head.

"
IF THAT IS THE WAY THAT YOU FEEL THEN I WILL JUST LEAVE!
" she screamed.

“
IF YOU WANT TO LEAVE THEN GO!
THERE IS THE FUCKING DOOR!
I’M NOT GOING TO FORCE YOU TO STAYIF YOU DON’T WANT TO!
" he screamed throwing a pile of her clothes onto the floor. "I don't know where you think you are going to go though. No one is going to tolerate the shit that I put up with. Without shacking up with another man you don't have anywhere else. Your
drunken
father won't let you come back there." he pointed out to her. Ashley didn't leave that night although she wishes to God that she would have. That would have saved her from all of the abuse that she had endured. After a few months she was certain that he had cleaned up his act. Sugar couldn't have melted in his mouth. He was back to being the same man that she was so deeply in love with. He convinced her to quit her job at the deli. As soon as she did that he went right back to being nasty.  Things really got bad when she caught him with another woman.
That
was the first time that he had ever put his hands on her.

CHAPTER:14

"What do you except me to do? All you say all the time is how you want to leave me?" he screamed as he punched her in the face.

Ashley had gone through a lot of things, but she had never been hit before.
She had
especially
never been hit
by a man. She
lay
on the floor holding her face as the blood ran from her mouth. He grabbed her by her hair pulling her to the upright position. Then he punched her again. After he was done punching her he kicked her in the stomach knocking the wind out of her. He didn't have an ounce of compassion for her as she laid there bleeding on the floor. She laid there for hours. Her body was
too
riddled with pain to think about moving. After several attempts at getting up onto her feet she decided to just stay where she was. She finally fell asleep on the floor. When she woke up the next morning she forced herself to her feet. She walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. What she saw she wasn't able to comprehend.

The person staring back at her wasn't her, or at least it didn't seem to be. She was badly bruised. Her lips and nose where swollen up almost twice the size they should have been. The vision of the woman in the mirror was absolutely grotesque. She couldn't stand to look at herself any longer. She shut the light off and walked out the door. Joe took care of her every need while her injuries healed. She was certain that it wasn't because he cared, but because he didn't want her leaving the house. As soon as she was healed he went right back to his same old ways. Joe finally did end things with her. That was a good thing because her self esteem was so low that she would have never left. He probably would have killed her before that happened. Ashley had been told that he hooked up with some trashy woman in another town. Ashley didn't care though. If he was in another town that meant she would never have to see him again.

The night that he left she took her clothes and went back to her father's house. He took one look at her seeing the bruises and just shook his head and walked away. When the bruises healed she went back to the deli to beg Neil for her job back. It really didn't take much persuasion. All she had to do was promise never to see Joe again. That was a promise that
she
was all
too
happy to make.  Ashley was finally starting to get her life back in order. After a few weeks of saving she was finally able to get a place of her own. Staying with her dad wasn't an option anymore. Considering that he hooked up with another drunk like himself. They only dated for a week when she moved in. That was the last time that Ashley would see her father in life. Neil hired another waitress about Ashley's age because he wasn't able to work anymore. The girl's name was Erica. She was outgoing and a bit of a rebel. Ashley and her however quickly became friends. Both of the woman where hard at work when Erica pointed out a man sitting in the back booth. He was sitting alone and he was certainly easy on the eyes.