All You Own

“You’re being so stupid!”

“Don’t call me that!”

“What? Stupid?”

“Ugh! Don’t make me do this!”

“But you’re the one who’s already doing everything wrong! You’re a stupid man!”

“Shut up!”

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“I’m…not…STUPID!”

The beer bottle flung out of my hand and struck her on the shoulder, glass shards sticking out of her skin. With a paralyzed mind, I watched her fall back and hit the side of her hip against the counter, dropping to the tiled floor instantly.

My lungs felt like they were pounded empty. I crossed my eyes, unable to clear my vision, and could almost see the blood on my hands from what I had done. She was dead. I just killed my own girlfriend.

Coughing and sputtering caught my attention. I stumbled over to her body to see her pulling out the stray pieces of glass from her skin and clutching her injured shoulder. “You, you monster! How could you do that?”

I don’t know. My whole body was shaking. “I-I didn’t-”

“Just be quiet!” She stepped to the dirty sink and flicked the faucet on. Lying on the counter next to her was the pile of towels she hadn’t gotten to fold yet, and she grabbed one, plunging it under the running water and wringing out the fabric.

I could only watch as she pressed the wet cloth to her bleeding shoulder and turned so her back was facing me. “Peyton, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

She hummed in response, looking down at the floor. “Huh. But you did. Just like you hurt us.”

“I promise, we’ll find a way to make it through this.” I took a tentative step closer, reaching out my hand, then retracting it before it could touch her. There was a hard energy surrounding her, one I didn’t want to penetrate.

“How? You stupid bastard, you lost your job and didn’t say anything!” Peyton removed the cloth and grimaced at the blood that coated it. She chucked it into the sink and whirled around. “We were already in enough debt as it is!”

I felt so powerless. Even though she was a whole foot shorter than me, I couldn’t help but feel like she was towering over me with the glare pulsing into my soul. “We have to protect what we have, what’s left.”

“Yeah, that’s nothing, last I checked!” She gestured to our dingy apartment, the paint peeling off the walls, the rotting wood around the windows. “We’ll have to leave to pay off the light bill, and even then things will be tight.” Her nails raked over the skin on her forearm, and I winced at the deep red marks each stroke left behind. It wasn’t a conscious action for her anymore. I don’t think she realized she was doing it.

Taking a deep breath, I mustered up the courage to cover her hand with mine. I shifted my gaze to her frown. “I said I would provide for us, I’m sorry I couldn’t. But I’m okay now, really. I can get another job and fix everything,” I reasoned. 

Just when I thought she understanding me, she ripped my hand off hers and shoved me away. “Don’t lie to me!”

I stumbled back and caught myself, my chest heaving and specks of red appearing in my vision. “So what? You’d rather leave me? Take everything and go?”

“Anything to get away from you!” she yelled, swiping a large shard of glass from the floor and hurling it at me. “You’re nothing to me! I’ll steal everything you own!”

“What? My car? My money? I knew that’s all I was good for in your eyes!” My veins popped from my forehead as I lunged at her with my bare hands. I gripped her arms and thrashed her around, finally throwing her into the wooden table set in the center of the kitchen. One of the chairs fell apart upon impact and the wood split on top of her. “That’s all you ever wanted from me! That’s why you think it’s stupid for me to lose my job!”

Peyton held the arm with her injured shoulder close to her body as she rolled onto her back and pushed off the pieces of wood. As she gripped a broken chair leg and pointed the splintered side towards me, she said, “You know exactly what I’m talking about! Who I’m taking!”

Yes, I knew. This wasn’t about money, not really. “What makes you think you can have custody of her?” My forearm hit the side of the wood when she tried to hit me, and I smirked. She doesn’t stand a chance. My hand easily closed around the wood and slammed her temple with it. I chuckled and tossed it to the side, well out of her reach.

I dropped to the floor and caged her between my arms. “You don’t understand, Peyton. There’s laws for this kind of stuff.” 

The look of pure fear on her face fueled me even more. I was ready to get rid of her. She was the stupid one. The stupid brat who was relying on me instead of taking matters in her own hands.

Maybe I was ready to kill her after all.

“Daddy?”

The tiny voice caught me off guard. I flicked me eyes up to see her small frame hiding behind the wall, her strawberry blonde hair gently falling to her pretty little waist. Those big green eyes brought a lump to my throat. “Yes, sweetie?”

“What are you doing to Mommy?” she whispered.

“Well, I-” A sharp pain hit my groin, and I fell onto my side. “Ah!”

Shuffling was all I could hear from this position. I reached up to lay my palm on the table and steady myself as I stood. Then, an image that hurt more than physical pain tormented my eyes.

Peyton gripped her hand, the hand of my daughter, and pulled her out the front door of the apartment. 

“No, wait! Please don’t do this!” I rushed to the door and through the halls. 

She looked back and met my eyes. “Goodbye, Cameron.”

And she left, with her.