No Wasted Tears Read Free Page B

herself to push it away. She couldn’t wait to say one day that it was a lifetime ago. A lifetime she’d never forget. And a mistake she’d never make again…and certainly not with anyone like Stanley. Straightening, Destiny turned to face the boarding attendant. It was time to start her new life.
     

     
    After what felt like hours, Destiny was on the plane, seated, and prepared for take off. One of her biggest regrets was the woman she’d become after her decision to move in with Stanley. It was one of the main reasons why she’d decided to pack up and move to Seattle. She needed a fresh start, a chance to start over in a place where the memory of Stanley’s abuse and infidelities wouldn’t be constant reminders of her own failures. She had heard her Bishop say, “that although we may have aborted our dream, destiny, or purpose, God had the power to speak life to it because he impregnated us with it in our mother’s womb.” That was reason enough to rejoice about her future. Seattle was exactly what she needed, a place where no one knew her and, furthermore, no one cared about her past.
    Her pulse thudded in her ears as the gravity of the situation finally hit her. Her skin broke out in a sweat, the palms of her hands were hot and moist caused by fear. Was she dreaming? She was actually going to start over in a city where the only people she considered important in her life knew her. Since she’d made the decision to move months ago, she’d tried not to think about what would come next. Sure she had a good sum of money in the bank and a house, but then what? Her possibilities were endless.
    Destiny stared out the window because she was nervous—not about being on a plane, but about the thought of him coming on board to drag her off. Crazy thoughts were coming from all over the place, and it felt like she had more than one hundred demons fighting against her. Auntie always said that the Lord had angels who defended her on a daily basis. She had to admit her angels must have won the first part of the battle because she was on the plane safe and sound. She had learned from Bible study that fear was just false evidence that appears to be real. The only way to conquer a fear was to tackle it head on with faith. Today she had begun to do just that because everything had gone according to plan. All she had to do was relax. All the drama from earlier was now over.
    Despite the pain and her frantically thumping heart, she could still hear his accusatory voice yelling because she didn’t have his dinner prepared on time. Just thinking about the way he hit her made her angry. The physical pain had almost been unbearable but there was nothing to be done about it now. All she wanted was to get away. The depression that she had fallen into during her senior year in college had consumed her. Her thoughts had become bitter and angry. Then, Stanley had offered her a job and a home, some sense of security. At the time Destiny had desperately wanted something normal and steady in her life, someone who could be strong for her when her world was suddenly so off balance. So she had accepted his offer and then literally overnight, he had changed. He began finding fault with everything she did, even raising his hand to hit her.
    Earlier he had stood there looking at her with his eyes rolling around like a deranged man. “You know you made me do this, right?”
    Too weak to do anything, she scrunched her eyes closed and forced herself to concentrate, but her head pounded sickeningly as she tried to recall the last few days. It was all a blur, a foggy indistinct blur that made little, if any sense. What had she done now to trigger this? She had just lain there, balled in a tight knot. Trying to nod her head, Destiny had wanted to tell him anything so he would leave her alone. As if by looking at her made him sick, he straddled her already aching body once again. With the full force of at least ten men, he began to throw blows to her