Abuse and Denial

Kate and Owen had been together for a few months and he started to act weird around her. She talked to her friend, Sandra at a cafe about him.

They sat at the table near the window with the iced teas.

“So, how are you and Owen?” Sandra asked Kate as she sipped her tea.

“Okay, I think. He has been acting weird.”

“Weird how?”

“Like sometimes he calls me into the living room when I’m in the kitchen and he tells me what he wants for dinner. Then he tells me to go back into the kitchen.”

“Does he tell you or demand you, to make him something and then go back into the kitchen?”

“He tells me — I think…”

“You either need to talk to him or ignore him depending on which.”

Sandra slipped a five-dollar bill onto the table to pay Kate back for the tea, but she doesn’t accept it.

“You gonna need it after all this is over,” Sandra implied.

“When what is all over? I’m not taking this!” Kate shouted as her friend walked away and out of the cafe.

She put the five in the tip jar and left. She went back to work.

After work, she went home.

“Where have you been? You’re late!” Owen shouted.

“Sorry, my boss made me work late,” Kate replied soft tone.

“I’m starvin’ make me a hamburger — make that a cheeseburger.”

“Couldn’t you have made yourself something?”

“What did you say to me, woman? — -That’s what I thought. Now get in the kitchen and make me a cheeseburger. Owen is hungry!”

She walked into the kitchen as she was told. She opened the package of beef. What am I doing? I should be making myself a burger. She took out two patties and pulled out a pan from the cabinet.

“I want it well-done not medium rare like last time!”

“I know- I mean, I will.”

She cooked the patties until she thought they were done.

Once they were done, she used a spatula to set them on two different plates with buns on them. She squeezed ketchup and mustard onto the patties and scooped relish onto each one.

She brought his plate into the living room and set it on the end table.

“Is this cooked well-done like I asked?”

“Yes, honey.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” He grabbed the buns of the burger and took a bite. He spit out the partially chewed food. “This is medium well! I wanted it well-done! Go make me another one!”

“You know what, my friend was right about you!” She went back into the kitchen and took a bite of her burger. She cooked him another burger, put the condiments on it, and gave it to him in the living room.

He took a bite out of the burger. “Finally, you did something right for once. The second time, but — ” He continued to eat it.

Kate finished her burger and went to bed. She had a dream where she told Owen off.

She’s in the kitchen making Owen a sandwich when she realized she had enough. She’s been making him food for months now. She spread the mayonnaise on his BLT and took a bite out of it. She stomped into the living room. She dropped the plate onto his lap. The sandwich opened and the grease from the bacon splattered on his crotch.

He screamed in pain. “What are you doing?”

“I’m doing what I’ve should’ve done a long time ago! Get the fuck out!”

“But this is our apartment?”

“Too bad!”

She woke up from the dream. Sweat dripped from her forehead as she walked out of the bedroom and through the living room. She saw Owen asleep in his easy chair and turned off the TV. She pulled a blanket over him, then got a glass of water from the kitchen. What am I doing? Do I still love him or have I lost all my feelings toward him?

The next morning, Owen woke up, took a shower, and got dressed for work. He ate cereal for breakfast and left the apartment.

Kate got out of bed and took a shower. She got dressed and went into the kitchen. She grabbed a granola bar from the cabinet, then she looked down and noticed a note on the counter. She read in her head. Hey Kate, I’ll be back late tonight. I’m going out with the guys again. -Owen Again! Every Wednesday night he goes out to the bar with his friends. I think after work, I’m going to pay a little visit to that bar.

The clock in Kate’s office struck five, she quickly packed up her purse and rushed out of the office building. She went home first to change clothes and put on makeup.

She drove to the bar and slipped in undetected by Owen. She wore all black clothes, black leather gloves, and a brown overcoat. She watched him from afar.

Owen flirted with the waitress and stared at her ass. “You make me wanna leave my girlfriend.” Kate heard Owen say to the waitress.

“Calm yourself, sir,” the waitress replied.

Kate continued to watch, but she just saw Owen and his friends get drunker and drunker. He did smack the waitress on the ass before he was asked to leave.

He left the bar and waited for an uber with his friends. She rushed to her car.

Owen thought he saw Kate in his blurry vision getting into her car. “Kate? Is that you?” Hey, Kate!”

Kate didn’t acknowledge him and drove off. She wanted to get home before he did.

Once she got back to the apartment building, she rushed upstairs and unlocked the door.

Owen tried to unlock the door, but he dropped his keys. He picked them up and after drunkenly poking the key around, he unlocked the door.

“Kate, are you home?”

She was in bed and hid under the covers. Owen waddled into the bedroom and pulled up the blankets.

“I found you,” Owen said in his slurred speech. He passed out on the bed.

The morning after, Owen woke up with a hangover. He took a shower and then got dressed. He drank a cup of coffee and then left.

Kate woke up an hour later, I missed him, again. Anger and jealousy festered inside her, but she had to wait until tonight. She was nervous but ready to move on.

Early dawn turned to daylight and daylight turned to twilight. Kate drove home and Owen got out of work a little early, so he got home before her.

She opened the door and walked in. “We need to talk, Owen.”

“We do. Did I see outside of the bar last night or was that someone else?”

“That’s kinda what I wanted to talk to you about. I saw you at the bar last night.”

“What? What were you doing there?”

“I was spying on you. I wanted to see what you did every Wednesday night.”

“What did you see?”

“I saw you flirting with the waitress and you smacked her on the ass.”

“I was drunk.”

“That’s no excuse. I heard you say, ‘You make me wanna leave my girlfriend.’

“Uh, that’s just a saying?”

“Get the fuck out! I don’t ever want to see you again!”

“But this is our apartment.”

“Too bad.”

Owen left the apartment and drove to the bar. He never came back. He stayed at a friend’s house.

Kate ran into the bedroom crying. Was he verbally abusive? Good thing he left before he got physical. Good riddance. She made herself some soup and went to bed. She called out of work the next day.