Chapter 2 - Rushing to the Texas County Hospital Emergency Room
The rusted pickup truck bounced violently across the unpaved gravel road leading away from our dilapidated rental house in rural Texas.
Beside me in the passenger seat, my husband gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned stark white.
In the back seat, his mother muttered harsh criticisms under her breath, blaming me for ruining their morning schedule.
Sharp pains continued to lance through my lower abdomen, serving as a terrifying reminder of what had just transpired on the back porch.
“You better tell the doctors you tripped over the garden hose,” my husband warned without looking at me.
“If you say one word about what happened outside, social services will take our lives apart, and it will be entirely your fault.”
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I clutched my dress pocket where the cracked phone rested against my hip, feeling its reassuring, solid weight.
It was my only shield against their endless web of intimidation and lies.
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