Sequel to A Diva No Longer
Chapter 1:
A fearful and pained cry jolted Joanne from her sleep. She bolted upright and looked at Maureen. Maureen was curled up in a fetal position sobbing. Joanne gently rolled Maureen over and cradled her in her arms. It took a while, but Maureen eventually calmed down.
"I could feel him touching me, beating me. Over and over again," she whispered.
"It's okay, you're safe. He can't get you now." Joanne rocked Maureen back and forth. She glanced over at her alarm clock; it was only six in the morning, she had to get up in half an hour so she figured she might as well get out of bed. "Do you want me to make you some breakfast?"
"Okay." Joanne kissed Maureen's cheek and climbed out of bed. "Can you get me my chair?"
"Sure, what hurts?"
"Everything." Joanne grabbed Maureen's wheelchair out of the closet and unfolded it. About once a month, Maureen would have a total breakdown that would confine her to her wheelchair for about a day or so. Joanne helped Maureen into her chair.
"There you go. I'll go make breakfast for us." Joanne squeezed Maureen's hand before going to make breakfast. Maureen wheeled after her.
Maureen grabbed a handful of pills, all painkillers and antidepressants, and popped them in her mouth. Someone knocked on the front door. Maureen wheeled herself across the apartment and looked through the peephole. Satisfied with who it was, Maureen opened the door.
"Hey sweetie," Angel said as she leaned over and gave Maureen a hug. "Having a rough day?"
"I'm just a little sore. What's up?"
"I wanted to see if you wanted to go out for lunch, but I don't want you to go out if you're in pain. Say we order pizza instead?" Maureen nodded eagerly.
"Yeah, that sounds fun." There was a certain sparkle in Angel's eyes that made her feel safe. Maureen wheeled herself over to the kitchen and struggled to reach the phone.
"Let me help," Angel offered.
"No, I've got it." Maureen grabbed the phone and dialed the number to the pizza place.
When Joanne got home from work around six thirty, Maureen was fast asleep on the couch. There was an empty pizza box on the coffee table with several soda cans, napkins and two paper plates strewn across the floor. Sighing, Joanne began to clean up. She couldn't help but notice the scars on the exposed part of Maureen's back. Some would probably take years to fade away completely. After Joanne finished cleaning up, she heated up some leftovers and sat at the table to eat.
Moaning, Maureen rolled over on the couch and opened her eyes. Joanne was sitting on her recliner watching TV.
"What time is it?" she asked sleepily.
"About eight fifteen. Are you hungry?" Maureen shook her head. "Who was here with you?"
"Angel, we had pizza."
"I know, I saw the box." Maureen sat up and hoisted herself into her chair. "Where are you going?"
"Bed, I'm tired." Maureen leaned over and gave Joanne a kiss. "Love you."
"Love you too." Joanne watched Maureen wheel herself to the bedroom. Even a year after leaving Dan, she wasn't a hundred percent back. Her appetite was much smaller, and she slept a lot more. Joanne only hoped that the phrase 'time heals all wounds' would be the case here.