Getting Out	
A Short Story By	
	
Paul Angelino	

Published By Smashwords	

How many times had Mary sat up waiting for Jeremy to come home drunk, not knowing what to expect. Would he pass out in the living room, or make his way to their bedroom, throwing his drunkenness and anger into every slap and punch as he had countless times before? After seven years of marriage, the fear that gripped Mary each weekend had not subsided any. 
As horrible as the situation was, it was not a new one by any means. Her father was verbally and physically abusive to her mother, to the tune of an empty whiskey bottle. She supposed, that a Therapist would say that she was looking for her father in Jeremy. She was just as frightened of her Father, as her Mother was, because the beatings were not always focused on her Mother. If Mary asked too many questions from the “old man”, he would slap the piss out of her, and curse her for being like her mother, whining and ruining his every waking moment. Mary’s life had been a practice in bending, to everyone’s whim but hers. She had never felt confident enough to reach for her own dreams and goals, instead trying to please everyone, by following their lead. 
When Mary’s Father died in an auto accident she was seventeen years old, the feeling of relief that had come also caused her tremendous shame. Should she be happy that another person had died, especially her father? Because it made her life easier? If anything the sense of joy from her new freedom made her feel worse about herself. 
Mary’s Mother soon after took her own life, leaving Mary alone to fend for herself, and pay the mounting bills, associated with their, rundown double wide mobile home. She took a part time teller shift at the bank downtown. It was not the best money, but if she lived tight and afforded herself no luxuries, she could make it work. At least her father had been a hard worker and when he died his very small amount of insurance, paid off the mobile home. Too bad that was not the only bills there were. Her mother had no such life insurance policies, so Mary had to start a payment plan with the funeral home for their services and it was not cheap.
Mary noticed Jeremy every Friday when he came in to cash his check. After a few weeks, Jeremy came in with a purpose. He let every all the other patrons of the bank pass him when he was at the front of the line until Mary’s window became available. Soon after, she was dating Jeremy and spending all of her free time with him. Jeremy was a twenty one year old high school dropout, who worked as a stocker, at a grocery store. 
He was a big man on campus during his school days before being expelled for smoking a joint in the bathroom, and was a very good looking and muscular guy. Mary was not an ugly person, but she just did not have the luxury of extra cash that the other local girls had. She could not afford the nice clothes and bags of designer makeup that would have elevated her confidence and stature in their small community, so when Jeremy asked her for a date she was overjoyed and jumped at the chance to be in a real life relationship. Mary did not stop to think as to why he was without a girlfriend; she was just seeing this as a way out of her miserable life and what looked like a shot at happiness.
Jeremy moved in after only a few weeks of dating, explaining that it would be better on them both financially. This arrangement worked out well for the first two months, before he struck her for the first time. He was six hours late from work and she met him at the door to ask were had he been; she was worried. He slapped Mary to the floor, then straddled her and pressed his forearm to her neck. “Don’t question me Mary, I will do want I want to” he yelled. After he stood up, he muttered he was sorry and in his drunken stupor fell asleep at the kitchen table. 
The next morning Mary’s eyes were nearly swollen shut from the constant crying. She roused herself from bed, to make breakfast before Jeremy went off to work. To her surprise, he was already dressed, but not in his work clothes. He was wearing his best shirt, and pants, and smiling sheepishly at Mary. He told her he was so sorry and it would never happen again. He let Mary soak it in for awhile, then dropped to a knee and said if she let him, he would never do anything the rest of his life but his best to make her happy. The ring he was holding was very pretty, and clearly not expensive. Mary started crying again and said "yes". She told herself he was sorry, and that he really meant to make her happy, he was just drunk. Jeremy made her quit her bank job to stay home, saying no wife of his would work her little fingers. Mary happily obliged, besides she was going be married.
Jeremy kept his promise until after they were married for a few weeks. He slapped her around, bruised her face and this time he did not bother apologizing. He acted like it had never happened at all this time. 
Now seven years later, she still lived in shame and fear. She tried to do everything he asked. She felt if she were only a better wife he would not have to hit here. Mary knew deep down that she did not deserve the abuse laid on her by her husband, but she always found a reason to explain away his treatment of her. Maybe if Mary had a friend that could have talked some sense into her, but Jeremy made sure she did not have friends or any visitors to the mobile home. She could not remember the last true friend she had in her life. 
It seemed to Mary that this was the way she was meant to live, first her father, now her husband. The two were more alike every day, but Mary would not let herself think of a way out of the situation. A bad marriage was still a marriage, right? She was convinced that without Jeremy, she would be lost, just like it appeared her mother was after her father’s death. And what about Jeremy, she was all he had, and what if it was her place to see him through this life. No, these thoughts were ridiculous, and she could hear the “old man”, just like when she was little, “a woman’s place is behind her man and with her trap shut tight“. There was to be no other life for her, this was her life.     
It was just after nine o’ clock when Jeremy stumbled in the front door. She greeted him there, as she always did, no matter how afraid she was. If she was not there, the punishment would be twice as bad as usual. Mary knew better than to ever fall asleep before he got home. If he wanted something to eat or a beer from the fridge and he was not able to find her, to do his fetching for him, he would half kill her. He smelled like cheap perfume and alcohol. He had not been with another woman, he was with several. No doubt he and his buddies had visited the Strippers down at "The titty bar" again. If he was not drunk enough, he would want to release his desires for the whores he gave all his money to, on Mary. The thought turned her stomach, and she had to put on a brave face when Jeremy told her to go to the couch. 
She did not say a word as she marched obediently to the old brown leather couch in the living room. Mary slowly started to undress herself, when out of nowhere; Jeremy pushed her over the couch arm and ripped her pajama bottoms off from the back of the waist band. She was not even aware of the ripping sound the flimsy threadbare bottoms made. Mary was focused on the sudden pain across the front of her waist were the pajamas had held tight until they could not hold any longer. Without really thinking about it she softly said, “That hurt my stomach”. Mary had no time for regrets to set in before a hard closed hand drove her head into the cushions. “That’s only the beginning baby, you’re gonna take it like a slut”, Jeremy yelled in here ear. He grabbed both sides of her button up Pajama top and yanked sending, the plastic buttons off in a half dozen directions. Mary was frantic now; it was so hard to breathe with her face buried in musty leather. She pleaded with him to let her roll over, but he laughed and said, “The way I’m fucking you tonight rolling over isn’t an option”. It was then that he forced himself in her "other hole" without as much as a warning. Mary cried out from the searing pain as he ripped her sensitive flesh with his drunken thrusting. His hands were grasping her on both sides of the small of her back and his nails were cutting into her pale skin. Mary just let herself cry, Jeremy did not seem to care. He was thrusting harder now building toward release, and as he finished he brought all of his weight down on her back crushing her even more into the couch. Jeremy lay still, breathing rapidly for a few moments and then pushed himself up off of Mary’s back. He did not utter a word, just headed for the kitchen, leaving Mary crying and in pain. 
Mary rolled onto her back and wiped her eyes. He was just being a man she told herself. It was all over and now she could clean up and settle into bed. Jeremy thundered from the kitchen, screaming “you stupid bitch, I let you leave the house to go grocery shopping and you can’t remember to get me my beer”? “I bought you a twelve pack with the money you gave me yesterday” she replied meekly. “Well, you didn’t notice that I ran out, while you’re sitting here with your thumb up your ass all day”, he continued? “I’m sorry Jeremy; I really did not notice you were out of beer”, was her hesitant reply. “Oh you will be sorry, just as soon as I get back from the store” he bellowed, as he slammed the front door.
Now Mary could not go to sleep, no matter how tired, she would have to wait up on him to try to smooth this out tonight. To go to bed without his permission would be the last thing she would want to try. Her body still ached tremendously, but the tears had stopped flowing, for now at least. 
Mary decided that she would clean herself up and tend to her aches and pains before Jeremy returned. If he went straight to the convenience store and back, he would be twenty five minutes tops. When she sat up a burning pain shot through her spine and made her fall to her knees. He must have hurt her worse than she thought. Her back felt like it was on fire! Mary reached her arm around her tiny frame to feel the middle of her back and to her surprise, there was a lump about the size of football back there. She had never heard of a bruise plumping up like that and so quickly. Mary headed to the bathroom where she had double mirrors, so you could see your front and back while dressing. She was still naked from Jeremy’s rough treatment of her, so she didn’t have to remove anything to see the large fleshy bubble form that was protruding a good six inches off her back. Mary hit the floor again as another wave of searing pain ripped up her back, it felt to Mary like someone was yanking her by her spinal cord. When she regained her footing and looked again, the bubble was nearly twice as large and then Mary screamed. She was not sure how long she was screaming, but she knew she saw a pair of human eyes and a mouth sticking out of the growing mound on her back. That in itself would make any normal person scream, but when the mouth opened and foamed out “you are not worthy of the life you have been given”, that was too much and Mary lost control and passed out.
Mary did not have the option of calling anyone because Jeremy had not let her have phone service for almost their entire marriage. Then she thought of Jeremy. He would be home any minute. Despite how angry he was with her, he would definitely not let this happen to her. Another pain rocked her, but she stood her ground this time. 
The parasite attached to her was growing larger by the second. It now looked like it was growing arms and feet right out of Mary’s body! The bulge resembled a very ugly newborn and Mary could not stop staring at it. The lips parted to speak again, and very quietly, almost a whisper said, “you let this happen to you, this excuse for a life, you could have left him, no one deserves that abuse, but you have had your chance Mary. Mary did not know what that meant, but she screamed into the double mirrors “what do you want from me”! The slobbering lips said nothing and Mary decided to act. She ran for the door, the neighbors were only half a mile away and she really did not care if Jeremy was mad when he got home, she had to get a doctor. Before she could reach the front door, another pain; the worst so far gripped her and she flopped limply in mid run to the floor. The room was fuzzy and Mary slipped into unconsciousness.
Mary woke suddenly and immediately remembered the urgency of the situation. She was not near the door, where she had fallen. She was in the hallway in front of the bathroom, a good twenty feet from the spot she fell at. Mary had considerable difficulty reaching her feet this time; the weight on her back was very heavy. When Mary was a full height she realized something was way off here. Her feet were not touching the ground. She had not gotten up, the thing on her back had! 
Mary was still groggy when the thing stood in front of the mirror. It was herself she was looking at, except this other Mary was smiling. The new Mary looked at her dead in the eyes and said “you had choices Mary; you did not have to run off with a man who is almost an exact clone of your asshole father. You are not like your mother, she did not kill herself because she missed that son of a bitch she did it because she could not bear the thought that she had wasted thirty years of her life, on that scum”! And somewhere in that wasted head of yours, you know this. “Well, what then? Are you here to teach me a lesson, show me how I have screwed up my life”, Mary shouted. “No Mary“, the new Mary started, “it is time for the part of you that has been pushed aside and neglected to live a little. You have used up so much time being a doormat and we are pissed! It is time for the new Mary to come out and I am sorry but there is no more room for your scared little girl attitude in this Mary, It’s your turn to be on the inside”. 
Mary violently kicked her shrinking legs into the back of the new Mary’s thighs. It was no use. Her former strength was not with her. Another sting inched up her back, which was actually the new Mary’s back. It was so dull that she almost did not feel it. The sensation had more pressure to it than pain, like her insides were being slowly chewed up. Mary could see now that she was shrinking into the new Mary’s body and she was going fast. A flash of a wasted life flooded Mary's brain. Mary was thinking that maybe she should have tried night school, became a veterinarian, she always did love animals. She should have moved out of this double wide and found herself a nice apartment when her mother died. She had given Jeremy everything she could and he did not deserve any of it. This had to be a dream and she would wake up any moment lying in bed next to Jeremy. 
Her legs were part of the new Mary now and her arms were drawing rigid against what was left of her sides. Mary suddenly went limp and a peaceful calm spread throughout her mind. She hoped this new person with her face did much more with the years she had before her. Her last thought as her eyes and mouth sunk into the New Mary’s back was “I wonder what Jeremy will think”.
The new Mary watched as the last little bit of the old Mary melted away. Now she was the only Mary. She went to the bedroom closet to put on some jeans and a shirt and pulled Jeremy’s 357 revolver out of his lock box in the closet and grabbing six bullets out of his sock draw. Mary did not think she would use it on Jeremy, but she was going to have fun making him think so. Alive or dead, Jeremy would not be a problem for the next woman he came in contact with. The new Mary smiled