A Verbal Agreement

“We had an apartment!  You gave me your word!”  My neighbor screamed at her boyfriend from her front porch.  Honestly, I didn’t bat an eye because they were constantly getting into shouting matches and I really paid attention if they were physically threatening each other.  I was happy there were no children who were daily witnesses to their abusive relationship. 

“What are you looking at?” Hannah screamed at me.  I hadn’t realized I paused on my driveway as I tried to figure out what they were fighting about.  I shook my head and got into my car.  As I drove toward the grocery store, I watched Hannah in my rearview mirror and wondered what her life was really like.  What was the atmosphere like in that house from day to day. 

I tried to put myself in her shoes and tried to be mindful there might be something going on I didn’t know about.  Forty-five minutes later, on my way home, several fire engines and police cars screamed past me.  It wasn’t until I turned onto my street, I realized my house was where they were.  I screamed silently as I ran down my street only to find it was my body they were bringing out.  Only then did I begin to float.