This Winding Path

Story by NSnowball on SoFurry

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#1 of This Winding Path

Love is a funny thing. When we go looking for it it's no where to be found, But when we aaren't, it comes out of nowhere. Sometimes it takes a while to find us or sometimes it starts with the beginning of a friendship. All we know is when we start on that winding path, the journey is worth the trip.


<center>The following story is adult in nature and contains more than just vanilla sex, as well as alcohol, refrences to domestic abuse as well as a few other dark themes. This story is not intended for those under the age of 18 or those easily disturbed by such content. If this is the case turn away now. If you meet the criteria for this story than by all means proceed. This is purely a work of fiction and the characters contained within belong to the Author.</center>

Prologue

Pine Ridge is a generically quiet place not far from Duluth, MN. Kind of a small town America feel but out in it's own place. It was a good sized town with around forty t thousand or so residents. It sported a schools from elementary all the way up to their own community college. A good place to live and grow, or so the town sign said. But it boasted one other ting, it's own radio station that broadcasted to the entire county and the 5 surrounding counties. And every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening the airwaves were graced with the ne west and youngest DJ who had worked thee behind the scenes while he was in broadcasting classes at the college. The Iditarod, DJIditarod, The Last Great DJ, there with your weekly backstage pass to awesome. Or so his tagline said. Snowball was husky with a genetic mutation that flipped his fur pattern but he was the DJ that everyone loved as he platted whatever he wanted from any genre. And tonight was no exception. He'd run three hours every night, covering music news, weather, sports and of course the music itself.

Tonight was an interesting night or at leastit was about to be. After every shift ended at 11 PM he would head down to the local billiards bar, Moonshots and drink with friends and colleges. It was a good sized bar and one of his favorite haunts with Brick By Brick Pizzeria being the other. As he clocked out, long having left the radio booth, his ending track ended and sending the station to commercials he passed the station manager on the way out, "Coming to Moonshots later, boss?" he said. But Gil the manager shook his head, "No," said the shark, "I'm not, this time, swamped in paperwork new sponsors coming in, budgeting, the usual fun stuff you don't have to deal with." Snowball chuckled, "No I just get all the drunk crazies on the phone to filter through. I could really use some help handling the call monitoring." Gil put his hand up before it could go any further, "Not in the budget, we've been over this, every DJ produces their own shows, you know this, Snowball, if I could afford it, I'd have them hired for everyone. Now if you will excuse me, work calls. Be sure to have a shot for me." Gil turned as Snowball said, "Sure thing, Boss." and headed on his way out the door as he got on his bike and turned the motor on as he sped off.

Snowball biked around town, he was an avid mountain biker and this new ebike conversion had made it a lot more fun to use it as a daily commuter. The roads were in adequate shape but a lot of times the shoulders weren't paved and there were no sidewalks so he would just use the traction of his bike with the mtor. It was only a 30 minute ride even with his battery to Moonshots and when he got there he promptly locked his bike up back and plugged the battery into an outlet the owner always let him use so he could charge up before heading downtown where he lived. When he got in the bar the familiar atmosphere of loud music and billiards being shot in the back filled the air, a large stage in the back of the room with it's karaoke bar and the familiar cheering and hooting from some of the regulars as the local station was always on in there and he knew he was broadcasting in the bar. "Hey Snowball, saddle up, three blue moons headed your way," shouted the bartender. "Send e'm to table, "Snowball said, heading over to the nearest empty table with it's high bar seats." It wasn't long before he had three beers sitting in front of him as he nibbled on the cocktail nuts, sipping his beer and watching the televisions in the back. There really wasn't much happening beyond the normal. New people came in all the time but mostly just the regulars. He scanned around the room looking for anyone he didn't know or recognize. A few people here and there but he caught the glimpse of someone walking away from the pool tables in the back with this chubby looking bunny following behind. She looked somewhat not happy but he didn't think much of it and turned himself back to the TV and his beer. But tonight this wouldn't be a normal night as he was suddenly snapped back to reality by a female voice, "Hey wait a minute aren't you one of the DJ's on the radio?"

Snowball looked up to see the very bunny he was looking at before standing in front of him, Ash brownish bling braids and pigtails, white with brown splotches, brown hands and one flopped down ear. "Depends on whose asking and why," he said. Snowball didn't like attention, he didn't DJ for the fame or the money he did it because he loved the job and he loved to play music. "Yeah," said the bunny, "You are, the Iditarod, right? You have to be. I mean who else would have a name like that and not be a husky!" Snowball sighed and looked down than back up, "Yeah okay, so I am but don't make a big deal out of it please." She nodded and said, "My name's Chessie, I'm a big fan of yours. I...uh, don't suppose I could ask you for a...uh...." Snowball cut her off and said, "Well you don't seem like you're going to lop my head off and mount it on a pedestal in a shrine dedicated to me." Chessie looked at him confused as the joke went over her head, "What?" "Never mind," he said, "It was a joke. I'll be happy to sign an autograph just don't don't make a big deal out of it." He proceeded to sign an unused napkin along with the message 'To Chessie, Don't ever get off the sled ride.' He had a thing for puns with his DJ name and sled racing. "Thanks so much I really appreciate it and...." But the tranquillity of the meeting was broken up by a loud scream.

It was the person she came in with who roared "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING WITH MY GIRL ASSHOLE?!" This coyote was drunk as a skunk. And it showed. Diplomacy wasn't going to work but he tried anyways. Yes he could fight and hold his own but he saved it as a last resort. He came from a home where his father drank all the time, causing his mother's death in a dumb driving accident when he was little and so he didn't like violence very much. "Absolutely nothing. She asked for an autograph, I gave her one, now if you both would kindly leave me to my drinks, I'd like to unwise before I have to do this all over again tomorrow night." But as he figured the reasoning went on deaf ears as he berated Snowball, "Now you listen here you little pipsqueak, I have half a mind to smash your face in. And as for you, I've told you to stay the hell away fro other boys, or do you need a reminder?!" As the drunk went to slap Chessie across the face his hand was caught by Snowball, grabbing him by the wrist without turning his head or taking his eyes off the TV on the back wall, "Do it and I'll snap your wrist. You thinnk going to jail for a domestic is bad? You should see what happens if you t ry it in front of me." he squeezed in such a way that caused immense pain and gave pressure to the wrist causing the drunk to wince in pain and drop slow down. "I'm going to make myself clear. Call yourself a cab you've had too much to drink. Second off I wasn't hitting on your girlfriend, I was merely signing an autograph. Third if I ever see you do this shit again I will become your worst nightmare, you got me?" The pressure was enough to cause the coyote to nod reluctantly and begrudging ly. Snowball let go of his wrist and they wandered out of the bar with Chessie looking back at Snowball with a look of fear in her eyes.

Snowball finished up his beers a few hours later and headed for the exit after settling his tab, walked aroudn to the back and got his bike, as he headed home. He lived in a basement apartment below an Insurance Broker. Karla Nora, a Tigress took him in when he was fresh out of college. She wanted to start her own business and turn this old house into an office and decided to make a basement apartment for Snowball to live in and pay rent with the entrance on the outside of the building. IUt was a mutual agreement that just lasted. He was quiet downstairs and she was okay with it as long as the clients upstairs weren't hearing loud noises during the day. It was a fifteen minute ride to his house from the bar and this crazy night kept getting craizer. Because as he opened the gat to the fence that kept the riff raff away from his door. He had a built in mailbox in one of the fence posts. As he was checking his mail he heard frantic footsteps coming down the road. He t turned to see Chessie. But something was different. her was blackened she was bleeding from her noise and tears were streaming down her face. Running into Snowball wasn't her plan either. She didn't know where he lived but she had taken off and haphazardly ran into him, literally as she knocked him over. "What the hell?!" Snowball was shocked and surprised. Chessie looked down at him, "Please you gotta help me, he's coming after me and I have no where I can go, I won't make it to the police station before he finds me. Please help me." She begged him in a frantic state, and he could see that napkin he signed for her still in her pocket. "What the hell happened?" he asked. "Not here, not now, there's not a lot of time....." Snowball sighed, he didn't want to get involved but he had the feeling he was involved and he knew better than to turn a shoulder and a blind eye to someone in need. After all Karla did the very same for him. "Alright," he said, "Inside." He opened the gate and Chessie went through as he quickly grabbed his bike and rolled it through, closing the gate, locking it and proceeding to head to the stairs that accessed his door. He unlocked it, told Chessie to go inside and to keep quiet as he turned to hear the sound of an engine and he looked at the car that was swerving as a voice that was very familiar was shouting for that bitch to come out of her hiding spot. He quickly rolled the bike down the stairs into the apartment and closed the door locking it. The window in the living room was opened with bars on it so air was coming through and he listened for the car to pass in it's drunken operated state. When the engine sound had died down, he closed the window and went to get some paper towels to clean the blood off her face and get an ice pack for her eyee.

"Now," he said, "Tell me what the hell is going on and why you look like you went through three rounds of boxing with a professional." She held the ice pack to her eye as she winced while he cleaned hte blood off her face and sterilized the wound, "i....it's a long story...." ass he started to recount the events after they elft the bar.

Earlier That Evening.....

The silence f the car ride home had been shattered by a vase slamming against the wall as Chessie cowered from the noise. How she got involved in this relationship she wasn't sure but she was wishing she wasn't in it yet every time she tried to leave she was fed the same damned lies over and over. And it made her crawl back again and again. She was the victim and yet he switched it around on her. "The hell were you thinking..again.!?" he bellowed at her. "I don't ever want you talking to other boys, they're trouble and only care about using her." "As opposed to your drunken rages again? What was it you said last time that you were going to find a new job and keep it and instead you drag me to a bar where you sit and get wasted over and over." Chessie was trying her best as usual to stand up to him but it never ended well as he turned and aggressively dove at her slamming her into the wall behind her ,"Watch your fucking mouth!" He screamed. The drywall where her head hit cracked. "Maybe if you would get off your sorry ass and get a job..." But she cut him off, "So you can sit around doing nothing all day?! And everytime I do you just make me quit because you assume everyone is hitting on me and that I'm sleeping around. You're such and insecure, drunken little bastard!" She worked up enough courage from the adrenalin as she pushed him off her and responded with a punch to the face. Her eye started swelling immediately and her nose began to bleed as tears started coming down her cheeks. "Don't mouth off again, bitch." he screamed but she pushed him back again and ran into the bathroom locking it behind her as he bangedo n the door cussing and screaming for her to open it. . She panicked and started to hyperventilate. She'd never gone this far before but she realized there wasn't anything left to do but run. She opened the window and climbed out, barely and fell to the ground with a thud. She got up and ran, ran as far as she could twoards town hoping to find help. In her mind she wanted to be saved and to put an end to this situation. But in her heart she knew she'd just crawl back to him. She ran and ran but the streets at this time of morning were empty and that was when she looked back to where she was running and slammed into Snowball knocking them both to the ground by accident.

Back in the Present.....

"My God.....what a fucking asshole. And you've put up wti this for how long?" Snowball asked as he finally got her face and nose to stop bleeding. "Too long," she sighed, "And I Keep getting drug back towards him. Every time I tell him I'm leaving he puts on a fake sob act says he'll change and it's great for a week til he falls back into the same pattern and I become a punching bag again. And I know he's going to do it again and I know I'm going to go back again. I think there's something wrong me, like I should be in a mental institution." Snowball sighed as he pulled her into a hug, without thinking he said, "No you don't. But you can't keep falling back into those patterns. My mom did the same way and it cost her her life. I can't make you not go back, but I know I sure as hell will not let you go back out there tonight. You can sleep in my room tonight and I'll seep on the couch. Bathrooms off from the bedroom,. But jsut at least hear me out, Tomorrow you need to go to the station and put a stop to this immediately. No one deserves this, not even you. And the more you fall for his lies and go back the more you empower him." Chessie nodded as she drug her feet towards the entrance to the bedroom. But she poked her head back out and said "Thank you." Snowball nodded as she closed the door. He pulled the police station's non emergency number up on his phone and hovered ver the call button, but he couldn't make himself do it, He knew it was the right thing to do but he also knew that she had to be on board with this as well or she'd do nothing and go back to him. He sighed as he saw his parents from his childhood all over again. "How did I get involved in this again? Why didn't I just go home and not stop at the bar." He hated conflict but in his heart he was still a decent person and wasn't afraid to help when it needed to be done. He backed out of the call menu on his phone and turned it off, laying down on the couch, trying to get some sleep but his mind was racing and he only nodded n and out of sleep the entire night.

The sun came up not that long after as the birds were singing and the sunshine came through the blinds over the windows in the living room of the apartment. It was a bright sunny Saturday morning and he was exhausted and had to find a way to get some rest before his evening set. He sighed as he heared the shower turn on, Obviously his guest dint' get much sleep either as he pulled himself off the couch and walked over to his small kitchen to start making some coffee and boy was he going to need it. He was leaning on the counter a few minutes later sipping on the coffee he poured as Chessie came out looking dog tired. "You look terrible." she said to Snowball, "Couldn't sleep," he said, " And by the looks of it, neither did you." "Just thinking, trying to talk myself into doing the right thing and realizing how weak willed I am. And the text message he sent didn't help either." Snowball raised an eyebrow, "Let me guess, begging for you to come back and what not?" She nodded at him, her eye was starting to de swell but the coloration gave it away. Her cuts had stopped bleeding and scabbed over. "Well, what does your heart say?" Chessie sighed as she took the cup of coffee he had set on the small island for her earlier, "My heart says this isn't love it's nothing ore than a farce. My brain tells me that I should run and get out while I'm breathing. This is the worst he's done to be so far. He sits and drinks all night long, never bothers to try and sober up to hold a job down and anytime I try to get a job he makes me quit weeks later because he's so insecure. What the hell kind of a relationship is this?!" The fear and tears began to run down her face, as anger and frustration manifested itself. "But you're not strong enough to listen to your own mind's reason. I'm no psychiatrist, but it seems to me you've fallen into a familiar routine and you're too scared to move on to something new. So you sit there and put up with something you shouldn't." Chessie struggled with this but she knew deep down he was right, "i....I don't know, I mean, I gotta do something but... look I appreciate what you did but I think I better go, I don't want to cause more trouble than I already have." She turned and opened the door after setting the mug down and Snowball sighed only saying "Look, you gotta do what you feel is right but my door's open okay? If you need a place to crash that is." Chessie nodded and closed the door behind her as she wandered out and down the streets.

Chessie wandered around for wast seemed hours, the town alive and bustling on the weekend, even stopping to sit and stare at the beautiful gardens in the park in the center of town. She was angry, frustrated, sad, hurt, everything you could possibly imagine when she turned after hearing a car door slam shut. It was her boyfriend, sobered up, "Where have you been all night?" he asked in a semi forceful tone. "That's....that's not your business.." "Did you at least get my message?" he asked. "Yes and I ...." but she didn't get a chance to finish. He started up again like he did every single time. "Look I'm sorry okay, i fucked up really bad this time, I drank too much I gave into the alcohol I said and did things i shouldn't I won't do it again I'll even go into rehab to prove it. Please just lets bury this okay, you're my world." Snowballs words echoed loudly in her head now 'you're stuck in a familiar pattern....' He was right. She didn't know that his sister was a high profile psychiatrist and he had learned a thing or two from her. "I ....." she struggled with her wording, "I ... just don't know, you give me the same sob story every single time and than a week later it's the same old crap, every damned time. I'm sick of it. Why should I believe you now after years of you doing this to me over and over again?" "because," and now hsi voice got panicky and desperate, "I've changed, I realized what I've done is wrong, just give me this last chance. Please I'm begging you." Something was sparking inside of Chessie's mind, inside her heart. Snowball started a kindling fire and now it was beginning to bloom. She stood up and walked away saying "I.... I don't know, I need to think....I need to be alone for the moment. Just let me decide for myself!" And she ran off leaving him behind. He stood there doing nothing. All he could do is wait for what would be the inevitable.

But for what seemed like hours, Chessie ran and eventually sat on the ledge of a foot bridge that ran over the river that passed through town. She began to cry, scared of saying no and scared of saying yes knowing that either answer could lead to more pain and heartache. For the first time she even contemplated jumping, ending her life, would it matter? Would anyone care? Was it the only way out? She took some deep breathes, preparing to jump down to the watery grave that awaited her. But every time she tried to let go, she couldn't. Something stopped her which made her even more sad. She didn't know what to do except for one thing. She climbed over again back onto the foot path and ran again. It seemed like she was always running from her problems. But this time she ran back to Snowball's place. The gate was locked like he always did but she ran and hopped over and banged loudly on his door. "please! Please be home!" she cried to herself. After a couple minutes he opened the door and she just dove into his arms sobbing, the only thing she could say was "Help me get away from him! I can't deal with it any longer. No more lies, no more pain, I don't want to end up dead from his abuse!" Some how his words had sunk in, he sighed in relief and said "Get in here, lets talk." They talked for hours in fact. He wasn't keen on getting involved in females again after his current breakup but he wasn't going to turn Chessie to the streets either. She didn't have a home now and he decided she could sleep on his couch saying they'd talk to Karla Morning about letting her crash there til she could find her own place. But for now she had a home and a friend who cared about her and even Snowball was smart enough to recognize that he too had made a new friend. If only they had known the winding path they had set upon together. But hey life's a journey right?

_ A Word From The Author: This prologue to this series touched on some serious situations that occur in real life all the time. If you or someone you suspect is being physically or mentally abused call for emergency or professional help Immediately. It's not okay for anyone to be physically or mentally abused bethey child or adult, male or female. And yes there are cases where the roles are reversed and men get physically abused by females too. This is not a good or acceptable situation and going back to the abuser and continuing to give him or her that power isn't okay. Remember you have the ability to stop this and you should if you find yourself in this situation or someone you know. Call for help immediately. _