[I love to challenge myself. So, this I worked to write a complete story in exactly 100 words. Enjoy!]

The throaty rumble of the muffler drew closer. This particular sound was enough to close in the four walls that surrounded me. Suffocated me.

He was home.

The click of the lock would be followed by, Honey, I’m home. He knew those words churned the acid in my stomach. He didn’t care.

Heavy footsteps thudded solidly across the hardwood floor, stopping outside my room. A crack of light stretched across the floor as the door eased open. Sitting up, I tucked my knees under my chin to the grating tune of metal scraping concrete. The shackle biting into my ankle.