[Roderick Usher]

Okay, I've read it a couple of times now.

First off, good job - it's an excellent melding of two genres, which is tricky, but you puled it off. It's a perfect concept for a short story.

It's so good, in fact, that I'm going to be nitpicky with it.

There are a few spelling errors that spell-check will miss every time - he instead of her, etc...I saw 2-3 which means there are probably 5-6 of them. Read it out loud very slowly (if you're doing it right, you'll sound retarded) and you'll catch 'em all.

NOTES
The opening paragraph lacks punch. I like the tadpoles and that Jerry calls her stupid, but It might be more effective if she finds herself thinking about the "tadpoles" and then winces, knowing how Jerry wouldn't like her making childish observations like that. Like the effects of his abuse have moved past the immediate and Lauria actually acts like a beaten dog (a nice metaphor given the ending of the piece)

When Laurie spills the gravy, you write "Jerry didn't say a word to her" and he's yelling God Damnit! - I would skip the "jerry didn't say a word to her" line and jump straight from the spill to his violent reaction...it will carry more of a visceral punch.

When Laurie hits Jerry in the head with the skillet and he falls backward...
this is a fantastic place for a pregnant pause. You can build tension by keeping Jerry stunned/unconscious for a long beat while Laurie panics, thinking she's killed him and she's going to jail. She can even start planning what she'll do with the body - then WHAM, he's awake and on top of her.

I also think you can add just a bit more gore to the ending. I burned my ass with boiling water one time and the flesh simply bubbled and rolled off...it was gut wrenching to watch, but I couldn't do anything but stare at it. Little touches like this could go a long way.

My two cents...take it or leave it.
All in all, great work.