by Ada Frost
“Eve –“ Inspector Firth started but I held up my hand. I stood on shaky legs.
“Just...just give me a second, I need to use the bathroom” my voice broke no matter how hard I tried to stay in control.
Dominic stood beside me reaching for me but I waved him off and offered him a weak smile. I closed the bathroom door and leaned against it, I slid down it my legs no longer holding my weight. I buried my face in my hands and bit down on my thumb as loud sobs broke out from my throat.
No one believed me.
I sobbed harder, my body shaking uncontrollably. I gasped for breath, my heart hammered in my chest. Tears barreled down my face as I lost control of my emotions. Fear, disgust, panic, and absolute horror engulfed me, the extent of what my confession had caused hit me full force. Jill would hate me; in turn Dominic would need to leave me to support his mother. Elliott would be furious I had done this to him.
Oh God Louise and Ellie.
My selfish act had put those two in danger. When he is released, he will no doubt punish me through them. I swore I would never tell anyone and in return he would leave my sisters alone.
I pulled my knees tighter against me and rocked, my ears buzzed. My heart wanted to escape the confines of my chest and I couldn’t breathe. I gasped for breath feeling the scary onset of a panic attack.
“Eve, baby open the door.” Dominic said from the other side, knocking. I curled tighter into a ball and sobbed.
“Eve come on, we can get through this.” I heard him talking to someone at the other side “Eve open the door,” he said in a stern voice from the other end of the loud tunnel.
“Eve...” I closed my eyes and laid my face against the cool tiles of the bathroom floor, I curled I pulled my knees up against my chest and lay near the side of the bath. The muffled voices from the tunnel got fainter as my breathing increased and my heart hammered. I was running out of air but the welcome blackness was coming. In the blackness there wasn’t anyone to frighten me, I was alone, I was safe, I was...
*****
Slowly reality seeped back in, I felt exhausted. My eyes flickered open and I became aware of a comforting blanket of warm muscle wrapped around me. Soft murmured voices tickled my senses as I regained conscious thought.
“Welcome back Eve, how are you feeling?” asked inspector Firth. She was sat on the bathroom floor in front of me.
I blinked a few times believing I was still in a dreamland state.
“You had us a little worried there for a minute. Dominic here...” She lifted her hand and pointed to my muscled blanket. “He said this has happened before.”
I nodded.
“I apologise if what I said upset you, but we have to –“
“I don’t want to go through with pressing charges.” I choked and felt Dominic tense behind me. “What? Eve –.” She started but I interrupted.
“No one will believe me, you said that he has an alibi. I have no proof. It’s safer for Lou and Ellie if I don’t say anything else”
“No it isn’t. Listen I didn’t mean to frighten you. I simply need you to understand that it will be more difficult to bring charges against him but not impossible. You just need to stay strong.”
I shook my head. “I’m not strong. I’m sick of fighting him, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t...” I turned into Dominic’s arms and buried my face in his chest.
“Give her time” Dominic said quietly.
“Elliott will be released later today if we cannot find more evidence to secure his –“
“Then release him” I said quietly defeated. “It’s over”
“Just give me time with her” Dominic pleaded tightening his hold on me.
“I’ll leave you my card. Please don’t give in Eve, you deserve justice”
“Justice doesn’t take away what he did, he is beyond justice.” I sobbed into Dominic’s chest.
Later that night I brushed my teeth, put my nightshirt on and turned the bathroom light off before I walked out onto the landing. Johan came walking out of the spare room holding a towel. He was still wearing his work trousers and shirt.
“Night gorgeous girl.” Johan said, reaching out and tugging on my hand. I smiled at him squeezing his hand in silent appreciation of his support. “I’m here if you need to talk,” he said quietly.
I nodded “Thank you” I whispered.
“I’m going to go take a shower; you can join me if you like. See what a real man looks like,” he said loudly.
“Fuck off you little shit!” shouted Dominic from my bedroom. Johan winked at me.
I giggled feeling a little of the weight lift from my shoulders. “You’re a good friend Johan” I said quietly.
“I need you as much as you need me, trust me.” He whispered.
Then loudly he added “Yes Eve, I am bigger than a chipolata, most men are.”
“Dickhead! I will kick your arse in a minute” growled Dominic. I giggled and pushed Johan in the direction of the bathroom.
I walked in my bedroom and froze mid step at the surreal sight before me. Dominic sat against the head board, the quilt covering him to his waist. But above that was a gloriously naked torso. He flicked through the pages of a magazine frowning at each page.
“Why do you women read this shit? I mean take this silly cow for example, ‘I lost three stone in a month.” He mimicked a horrendous female voice “Obviously she’s going to lose weight if all she’s eating is cabbage soup, bet she loses her chap n’all because all she’s going to do is fart and shit. That aint going to be pretty,” he said scowling.
I laughed loudly. “It’s a necessity of everyday life to know the gossip, apparently.” I said smiling. He scratched his chest then adjusted his glasses. My knees turned a little wobbly.
“Hmm!” He turned the pages and titled his head then turned the magazine to face me so I could see the page he was looking at. It was of a nearly naked celeb on holiday somewhere exotic.
“Shall we give it to Johan, he could use some new wank material, it’s as close to a woman he’ll get.”
“Eww Dominic!” I groaned. “That’s vile”
He laughed and threw the magazine on the floor.
“Talking of which...who needs a magazine when I have the real thing standing in front of me, looking ravishing.” He licked his lips and waggled his eyebrows.
I laughed and jumped on the bed, crawling to my side. I pulled my night socks off and tucked my legs under the quilt. I leaned across and pecked my man on the lips and smiled at him. I turned back to the bedside cabinet and turned the lamp off snuggling down into the quilt.
“Erm...Eve?”
“Yeah?” I lifted my head off the pillow and looked over my shoulder at Dominic. “What are you doing?” He asked.
I rolled to my back and frowned even though he couldn’t see me. “What do you mean?”
“New house rule...you have to sleep here... curled up next to me. Not sleep with your back to me,” he said seriously. I smiled and rolled over into his arms snuggling into his warm naked –
“Oh my God are you naked?” I asked sitting up. I reached for the lamp and switched it on. I turned to look at him smiling at me and lifted the quilt a little and sure enough Dominic was as naked as the day he was born.
“The ol’fella likes to snuggle,” he said smiling. “Care to join me, he gets lonely”
I laughed loudly. I turned and switched the lamp off.
I reached for the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. I threw it over near my dresser and
snuggled back down next to Dominic. I rested my head on his chest and wrapped my arms around him. He wrapped his long arms around me and kissed the top of my head.
“Eve? About today –“
“Don’t...I can’t deal with it anymore. I just want to close my eyes and forget about it...at least for one more night.”
“Okay.” He whispered and kissed the top of my head again.
“Your mum is going to hate me” I said quie
tly after a short while of silence.
“Why?” I could hear the confusion in his voice.
“Because of what I said about Elliott, having him arrested...and being with you”
“She loves you Eve, she knows you wouldn’t say something like that if it wasn’t true. She isn’t going to hate you”
“But he’s her son. And she has a grandson...how did none of us know that?” I lifted my head to rest it on my elbow “you didn’t know did you?”
“Did I buggery. I can’t believe he kept that quiet. I mean it didn’t shock me he had another woman somewhere, after how he’s treated you, but a kid...mum will be devastated.”
“Do you think he...hurts them?” I asked swallowing the lump in my throat.
“I would like to say no, my heart hurts thinking of a kid stuck in that kind of life, but realistically I have a terrible feeling he is exactly the same with her as he is with you. It would explain why she lied,” he said.
“How do you protect a little boy though if his mother won’t...” I paused, thinking of what Johan had told me about his mum. I closed my eyes tightly as images of a little defenseless Johan watched his mum die in front of him.
“I’ve not been protecting Lou and Ellie all these years have I? I’ve just allowed his excuses?” I said quietly. Dominic squeezed me tightly.
“You were terrified Eve, anyone can see that. I may not have known at the time but watching you now and thinking back I really hate that I had blinkers on. Because trust me babe, the signs were there, I think as a family we just never thought it was a possibility, he would do that to you,” he said and kissed me again.
“I’m not lying, about any of it I swear”
“I know, I believe you one hundred percent babe.”
“Why don’t the police? Why has this woman lied?”
Dominic shrugged “because my brother has always got himself out of trouble. I swear he could fall in horse shit and come up smelling of roses. Nothing ever sticks with him, but he needs prosecuting for this, for what he’s done to you”
“I'm beginning to think there’s no point.”
“No point?” Dominic snapped turning to face me. I held up my hand to quiet him.
“I just think...him being in jail isn’t going to heal what’s in here...” I tapped my head “and it won’t take away the scars on my back. It –“
“He cannot live life treating women like this. It may not heal you inside but with time we will get you there. But he can’t scare the crap out of you by being free. Have you thought if he is locked away you will no longer be watching over your shoulder?”
“But what about the little boy, I’ll be taking his daddy away from him? What if he wasn’t like that with them? Maybe that’s why –“
“Eve...sweetheart look at me.” He cupped my face in my hands and lifted my face to look directly into his eyes. It was dark but the moonlight coming through the curtains cast a dim shadowed light. “Tough love...but babe you are talking utter shite. That kid deserves better than a dad like him, if Elliott kicked the crap out of you, I can promise he is doing the same to her. He’s a sick man, and that isn’t a switch he can just flip on and off. He’s controlled you for nine years, he’s made you doubt every decision you have ever made and he has terrified you. All this...what’s in your head, is bullshit. He has hurt you because he wanted to control you, he couldn’t bear the thought of you leaving and loving someone else. He knew you loved me, and you didn’t love him. But he made you his. He manipulated and petrified you so that you never left him. Now he’s scaring the shit out of some other woman into lying for him. How you talk about the situation is as if you are at fault, it isn’t babe, and all its doing is killing you. And I’m not going to stand by and watch the woman I love suffer anymore. My biggest mistake was not kissing you way back when and my second was not getting on my hands and knees begging you to be mine. But now you are here in my arms I’m not letting go.”
Tears streamed down my face.
“See you always say the best things.”
“That’s why you’re crying?” He said dryly. I laughed and wiped at my face.
“We will be happy though, eventually, we will be happy wont we?” I asked.
“Deliriously. I love you too much to let you go, so the only option we have is to be happy,” he said and tickled my side.
I wriggled and laughed.
“I love you Eve.” He whispered then his mouth found mine.
The next morning we entered the kitchen to Johan humming along to the radio. He had made coffee and Louise sat at the table with glass of juice and buttered toast, while he was stirring something at the cooker.
“Morning gorgeous.” He smiled and came towards me. He pulled me into a hug and kissed me on the cheek. Two things happened simultaneously, firstly Dominic growled and more interestingly Louise gave me such a scowl, I swear if looks could kill I’d be six foot under.
“Morning” I smiled at him and pushed lightly against his chest. “Morning Lou-Lou” I smiled at her. She simply grumbled a response.
“Grumpy here is her usual bright and cheery self.” Johan laughed as he walked back to the cooker. “But my morning always starts when I see your beautiful face Eve.” Johan winked and grinned in Dominic’s direction. It was far too early for his teasing.
Lou stood abruptly pushing her chair away from the table noisily and stormed out of the kitchen.
“What’s up with her?” Dominic asked watching as the kitchen door slammed.
“She isn’t a morning person” I said quietly, but I had a feeling it was more to do with Johan’s teasing.
“She hasn’t eaten her toast.” Johan said pointing to her unfinished breakfast. The stricken look on his face made my heart melt. He stared at the closed door for a while before turning back to the cooker and stirring whatever he was cooking.
“What are you making anyway Jamie Oliver?” Dominic laughed. Pouring himself a coffee from the carafe.
Johan didn’t answer simply continued stirring. I tilted my head and watched as he remained fixed on whatever was in the pan.
“Johan?” I asked quietly.
“Hmm?” He turned to look at me then at the door “Do you think she felt sick? She isn’t usually sick at this time, it seems to hit her at dinner time?”
I smiled at him and turned to give Dominic a ‘what’d I tell you?’ look. He watched Johan like he was an alien then a huge smile spread across his face, showing his perfect white teeth. He leaned into me and whispered in my ear “Johan fancies your sister.”
I nodded at him.
“Maybe you should go see if she’s okay.” Dominic said smiling up at Johan.
Johan’s eyes were still fixed on the door but at Dominic’s words they slid to us. “Do you think...” he scowled at us “Why are you laughing at me?” He asked Dominic.
Dominic held his stomach laughing. “Louise will eat you alive”
“What –“ Johan started but a hissing and spitting behind him caught his attention.
“Fuck!” He shouted and pulled the pan away from the heat. He turned to us holding a pan covered in white gloop. “I’ve burnt my oatmeal”
I covered my mouth to hide my smile and offered him a sympathetic shrug. Dominic however nearly fell off his chair with laughter.
Louise chose that moment to re-enter the kitchen ready for work. She paused in the doorway staring at the mad scene before her.
“What happened?” She asked reaching over the table for her juice.
“Jo...Johan burnt his...” Dominic gripped his stomach and laughed again. Okay so he needed to get a grip of himself because it seriously wasn’t that funny. Johan scowled put his pan in the sink and started running the hot water.
Louise smiled, totally transforming her face from beautiful to outright stunning. She looked around the room at each of us “I have the craziest family in the world.” She swallowed her juice in one go and grabbed a cold piece of toast.
Johan smiled bright
ly and walked over to the fridge. He pulled it open reached inside and when he turned around Dominic stopped laughing, and I smiled.
“Here...” He walked over to Lou and handed her a thermos and a clear lunch box “I made you some lunch. You didn’t take any yesterday, and that’s soup.” He handed her the flask. His cheeks heated as Lou and Dominic gawped at him.
He cleared his throat and walked out of the kitchen.
“Well chuff me.” Lou whispered to herself staring at her hands holding her lunch.
I turned to Dominic, when he looked into my eyes he smiled and nodded. He knew what I knew.
****
At work the break room was full again with people having morning coffee, and more disappointingly, it included the same bunch that liked to gossip and torture me with insistent questions about Dominic’s love life. I bypassed the table and headed straight to the kettle to make a cup of tea. I caught the daggers thrown from Rebecca's eyes as I walked in.
"Hey gorgeous can I have one of those?" Johan got up from his chair and came to stand beside me. Rebecca and Lucy both scoffed at his remark. I could sense they were gearing up to something, for some reason Rebecca hated me and no matter how much I helped her out in the lab it just seemed to annoy her more.
Johan leaned towards me and whispered in my ear "ignore them, they are having their usual ‘who can nail Dominic first’ chat"
I nodded but hated that they spoke about my boyfriend that way. "What’s with the whispering?" Rebecca snaps.
"We are sharing top secret Information.” Johan smiled. I closed my eyes and shook my head, why did he have to say that. Has he never heard the saying adding fuel to a fire. "Come on then share it with us"
"No can do. It's too valuable to just share with anyone, isn't that right Eve?"
I opened my mouth to tell them he was lying. When Lucy screeches at us "you know who sex on legs is doing the horizontal tango with!"
Urgh, she is so vile
"She does! Look at her, come on, you have to tell us?" I remained silent.
“He has another hickey on his neck” a woman said, and for the life of me I couldn’t remember her name.