I didn’t get a reply from him. Instead, all I got was a grunt. Seriously, he was like a child who didn’t get his own way.

“Oh, come on, don’t be like this. Isn’t this meant to be a nice night?” I smiled, trying to simmer down his temper that was already brewing. I hoped he couldn’t hear the fakeness that was in my voice.

“It was going to be a nice night until someone decided they were going to be late and lie about why they’re late.” He stopped what he was doing, and turned to what I was sure was my ghost white face. I felt all the blood drain away since he seemed to know why I was actually late.

“What do you mean? I told you why I was late.” I tried to keep the nervousness I was feeling from my voice, but I was absolutely sure I’d failed.

“You’re lying!” he yelled at me. It was not the first time he’d yelled at me or the second or third or the one hundredth for that matter, but I sensed something in his tone that frightened me right to my very core. I took a hesitant step back, bumping into the wall that I didn’t realise was so close behind me. It had been a little while since I’d been there because so much had been going on. I couldn’t even remember the last time Jacob and I were intimate. I said nothing but waited to see what he did.

“I know you were with him. Did you forget what I said about the fact that I know everything that’s been going on? Especially with Blake.”

I swear my eyes bulged out of my head at his words. “Are you saying that you’ve been watching me?” A mixture of emotions roared through me. I found myself getting angrier, but at the same time more frightened. My body was tense and I was unable to relax. I was angry because of the foolish person I had been for so long. I put so much time and effort into this relationship. I was always being made to feel like I was the one that had done something wrong, and never feeling good enough. Why was I so blind to all of this?

“You have no idea, Abby. I know about your stay-overs with my half-brother while I was away. You are mine, not his!” He was beyond angry now and I wasn’t sure what I should do. Abandoning the plan was looking good at that exact moment.

“Look, I might just go until you cool off because this is not going to get us anywhere,” I said as my voice trembled. I began to turn and walk away, but not before he swiftly grabbed my arm, dragging me back into the dining room. My foot slipped and I tripped, hitting my head on the corner of the table. Pain radiated throughout my head and I felt warm liquid sliding down my face. I touched my fingertips to it, softly pulling them away and noticing blood staining them. My breath hitched and tears began to fall fast.

What just happened? He had never been this forceful.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry, baby.” Jacob instantly forgot about his outburst and became this caring person. He reached out for me, and I immediately recoiled from him and the pained expression touched my heart ever so slightly. I didn’t want these gentle feelings from him. My head was throbbing, and I winced from the pain. “Please, baby, let me help you.”

“I don’t want your help,” I whispered as I struggled to pull myself from the ground. I didn’t get far before a dizzy spell struck. I stopped and leant against the wall till it passed. Jacob stood there watching, there was no remorse on his face for what he had done.

“Please, I’m really sorry. I don’t know what happened. I just snapped.” I knew he didn’t care for me. He thought of it as punishment for what I’d caused him lately.

“It’s what you always do, Jacob,” I talked slowly trying to catch my breath. “You haven’t treated me the right way for a long time now. You’re so angry and possessive. How can you not see the way you’ve been treating me is so totally inappropriate. And then when you injure me, all of a sudden, you want to be the loving man that I once knew?” I walked away toward the bathroom with Jacob following behind.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Abby. Truly, I’m very sorry.”

My eyes moved to his and I could see the remorse in them, but it’s not lost on me this time. This was the worst he’d ever hurt me.

I glanced in the mirror and my heart dropped. Looking back at me was a blood-splattered woman I didn’t even recognise. It half looked like me, because one side was covered in blood but the other wasn’t. Grabbing a towel and running it under the tap, I began cleaning myself. On the outside, I may have looked calm, but on the inside I was screaming with alarm bells sounding loud and clear. I needed desperately to get the hell out of there.

“Look, I’m just gonna go.”

“No, please, stay, and get cleaned up. I’m going to go for a walk to clear my head. I am sorry. Please believe me.” He tried to reach out to me, but once again I couldn’t bring myself to allow him to touch me. His touch was poison. I didn’t meet his eyes. I nodded and moved away from him, continuing to clean the blood from my face.

I heard the front door slam shut and it caused me to jump. I don’t know what came over me, but as soon as that door slammed, a switch inside me flicked and I went into planning mode. I raced to my bag, my heart pumping with adrenaline. I grabbed the bag of blood and spread it where Blake had told me, in the bathroom over some towels. Though I was still actually bleeding a little from my head wound, and it was thumping like crazy, I needed to get this done quickly.

After about ten minutes, I was done. I’d gone and smashed a few things, photo frames, and destroyed the lovely dinner setting that was on the dining table. The final thing I did was to remove my necklace and I left it in amongst the blood splatter and blood-drenched towels as Blake had requested so he would know that I was safe. Little would he know about the head wound that was inflicted by Jacob.

I really hoped that it worked because I needed to be rid of him. I needed the fear that was within me gone. I knew I had to leave my family, friends, and now Blake, to carry this out but I could only hope that with time, that I could eventually come back and fix everything I had done.

I picked up the envelope holding the papers with my new identity, along with the cash and a few other things like photos and a spare change of clothes. I left my wallet and purse behind. Taking a hold of the door handle, I looked over my shoulder at my handy work and smiled. I opened the door and walked out of the life I once knew. That was the beginning of a new life, a life that I would hopefully live in without fear. Blake purchased the ticket, and he’d said that everything had been arranged for me to get on the bus and to keep going until I felt safe.

It broke my heart that I was leaving him. He was my new everything and all I wanted was to have a life with him and for us to be happy. That simply couldn’t happen now. He had asked that I let him know where I was by sending him a postcard at each stop, and he would follow when it came time. I couldn’t use the phone he gave me until everything blew over, but even then I wasn’t sure I would use it. I couldn’t risk it.

For now, my new journey had begun and my past was now just that, my past.

Chapter Twenty-One

Abby

Present Day

“So I left, and I’ve been in that same area ever since.” I look around me and everyone’s eyes are bulging out of their heads. Rachel and Flick have their hands over their mouths while the guys sat there while their mouths hanging open in shock.

“Where have you been living?” Melodi asks.

“I travelled for what felt like ages and I went as far as I could to San Diego. I found a women’s shelter. They took me in and helped me with everything I needed.” The women there were beautiful spirits and so loving to all who were in their care. We were each other’s support and they helped me through my pregnancy and with the birth of Katie. I smile at the memories of their kindness. It was a place I called my home away from home. They welcomed me with open arms. When I learnt I was expecting Katie they were there for me through it all. After everything I had been through, all the heartache, the run for my life, to learn that without my family by my side I was going to enter the frightening world of motherhood was scary. I remember them wrapping me in their arms while I sat there staring at the test result, crying my eyes out as though my world had come to an end when in actual fact it was like starting a new life. Like mother hens with their baby chicks, they tucked me under their wings and became my new adopted family.