Nothing but Meat: A dark, heart-stopping British crime thriller Read Free

the coffee table, it was littered with beer cans and she could
smell the malt tang of alcohol in the air. He didn’t turn around he just said,
‘You’re late.’
    ‘It’s been a busy day.’
    ‘Don’t get sarcastic with me,’ he said.
    She moved further into the room and into his line of sight,
he looked at her with a hint of disgust. ‘What happened to your face?’ he said,
but it was just words, he wasn’t interested in her reply and before she could
answer he turned his attention back to the television. ‘I ordered pizza,’ he
said, ‘there’s some left in the kitchen if you want it.’
    She went through to the kitchen to find one half chewed slice
of pizza remained; it was cold and congealed and stuck to the cardboard like an
island in a sea of grease. Simone ignored it and went upstairs, she stripped
out of her filthy clothes and sat on the edge of the bath, she closed her eyes
and for one sweet moment the calming scent of lavender bubble bath and the
delicious soothing heat of water running over her fingers took her mind away
from the pain in her lip, her aching joints and her disastrous marriage.
    ‘I told you to ring if you’re going to be late.’
    Her eyes snapped open. He was in the bathroom with her,
leering at her. She stood to face him, she was naked; it made her feel vulnerable
and he knew it. She tried to cover herself as much as she could and said, ‘I
forgot. I was too busy.’
    The water thundered into the tub and her heart pounded in her
chest, his eyes narrowed as he moved in close to her, even with bare feet she
had a couple of inches on him and she looked down at his tight jaw and his
stocky frame. She could smell his breath and turned away but it was a mistake
to take her eyes from him. He punched her hard in the stomach. Simone was
completely unprepared for the blow, her lungs emptied in an instant and she
dropped to her knees. She looked up at him defiantly, using all her strength to
do so and he slapped her face sharply with a quick flicking motion and pointed
a stubby finger into her forehead. He would never normally touch her face for
fear of exposure but she knew he was taking advantage of her injured state and
that any damage he inflicted would be camouflaged. ‘Don’t you fucking talk back
to me,’ he spat. ‘Next time I’ll use this.’ His leather belt was wrapped
tightly around his other fist, the cold metal buckle swung closely to her face.
She flinched away from it and looked down, conceding, allowing him to dominate.
He stood over her for a while watching her silently and then turned his back
and walked out of the bathroom. ‘Don’t be too long,’ he said. ‘I want to go to
bed.’ He slammed the door behind him and she stayed on the floor while she
caught her breath. Her stomach ached and then cramped and she rushed to use the
toilet, but then she finally got what she had been waiting for. It felt like it
had taken an eternity to come as she lowered herself into the glistening foam.
The water was way too hot but the heat that turned her skin bright pink and
enveloped her damaged shell redirected her pain and closed her mind to
everything beyond the sanctuary of the bathroom.

2
     
    Simone pretended to be asleep while Martin got dressed. He
left the bedroom and went downstairs and she listened to him moving around, to
the clatter of his spoon and cereal bowl and to the muffled sound of Sky News.
Then he was on the stairs; they creaked beneath his weight and the door brushed
the carpet as he came quietly into the room and over to her. When he leant in
and kissed her forehead it took all she had not to flinch and pull away from
him. She opened her eyes.
    ‘You’re not going in today are you?’ he asked.
    ‘No. Got the day off to recover.’
    ‘Okay. See you tonight,’ he said. ‘I love you.’
    ‘Love you too,’ she replied but the words were meaningless
and hollow.
    Simone waited until the front door clicked and then pulled
her aching frame out of bed.