Twelve Days - The Beginning Read Free Page B

were with pretty-boy, weren’t you? I knew it! All he’s ever wanted is in your panties and you hang on to his every word; encouraging him, using your puppy dog eyes. God, how could I have been so stupid as to let you go!”
    Dale had worked himself into a rage and Elise knew better than to respond. It hadn’t always been like this. The first few years had been bliss and although they had married young, they were both comfortable with their decision and wanted to show the world that they had been right and that they could make a go of things.
    After they had been married a couple of years, they had decided to try for a baby but three years and more tests than a lab rat later, they had had to resign themselves to the fact that it wasn’t going to happen. Whilst Elise had tried to be positive and considered fostering or adoption, Dale had turned to drink to blot it out. The problem, it would seem, lay with him, and he couldn’t handle the fact that he wasn’t a ‘proper’ man. The drinking became heavier and her cosy life as she had known it had started to fall apart.
    She had lived in this limbo for five years now; each year resolving that this would be the year she left, as his rages and accusations ratcheted up notch after notch. But she just couldn’t do it. The final straw had come when she had started her job with Andrews & Andrews, hoping for a fresh start. For a while, things had calmed down as they both enjoyed talking about the new challenges she was facing as Dale was in a similar field. Thinking that the bad times had passed, Elise decided to introduce Dale to Cole, inviting him to a BBQ lunch one day. She felt sure that the two men would have plenty in common and hoped that they could go on to be friends.
    That had been the day that she had unknowingly lit the blue touch-paper and now Dale’s possessiveness, jealousy and violence knew no bounds. Cole had told her to call the police on more than one occasion. He had seen her at her worst, her face bloated from the beating and the crying and she knew that it broke his heart to see her like this. Elise understood that he was right but she was trapped. She could see no way to leave Dale. He monitored her every move and a small part of her heart still loved him - still loved the man she had married and had just gotten lost along the way somewhere.
    Dale was continuing to rage, his fist now connecting with the wall and Elise watched and sighed, mentally making a note to call the plasterer in the morning.....again.
    Tentatively she took a step past him, heading towards the stairs and the relative sanctuary of sleep. She fully expected him to grab her arm and push her roughly against the wall as she passed - it wouldn’t be the first time. Unusually he didn’t and that surprised her. She turned back to face him to see him watching her, nursing his hand. His eyes were cold with no hint of emotion and she could see little of the handsome man who had swept her away all those years ago. He was turned on - the bulge in his jeans a dead giveaway - and that always worried Elise. No matter how drunk and how angry Dale got, he was always turned on and that scared her.
    Watching her line of sight, Dale sniggered and blatantly grabbed his crotch with his good hand. “See something you like, beautiful?” His demeanour had changed; he had gone from angry to calm and menacing and from past experience Elise knew that that only meant one thing.
    Drawing on all the strength she could muster, she continued to head towards the stairs praying that he wouldn’t follow her. She had still not spoken one word in all the time that he had been raging.
    Fortunately the gods were on her side tonight and Dale headed off into the lounge as she climbed the stairs. She knew sleep would be hard to come by but she had become an expert at coping on little or no sleep over the years; always needing to be on alert to cope with whatever mood Dale happened to be in.
    After what felt like an