Battered

Chapter 35

"His name was Alex" I start.

"He was the most popular boy in school and I couldn't believe my luck when he came over to ask me out one day after Math class. We dated all through high school and got married a few months after my nineteenth birthday. My parents weren't very happy about it but I was young and in love so I didn't really pay much attention to them."

I glance up here, to look at Cheryl before carrying on, "I knew right from the start that he had a bit of a jealous streak; he always had to know where I was and who I was with. He'd phone me all the time, constantly checking up on me."

"After we got married we started renting this little flat above his uncle's garage just outside of Bradford and that's when I first saw what he was really like."

"I'd been out shopping with my friends and lost track of the time. I was only about an hour late but I knew he'd be angry with me when I got home. He didn't say a word when I got in; just stood up, punched me in the face and then went down the pub. The next day he was all flowers and apologies and promised me that it would never happen again."

"But it did, didn't it?" Cheryl says quietly, reaching out to hold my hand, she knows from experience how this story is going to end.

"About a month later, he did it again. This time I'd worn a top that he thought was too low-cut and apparently I wanted other men to look at me. He left me with a black eye and a cut lip that time."

Cheryl gasps and brings a hand up to her mouth in shock. I pause for a minute, unsure if she wants to hear anymore, but Cheryl squeezes my hand and nods for me to go on.

"It gradually got worse and he even managed to put me in the hospital a few times with broken ribs and stuff. My parents tried to get me to leave him but my marriage vows meant something to me and I desperately wanted it to work. I convinced myself that if I was a better wife, he wouldn't hit me. But of course he did, and eventually my parents said they wanted nothing more to do with me; they couldn't stand to see me get hurt like that."

I feel a few tears pricking my eyes and blink a couple of times to get them under control, "A few years later, I bumped into Justin one day at the supermarket and we got chatting about old times; he went to the same school as us and was on the football team with Alex. We ended up having coffee together and he sort of guessed what was going on at home; Alex was well known for his temper on the football pitch."

"We started meeting up a couple of times a week, while Alex was at work. It started off innocent enough but we soon developed feelings for each other and Justin wanted to help me leave Alex. I was really scared but Justin took care of everything and even found me a place at a women's refuge centre in London; I wanted to get as far away as possible from Alex."

"So you left Alex and came to London?" Cheryl asks.

"Not straight away. Justin had a few loose ends to tie up in Bradford and I didn't want to go to London without him. So we carried on seeing each other behind Alex's back for a few months before I finally left. I packed my bags while Alex was at work and was gone by the time he got home."

"He called me that night when he got home and demanded to know where I was. He told me he'd never stop looking for me, that I was his and he'd never let me go. I applied for a restraining order the next day and hired a solicitor to start divorce proceedings."

"Me and Justin moved in together a few months later but I used to go back and volunteer at the women's refuge a couple of times a week; that's where I met Nicola and started training to become a liaison officer."

Cheryl is quiet for a few minutes, just taking everything in and then she reaches out to hug me, wrapping her arms tight around my body, "I had no idea you went through all of that. Why didn't you tell me?"