Stay With Me Forever

Chapter 6

The rest of the week went by peacefully. There was no disturbance from Sasha, so Mr Carlton's mood went back to its normal self, which means the rest of us could stop tiptoeing around the office.

And my life was peaceful too. My car didn't break down, my house had no leaks or clogs that needed fixing and Liam... well, he had become very busy. He was on the school basketball team, and their tournaments were starting next week, so he was always at practice.

In short, life was good, I thought as I sat on my bed scrolling through Instagram. It was Saturday night, and I was waiting for Liam to come home from the Evans' house. He was in their backyard throwing hoops with Jeremy Evans, his best friend and teammate. These days, playing basketball was all that they did.

Shortly after eight, I heard the door opening downstairs, and Liam's voice was calling my name. I smiled to myself as I got off the bed to go greet my son, but a ting sound came from my phone, signaling that I had received a message. Curious, I sat back down on my bed to check it. But as soon as I saw the message I threw my phone like it had burnt me.

I sat there in a state of total panick. My fear was such that I had instantly begun to shake.

I heard Liam coming up the stairs. He can't see me in this state. I didn't want him worrying. I tried calming down by taking deep breaths. I knew I was probably as white as a sheet, but my breathing had become considerably better by the time he knocked on my door.

"Mom, you in there?"

I closed my eyes, rubbing my face. I was just about to answer when he knocked on the door again, opening it slowly and peeking in.

I pasted a smile on my face just as he saw me.

"Mom, I've been calling you. Why didn't you answer?"

"Sorry honey, " I croaked. Clearing my throat, I continued. " I didn't hear you."

"What? Mom, you feeling ok? I was even knocking on this door!"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, honey. Why were you looking for me." I asked him, trying to change the subject before he grew too suspicious.

"I wanted to tell you I just got back. I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie with me?"

"Yeah, why not." I told him. No matter what my troubles were, my time with Liam was too precious and too few to miss out on. "Get the popcorn ready. I'm just coming down."

"Ok," he said in his usual carefree manner before closing the door and bounding down the stairs towards the kitchen.

I turned towards my phone, picking it up again with shaky hands. My breath hitched as I read the message on my phone.

David: Time to come home. Your little holiday time is over.

............

It's Monday again, which was a relief because I have been tense and jumpy all weekend. I didn't respond to the message because, I mean, what the hell kind of message is that even! But that's what I can expect from him.

David is my ex-husband. We got divorced after fifteen long and torturous years of marriage. He used to hit me. Punching and kicking me on the stomach or legs and there were threats to do much worse. I used to believe him, but now I realize he was restrained to the limit of what he could hide from people.

So he liked to scare me by throwing liquor bottles near me or lifting his arms like as if to slap me. He wanted me to know what he is capable of if I ever dare to defy him.

But his strongest weapon was Liam. He wanted the perfect son, he said, and he had zero tolerance towards any child like behavior. He should always be quiet and wasn't allowed to cry or play with other kids. There were non-stop lessons since he could barely talk. Piano, tennis, karate, swimming...