The Soulmate by Iain Maitland

Author:Iain Maitland [Maitland, Iain]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

14

SATURDAY, 5 NOVEMBER, INTO THE NIGHT

I am now alone in this extension, with the husband still ranting and raving in the house. The son will surely hear him. When he does, the two of them will egg each other on. I am no longer welcome here. More than that, I am not safe.

I am in real and imminent danger. I know that. I have shut and locked the door of the extension. But there are no bolts on the inside. The husband will have a key somewhere in the house. He can let himself in whenever he wants.

It’s only a matter of time before he comes here, telling me to leave, perhaps to physically throw me out. Or worse. I have been on the receiving end of men’s fury before.

I text Pippa urgently, ‘Where are you?’ and, ‘Are you okay?’ and, ‘What’s happening?’

What I really want to put is: ‘You’ve left me behind. Help! Come back and save me.’

I stare at the screen, willing Pippa to respond, telling me to hurry to the front of the house, that she’ll return in her car for me, and we’ll go away somewhere together.

I stand at the window of the extension, looking towards the house, holding my breath. All the lights are blazing away upstairs. I imagine the husband storming about in a fury. He’ll be gathering up every one of Pippa’s belongings and throwing them out of the house. It’s the way of men.

Men are such vile creatures. Pippa is the innocent party. He is the guilty one. He should be the one who leaves. Yet he has obviously refused. Pippa is so upset, so beside herself, that she is not thinking clearly, and she has gone. What happens next is anyone’s guess. I think the man is in such a rage that he will strip the house of everything of hers.

As his anger reaches a crescendo, he will storm towards the extension, blaming me for all that has gone wrong. At best, he will stand there shaking, yelling at me to go now. More likely, he will put his hands on me, on my shoulders, turning me around and marching me away. Perhaps I will suffer a beating or worse.

I stare at my phone, my hand shaking. There is no reply. Pippa is not coming to my rescue. She will not save me.

I have to go, just get out now, before the husband comes for me. Takes his anger out with his fists.

I am in despair. I have nowhere to go but back to the horrors of my old flat.

I hear noises from the garden. I turn around, looking across the room, deciding what to take with me. I panic, just grabbing for the old coat Pippa gave to me. Some warmth across my shoulders.

I move to the window, seeing what’s happening outside. It is the man. He has wrenched open an upstairs bedroom window, which now hangs at an angle, broken in his rage. He is throwing Pippa’s clothes out. The fool has lost his mind.

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