Amber turned and ran in the other direction. But she had no chance against a car. Kev pulled up, mounting the pavement to block her way. She turned again. Too late! Before she knew it, he was out of the car and grabbing her by the arm.
‘Get in the fuckin’ car!’ he yelled. ‘I’m sick of playing games with you.’
Amber tried to pull away from him and was about to yell for help when he hissed at her. ‘Carry on like that and you’ll fuckin’ regret it! Even if you get away, I’ll catch up with you eventually. And when I do, you’ll be fuckin’ sorry.’
He began dragging her towards the car but Amber still tried to resist, looking at a passer-by for help. But the man ignored her, not wanting to get involved. Feeling panicked, Amber ignored Kev’s warning and started yelling as well as struggling.
But he was too strong for her. It wasn’t long before he had bundled her into the car and slammed on the locks, letting out a stream of invective as he sped away. ‘You’re not leaving me, Amber. I won’t fuckin’ let you! And I’ll make you sorry you even tried.’
63
March 2016
Kev led her through his flat and into the lounge. But it no longer felt the same to Amber. Instead of having that comforting familiarity that it once had, his home was now a hostile environment. The lingering smell of that evening’s cooking seemed stale rather than appetising, and the modern interior felt stark and cold instead of impressive.
‘Sit down,’ he ordered, pushing her towards the couch and releasing the tight grip he’d had on her arm since they got out of the car.
He glared at her for a moment before he began pacing the room. Twice he paused, and opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped himself. Amber sat there rigid with fear and waiting to see how this would pan out. Then he spoke:
‘Why, Amber? Why did you just piss off like that without even a fuckin’ word? You knew how much you meant to me!’
‘Because I knew you wouldn’t like it if I told you.’
‘But why? Why did you want to break up anyway? We were getting on alright, weren’t we?’
She heard the sorrow in his voice and realised she was getting a rare glimpse of his sensitive side. But she had to stay strong without revealing the real reason for the break-up. ‘It wasn’t right for me, Kev. You were always the one in charge.’
‘Why didn’t you fuckin’ say so then?’
His anger had returned, and Amber decided to tread carefully so she just shrugged. But his next words took her by surprise.
‘You’re lying. I fuckin’ know you are! That’s a load of bollocks about me being the one in charge. You never seemed to mind that; you fuckin’ loved being here, hogging the TV and helping yourself to everything in the fuckin’ fridge. No, there’s another reason you split with me.’
‘There isn’t,’ she protested.
‘Don’t fuckin’ lie! What happened on that last night when I spoke to you, Amber? One minute, you’ve arranged to meet me after work, and the next, you just fuckin’ vanished into thin air. What happened that night? Or was it before that because you’d already been ignoring my fuckin’ calls and texts? Did someone say summat to put you off me?’
Amber felt an icy chill run down her spine; she was worried he knew the truth and was just playing with her.
‘No, no one said anything. I told you, it wasn’t right for me, Kev. You were always ordering me around.’
‘Was I fuck! We were getting along fine the last time I saw you. I know there’s something else so you’d better fuckin’ tell me because, if someone’s been bad-mouthing me, I swear I’ll…’
Amber quickly deflected. ‘No one’s said anything. I can make my own decisions you know. You don’t own me.’
‘I never fuckin’ said I did! But we were a couple, Amber. You don’t just fuck off on someone without telling them why. You must have known how much it would hurt me. But you still did it.’
‘Look, I’m sorry if I hurt you, Kev, I really am. But this isn’t going to change anything so you might as well just let me go.’
She stood up to leave but Kev pushed her down again. ‘You’re not fuckin’ going anywhere!’
By now Amber realised she wasn’t going to get away without putting up a fight. But she needed to prepare herself first. ‘Sit down then, Kev. Let’s talk this through.’
He sat on the sofa next to her and took her hand. ‘Let me take my shoes off,’ she said. ‘I need to get comfortable.’
Amber was glad to be rid of the shoes, which were cutting into her feet. She also knew that they were a hindrance.
Once she was settled, he looked at her and asked, ‘Why, Amber? You still haven’t explained properly.’
Amber shot up off the sofa and made for the door. But she’d only taken a couple of strides before she felt him grabbing her arms again. She tried to shake him off and kept running, feeling his fingernails cutting into her flesh. When he’d gained purchase, he pulled her close then spun her around to face him, his hands briefly slipping from her.
Her arms stung and the pain angered her. Taking advantage of his loss of grip, Amber barged into Kev then tried to sidestep him. It didn’t work. Kev grabbed hold of her arms once more while Amber fought to free herself. She managed to loosen one arm and smashed into him with her fist. The shock made him loosen his hold, and she pummelled his body, trying to break away.
Kev reacted angrily, thumping her, but she fought back. Amber was desperate by now, hitting him wildly and oblivious to the torture of his heavy blows. But Kev was becoming angrier too. When
