“Apology accepted,” she simply replied and went to open her car door.
“What are you doing? Don’t you want to say anything?”
“Not really. I accept your apology and I would like you to move on with your life and leave me alone,” she told him and really meant it, but was perplexed by the expression of irritation or confusion, whatever it was on his face. What else had he been expecting from this?
“Is that it? I come here and I apologise for my wrongdoing and that’s the best you have?” His voice was slightly raised, emphasising his anger.
“I don’t know what else you want me to say. I was a good girlfriend to you and you treated me badly, but it’s over and done with, so there is no point in going over it again.”
“There were faults on both sides,” he protested.
“I am sure there were, but I never cheated on you or tried to put you down. I never went out of my way to embarrass you or to ostracise you from your friends and I certainly didn’t get the person I was having an affair with pregnant.” She wanted to spit the words at him, let him see how angry and hurt she was, had been, but she didn’t. She spoke with an eerie calmness but smiled on the inside as she saw the look of shock and horror on his face. “What? Nothing to say any more?”
“I don’t know what to say. I didn’t realise you knew, but you drove me away and if I had been satisfied by you I would never have looked elsewhere, but we have both learnt from that and we can move forward now . . .”
“No, Simon, no moving forward. Not together anyway. I really am sorry, but it’s over. You have a child to think of and I am so over you.” Steph attempted to get out of her car again feeling that there really wasn’t anything left to say.
“No!” he shouted as he grabbed her arm tightly. “The kid may not be mine and if it is we can work together to get access or custody and we’ll be better this time. Or we could have a baby of our own, we could get married,” he said angrily as he squeezed her arm tighter still.
Steph’s eyes felt as though they were drying out they were so wide. If this was Simon’s idea of a reconciliation pitch or God forbid a proposal he was more deluded than she’d given him credit for and she’d been more than generous in her assessment of his delusions.
“Simon, please, you are hurting me,” she told him, unsuccessfully trying to free herself from his grip.
“Tell me we can try again!” His face moved towards hers menacingly while his raised voice became a bellow.
“No, we can’t. I don’t want to. I don’t love you. I’m not even sure that I even like you anymore,” she admitted as he let her go and stared at her wildly, spooking her as she realised she had no clue what he might do next.
“You’ve changed.” The accusation in his voice was laced with venom. She couldn’t dispute his words. She had changed and she was happy with that. “You really are a prize bitch, aren’t you?”
He raised a hand towards her giving a very clear indication of what he was likely to do next. She saw the movement of his hand and raised her own arms to block any blow that may be directed at her but was more shocked when he grabbed them and bound them together in his larger hand. Steph suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable and a little afraid. She tried to pull away, out of his grip making him smile as he realised that he literally had the upper hand.
“Please, Simon, you’re scaring me.” She hoped to tap into his conscience because although he had never been what you’d call a gentleman, he did have a conscience and wasn’t a bully, was he? Now was not the time to be questioning his attributes and her knowledge of the angry man before her.
When he laughed at her pleading, Steph wondered what had happened to the man she barely recognised because he wasn’t the Simon she first met, not really. With panic and fear coursing through her veins until all she could hear was the rushing of herown blood in her ears, she pulled away from him again, but this time managed to pull her herself free.
Due to the amount of force she was using, she ended up punching herself in the face making her cry out as her nose and eye took the full force of her movement. “Fuck!” she cried out as pain resonated in her brain and she realised she was bleeding from the back of her head where it had smashed into her window.
“Steph, I’m sorry . . .” Simon stretched out towards her.
“Leave me alone. Don’t you dare touch me ever again,” she screamed as she scrambled out of the car, almost falling onto the street with tears running down her face whilst the wetness she felt to the back of her head suggested the blood flow was increasing.
She had one hand holding her nose, cheek bone and eye while the other was becoming more and more saturated by the bleeding gash on the back of her head.
Suddenly, Charlie appeared. “Steph, what the bloody hell has happened?”
Simon looked across at them and began to protest, “It’s not like it looks. I didn’t do anything!”
“Of course not because it’s never your fault, is it? I should put you on your arse right now, but Steph is a bigger concern. Although, I don’t reckon Eddie and the others will be quite so understanding,” said Charlie with an arm around Steph’s shoulders now.
“Oh, screw you all!” shouted Simon as Lindsay appeared now.
“Bloody hell, what’s going on here?”
Simon was driving off in his own car and Charlie was leading Steph back towards the house.
He sat her in the kitchen and winced as he looked at the open wound to the back of her head. “Steph, that really is going toneed stitches or glue, which means a trip to A&E,” said Charlie as he dried her tears with a tissue that Lindsay had passed him.
“I am so sorry for spoiling your afternoon.” Fresh tears were about to fall.
