Chapter Two.

Chapter Two.

I could feel myself being shaken lightly but that didn't stop my head from lolling from side to side where it rested on my upper arm. I was slowly being taken away from my unconsciousness, my temporary safe haven where I knew that he wouldn't be able to get me, where I was safe as long as I kept my eyes closed. It was odd but I was never attacked when I was at my weakest, when I couldn't fight back.

"Esme," the voice was quiet as if they were calling my name from far away.

My entire body was shaking and not from the hand on my shoulder. I was still in the wet clothes that I had run home in; the damp fabric clung to my frame. My clothes were cold; instead of a cocoon of warmth around my body I was surrounded by nothing but cold. I was sure that my teeth were chattering despite my half unconscious state and I wondered if my chapped lips were blue.

I wanted to stay in the darkness. I wanted to stay oblivious to the hell that surrounded me but I knew that was impossible. I was always going to have to wake up at some point but the hand on my shoulder shaking me harder seemed determined to bring me around before I was ready.

I had yet to mentally prepare myself for opening my eyes. I didn't know what was going to happen when I opened my eyes. I hoped that my mum was safe all I could see was the look on her face as my father continued to strangle me. I had never seen my mum's face so horrified, so scared and fearful. I knew that she worried about me all the time; that she was terrified of what I would do to set him off next, not that it took much. She would often try to stop him but sometimes she just couldn't. My mum was my protector; my guardian angel, she would protect me whenever she could.

"Esme, come on sweetie," another not so gentle shake to my shoulder as I felt my eyes begin to twitch, "wake up."

I knew that voice from anywhere. The soft, gentle wind chime of my mother was slowly calling to me. I was being taken away from the darkness and slowly pulled back in to reality. The reality that I was laying on my bedroom floor with bruises covering my body and no doubt my throat. A hand print that would fit my father's palm. I never wanted to wake up but I knew I had to if I wanted to protect my mum just as she protected me.

"Mum," my voice was an audible crack. My throat felt as if there was constant pressure on it whenever I spoke. It was nothing more than a faint whimper that had escaped.

"Oh Mae," my mum choked as if she was swallowing down a sob that had desperately wanted to escape. In any other situation I would have smiled at the use of the nickname that she had given me when I was little.

I hated the idea of my mum crying, especially if I was the reason for the salty teardrops that would roll down her pale pink cheeks. I slowly forced my eyes open. I was still in my room; the only light was coming from my bedside table casting an orange glow throughout my entire room. What caught my attention were the suitcases piled onto each other on my bed. I didn't know if my mum had packed my belongings while I was unconscious or if they had been there when I walked in.

It was then that I decided to really look around my room. My eyes widened as I took in the bare surface of my dresser that normally held my beauty products. My wardrobe doors were wide open revealing an empty closet and floor where I usually hung my clothes and kept my shoes. Just like I had expected my drawers were all open and empty. My bedroom wasn't heavily decorated only having the things that he thought I would need which included a dresser, a set of drawers, a wardrobe and a single bed that was pushed into the corner. I had never seen my already empty room emptier.

"What's going on?" I asked in confusion, my voice still weak and hoarse. I knew that it would take a while for my voice to work again, to resume its normal pitch. It would also take a while before I could talk without it feeling as if my throat was being scraped by sandpaper every time I opened my mouth.

My mum's face came into view as she wrapped her slender arms around my shoulders and slowly lifted me off the floor so I was sitting with her arms tightly around me as she pulled me into an embrace. I wrapped my arms around her as I pulled her tightly to my exhausted body. The comfort that my mum's arms provided was one of the few times that I truly felt safe. I thought, maybe naively, that If we were together, if we had each other then we were safe, and he couldn't harm us.

A light appeared outside that seemed to grab my mum's attention as she lifted her head from where it had been resting on my shoulder and looked up and out my window. The light slowly switched off only to quickly turn back on again, and then off and then on. It seemed to repeat the pattern for a few more times before the lights were cut off completely.

"We have to go." She said as she stood from where she had been sitting at my side. She took my hands in hers as she gently pulled me to my feet.

As the light from my bedside light illuminated my mum's face a gasp escaped my lips as I took in the bruises covering her face and neck. I knew that there would be more littering her body but she hid them well just as I did. I stared at her fat lip that was cut and swollen and a bruise on her right cheek just under her eye. Another bruise rested on her jaw to the left. I had seen my mum bruised before but this for some reason got to me more and I knew that it was because he had punished her for saving my life.

I wanted to ask if she was okay, if she was hurt, but I knew she would just plaster on a smile and tell me everything was fine. It had always worked when I was little as I had believed her but as I got older I knew that she was lying.

"Where are we going?" I asked as my mum gently handed me an outfit. I was then reminded of my still damp clothes and a shudder crawled its way up my spin as I took them from her with a grateful smile. An ache in my cheek informed me of a bruise that had no doubt developed from his slap, in the couple of hours that I had been out.

My mum turned to face me from where she had been gathering my suitcases on my bed. A look of hope flittered across her face, "We're leaving."

That one sentence, those two words seemed to alight something within me and I instantly recognised it as hope, a foreign feeling that I had never experience before. I could see the same expression that had been on my mum's face slowly dance across my own. I quickly stripped of my clothing, not caring that my mum was in the room as I slide on the skinny jeans, a long sleeve t-shirt and a large oversized jumper. I could already feel the wool warming my cold body before I had even pulled them hem down.

"He's out right now with his business partners from earlier. I'm pretty sure they're getting drunk; we have to hurry in case he does come back," My mum said. I didn't miss the way that she said 'he' and the bitterness that seeped into her voice as if it literally left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"How are we going to escape?" I asked.

The only car my family owned was the black expensive one that belonged to him, he rarely allowed my mum to use it and I didn't l know how to drive. If he was out entertaining his friends then he would have no doubt taken the car to show off.

"It's all planned don't worry." My mum soothed me.

"What about our stuff? We don't have any money." I told her in a panic.

"Everything is packed and ready to go and I opened my own bank account a few years ago without him knowing and whenever I could I stashed away money. We have plenty of money Esme, there's a load. Don't worry." She reassured me.

I nodded my head. My mum was the only person I trusted, and it was obvious that she had prepared for this. I knew that my mum would never mess up an opportunity to escape him. I only hoped that we would be able to escape without him coming back in the middle of it. I didn't know if he would come after us but I knew that we would most likely be far away by that time. I didn't know where we were going but I knew that my mum would take us someplace safe.

"Let's go." My mum said.

I threw my wet clothes across my room, a ghost of a smile on my face as I did so. I helped my mum with one of my suitcases as we exited my room not bothering to turn off the light as we left. The hallway was dark and we walked quickly down the stairs and towards the front door where I could see that my mum belongings were all packed up and in three suitcases.

I couldn't believe that this was actually happening. I was finally escaping; escaping the life that I had always known and hated. My mum and I would finally be free from him and be able to relax and do what we wanted when we wanted. A list began to form in my head as I thought about all the things that I wanted to do that I wasn't allowed to do before or hadn't be able to.

"Wait here." My mum told me as she placed her hands on both my shoulder for emphasis.

I nodded my head quickly. I was nervous. A number of 'what if's' went through my head as I stood in the door way while my mum ran out of the front door with a suitcase wheeling behind her in each hand. I could see a car parked up with its boot open. What if he came back while she was loading the suitcases? What if he came after us? What if we were too late?

My mum continued to run towards the car then back again and there again, each time taking a suit case in both hands before she would stop and load them into the car. I had no idea who was in the car; I didn't recognise the number plate or the car itself, everything about it unrecognisable.

I could feel my heart beating rapidly against my chest, it was almost painful against my sensitive ribs, but I ignored the pain as I watched my mum run back towards me. There were no suitcases left which meant she was coming back to get me. My hands shook at my side and my knees seemed to turn to jelly as I started walking so that I was meeting my mum half way.

As I stepped out into the cold night air, I couldn't help but breathe in deeply. The wind blew around me as the door slammed shut behind me. I knew that this could possibly be the last time that I saw the white house behind me and I didn't feel sad. There were so many memories in that house and most, if not all of those memories were bad. It had all been a nightmare.

"Are you ready?" My mum asked softly as she stood in front of me. She had a small smile on her face; her blue eyes alight with hope and something close to happiness. I could see my own eyes mirroring hers as I reached out and held her hand in mine.

"Who's in the car?" I asked. I allowed her to slowly pull me across the gravelled driveway and towards the car that now had the front passenger door open and another in the back for us to climb into.

"You'll see." She said with another smile.

As we reached the car I couldn't help but look around. It all seemed quiet, everything had gone perfectly. He hadn't come back and we were about to get into the car. I spared a look at the house over my shoulder before I climbed in. I was instantly surrounded by the warm air of the car's inside heating as the door was shut behind me and my mum walked to the other open door.

I nervously looked up at the person who sat beside me. I felt my eyes widen as tears began to blur my vision and I merely blinked them away, allowing them to fall on my cheeks.

I stared at her grey hair that was up in an elegant, yet loose bun. Her green eyes which were almost identical to my own filled with tears as she reached out to me. I happily launched myself into her embrace. She looked the same as she always did, as if the years that had gone by hadn't affected her in anyway. I heard the car door shut and the engine come to life as we began to drive away from my own personal hell.

"It's okay Mae, you're safe now." She cooed softly in my ear as I continued to cry into her shoulder.

I had missed the warm embrace of my grandma. I hadn't seen her in five years. We used to live in the same village as them; we were only streets away from each other and within walking distance. I had been twelve when he decided that he didn't like the relationship that I and my mum had formed with his parents. At the time I had been confused as to why we were suddenly moving especially when I hadn't gotten to say good bye to my grandparents.

I found out a few years later that he had cut all connections with his parents when he moved us away. They didn't know where we were and so they had no way of contacting us. He had cut all ties and communication with them and moved us miles and miles away. I had never thought that I would see them again but as I rested in my grandma's arms whilst my granddad drove it started to sink in fully.

"Go to sleep." My grandma whispered softly as she kissed the top of my head.

I nodded my head as I twisted my position to get more comfortable all the while remaining in her arms.

I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing. I knew that for now, we were safe but that didn't mean in the future he wouldn't come for us. I waited for the darkness to take me once again but this time I was willingly surrounding myself, but it never came. I waited patiently but it didn't seem to take me as I sighed slowly. The car was silent. No one uttered a word as my granddad continue to drive at a faster than normal speed.

"Kerry," my granddad began as he broke the silence.

"Yes?" My mum's reply was quiet and I knew that she had been deep in thought before she had been interrupted.

"We're so sorry." My grandma apologised for them both.

I knew that they had only decided to bring this conversation up because they thought I was asleep. It was wrong but I wanted to hear what they said as I continue to pretend to be asleep. My breathing was even and my heartbeat was steady. I wanted to open my eyes, I wanted to see their faces and read there facial expressions but I kept them closed.

"It's okay," my mum replied, I could hear her reassuring tone and I knew that she had a small smile on her face as she had spoken to me many times in the same tone.

"It's not okay," my granddad sounded a little angry, "that bastard hurt you Kerry and he hurt you and our granddaughter. I can see the bruises around her neck; I can see the bruises on your face. It is not okay."

I wasn't surprised that my granddad had openly insulted his son. He was a bastard, a cold hearted bastard that I hoped I never saw again. I knew that my grandparents wanted to hate their son, but they couldn't. Instead my grandparents ignored his entire being; I had learned this after my mum explained what had happened after we moved away.

I heard a small sigh from my mum's direction before she spoke, "I know but its okay now, you're here with me, with us and we are finally free. Everything is okay for once."

"We should never have let you leave." My grandma stated in a teary voice. I wanted to open my eyes and comfort her but I knew that the conversation was far from over. I bit my tongue to stop myself from intervening.

"There was nothing you could do," my mum reassured her, "I'm just glad that you called when you did."

I could hear my mum's tough façade about to break as I clenched my hands into fists. It wasn't long before my mum's quiet sobs filled the car, I could hear her heavy breathing. It went against everything within me to not reach and comfort her but I knew that I had to listen.

"We're always going to be here Kerry," my grandma tried to soothe as she shifted both me and her until she was in a more comfortable position.

"It was horrible," she choked, "he just flipped and the next thing I know he has his hands around her neck. I felt useless, and I was terrified as I watched her struggle against his hold and the worst part was she was begging me not to intervene. She was protecting me when I should have been protecting her."

"Esme is a very brave girl." My grandma stroked my hair affectionately as she pulled me closer to her.

"It wasn't your fault Kerry; there was nothing you could have done. Esme knew what would happen if you got involved and she didn't want that for you." My granddad tried to reassure my sobbing mum, "You have protected each other over the years, you've protected her and she protected you but now you are free and I promise that we will do everything that we can to stop him from getting to either of you again."

"He's going to come after us, isn't he?" My mum asked. I knew she already knew that answer just as I already knew the answer.

We would never truly be free. We would have to constantly look over our shoulders to make sure he wasn't there; we would have to watch what we said always in case one of his many 'friends' was around. I knew that we would have to run away for a while before we could even think about settling down permanently. We would have to do everything privately and secretly, everything would be on the 'down low' so that it wouldn't attract any unwanted attention. It was going to be tough but I knew that if I had my mum with me that maybe, just maybe, everything would be fine even if he did come after us.

"Yes, I'm afraid so."