“Is everything alright, Mel?” She asked, concerned. She always knew when something was wrong.
“Yes, yes of course everything is fine, don’t worry about me, how’s work been?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Hectic, more hectic as usual, time of the year and everything,” She replied, but she still had the same concerned tone in her voice.
“It’ll be worth-”
“Are you sure you’re okay Mel? Do you want me to come over? Is it Terry? What has he done?” She interupted, demanding to know what was going on.
My mind drifted from the conversation as I heard creak from the living room. “Kerry, dinner is ready; I’ll talk to you soon.” I hung up before she could argue back.
Taking a deep breath and rolling up the sleeves of my pearly white Kashmir jumper, I opened the draw beside me. Rows and rows of sharp, shiny knives stood in lines like military soldiers. Light glistened off one of the knives making it shimmer like a delicate diamond. The blade was noticeably sharp and elongated. It caught my eye. My hand hesitated then carefully picked it up.
My satin slippers scraped along the tiled floor as I walked over to the work top. The knife glided through the vegetables smoothly. I heard the same creak from the living room. Turning my head slowly, I saw a gloomy stature moving towards the archway of the kitchen. Terry’s face illuminated as the light from the kitchen poured onto his pale face. My jaw tightened as I smiled slightly and then continued preparing dinner. Terry swept across the kitchen, making me tingle inside as his arms wrapped around my waist. The stubble of his beard rubbed past my cheek as he lightly kissed me.
“Who was that?” He whispered in my ear, tickling me.
“Kerry.” I said as relaxed as possible.
I heard him sigh heavily. Kerry and him didn’t get on. They never had.
“What did she want?” He asked in a sarcastic tone.
“She invited me out for lunch tomorrow.” I lied.
That was a big mistake. Terry was as accurate as distinguishing a lie as a lie detector. His dirty hands gripped my arms tightly and he held me out at arms length. He smiled angelically, showing his crooked teeth, stained yellow. The tone of his voice became more patronising as he asked the same question. I lied again. His angry eyes glared at me, one was twitching slightly. He asked the same question.
“Mel, don’t lie to me,” He said smiling. I didn’t reply. His grip tightened and I felt his grimy fingernails dig deeper into my tender skin.
“What were you two talking about?” He demanded, raising his voice slightly. Yet again, I didn’t answer and instead turned my glance to the doorway.
“Answer me!” He shouted, making me jerk. Abruptly, he pushed me against the work top. The jagged edge of the work top dug into my back. I dropped to the hard floor as a shockwave of pain fled up my body. I let out a cry of pain. I lay there, panting, sweating, and scared of what was going to happen next. The blood was trickling down my back and I could feel it sticking to my clothes. I froze for a moment, as I heard him circle around me a few times, muttering something under his breath. Opening my eyes to some extent, I saw him looking over my body, smiling to himself. Pushing myself sideways, I raised my brittle body off the floor.
Stepping towards me, he held out his arms with the same disturbing smile on his face. I could smell the raw blood collected in a deep red pool on the floor. My legs shook as I took a step backwards. His piercing blue eyes were blood shot and menacing. His right eye was twitching furiously. More than it had been before. Suddenly, his hefty leg swung forward and hit me in the stomach, knocking me off my feet. Food flew off in different directions as I fell on top of the work top. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs were struggling for air as I breathed in and out heavily.
“Come here Mel,” Terry said laughing. “You know you can’t win,”
It seemed like a few hours before the pain disappeared. I could still sense his presence in the room and I was bracing myself for his next attack. Still laying face down on the work top, I searched desperately for an escape. My eyes wondered around the room. That’s when it caught my eye. The way it had caught my eye when it was enclosed in the drawer. The light glistened off the blade the same way it had before. Slowly, my arm moved across the table. It was too far away to reach at arms length. Stretching, I grabbed hold of the blade and desperately pulled it towards me. Holding onto it tightly and forcing myself off the table, I turned to face him one more time.
The smirk on his face dropped. I strode towards him, my hands sweating, my heart beating so fast it could’ve popped out of my chest. My bloody arm rose up and swung back down, so fast I couldn’t even think what I was doing. He staggered backwards and then collapsed to the floor. His menacing eyes filled with pain, distress, sorrow. The scent of his flesh blood wafted up my nose. It smelt so sweet. I had won.
Shivering, I wrapped my arms tighter around myself. Thinking about him always made me feel poignant. I snapped out of my thoughts as the sofa started to vibrate. I dug deep down the sides of the chair and pulled out my mobile. The screen read, Terry calling. Stunned, the phone dropped out of my sweaty palms and smashed as it hit the floor, cascading in different directions. He was still out there.
