Escape To Him

Panic

Sitting with her back braced against the bathroom door, Charlotte tried to make sense of what had just happened, but a million panicked thoughts were crashing through her mind all at once. She attempted instead to focus on her breathing; but try as she might, the rapid rise and fall of her chest seemed uncontrollable. She was vaguely aware of a voice shouting on the other side of the door but was unable to make any sense of it, her attention stolen by the doorknobs constant rattle. There was another large thump on the door and her shoulders briefly disconnected from the rough wood. She quickly resumed her position, back flat against the door, palms stretched wide, planted on the cool bathroom tiles. Until finally it seemed as though he had given up. She listened carefully to his footsteps dropping down the stairs and the sound of the front door slamming. Charlotte suddenly burst into tears, bringing her legs into chest and resting her forehead on her knees.

She wasn't sure how long she'd stayed there beside the door, she had lost all track of time, at some point she must have lowered herself as she was now lying on her side on the hard, unforgiving floor. It was the pain that finally allowed her to regain her senses. Charlotte slowly sat up trying not to agitate the pain in her side. Strands of her long brown hair fell in front of her face and she tucked them behind her ear. Her attention turned to the slender cabinet in the corner of the room. Rising slowly to her feet she let out a sudden gasp of pain and clutched her side. Biting down on her lip she continued making my way over to the cabinet. Charlotte grabbed some pain killers out of the cabinet and swallowed them quickly. Then, gritting her teeth, she pulled the cabinet away from the wall, the pain in her side protesting, she let out a small groan but managed to position the cabinet in front of the bathroom door. She pivoting herself self to sit on the edge of the bath her arm wrapped across her side.

After gradually recovering her breath, Charlotte made her way across to the sink. She turned on the tap and quickly splashed her face with the cool water, and then looked up into the mirror. On seeing her reflection she quickly cast her gaze aside, seeing herself seemed to confirm what had happened more than the pain she felt. She counted to ten internally before slowly turning back to face herself. Her usually defined lips were swollen and unrecognisable, the lower lip bleeding as though it had burst open. Her sharp cheekbones now appeared lopsided as the right side of her face was inflamed and bruise could be seen waiting to surface. The water had made the blood on her face run thin and bright red, it was hard to tell where it was coming from. She dipped back to the sink giving her face a more thorough clean. Her nose had stopped bleeding by now but she found the gash hidden in her hairline that blood was still flowing. She grabbed some toilet paper and pressed in on to the wound waiting for it to clot. Charlotte thought to her self that hair was a total mess but was pleased at least to not to see clumps missing. She suddenly giggled hysterically at the thought as it seemed such an insignificant thing to worry about, sending a wave of pain crashing through her side, she bent over, bracing her self against the sink for a moment. She lifted her top over her head to inspect the damage. There was a massive dark plum bruise forming across the side of her ribs and she was pretty sure her ribs were broken. A memory shot into Charlotte's mind; she was lying on the floor trying to use protect her head with her arms, as Michael kicked her torso viciously; she pushed it out of her thoughts, she had more important things to worry about.

"Get yourself together" Charlotte spoke aloud to herself. But she couldn't decide what was best to do. If she left the bathroom, what if he returned and caught her? She momentarily became paralysed again by the fear until she realised all she knew for certain was that he would return at some point, and that she could either stand here waiting for him or try and get out now, the sooner the better. She hastily pulled the cabinet out of the way. She had no plan for where to go or whether to tell anyone what had happened, all she wanted to do was get out of the house. She made a quick diversion to the bedroom, grabbing her coat and phone then ran straight down to the door. The car keys were gone, he must have taken them. Slowing in pace she walked over to the window and peered around the curtain. The sun was low in the sky and had cast long shadows across the street making her mind whirl with images of Michael appearing and grabbing her from the dark, but she ignored them knowing this was her only and opened the front door. She took another a brief pause on the doorstep to survey her surroundings, then ran as fast as she could out on to the street.