The DILF (Sebastian Vettel)

14. Savannah's Story

"You don't have to tell me if you're not ready," Seb told Savannah. She was shaking in his arms and he was afraid of what reliving her ordeal would do to her.

"I think I need to Seb. I've bottled it up for so long..."

"Just take your time sweetheart."

Savannah knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she could trust him. She may have only known him for three months but she just knew. She had never told anyone the whole story about Christian, not even Daisy. Daisy thought he was just a cheating, useless excuse of a man, the truth was much darker.

She'd been telling the truth when she'd said it hadn't happened often. Seb had also spoken the truth when he'd said that once was one time too many.   Each time was imprinted on her, leaving mental scars to join her physical scars.

"As I said the first time he hit me was when Casey was a week old.  He'd got back late from a performance of the show he was in at the time. He'd been drinking and he wanted sex.  I told him no.  I'd had a c-section and I was in a lot of pain.   I mean I wouldn't have been able to have sex anyway even if it had been a normal birth,  but yeah he wanted sex.  He kept on and on.   When I still refused, the insults started.  He may not have ever laid a finger on me before but the emotional abuse had been going on for years.  He always told me that I should be grateful that he took pity on me, that no one else would ever fancy me.  That I was ugly and repulsive.  His insults had escalated after Max was born.  I'd had a C-section then too and he hated my scar, told me it made me even uglier. And after Caseys's birth, well the insults became a daily occurrence."

"Bastard," Seb fumed, holding her tighter and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. His poor, sweet angel.

"He ground me down over the years.  I became a shadow of my former self.  I mean I'd always been withdrawn and shy, I told you that.   I also told you that Daisy brought me out of my shell.  Well,  all the good she did...he undid.   Anyway, back to that night...he carried on insulting me, saying I was no good to him if he couldn't get laid when he wanted to. I told him that he needed to have more respect for me, that I'd just had his baby.  The next thing I knew he punched me in the face, not once, not twice, but three times.   It wasn't as hard as this time, but it changed things forever.  It happened three times over the following three years.  Once because I'd burnt his dinner, once because he'd lost his job, and then the day he left me.   Max saw it all that last. He heard the vile insults Christian hurled at me, that I was shit in bed, that his new girlfriend was so much better then me, that no one would ever want me.... he was five years old. He never spoke of it after that night. I tried to speak to him a few times but he always changed the subject, and he didn't seem affected by it.  I didn't know if he still remembered it....he does though doesn't he?"

"Yeah, he said what happened the other day was like before."

"My poor baby. He should never have had to go through that."

"That's on his...." Seb couldn't bring himself to say the word father, Christian was an animal, not a father. "That's on Christian, not you."

"I should have left the first time he hit me but he'd got into my head. He'd made me believe that no one would ever want me, that I couldn't cope on my own."

"He's scum!" Seb spat.  

"I was actually relieved when he told me it was over, that he'd found someone else.   I was sad for the kids as I stupidly believed that they needed both parents.   But for myself I was relieved.   He threw more of the usual insults at me after telling me. That his girlfriend was more of a woman than I'd ever be, that no one would want me.   Casey was in bed asleep.   I thought Max was too or I'd have never tried answering him back.  I told him that he wasn't a real man, that a real man wouldn't treat a woman like he'd treated me.   I don't know if I believed that or not at the time, my self esteem was rock bottom, but I wanted to hurt his ego.  It was a mistake.  He hit me. I fell to the floor and he kicked the shit out of me."