Retribution

Chapter 45 - The Beginning of the End

After my chat with Dr Strawson, I sat down on the sofa, stroking my fingers through Ellie's soft fur. In less than a year I'd turned my entire life around, and done things I thought I'd never even contemplate. Looking down and seeing Ellie's big honey-brown eyes staring back up at me, I knew I was right where I wanted, and needed, to be in life.

"I've ran too much already," I said, tickling her chin. "What do you say?"

She licked her lips and whined in response.

Finding myself torn between my gut feeling and refusing to give in to Adam by letting him scare me again, I didn't know what to do for the best. Remembering my mum's wise words about needing to stand up to him and make him stop, I made my decision—running wasn't an option anymore. Only I could stop this and that's exactly what I was going to do.

***

As much as I tried to ignore the niggling need to flee, I couldn't. I hadn't mentioned anything further to Jake. This was my own internal battle to fight—I knew we were all safe, I was just reading into his words too much. The final decider was needing to keep a stable environment for Harvey. He'd had his fair share of upset and confusion in all of this and taking him out of school wasn't something I was prepared to do based off a gut instinct. The odd feeling was just a matter of adjustment—the fact that I'd finally shown Adam he wasn't boss, and he didn't control me, was a strange notion to me.

Like any other school night, I cooked tea whilst Jake and Harvey entertained each other with board games. I was back at work in the morning, having had today off because of the magazine release. Wondering what questions I was going to have fired at me by my colleagues, I found myself smiling stupidly.

A peculiar swell ballooned inside my heart, filling with happiness, joy, and peace. For the first time since I could remember, the raw emotion of pure delight overwhelmed me. This was my life now, and I'd trade it for nothing.

All night, Ellie remained unsettled. She wouldn't sit, lay, or sleep. Every few minutes she'd pace around the room, up and down the hallway, all the time whining and whimpering.

"What on earth has gotten into her?" Jake asked, after an hour or so.

"I think she picked up on my nerves after Adam's call this morning."

"But you're ok now, aren't you?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Of course."

He frowned and pursed his lips but said nothing further. Marco had a night off tonight and we'd forced him to go out, have a few beers, and enjoy himself. He'd taken Jake's car, insisting he wasn't going to drink, but we'd reminded him if he changed his mind, one of us would happily give him a lift home.

Heading up to bed at ten p.m., Jake double checked with Marco if he needed a lift or not, which of course, he didn't. I knew he wouldn't drink but at least he'd had the option. Finally settling into bed after a long, tiring day, my head barely touched the pillow before my eyes closed.

***

A high-pitched yelp startled me from my sleep. Glancing around me, darkness and moonlight were still prevalent outside, telling me it must be late. Ellie's continuous whines echoed around the house. She paced up and down outside our bedroom doors, whimpering, and then headed downstairs pacing and whining. I called her softly, wanting to reassure her everything was fine, but all she did was nudge my hand before repeating her behaviour again. I hopped out of bed and peeked out of the window to see Marco still hadn't returned.

Dirty little stop-out, I thought, grinning.

Looking at my phone, I was surprised to see the time was barely one a.m. I felt like I'd slept for ten hours. I checked on Harvey, smiling when I saw him huddled up in his duvet, cuddling the huge monkey teddy Jake had won for him at a fairground 'shoot the target' game. He hadn't said much over losing his yellow Pokémon toy, but I knew it upset him. Adam had bought him the teddy for his last birthday and he'd not let it leave his side since.

My stomach grumbled, making me debate a midnight snack. I'd put on a stone and a half since meeting Jake, and whilst outgrowing all of my clothes had been an initially frightening concept, I now embraced it and my feminine curves. I finally had breasts that I could actually call breasts, my waist had a clear definition from my filled-out hips, and my bum was round and pert. But most of all, I felt fantastic. My energy levels were much higher, I didn't get nowhere near as tired as I used to, and any bumps, scratches, or bruises I encountered in daily life healed within days instead of weeks.

I debated between pancakes or French toast for my late-night guilty pleasure. With French toast winning, I headed to the kitchen, and started whisking the gooey mixture of eggs and milk. Ellie finally quietened to a degree where she sat at my feet, whining every few minutes. She'd not touched her tea which slightly concerned me, especially as it was her favourite dish of chicken, rice, and gravy.

Three rounds of French toast later, smeared with strawberry jam, I was finally content. Quickly washing up my mess, I made my way back to bed. My eyes had been closed for all of thirty seconds before Ellie ramped things up a gear. She scratched at the front door, barking and growling. I sighed and jumped out of bed.

"Ellie!" I yelled, my patience wearing thin. "Stop it now."

She glanced at me quickly, before continuing to scrape her nails against my floor and door. Standing at the top of the stairs staring at her, I was at a loss with what to do. Jake's soft snores were still coming from the bedroom and I refused to wake him for something so trivial.

Giving in to the idea of sleeping on the sofa to keep Ellie quiet, I trudged back downstairs, grumbling under my breath. I walked to her, intending to pull her away from the door. But the fact I stepped in a puddle stopped me in my tracks. I groaned, thinking she'd gone to the toilet. She'd not messed in the house at all; not even in her first few weeks here.

As I took a step forwards, a pungent odour hit me square in the face. It wasn't urine at all. It was petrol.