Taming Sophie

C H A P T E R 9

The train pulled up and Sophie could see people running to join it. The tannoid announced the arrival of the train and Sophie felt ease in the knowledge that this was her chance to escape the mess which had followed her from London. She glanced at Andy. He had his head down, she hoped it was shame, she hoped that it hurt, she hoped that his wife would find out, maybe she would know that her husband had raped someone, maybe he would tell her in his nightmare's. Maybe Sophie would return with the police one day, yes, she could do that, but not today. She had to get home. Sophie got up and walked towards the carriage of the train. Andy walked beside her.

'I'm sorry, about earlier.'

Sophie slapped his face, she knew it was safe enough to do that, she was surrounded by people, he couldn't hurt her now, not anymore.

'One day soon, your door will knock and when you answer it, I'll be there again, like a bad dream. You haven't got away with it, go home and enjoy what time you have left with your wife and daughter, because you have just ignited the fire which will feed the blaze.'

Sophie left him standing on the platform, he looked like the weak one now. What good was his physical strength now? He knew she meant it, he knew he would see her again. She stepped onto the train and sat by the window. She stared at the bewildered figure still standing on the platform. Now she was free, at last she was going home to the poverty and boredom of Glasgow, and she couldn't wait. The train pulled away from the station and Sophie put her head down on the table, and cried. For the first time she felt as though she had aged considerably, the youth which she had left behind in Glasgow, unmissed and innocent was desperately calling her. She hadn't realised how much she had aged, she didn't feel young and silly anymore, she didn't feel like a young blossom, she felt faceless and scared. If this was the adult way of life, then she had seen enough of it, never again would she ever let another man into her life, she would never fall in love again, she would never trust another man, ever.

The train slowed and some of the commuters grew restless, some fastening their jackets and collecting their possessions as the station approached. Sophie gazed at the landscape outside her window and began to imagine the commuters, heading home to a normal life with perhaps a loving husband waiting outside the station in his car, waiting to collect the woman he married and adored. Sophie would have no one waiting. She picked up a magazine from an empty seat and began to read. The train seemed to be at a stop for too long and Sophie looked out to see an almost empty station. Her eyes suddenly caught sight of the two police men talking to one of the station staff. She sat back in her chair and tried desperately to relax. What if they were coming for her, what could she do?, she couldn't afford to just jump off the train, she was almost home. She couldn't just leave, she had to assume that the chat between the police and the rail staff was just a friendly one. Her mind was juggling with reason, but she still grew restless. Sophie decided to leave. She picked up her bag, made her way to the end of the carriages and left the train. The cafe on the platform was quiet and the smell of freshly baked bread summoned her to enter. Sophie picked a table in one of the corners and watched anxiously as the police boarded the train. She knew from that moment that she had made the right decision to leave the train. She could feel her heart beating against her rib cage, the beats echoed inside her head. She had to move, she couldn't stay to enjoy a nice meal, she couldn't take the risk, not now.