Chapter 29

“Right” continued the owner of the voice.  “I’m going to take my hand away now, but you are not going to scream, are you, Eliza?  Believe me, that would be very foolish!

She shook her head wordlessly, too terrified to move.  He pulled her round to face him.  Oh dear God, it was her ex, and, by the look on his face, it was obvious that he was capable of anything to get what he wanted.  She swallowed hard, and finally found her voice.

“What do you want from me?” she said, trying not to let him see how scared she was.  “Because if it’s what I think it is, there’s no chance, so you may as well let me go!

“I’m afraid it’s not quite that straightforward, Eliza” he replied, trailing his hand down her cheek.  “You see, you’ve already turned me down once – you don’t get to do it again.  Oh what a pity!  Sir Galahad is conspicuous by his absence, isn’t he?  No one to come to your rescue!  Oh well, you’ll just have to let me take you home, won’t you?”

“You can’t make me” she retorted, pushing his hand away. “You don’t own me!  I hate you, do you hear?  I don’t want you!  Deal with it!”

He watched as her hand reached slowly into her pocket for her mobile, and, as quick as a snake, he snatched it from her grasp and smashed it on the ground.  She looked at him, quite unable to speak.  Oh Jesus, what was she going to do now?

“That was a very, very stupid thing to do, Eliza!” he snarled, grabbing her face roughly with his hand.  “Now you have made me really angry!  Now, listen to me!  We are going to walk over to my car, and we are going to get in, and we are going to take a little ride.  You are not going to shout, scream or draw attention to yourself in any way whatever, otherwise things will get very nasty!”

“You bastard” she whispered, tears beginning to roll down her face.  “You are completely and utterly psycho!”

“All these compliments!” he snapped, grabbing her arm.  “Now, just be a good girl, and come with me.  If you do as you’re told, it won’t take long!”

Eliza did not want to go with him, she was terrified of him – but what choice did she have?  He had already warned her what would happen if she screamed for help, so she decided to play along with him, and hope that he would soon tire of her.   As they approached his car, her mind was working overtime, and an idea began to form in her head.  When he had first approached her, the car park was deserted, but now people were milling around, and she knew that he was smart enough to act as if there was nothing untoward happening - could she use that to her advantage?  Sure enough, he gave her what he hoped was a winning smile, and opened the passenger door for her, waiting for her to get in.  Right, she thought, now or never.  As he let go of the door, she pulled it towards her, then flung it open, almost knocking him off balance.  As he stood there, winded, she took her chance and began to run.  She did not get very far, because after just a few seconds, he was standing in front of her, blocking her escape.  The look in his eyes made her shudder.

"You'll have to to better than that, Eliza!" he growled, putting his arm around her shoulder, so as not to draw attention to them.  "I suggest you don't try anything like that again, otherwise I might have to do something I'll regret!  Now, get in the bloody car - and do as you're told for once!"

As they approached a quiet one way street, Eliza recognised it straight away – he lived in the block of flats at the end.  It was quite a rough part of town – in fact she had joked to Jon that to see a car with a wheel in each corner instead of bricks, was quite a novelty.  Right now, she did not feel like joking – in fact she was terrified.  He parked the car, and ordered her to get out.  She sat there unmoving, her arms folded, staring straight ahead of her.

"Come on, Eliza" he said, opening the door.   "Let's go inside!  What are you waiting for?"

"You can't make me get out!" she retorted, the look in her eyes reflecting the hatred she felt towards him.  "No matter what you do, I'll never give in to you!  Never!  Do you hear me - never!!"

"Maybe you didn't hear what I said?" he snapped, his voice taking on a nasty edge.  "Now, get out of the car - that is, if you want to go home to lover boy in one piece!"

With that, he reached inside the car, unclipped the seatbelt, and, roughly grabbing her by her shoulders, he hauled her out of her seat.  Slamming the car door, he frogmarched her to the entrance, and up the stairs.  Once inside, he gestured to her to sit on the sofa, while he sat on the chair opposite.

“What do you want?” she said, clenching her fists to stop her hands from shaking.  “What do you hope to achieve by all this?”

“I just want to talk to you, Eliza” he said, calmly.  “What’s wrong with that?  Just wanted to ask you a few questions”

“And what if I don’t want to talk to you?”

Suddenly, he leapt up from his chair, and lunged at her, gripping her arms so tightly that the pain almost took her breath away.  His eyes were blazing, and the manic expression on his face made her blood run cold.

“Tough shit!!” he said, his voice low and menacing.  “You don’t have a choice!  You always were a mouthy bitch, weren’t you, Eliza?  Now, for once, you are going to listen to me!”

“And how are you going to make me?” she retorted, sounding much braver than she felt.

“Any way I see fit!” he said, sitting down next to her.  “Now, Eliza – question one!  Why did you give me the flick?”

“Oh, I don’t know!” she retorted, her voice dripping with sarcasm.  “Maybe something to do with the fact that you would beat me black and blue, if I so much as glanced at another bloke!  What else?  Oh yes, what about all the times you’ve sweet talked me into giving you another chance, just so you can get your leg over, then beaten me up when I put too much milk in your coffee!  Shall I go on, or is that enough to be going on with?”

“You know something, Eliza?  That mouth of yours is going to get you into some serious shit, one of these days.”

“Oh, I’m terrified!” she said, pretending to shiver.

“Yes, you are, aren’t you?” he replied, glancing at her.  “I’m calling the shots now, so just shut up, and speak when you’re spoken to!”

“Do you really think this is going to help you get me back? Whatever you do, you’ll never get me back – never!!”

“Oh, I don’t want you back, Eliza!  I just want to get my revenge for what you did to me – make you really suffer!”

“I don’t think I could suffer any more at your hands, than I have already” she said, once again pushing him away.  “I know what you’re capable of!”

“No, you don’t, Eliza” he said, putting his face really close to hers.  “You have no idea what I’m really capable of!  Now, question two.  What has he got that I haven’t?”

“Well, he’s got a heart, for a start” she retorted, shrinking back from him.  “He’s generous, kind, loving and gentle – he would never hurt me!”

“Oh really?  Sounds too good to be true!  I’ve heard that he can give Pavarotti a run for his money, too.  Sounds like a real catch!   Bet he’s not short of a few quid, either!  Is that the attraction, Eliza?”

“Don’t judge everyone by your standards” she snapped, glaring at him.  “I love him for his generous heart, not the size of his wallet.”

“Oh, very profound!  You don’t expect me to believe that, do you?”

“Believe what you like, you arsehole!”

“Oh, you always were feisty, weren’t you?  That definitely hasn’t changed.  Now, my final question, Eliza.  Just for old time’s sake – would you like to sit on my face?”

“Why?  Is your nose bigger than your dick?” she snapped back, as quick as lightning.  “In your dreams!”

“You shouldn’t have said that, Eliza.  That’s not the answer I was hoping for! I’m very disappointed in you, Eliza.  Now, I was hoping this wouldn’t be necessary, but I’m going to have use a little gentle persuasion….”

“Go on then!” she yelled, pointing to her face.  “Go on!  Stick one on me!  That’s the only thing you’re man enough to do!”

“Oh no, Eliza – it’s not quite as straightforward as that!  A good slap?  No, that’s too quick!  I’ll show you what I had in mind…”

The colour drained from her face, as he opened a drawer and pulled out a large roll of masking tape.  He tore some off, and before she could utter another word, he stuck it firmly over her mouth, ordering her not to move.  Her eyes widened in terror, as he pinned her arms above her head.  With one swift movement, he ripped off her skirt and threw it to the floor, unzipped his jeans, and knelt on the sofa, one leg either side of her.  Even then, Eliza being Eliza, was not going to give up without a fight, and, with all the strength she possessed, she brought her knee up as hard as she could into his groin.  He curled up like a boiled shrimp, moaning in agony, and rolled off the sofa.  She took her chance, and bolted out of the door, ripping off the tape as she ran, but she had not counted upon his remarkably swift recovery.  She felt a hand grab her from behind, and jerk her back inside.  As he threw her on to the sofa, something suddenly snapped, and he launched a vicious, unrelenting assault, not even stopping when he was completely out of breath.  Upon hearing her screams, the neighbours in the upstairs flat came running down.  The door was still ajar, and they pushed it open, when the screaming suddenly stopped….

In the meantime, Jon sat there on the sofa, staring the cup of coffee he had made for Eliza, which had long since gone cold.  What on earth was keeping her?  It was not like her to be late, and on the odd occasion she did work late, she would always ring and tell him, so he did not worry. He had tried her mobile, but there was no reply, just a message telling him it was switched off.  He knew she had to switch it off while she was still in the hospital, but she always rang him when she left to let him know she was on her way home.  Still, there had to be some perfectly reasonable explanation for this – maybe she had not had time to get to a telephone.  Maybe she was caught in traffic, or maybe the car had broken down?  All these maybe’s – he hated uncertainty.  Ever since his breakdown, he hated not knowing what was happening – it made him anxious. He had even rung Donna, who had tried her best to reassure him, but he was still like a cat on hot bricks, and could not relax.

He began pacing up and down, wringing his hands, muttering under his breath – telling himself not to be so paranoid.  Any minute now, the door would open, and she would rush through it, apologising profusely for being late.  Then she would put her arms around him, lifting her face up to him for a kiss.  She wouldn’t let him down – she had said so.  He put the kettle on again, and poured yet another cup of coffee.  When another hour had passed, and Eliza had still not returned home, he could not sit there any longer.  He was going to have words with her boss – he could have at least let her ring home before asking her to work late, it was so bloody inconsiderate.  Nurses worked hard enough anyway, in his opinion, and deserved all the breaks they could get.  He felt that asking her to do overtime was a damn cheek in itself, and not letting her ring home was just taking the piss as far as he was concerned.  He picked up the address book by the telephone, and dialled Eliza’s works number.  He asked if she was there, and, if so, when could he expect her?

“You mean Eliza Harrington?” said a quiet voice.  “Are you a relative?”

“No, I’m her boyfriend.  What are you trying to say?  Is she still there?”

“Yes, she is – in intensive care.  If I were you, I’d get here as soon as you can.  I’m sorry, I…..    hello?…..”

They heard a strangled sob, and the same four letter word repeated over and over, until the line suddenly went dead…..