“I saw you with him last night at the bar, he looked very cozy pawing my wife” he sneers.
Something in me snaps and my voice takes on a shrill decibel “What the fuck? So you’re spying on me now? And I am not your wife, I stopped being yours when you knocked up your secretary!”
His jaw drops at that revelation, “Yeah I know all about it, you got her pregnant and then came running back to me like the slimy bastard you are!”
“Fucking Phil” he mumbles, when he dares to look up again his eyes blaze in a way I have never seen before, for a second I am frozen to the spot and he immediately seizes this opportunity to barge past me into the room.
“Jake! What are you doing?” his intrusion quickly brings back my fury.
“She’s a stupid bitch” he seethes, “she did it on purpose to trap me, told me she couldn’t have any more kids. I left her because she was a liar, not because she got pregnant.”
“Good for you, what do you want a medal for chivalry?” my words dripping with sarcasm “Now get out!”. He turns towards me grabbing my upper arms in a vice like grip, pinning them to my sides, “Ah! Your hurting me, let go!” I shout, shocked at his brutality.
“No, not until you understand” he growls back, “it was a mistake, a stupid mistake, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you before you get it you thick cow!” with each word he is shaking me roughly, his fingers digging into my flesh harder each time; my mind is racing, I’ve never known him to be like this, he always had a short fuse, but he’s never laid a hand on me before.
“Jake please let go, you’re scaring me” I plead, tears starting to well up and spill down my cheeks.
“I don’t want to scare you Kate, really I don’t, but you need to do something for me” his voice has turned into an eerie calm tone, but his grip has not lessened even slightly.
“What?” I am whimpering now.
“You need to leave that jumped up prick that’s been hanging around you and come home with me where you belong, OK?” he starts to shake me again, emphasising each word he says, he’s acting like a psychopath, I’ve never been so scared in my life; I feel helpless, with my arms still pinned I can’t run or fight back, although he doesn’t come close to Carlos’s build, he still overpowers me with little effort.
“Jake, it doesn’t matter if I leave him or not, I still can’t be with you, it’s over” I say it as softly as I can between sobs; he’s broken me down too many times before, it no longer matters what he does to me, I just can’t let myself back down on this.
“AAARRRRR!” a strangled yell comes from deep within him as he launches me across the room; I fall, skidding across the floor and colliding head first into the wall. Pain explodes in my temple, my vision blurring, I blink rapidly to bring it back into focus, I need to keep my wits about me. Looking up Jake is stood in the middle of the room, his chest heaving, fists clenched and jaw grinding, he stares at me with contempt; there is nothing within reach, no weapon, no heavy object, the pain in my head is throbbing wildly, my arms weak from his grasp on them, I’m completely vulnerable, shaking in a collapsed heap on the floor.
He takes a step towards me, instinctively I raise my arms to cover my face, a yelp escaping my lips. I can see his feet turn away from me and lower my arms in time to see him stalk out of the room. Adrenalin kicks in and I leap up running across the room, ignoring the screaming pain and slam the door shut, locking it securely before sinking to the ground.
My breathing is ragged, my limbs trembling uncontrollably, dizziness threatening to pull down the shutters on my consciousness at any given moment.
I drag myself slowly across the floor, every inch excruciating, my vision sporadically blurring in and out of focus. Picking up the phone and dialling for reception I hear a voice I don’t recognise, and weakly ask for Carlos’s room number, giving my name, while I’m on hold I notice a strange sensation on my face, reaching up I touch my fingers