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“Thanks. Is one of those coffees mine? I’m parched this morning.” He came up behind me and slipped his arms around my waist.
“How do you take it? Milk? Sugar?” I turned to face him and placed a small kiss on his lips.
“Just milk. I’m sweet enough.” He looked refreshed, and I told him so. “I slept like the dead. I don’t usually when I’m home, but last night I conked out completely.”
“Maybe you were relaxed, you know?” Safe was what I meant. He was safe from his abuser. Some of those marks were fresh, a month old at most.
Fuck, I wished I could do something more.
“Are you okay? You look like death warmed up. Didn’t you sleep?” He frowned and brushed the hair from my forehead. “We could stay in if you want. Get some food delivered. Snuggle on the sofa.”
As tempting as it sounded, it’d be good to get out of the house. And I had no food in.
“Nope, I promised you a full English, and that’s what you’ll get. I’ll manage. I’m used to running on very little sleep, and I can catch up on it later, before work tomorrow. Now, go. Get yourself ready.”
He’d hate that I knew about the abuse. He’d avoided my attempts to speak to him about it with good reason, but now I knew, I refused to treat him any differently. The last thing I wanted to do was to drive him away. For now, I’d bide my time. We’d get naked at some point, I knew that, and then he wouldn’t be able to hide it from me.
Half an hour later, we sat in the cafe, with enormous plates of food and gigantic mugs of tea.
“This is so fucking good. I can’t believe how hungry I am.”
I watched as Frankie tucked into the food, happy to see him eat. One other thing I noticed yesterday was how skinny he was; a body he hid away behind baggy T-shirts and hoodies.
“I’ll likely not be able to see you the next few days, but I’ll text you to make sure you’re okay. We can plan to do something when I’m next off if that’s okay with you.”
“Yeah, sounds good. What your brother said yesterday about wasting your time in A&E… you’re not, you know. I meant what I said. You do good work.”
“I know. It’s just him being a dick as usual. He’s not like my other two brothers. I’m sure you’ll get to meet them soon. They’re far more amenable.”
“I forgot you had so many brothers and sisters. Logan is more than enough for me.” He pushed his empty plate away from him and rubbed his stomach. “I haven’t eaten so much in ages. You seem to put it away. Your family was right when they said you have an enormous appetite. How do you stay so slim?”
“Not exercise, that’s for sure,” I laughed. “Work, I guess. I’m always on the go. I used to jog, but the inclination is gone by the time I get home from work, and my days off are filled with housework, washing, and visiting Dad.”
“You visit him often?”
“When I can. Tilly and Freya aren’t always there, and I take him shopping, although he still drives. I think he likes the company.”
“You said your mum has been gone for nineteen years. You must have been young.”
I rarely liked to talk about her. Sometimes wounds never heal, but with Frankie, it was different.
“She haemorrhaged shortly after giving birth to Freya. It was so quick, no one could do anything about it. One minute she was here, the next she was gone. Dad was distraught. Not only did he have six other kids, but a newborn baby to look after. In hindsight, it was brutal, but he managed, and we turned out okay, I think.”
“It couldn’t have been easy for any of you.” He reached across the table and took my hand in his. “We both lost a parent; the only difference is that yours is never coming back. I don’t know where mine is.”
“Just as hard, Frankie. I only have memories of her, and I take that with me every day, knowing she loved us all.”
“Hmph, wish I could say the same about Dad. He fucked off with no note, no nothing. Left us in the lurch. Damn it,” he said, and he dropped my hand and pulled out his phone. He swiped twice and sighed.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I’d best get home, though. Mum’s doing her nut. Brian’s not come home after being out all night, and she’s got work. I have to go look after Logan. No prizes for guessing where Brian is. Probably between Stacey’s legs.”
I burst out laughing. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh, but seriously, he’s got a nerve.”
“Have you seen him? No, you haven’t. I swear, he’s nothing to look at. I don’t know what anyone sees in him, Mum included. Would you mind dropping me home? I’m sorry to put you out.”
“It’s no problem. I’ll drop you wherever you want me to.”
