Page 46

“What happened? Does it hurt anywhere else?” His voice was quiet.

“Yeah, everywhere, but it’s just cuts and bruises.” I winced as he pulled my shirt up to look closer. His hands skimmed my body, featherlike touches that hurt.

“There’s some bruising, and I’d be happier if you had an X-ray. I could drive you to the hospital now. Get those cuts sorted. This isn’t the first time, is it? Some of these cuts and bruises are old.”

I nodded, ashamed he’d seen them.

“I’m not going to the hospital, Mac.” I took his hand in mine and looked him in the eyes.

They searched my face, asking questions I wasn’t ready to answer. “Why? This is assault, Frankie. He should be arrested for what he’s done. We should call the police.”

“That’s what I told him, but he said no,” Gran said, sitting next to me again.

“Look, I get what he did was wrong, but if I press charges, then he’ll likely go to prison. I know it’s not the first time he’s been arrested for assault.”

“He deserves it, Frankie. Who knows who he’ll hit next.” Gran wasn’t helping my cause here.

“Gran. Please. Let me explain.” I turned to look at Mac. “If I do that, then what happens to Mum and Logan? They’ll have no one.”

“Seriously? You’re willing to let him get away with this to protect a mum who doesn’t give a fig about you?” I’d never seen Gran so upset.

I barely had time to reply when a bang on the front door startled us all.

“I know you’re in there, Frankie. I just want to talk,” Mum’s voice sounded desperate. Perhaps this time she’d realised the seriousness and that I could, in fact, go to the police. They didn’t know I wouldn’t.

I walked gingerly to the door, put the chain on, and opened it. “What do you want, Mum?”

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, dear God.”

“Not a pretty sight, is it?”

She recovered quickly. “Why don’t you come home, and we can talk about it? Brian is really sorry.”

“Like fuck he is. I think it’s best if I stay away for a while, don’t you?” I went to close the door. It had been a mistake to open it.

“But what about Logan? He’ll be missing his big brother,” she added, no doubt trying to appeal to my better nature, except right then, I didn’t have one. I knew what she was trying to do, and it wouldn’t work.

I laughed and sincerely wished I hadn’t, as pain pierced my side. “You only want me home for free childcare and to do damage control. You know I could report Brian for this? And where were you when this was happening? Why didn’t you come to help?”

I was tired of begging for the scraps from her plate and went to close the door again.

“Brian had good reason to do what he did.” She placed her hand on the doorframe; a tactic to stop me from closing it.

“Like fuck he did. He beat me for no reason.” I felt a presence behind me and turned my head slightly to see Mac.

Mum’s eyes widened. “You? What are you doing here? I said it wasn’t true when Brian told me what you’d been up to, but it is, isn’t it? You disgust me. And this is who you’ve been seeing behind my back. I have no words for what you are. Don’t you dare come anywhere near us again.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t be coming back again. I’m done with you, Mum. Done with you, Brian, and Logan. I’ve hung around for far too long hoping you’d see me, but you hated me the minute Dad walked away. Well, this time, I’m walking away. You’re on your own with your cheating husband.”

Her eyes widened. “What do you mean? Cheating?”

“Ask him. Ask Stacey from next door. Ask him about me finding him and her with a condom hanging off his sorry-ass dick.”

“You’re lying. He wouldn’t do that to me.”

“You sure about that? Fuck you, Mum.”

Her mouth opened and closed, but she had no more words. I watched as she marched down the street and turned the corner, disappearing from sight.