Chapter Fifty-Seven

Alice

It started to pour with rain as Travis dropped us home. It was the drenching kind, like sharp pellets beating down from the sky. Even if the party was still going on, even if what happened hadn't happened, it would be over now. We thanked Travis for the lift and dodged the rain, ducking under the carport outside our front door as he drove away.

"You need to tell mum and dad what's been going on," Cat said, her hand hovering over the door handle as she looked back at me. "You don't need to be alone in this anymore."

"It's not that bad," I said, wrapping my arms around myself and shivering. "Besides it's over now, and I don't want to work them up over nothing."

Cat shook her head. "It's not nothing, I saw how he was with you, and that clearly wasn't the first time." She paused giving me a serious look. "When I walked in and you were bleeding..."

I glanced away from her, uncertain of what to say; I didn't want to lie anymore.

"I thought so," she said, nodding. "If you don't tell them, I will. But I think it should be you."

"Okay." I pursed my lips as she turned the handle and pushed open the door.

When we walked into the house, mum and dad are sat in the kitchen talking over a bottle of wine. They looked up in surprise as we came into the room, eyebrows knitting together as they saw the severe expressions on our faces.

"Why are you girls back so early?" asked Mum, placing her glass down on the table. "Is everything okay?"

"Do you want me to stay?" Cat whispered.

"Yes," I said. I needed my sister's strength to get the words out. I hopped onto a bar stool and Cat sat beside me. I didn't even know where to start. Our parents were looking at me, so was Cat, and I couldn't speak.

Dad drummed his fingers on the table. "Can you tell us what's going on please, the waiting is making me nervous."

Cat took my hand under the table and squeezed it.

"I broke up with Owen tonight," I said, staring at the wine bottle between them.

"Oh, sweetheart I'm sorry," said Mum, reaching across the table to pat my arm. "And that's definitely what you want is it?"

I nodded just as Cat said, "Absolutely."

"I had to because... because he's been really angry since the car accident. He's been really nasty and aggressive." I didn't look up from the wine bottle, but I could see my Dad fisting his hands on the table out of the corner of my eye. "Sometimes he took it too far and I just couldn't be with him anymore. I think him being me wasn't good for him either, he was just getting worse and worse."

"Alice." Dads voice was shaky and barely contained, my eyes flicked up to meet his. "Did he hurt you?" He looked at me with expectant eyes.

"He never beat me up, I wasn't covered in black and blue, he would just aim his rages at me and say lots of cruel things, and sometimes he'd push me down or was a bit rough when handling me. It was nothing really bad, I promise."

"You're wrong," interrupted Cat. "I saw it tonight, and I've walked in on the aftermath before, it was bad, no matter how you describe it, nobody should have to deal with that kind of thing."

"You make it sound like I was a victim of domestic abuse or something," I said shaking my head profusely. "I've seen photos of people who went through that kind of thing, and it was nothing like that."

"Oh Alice." Mum raked her hair with her fingers. "Just because he didn't hospitalise you after losing his temper, doesn't make it any less abusive. Abuse comes in many forms. The fact that you trusted him, and he put his hands on you at all, and even was verbally threatening toward you is abuse."

"And we're going to be pressing charges against him," said Dad, drumming his fingers anxiously on the table. "We'll stop him being able to come anywhere near you. Either that, or I'm going to castrate him." I could see the fury bubbling beneath the surface, yet it was still nothing compared to what I'd seen in Owen.

"Do we have to do that much," I said squirming in my seat. I could feel bile flaming in my throat as what they were saying started to settle in.

It hadn't seemed that bad. Of course I knew relationships weren't supposed to be like that, but I didn't feel like a victim of domestic abuse and I didn't want people to think I was throwing it out of proportion. Rumours would go around at school and those kinds of things, people never sided with the girl. They'd never believe me; they'd just say I was being dramatic.

"I've broken up with him for good, I think he'll stay away from me. We don't need to press charges."

Mum jumped out of her seat and threw her arms around me. "Sweetheart, I understand that you believe it's over, however we can't allow him to get away with the behaviour. What happens if he gets a new girlfriend and the pattern repeats?"

I hadn't thought about that. I'd assumed he was only like that with me, because of me. I made him angry, so he got angry at me in turn. Perhaps with someone else that issue wouldn't exist. But what if it did.

Dad poured himself out another glass of wine and took a long sip. When he sat his glass back down, twirling the stem in his fingers, he gave me a reassuring look. "We have to nip this in the bud, maybe if he gets some help then nobody else will needlessly suffer like you did."

I wasn't sure that I believed they were right about what I'd been through with Owen, however I agreed to let them take the lead. I was honestly relieved that he'd be forced to stay away from me, though it seemed extreme for my situation in particular. Other people had been through worse and they deserved support more than I did.

Cat went for a shower and when she came back, she made me a tea and sat back beside me in her dressing gown, her wet hair sticking to parts of her face. "I'm really proud of you for telling them, you know."

I reached out and touched the ends of her wet hair, pulling the strands away from her face. "I feel like an imposter," I replied, chewing on my bottom lip nervously. "I don't want to be the asshole at school who got her ex-boyfriend into trouble."

"He's the asshole, you've done nothing wrong. I'm glad you let mum and dad help you," said Cat. She exhaled and started running her fingers through her hair. "Do you think I should go back to brown hair?"

I smiled, glad of the subject change, I'd done enough talking about Owen tonight. "I don't know," I said, cocking my head slightly to the side. "I think you look great with blonde hair. You look like you."

**Authors note**

I think it's important that I take some time to say something here. As Alice and Cat's mum said in this Chapter, abuse comes in many forms and at no point should you compare yourself to somebody else's situation and say that just because theirs appears worse than yours, that automatically means you don't need help. Relationships should not feel this way. Mental, physical and emotional abuse is still abuse. If someone says they love you and then hurts you, it's still abuse. There is never a circumstance where it is ok, no matter what the other person is going through, it is not your job to stay, it is not your job to fix them and it is not your job to forgive. If you find yourself stuck in a relationship like this, I hope that you will find the courage to ask for help, because leaving someone you believe you love can be difficult but with help from people who care, it can be ten times easier to take the first step.