“What the devil are you doing with my laptop?” Alex snapped, towering over Eleanor. She had never seen him like this before
Eleanor had just returned from school and already caught the heavy stench of liquor in the hallway. A loud snoring echoed from the bedroomher father was drunk again. She walked straight to the kitchen.
Her mother stood at the sink, peeling potatoes. As footsteps sounded behind her, she turned. Eleanors sharp eyes immediately caught the red, swollen cheek.
“Mum, lets leave him. How much longer can we take this? One day, hell kill you,” Eleanor said, her voice trembling with rage.
“Where would we go? Who needs us? Weve no money for rent. Dont fret, lovehe wont kill me. Hes a coward. Only dares to raise his fists at me.”
The next morning, strange noises woke Eleanor. She rose and peered into the kitchen. Her father stood by the stove, head tilted back, gulping straight from the teapot. Hypnotised, she watched his Adams apple bobbing up and down, listening to the liquid sloshing down his throat like a clogged drain. *Drown, you wretch. Please, God, let him drown.*
But he didnt. He set the teapot down with a satisfied sigh, his bloodshot eyes flicking to her before he shuffled past to the bathroom.
Eleanor grimaced, knowing her mother would later refill the teapot without washing away the stench of his mouth. She scrubbed it fiercely, vowing never to drink from it unwashed again.
That winter, Eleanor boarded a train with her class for a three-day trip to York. When she returned, her mother was in hospital.
“Did he do this?” she demanded, seeing the bandaged head.
“No, love. Just slipped on the ice.”
But Eleanor knew better.
The beatings had left her mother with high blood pressure. Six months later, she suffered a stroke and died. At the wake, her father wept drunken tearsone moment mourning his beloved Margaret, the next cursing her name.
He warned Eleanor she was just like her mother, threatening to kill her if she ever tried to leave. Eleanor counted the days until school ended. She skipped graduation, collecting her diploma in secret while he was at work. Then, while he was out, she packed her things and fled.
Her father gave her money for food, but Eleanor saved every spare penny. Sometimes, she even pinched notes from his pocket as he slept. It wasnt much, but it was enough. She had long decided to work and study part-time.
She wasnt afraid hed come looking. The whole neighbourhood knew his habitsno one would help him find her. She moved to London, renting a shabby flat on the outskirts and taking a job at a fast-food chain. They helped with her medical certificate, gave her free meals
She enrolled in vocational school for accounting. When they saw she was studying, they put her on the till.
Boys tried to flirt. “Theyre all sweet and gentle at first,” her mother used to say. “Then they start drinking or cheating. I dont know which is worse. Dont be fooled by their pretty words, love. Be careful. I was beautiful once, too. Your father didnt drink when we met. We were in love. What happened? What got into him?”
Eleanor remembered and ignored their advances. Shed seen where that life led.
On payday, her mother would buy essentialspasta, sugar, tinned goodsenough to last. Her father drank his wages, but there was always food on the table, even if it was plain. Now, Eleanor did the same.
One evening, struggling with a heavy bag, she collided with a boy glued to his phone.
“Sorry,” he muttered, finally looking up.
She meant to snap but faltered at his earnest expression.
“Its alright. Wasnt looking either,” she said, forcing a smile.
He offered to help. Reluctantly, she handed over the bag. No one with a smile like that could be bad. He walked her home but didnt push to come inside.
The next day, he turned up at her work. He claimed it was coincidence, but Eleanor knew better. They started seeing each other.
Alex confessed he was divorced, that he adored his little girl. Hed left the flat to his ex and was crashing with a mate. “Got married too young. We had nothing in common. Some days, we barely spoke.”
He talked endlessly about his daughter, and Eleanor thought maybe she could trust a man who loved his child. A month later, Alex suggested moving in together.
“Lets find a nicer place, closer to town. Easier to manage together.”
Eleanor agreed, giddy with hope. A proper family. They rented a spacious flat, celebrating their fresh start quietly. She didnt dream of weddingsjust the peace shed never known. Alex spoke of childrena boy and a girland she let herself believe it.
He paid two months rent upfront. By the third, his tone turned sheepish
Eleanor took one last look at the flat where shed imagined happiness, then shut the door firmly, whispering a promise to the son waiting in the incubator: “Well be alright, my love. Well be far from all this.”
