Run From Him
Oh, hello there, love! Emma settled herself on the chair beside Lily. Been ages! How are you these days?
Hi, Em. Lilys reply came slow and uncertain. Alls well.
Then why wont you meet my eyes? Emma studied her friend intently. Has Tom pulled another stunt? What was it this time?
Oh, dont make a scene, Lily rolled her eyes, clearly regretting ever coming into this tea room. Im fine. Everything between Tom and me is perfect. Honestly. Hes a good man, really. Now, lets please drop it.
Ignoring Emmas indignant protests, Lily got up, leaving behind a half-eaten slice of Victoria sponge. She didnt want to hear another wordclinging to the stubborn hope that people envied her happiness.
Tom was simply…marvellous. Handsome, well-off, caringeven if he came with peculiar demands. Like the day he banned Lily from lightening her hair.
That was their first real spat, one that nearly spelled the end! And all over something so trivial.
It had all begun at the salon. A stylist friend insisted Lily was born to be blonde. She couldnt resist, and returned home with glossy platinum curls.
Toms face drained of colour, fury flashing in his eyes. A bookone hed moments before been reading in peacesailed past her head. Heated words flew, along with the command to dye it back right away. Blonde women, hed snapped, had no place in his house.
With tears streaming, Lily fled to the nearest salon. The staff tried to persuade her otherwisethe colour suited her perfectlybut when she broke into sobs, they simply did as asked.
Tom only nodded, apparently satisfied, and said no more. But in the morning, he presented her with an expensive bracelet, as if to make amends.
White clothing was out of the question too. Red, navy, emerald, anything but white. Shed half-joked about what colour her wedding dress would be, but his strange, sharp look left her with no desire to ask questions again.
Run, Lily, Emma had pleaded back then. Dont even look back. Today youre not allowed to wear whitewhat about tomorrow? Whats next, banned from leaving the house? No matter how nice he is, you need a different sort, one whos normal.
Everyone has their quirks. Lily only shrugged. Its serious between us. Were even planning a baby. Tom desperately wants a daughter. Hes already picked a nameAngela. And here you are, telling me to run…
****************************************
Lily should have listened. Emma had been right about Toms oddness, as Lily soon found out better than she wished.
There was one room in Toms grand house forbidden to heralways locked. Once, Lily even teased:
Youre not Bluebeards long-lost cousin, are you?
Tom gave a crooked smile, Dont fret. I dont keep bodies of ex-wives in there.
And that was all he would say about the mysterious room. Until chance intervened, and Lily got a fleeting glimpse.
Shed come home early from universityher last lecture cancelled on account of a professors trip. She knew Tom was at home, yet couldnt find him anywhere. Passing the locked door, she heard faint murmurs. Gently, she nudged it openjust an inchand what she saw rooted her to the spot.
A life-sized portrait of a young woman covered an entire wall, and Tom knelt before it.
The girl in the painting smiled sweetly, her hands outstretched, and she looked strikingly like Lilyonly fair-haired, a blonde.
Just a little longer, Angela. Soon well be together, Tom kept repeating. Lilys anger made her ready to burst in and confront him, but then he continued:
She will give me a daughter, she will, and then your soul can enter that little body. Then youll be with me, always. Ill look after you, and when youre grown well love each other once more.
Madman! flashed through Lilys mind. Panic seized her. Her friends had been rightwhat now? How could she escape someone so unhinged? Worse yet, she was with child. The pregnancy was too new to show, and no one else knew.
Her family lived far away, her only real friend here was Emma. To Emma she fled.
I never imagined Tom was like this, Lily whispered, fists clenched. If I hadnt seen it, Id never believe it.
Take a breath, Emma handed her a glass of water, which Lily gulped down in silence. You need to decide whats next. Will you stay?
Absolutely not! Lily shook her head emphatically. Hes a lunatic! Im scared for meand for the baby. She gave a crooked smile. I see now why I couldnt dye my hair or wear white. It made me too much like her.
Best you realised all this before the wedding, Emma reasoned, steady as always. He doesnt know about the baby yet, does he?
I wanted it to be a surprise…
Perfect. Say youve met someone else. Then pack your things and go. Emma sighed deeply. Head home, transfer to a local university, finish your degree. Just, whatever you do, stay far from him.
I think thats what Ill do.
*****************************************
The next six months were harder than Lily couldve imagined. Not physicallymorally. The move, telling her parents… In the end, she left her studies behind for the childshe couldnt bring herself to end the pregnancy. After all, it was hardly the babys fault. A girl, just like Tom had wished.
Contrary to their fears, Tom let her go without trouble, only warning her to keep quiet. He didnt even ask where she was going; it was as if he truly did not care.
Sometimes Lily wondered if shed made a mistake, leaving without telling Tom about the child. Even that night, after tucking little Ellie in, she stood at the window, lost in thought.
The doorbell ranga takeaway delivered. Lily had never learned to cook. After a quick supper, she moved to her books, determined to return to university.
But her head began to swim, words blurring on the page. She reached for her phone to call for help, but her body wouldnt obey. Before darkness took her, she saw Tomgentle, cradling their newborn daughter.
***********************************************
Lily awoke in hospital, her mother at her bedsideit was sheer luck shed dropped by that night.
The police searched for Ellie, but it was hopeless. Tom had vanished without a trace, the baby with him.
Years later, a grieving mother would receive a single, haunting memento: a photograph of Tom, arms around a lovely blonde child.
