“Who told you to go through my laptop?” Alex snapped, towering over Emily. Shed never seen him like this before
Emily had just come home from school and already caught the heavy stench of alcohol in the hallway. A loud snore rumbled from the bedroom. Her dad was drunkagain. She walked straight into the kitchen.
Her mum stood at the sink, peeling potatoes. Hearing footsteps, she turned. Emilys sharp eyes immediately caught the red, swollen cheek.
“Mum, lets just leave him. How much longer can we take this? Hell kill you one day,” Emily said, voice shaking with anger.
“And go where? Whod want us? We cant afford rent. Dont worry, love, he wont kill me. Hes a coward. Only brave enough to hit me.”
The next morning, strange noises woke Emily. She crept to the kitchen and found her dad at the stove, head tipped back, gulping straight from the kettle. She stared, hypnotised, at his Adams apple bobbing up and down. The sound of the water sliding down his throat made her sick. *Just choke. Please, God, let him choke.*
But he didnt. He set the kettle down with a satisfied sigh, gave her a bleary-eyed glance, and shuffled past her to the bathroom.
Emily scrunched her nose at the thought of her mum refilling that kettle without washing it firststill covered in his spit and stink. She grabbed it and scrubbed hard, vowing never to drink from it without cleaning it herself.
That winter, Emily went on a three-day school trip to Manchester. When she got back, her mum was in hospital.
“Did he do this?” Emily demanded, staring at the bandages wrapped around her mums head.
“Dont be silly, love. I slipped on ice.”
Emily knew she was lying.
The constant blows had given her mum high blood pressure. Six months later, she had a stroke and died. At the funeral, her dad wept drunken tearssometimes mourning his beloved Margaret, other times cursing her for leaving him.
He told Emily she was just like her mum, threatening that if she ever tried to leave, hed kill her too. Emily counted the days until she finished sixth form. She skipped prom. The next day, she secretly picked up her diploma from the office while her dad was at work, packed her things, and ran.
Her dad gave her money for food, but Emily saved most of it. Sometimes, she even took some from his wallet while he slept. It wasnt much, but it kept her going. Shed decided long agoshed work first, study later.
She wasnt afraid hed come looking. The whole neighbourhood knew his habitsno one would help him find her. She headed to London, rented a cheap flat on the outskirts, and got a job at a fast-food chain. They helped her get her food hygiene certificate and gave her free meals.
She enrolled in a vocational college for accounting. When they found out she was studying, they put her on the till.
Boys tried flirting with her. *”Theyre all sweet at first, then they start drinking or cheating. I dont know which is worse. Dont fall for their pretty words, love. Be careful. I was pretty once too. Your dad didnt drink when we met. We were in love. What happened? Where did it go wrong?”* Her mums voice echoed in her head. Emily ignored the boys. Shed seen how her parents life turned out.
Her mum used to stretch every paycheckbuying pasta, sugar, cereal, tinsanything thatd last. Her dad drank most of the money, but there was always food, even if it was plain. Now Emily did the same.
One evening, she trudged home with a heavy bag cutting into her arms. A lad walked toward her, eyes glued to his phone. She hoped hed move, but he bumped right into her.
“Sorry,” he said, finally looking up.
Emily wanted to snap, but his warm, interested gaze made her hesitate.
“S alright, I wasnt looking either,” she mumbled, forcing a smile.
The boyAlexoffered to help. Emily hesitated but handed him the bag. Someone with a smile like that couldnt be bad. They walked together. Alex carried her shopping all the way home, though she wouldnt let him walk her to the door.
The next day, he turned up at her work. “Just fancied a burger,” he said, but Emily knew better. They started seeing each other.
Alex was honestdivorced, with a little girl he adored. Hed let his ex-wife keep the flat and was crashing at a mates. “We got married too young. Had nothing in common. Some days we didnt even speak.”
He talked about his daughter constantly, and Emily thought maybe she could trust a man who loved his kid. A month later, Alex suggested moving in together.
“Lets get a nicer place, closer to town. Easier to split the bills.”
Emily agreed, giddy. A proper family at last. They moved into a spacious flat, celebrating their new start with a takeaway. She didnt dare dream of weddingsbut Alex did. He wanted two kidsa boy and a girl. And Emily let herself believe it.
Alex paid two months rent upfront. By the third, his tone changed.
Emily took one last look at the flat where shed thought shed find happiness, then shut the door firmly, whispering a promise to her son waiting in the NICU: *”Well be alright, love. Well be far away from all this.”*
