SOS

Addy Foster awoke so suddenly she wasn’t sure she had ever really been asleep. Her eyes flew wide open and she sat bolt upright in bed, soft cotton sheets sliding down to her waist. She waited with baited breath and a thundering heart for any indication that some abnormal sound or movement had awoken her, even knowing that it would not be the case.

Every few hours in the night – every night - she would wake suddenly. And most nights there were no plausible reasons for the disruption of her sleep; her body just sprang to red alert. Of course, there were some nights when she had every right to wake so stricken. The nights when she wished she were a heavy sleeper instead of being woken by even the smallest of movements or sounds. Those were the nights she wished she were better at faking sleep.

But this was no such night, and there were no such disturbances. A glance at the clock face illuminated on her bedside table told her that it was still early. Early enough for the room to be engulfed in darkness despite the curtains being drawn, early enough that the only noise in the room was the soft snores of her faithful Dalmatian puppy, King. He had been a present from Danny after a particularly nasty… incident. Not that she could be made to forget such things, but she could appreciate the gesture all the same. She smiled softly as King’s legs twitched in his sleep; no doubt he was dreaming of his favourite pastime of chasing cats.

Her smile fell as she glanced once more at the clock. It was getting ridiculous, this semi-insomnia thing she had going on. Oh, what she wouldn’t give for a night of undisturbed sleep. With a soft sigh, she slid from beneath the covers, trying not to disturb her puppy. At least somebody was getting a good night’s rest around here.

Her bare feet were silent on the hardwood floor as she padded to the window overlooking the street, clad in nothing more than a pair of boy shorts and a black tank top. Even though the window was open, allowing the scent of the ocean to drift into the room, she didn’t feel a chill. It was one of the perks of living in good old Huntington Beach, California. There was rarely a cold day, and even then it was tolerable.

She didn’t bother to turn on a light, but simply stood at the window for a moment, watching the world sleep. There were few houses surrounding hers, but those she could see were completely dark. There wasn’t even a stray cat or dog in sight, nosing around in the neighbour’s gardens.

She was about to turn away from the sight and attempt to find sleep again when a pair of bold headlights lit up the road. The soft purr of an engine could be heard through the open window; a sound she would recognise anywhere. How could she not when she had watched Danny build the very same engine? Sitting for hours at a time in his cramped garage, back when her world had been pure and wonderful.

Sure enough, the sleek black car turned into her driveway. She checked the time once more; 4.00 am. His late, or early, arrival didn’t shock her in the slightest, and that in itself was a shame. When it got to the point when you never knew what time your boyfriend would grace you with his presence, it was probably time to call it quits. If only she could.

The headlights, and quiet purr of the engine, shut off, and a shiny black door opened. As soon as he stepped out she knew he was drunk. It really was a miracle he had yet to be caught drunk driving, but sometimes it seemed that he had direct control over the hand of God. Luck was always on his side, whether he chose to believe it or not.

He didn’t bother to be quiet as he slammed the door shut behind him, swaying slightly. The neighbours would know better than to complain. And even if they did, who gave a fuck? He was Danny fucking Huscroft, and he would do whatever the hell he wanted.

In the dim glow of a street lamp, she saw his head tilt upwards slightly, and had no doubt that he was looking to the very window she stood at. He would see her, but she couldn’t bring herself to care anymore. Sure enough, she saw his head tilt curiously to the side, and then the flash of teeth as he grinned menacingly. It was the baring off teeth when a lion spotted its prey.

Her breath fogged up the glass as she let out a quiet sigh. So he was in one of those moods. He lurched drunkenly to the front door, and she was merciful that he was one of those drunks who always seemed able to easily fit a key in the lock, unlike others she knew.

A small whining sound had her turning away from the window and looking to the bed. King was awake, and he wasn’t happy. He stood up fully on his short legs, whining once more as he eyed the doorway. As the sound of booted steps were heard from the downstairs hallway, he shifted nervously from one paw to another.

Taking pity on the small animal, Addy moved fluidly to the bed and picked him up to cradle him in her arms. A warm tongue darted out to lick her chin; a reassurance of sorts.

The heavy clomp of Danny’s boots was loud on the wooden staircase, and King let loose a small yip.

“Shhh,” she tried to soothe the shaking animal, stroking his soft fur with a hand that trembled. Dark, soulful eyes rolled up to meet her own wide grey ones as he once more licked her chin.

Hugging the animal to her gently, she placed a small kiss on his forehead and closed her eyes, seeking comfort in the warmth of him and the steady beat of his tiny heart.

“Aw, how cute.” The deep, sarcastic tone had her sucking in a sharp breath, but she kept her eyes firmly shut and hugged King to her tighter. He let out a growl that was probably intended to be threatening, but coming from the puppy it was simply cute. “Shut it, you little runt.” Danny swore under his breath, muttering something about wasting his money on the dog.

As King yipped once more, Addy slowly opened her eyes. Danny stood in the doorway of the bedroom they shared when he bothered to come home, eyes fixed firmly on the animal in her arms as his face contorted in a snarl.

Sensing that it would be best to get King out of the way, she bent to place him on the floor. With a gently push she encouraged him to scramble to the corner of the room, where a cushion lay. He whined softly but curled up in a small ball, keeping his large eyes fixed on her.

She rose slowly as she heard Danny kick off his heavy boots, leaving them by the doorway. “What have I told you about letting that mutt sleep in here?” he growled dangerously, not even bothering to look at her as he undid the buckle of his belt.

She held her breath while he pulled the leather through the loops, but he only placed it atop the dresser. Her sigh of relief was short lived however, as when his dark eyes snapped up to meet hers, they were swirling with anger and violence. Part of it was the alcohol; this much she knew. He wasn’t always the person she had grown to fear, but could be rather sweet. He was more often kind to her than ill tempered, which was what had lulled her into a false sense of security after the first time.

It had been a little over a year ago, when they had just moved back to Huntington after graduating college, where they had incidentally first met. She was madly in love with him, so having him take a fist to her face had come as one hell of a shock. Apparently he didn’t think she was behaving decently at a part they had attended together. She had danced with one of her older brother’s friends, Harry, and he hadn’t liked it one bit. Not that there had ever been, or ever would be, anything between Addy and Harry, but the copious amounts of alcohol he’d consumed had dulled his sense of logic.

She had been shocked, to say the least, but he had been so repentant the next morning, when the alcohol had time to work its way out of his system. He had begged for forgiveness, as he still did each morning after, and he had seemed so genuinely distraught over his behaviour that she hadn’t hesitated in granting forgiveness.

But Addy wasn’t stupid, and it didn’t take her long to realise that the fists flew freely when he had had a little too much to drink. He had never really drunk that much in college, which was surely why she had never seen him behaving so. It was, he said, because he didn’t want to have to go to lectures hung over or tired. If there was one thing Danny had been, it was dedicated to his studies.

It was one of the things, aside from his easy smile and quick wit, which had first attracted her to him at the college mixer they had met at. It was hard to find someone who was as dedicated to their studies as she was, and they had clicked instantly in their first year. It was only when they graduated and returned to the hometown they coincidentally shared that he felt free to get drunk.

And that was when the truth had really come out. In one of his more lucid states of drunkenness, she had learned that his daddy had been an alcoholic. At first when he got drunk he would just get depressed, and tell her deep, dark secrets of his past she hadn’t been aware he was keeping from her.

But then he would get angry with her, and the anger eventually turned to violence. The incidents were sporadic at first, but over time they grew more frequent. A few months ago it had reached the point where he was more often than not drunk, and she was genuinely scared of what he could do next. How much more violent could he get towards her? Now she was scared to share the same house as him.

“Bitch, are you listening to me?” Danny took a threatening step forwards, and as Addy took a small step backwards she realised he had asked her something. She cursed her own stupidity for having let her mind wander, and cast her mind back. What had he said? Oh yeah, something about King sleeping in the bedroom.

“He whines when I keep him downstairs,” she explained quietly, wrapping her arms around her midsection in an unconscious effort to protect herself. It wouldn’t protect her against him. She knew this, but it still made her feel marginally better.

“Then let him fucking whine, or shut him up,” he snarled, taking yet another step towards her.

“I-”

“Shut up!” The force of his palm hitting her cheek was enough to have her tumbling to the floor as King whined angrily. She recognised the coppery taste of blood in her mouth and struggled to take in a deep breath through her nose. The cold wooden floor momentarily soothed the sting, but then the pain flared to life. The cry she let out was pain filled and unstoppable, little better than the whine King had sounded.

“I said shut up!” His foot made contact with her abdomen. Hard. It was enough to have her skidding a few inches across the floor and rolling onto her back. She said a brief prayer of thanks that he had already taken off his shoes, or she would have been in serious trouble. It wouldn’t have been the first time she had been in the hospital for internal bleeding, having ‘fallen down the stairs’.

Danny’s drunken pants filled the room while Addy focused on just breathing. Even King didn’t make a sound, as though he was anticipating Danny’s next intoxiacted move. Her eyes fluttered open to see him towering over her, hands fisted and shoulders shaking with his anger. He normally towered over her anyway, considering she was but five feet tall, but from her place on the floor he seemed seven foot instead of the lanky six feet he normally commanded.

He snarled and brought his leg bag to kick her again, but seemed to think better of it when she winced and cringed away from him as best she could. His hands loosened and he let out a disgusted grunt. “Don’t want to put her in the hospital again,” he muttered, more to himself than his girlfriend. She didn’t bother to delude herself; he was concerned about his reputation, not her health, should she wind up in hospital again. Her brother only knew of a few of the many times she had been injured seriously enough to warrant a trip there, but he was already growing slightly suspicious.

“Fucking pathetic,” Danny murmured, before his face disappeared from her line of vision. She waited for him to come back and finish as she dragged in painful breaths, but she only heard the shower start in the en-suite bathroom.

King was there in an instant, licking her throbbing cheek. It felt almost numb, but at the same time as though it had a heartbeat of its own. She tentatively reached up to brush her fingers against the side of her face, but instantly regretted it when a stab of pain slammed through her. It only made her even more aware of the intense pain radiating from her abdomen.

King whined but stopped licking, choosing instead to lie down close to her. As he had witnessed this before and was quite a smart puppy, he knew she wouldn’t be getting up any time soon.

“Good boy,” Addy croaked, running a hand over his comforting warmth. She shut her eyes and, with the sound of her own blood roaring through her ears, was unconscious before the water of the shower turned off.

*

Addy’s forehead creased in a deep frown as moisture touched her throbbing cheek. Groggy from sleep, she was about to swat King away when she realised that the moisture was much to cold to be his tongue. Eyes flickering open, she sucked in a breath when she saw Danny’s face hovering inches over hers.

There was both concern and regret in his bloodshot eyes, and he was holding a damp cloth to the cheek he had damaged. She opened her mouth to ask why he was doing this, but he shushed her before she could make a sound.

“Shhh, baby, just relax.” He smoothed a strand of hair from her forehead, despair written over his features. “I’m so sorry,” he murmured, “so, so sorry.” His voice cracked over the last apology, and his eyes glassed over with tears she knew he wouldn’t shed.

She averted her eyes as she sucked in a deep breath, and saw that the room was filled with the natural light of morning. It looked to be early, but the sun was fully up. “What time is it?” she croaked.

“About eight,” he murmured softly, drawing her attention back to his face. “Baby, I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah, you said.” She gently moved his hand aside and raised herself to a sitting position, wincing as she brushed her fingers over her abdomen. She lifted her tank top over her stomach and inhaled sharply as she took in the sickly purple bruises covering her midriff.

“Jesus,” Danny murmured, but she ignored him as she pulled the material of her top back down. “Baby, please say something.”

His fingers brushed over her good cheek, turning it so she had to look at him. There was genuine regret in his eyes, and Addy felt something snap inside of her as she took in his apologetic gaze. She sighed, and closed her eyes momentarily.

“It’s okay,” she murmured, though it was far from all right, “you were drunk. You didn’t know what you were doing.” The words were as bitter on her tongue as they had been the first time she’d uttered them, and as they’d remained the many times since.

Danny’s relief had his shoulders sagging and his mouth turning upwards in a small smile. “Thank you.” He tenderly pressed his lips to hers before wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close. “I love you,” he murmured in her ear.

“I know,” Addy responded as tears of absolute despair filled her eyes. “I know.”

And there wasn’t a damn thing she could do to get out of this vicious cycle. She was his, and he knew it. Just like she knew she’d always grant forgiveness.