15 July 2012
-NATE-
"What time did you say Tiffany would be back?" Mollie said, from her position on my bed.
"I thought she'd have been home at least 10 minutes ago. Do you mind if I call her?"
"Go ahead" she said, as I stepped out.
"She hasn't answered, went straight to voicemail. I know where she is, so do you mind if we wonder over there?"
"Sure" she said, jumping up and following me out.
We walked to the subway, not seeing Tiffany on the way.
"She's here?" Mollie said in disgust.
"Long story" I said, craning my neck to see if she and Sarah had moved further down from the door, but they hadn't.
"Are you Nate?" a man said from behind us.
"Yeah I am, why?" I replied, turning to him.
"Your girlfriend told me to give you this" he said, handing me her ring with the diamond wrenched out of it.
"What?" Mollie cried out in shock.
"And this" he said, punching me hard in the jaw.
"Nate!" Mollie cried out, as she saw the blood spilling from my mouth.
"Where the hell is she?" I said, throwing this brute of a man against the wall and holding him there.
"She's down there. The little brat"
"What have you done to her?" I said, glaring deep into his eyes.
When he didn't respond, I thrust him against the wall again, with a crack.
"Go and see" he said, releasing himself from my grip and running out of the subway. I considered chasing him, but I knew I had to see Tiffany.
I set off down towards the ticket booths, feet thudding against the tiled floor and echoing throughout the underground cavity. Mollie was following, as fast as she could on her outrageously high heels.
"Tiffany?" I called, searching around.
"Nate" she whimpered, from behind one of the pillars holding the roof up.
"Sweetie, what are you doing down there? Are you alright?" I said, trying to wrestle my way into the tiny gap to get her out.
"I came in here to avoid him. It was small enough for only me to fit" she said, scooting out.
When she emerged from the darkness, the extent of her injuries were plain to see, and luckily not as disastrous as I had pictured in my imagination. She had scatterings of bruises on her arms, from where he'd grabbed her, and across her face. Her ring finger was clearly broken, as it was swollen and purple.
"What happened?" I asked, sitting down alongside her so I could rip my shirt and tie it round where her arm was bleeding.
"He saw my ring, and he wanted it" she said, looking at her broken finger "This was the only way he could get it off me"
"Oh baby, don't worry about the ring" I said, pulling her close. "Does anywhere else hurt?"
"I feel a bit sick. He hit me in the stomach" she said, resting her head on my shoulder.
"Like morning sickness?" I said, hoping and praying.
"Worse." that single word struck fear throughout my whole heart, making my head reel and thrash as my imagination predicted the worst.
Just as Mollie was rounding the corner, I shouted for her to go and get a taxi, and to direct it to the hospital. As she did so, I made sure Tiffany was comfortable as I scooped her up and held her like a baby.
This was killing me: looking down and seeing the mother of my child in such pain, knowing that there was nothing I could do to help, and also knowing that there was a chance I'd never be able to hold my child like this, like I'd dreamed of.
Love You Too: PART FIFTY SEVEN • Opuss № I