Love and War

Chapter Seven

'My love, my drug, we're fucked up.'

Evelyn sat at the dining room table with James the morning after the races. The conversation was quite and little words had been exchanged since they woke up that morning. Evelyn sipped at her tea as she watched James read his daily newspaper. He didn't look at her once.

She made it home last night before James did. Tommy watched as she entered her grand home and made sure she was safe. Evelyn made it to bed, careful not to make much noise. James soon followed her. She heard the front door open an hour later, a fall up the stairs signalled his arrival home. Too much liquor.

She couldn't figure out why he was so quite at breakfast. He was never usually chatty but something was very wrong. The atmosphere in the air was foul.

'Did you make it home safe last night?' James asked, his voice stern and not looking from his paper. Evelyn placed her teacup on the table and  smiled.

'Yes, I did.' James nodded his head and looked up at her across the table.

'Good. You know Evelyn, people talk to one another. Last night, people were telling me how they saw you walking around with that Shelby man,' James said lowering his newspapers causing Evelyn to blush a bright red. How did James know? Who were these people? Evelyn could see the anger on James' face growing.

'I'm sorry James but...' Before Evelyn could finish her sentence, James had lunged around to table, throwing his cup against the wall causing it to shatter. He stood close to Evelyn's face, his hands grabbed her delicate wrists and he twisted them tightly causing her to whelp.

'No buts Evelyn! You made me look like a fool! You are my fiance and you will act like it! You dont want to be known for a whore know do you? Remember your place.' He spat, finally letting go of her wrists. She gasped as he released her, causing her to rub her wrists from the pain. She watched in shock as he stormed out of the dining room.

Evelyn felt emotion rush over her as she began to sob in the chair. Her wrists were a mixture of purple and blue, It was bound to bruise. Shaking, She stood from her chair and reached over to collect the shattered pieces of the cup he threw against the wall.

'Miss, please! Don't worry about that, I'll clean it up!' Said one of the maids, rushing in to her side. Evelyn collapsed on the floor among the shattered pieces of china, shaking in shook at the sight she just witnessed.

Tommy ran his hands through his dark locks as he looked down at the invoices in front of him. He didn't want to deal with buisness right now. His mind kept turning back to last night with Evelyn. He was reluctant to let her leave his car, knowing the hell she was going back into. The girl deserved so much more.

As he pushed the papers to one side, he heard the door to his office open. Tommy looked up to she Lizzie, standing with shock on her face. Tommy stood up from his seat quickly.

'Lizzie, what is it?' Tommy asked as he placed a hand on his gun sitting in his holster around his shoulders.

'Tommy, it's that girl. It's Evelyn. Tommy you need to come see this,' Lizzie stuttered. Tommy rushed from behind his desk and ran through the door. There, he looked to see Evelyn, small and fragile on a chair. His pale blue eyes caught her brown ones filled with tears. His eyes were immediately draw to her purple wrists.

'Fucking hell. Right Lizzie, lock the door. Go home, if anyone asks, I'm busy,' Tommy spoke quickly as he wrapped his arms around Evelyn and helped her to stand up. Lizzie ran to grab the keys and locked the door to the office behind her. Tommy helped Evelyn to a more comfortable chair, He noticed her shaking in his arms.

As he helped her sit down, he poured two large glasses of whiskey. He sat across from her and placed the glass in her hand. Evelyn hesitated before taking hold of the glass and sipping at the liquor. Tommy couldn't help but stare at the purple marks on her small wrists. He pulled his chair closer to here, resting a hand on her knee.

'Evie, what happened?' Tommy spoke softly.

'Tommy, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have come here. But you said, if I needed anything....' her voice broke as tears rushed from her eyes. She suddenly stood from tbe chair and ran towards the door. Tommy qucikly chased her and placed his hand over the handle before she could reach it. Her brown eyes filled with twars as she looked up at the man stopping her from leaving. 'I have no one to talk to Tommy.' Tommy watched as his heart broke at the young woman before him. Angry filled him as he could take a good guess who caused the bruises on her wrists. Tommy, wrapped an arm around Evelyn's shoulders as she sobbed into his chests. He rubbed her back gently, as her tears continued to flow. How could someone treat such an innocent woman like this?

'Evie, what happened?' Tommy asked sternly, as she pulled away from his chest. He offered her to sit back down, which She did. She reached for the glass of whiskey and took a large gulp.

'Its James. I don't know. This morning he just lost it at breakfast. He said...he said people saw me with you and he just lost it! I've never seen him like that before Tommy.' Evelyn cried. Tommy slowly took her wrist in his hands gently and examined the damage. Evelyn pulled her hands away form his, embarrassed at the mess James had caused.

'Evelyn, let me look,' Tommy spoke softly, trying to retain his anger. Evelyn looked up at him and held out her hands. Tommy softly rubbed his thumb over the bruising, careful not to cause her anymore pain. Evelyn's heart raced as she watched Tommy placed his hands gently over the bruises that had formed. She looked at his handsome face as she saw his emotions run through his eyes. Being so close to a man who cared this much was almost too much for Evelyn to handle. Evelyn sniffed as he rubbed the delicate area. His touch was soft and calming, something she needed right now.

Tommy was pissed. How could any man lay his hands on someone as delicate as Evie? Could she not see what he was doing to her?

'Evie... This needs to stop,' Tommy spoke, with care in his voice. Evelyn quickly shot her eyes his way and raised an eyebrow. Her tears glistened on her face as she look at him.

'How Tommy? How can it stop?' Before he could answer her question she stood up to leave and reached for the door. Tommy didn't want to run after her again, He had to stop himself. That was not a question for him, only Evelyn could answer that.

'I'm sorry Tommy, I shouldn't have come.'

Tommy watched in shock as she walked out of the door, rubbing the stained tears from her cheeks. He fell back in the chair, sadness and anger running through his body. He needed to protect this girl, He was now too involved. But what could he do?