Hanging on, Till Death do us part...

Chapter 16

"Bryce? Hello? BRYCE! Is Kate ok? Bryce what the fuck is going on!"

I am left screaming into the phone like an idiot! I slam the phone down and stand on the balcony overlooking the dark blue waves of the Indian Ocean. The breeze, though warm is most welcome on my hot skin.

What the fuck has Rob done now? Bryce said that he was blackmailing him? What the hell would he be blackmailing him about?

I take a sip from the bottle of water that is balancing on the ledge of the balcony, and light a smoke. I don't know why a person is not allowed to smoke in your hotel room. I paid for this room; I should be allowed to smoke in it if I want to. I hate being here, constantly running, constantly hiding. How did this happen to me? I promised myself that I would never let a man lay his hands on me, that I would never let a man hurt me, like my father hurt my mother, and yet I end up almost marrying such a man!

Rob was different though. He was beautiful, everything that I ever wanted. I was almost knocked speechless when I met him at the The Digital Edge Conference in Sandton . We immediately hit it off; I was convinced that he was the one. My soul mate; the same love that Bryce had found in Kate. I had finally met my person.

I lived in this stupor until the day he first laid his hands on me. He saw me talking to one of my work colleagues and when we got home he pushed me so hard that I knocked my wind out when I hit the floor. The next day, there were 24 bouquets of red roses surrounding our bed. He apologised, and promised that he would never do it again. He told me that he was afraid of losing me, that he never wanted to lose me. I forgave him, but he did it again, and again and again. Every time I forgave him.

He was from a broken home like me. His father had left him and his mom when he was very young, and since then, his mother bounced around from one mans bed to the next. Rob never knew love, and I wanted to give it to him. I wanted to teach him what love was, but his behaviour just got completely out of control.

He was so possessive over me. He wouldn't let me see my family; he never let me leave the house. I didn't even dare telling him about Bryce; he didn't like me talking about any man.

He and I lived in our own world. A world filled with love, bruises, roses and demons. We were in love with one another, and no matter how many times he hit me; I convinced myself that it was because he loved me so much.

Only when I left him, only when I HAD to leave him for Bryce's sake, I realised that our relationship was like one of those fire tornados. It seemed so beautiful, but it was so deadly at the same time.

He was so angry that night, I thought for sure that he was going to strangle me to death. When he walked in there and found Bryce standing in our bedroom in his underwear he was completely overtaken with range. I was petrified! He threw Bryce out so fast; there was almost no time to explain. I kept yelling at him that Bryce was my brother, and he kept screaming back, 'you don't have a fucking brother!'

To make matters even worse, I was still on the website. I was still on the fake profile that I created to help Bryce cover up what he had done. It must have looked so obvious to him. I was cheating on him. There was a half-naked man in our house and a 'cheaters site' on the computer screen. He was so convinced that I was sleeping with other men, so angry, that I knew that there was no way that he would believe anything else. I couldn't tell him the truth, so I was forced to fabricate some lie around what he wanted to hear, around what he was seeing. I spun him the story that I was on the site looking for another man. That Bryce was so similar to him and that he stayed in the area, so I invited him over. As I told him, I could see the heartbreak in his eyes; I could see it hidden behind the anger. I know that deep inside this is what he already believed happened, and that convincing him otherwise, especially when he was in that mood, was not going to be possible. To be honest, I couldn't think of anything else to tell him.

If I told him the truth, it would have ended in Bryce and my secret being exposed. I would have admitted to the crime that Rob had almost just walked in on. If he had arrived 30 minutes earlier, he would have walked in on us, covered in dirt and blood.

Rob has forced me into hiding; he has found every house, flat and hotel room that I have moved to. He has never come to the houses, but he always sends me these little black boxes. Black boxes left on my doorstep, that hold cut outs of words to torment me. The last box was filled with the word 'cheater', in every font, colour and size. I haven't told anyone, especially Bryce. I know what he is capable of.

How has Rob gotten Kate involved? What if he hurt her? From what I heard on the phone, it sounded like he already did.

Fuck It. I flick my cigarette into the darkness, grab my purse and head towards the airport. I need to get my brother; I need to get to Kate.

I need to get my nieces away from the monster that hides inside the shell that is Rob.