The before
I was in a strange room, it was dark and dingy it smelt of damp and cigarettes. Suddenly the light bulb clicked on. I spun around to see my mum waddle in. Her stomach was bulging and she looked so tired. She had dark rings around her eyes that matched her dark bruises up and down her arms complete with dark bruise bracelets around her wrists. My mum moved over to the window, she took a deep breath as she rolled back on the bed. She slithered onto her back and lay against the pillows. She rested her hands upon her stomach and smiled. She began to whisper. Telling her unborn child everything would be all right and she would get out of there for both their sakes.
Suddenly a door slammed. I saw my mum tense as she began to shake uncontrollably. I moved over to the door to get a glimpse of this man who is hurting my mum so badly. I saw a figure race up the rickety stairs and burst into the bed room. Mum wrapped a protective arm around her huge belly. The dark figure came into light so I could have a proper good look at him. He had short almost white hair, dark eyes that had no soul and had a muscular build. How my mum fell for that I'll never know. He approached her slowly, I could feel my mum's fear hanging in the air. He touched her bruised wrist and grinned as she winced.
"Ed" my mum whispered.
"You do know this is all you fault" He hissed. As she sat on the bed next to her and ran his stubby fingers through her straggly blonde hair. My mum held her breathe as she watched his dirty fingers do their work.
"So you keep telling me" Mum muttered under her breath. She didn't mean for him to hear but his did. He forced her head against the headboard. I was shocked to my very core. This man was a monster.
"You what? Did you back answer me!" he hissed against her cheek.
"You're hurting me!" my mum whimpered quietly.
"Good" the words slipped of his tongue, it made me feel sick.
I saw his hand reach out to my mum's thigh. She whispered the word "No" over and over again. I could see the glee on Ed's face as he moved closer to my mum. I began to yell at him shouting with every ounce of my being. I was begging him to stop, my mother was begging him to stop. He couldn't hear me and he ignored my mother. My mother let out a deafening scream. This knocked Ed off track long enough for mum to kick him away.
"The baby" my mum shouted between her deafening screams. Ed got up off the bed, I saw anger cover his face.
He raised his arms to his head and began to mutter to himself. He paced around the room occasionally pausing to kick a cupboard. I stared at my mum she was in complete agony. Her face was bright red and covered in a thin layer of sweat. She was so scared and Ed wasn't helping. Mums screamed echoed around the room.
"For crying out loud Sue! Why did you get pregnant, you've caused all this! Why didn't you get rid of it!" Ed screamed at her. Mum was taking no notice. I smiled Ed was going to be found out and he knew it this was the end!
"For god's sake Ed I'm in labour! Call an ambulance!" Screeched my mum.
Ed did nothing. Mum screamed again as she leaned over using all her strength to reach for the phone. Ed got there before her and snatched the phone.
"Ed!" my mum stammered balancing on the bed.
"You honestly think I'm letting you go!" my mum stood up and somehow managed to punch Ed on the nose. She grabbed the phone and sunk back down on the bed. She punched dad's number in and waited impatiently for him to pick up.
"Martin I need..." Before my mum got a chance to finish her sentence the phone was in tatters on the floor beside the door.
Screams once again echoed through the house.
By the time my dad got there mum was barely conscious. She was sprawled out on the floor, Clive was holding her upright and he had a small knife pressed into my mum's neck. My dad raced up the stairs and burst into the bedroom. He saw my mother and his eyes widened as he slowly approached his wife.
"Ed, please we need to get Sue to hospital, she needs help" my dad said calmly as he knelt down beside my mum. He reached out his hand, he saw Clive flinch causing pressing the knife harder into my mother's skin.
"Okay, okay" Dad said raising his hands and shuffling backwards. "Look Ed I promise I won't turn you in if you just give me my wife back so I can save her"
Ed said nothing but he loosened his grip on my mother's waist.
"Her and your baby" my dad added. Ed glared at him and again tightened his grip. His arm looked like a snake weaving around my mother's broken body.
"That thing is the whole reason all this started, it was fun but then that day Sue told me she was pregnant. I lost it and saw red I had to destroy it. Sue wouldn't have an abortion no matter what I said or threatened. She grows weaker with every punch yet that baby stays strong" Ed said fighting back the tears.
"Okay I...I understand" my dad whispered. He edged forward to Ed and my mother, Clive did nothing so he moved even closer.
What was my dad thinking?
He understood...what kind of a person understands that a mental lunatic hurts a woman because she got pregnant! I watched as dad reached out his hand and curled it around the little silver knife. He took a deep breath and prised it out of Ed's hand. Ed let go and collapsed into tears on dads shoulder. Mum fell back and hit the floor. Dad shuffled forward still with Ed hanging on his shoulders, he scooped mum up and attempted to stagger to his feet.
"No!" Ed hissed as he gripped my dad's arm. "I can't let her go, I can't go to prison"
"Ed please, she needs to get to a hospital!" dad screamed desperately trying to fight back the tears. Clive lunged forward and grabbed a fistful of my mum's hair. I watched in horror as my dad made a vain attempt to retrieve her. I ran forward and stood close to Ed he started to shudder and cough as he gasped for breath. He dropped mum as he collapsed to all fours still spluttering. My dad scooped up my mum and ran out the house. I watched from the window as my dad slotted my mother into the back seat. He took out his phone and called 999.
My dad hung up his phone and clambered into the driver seat of the car. He stared up at the window before driving off. I had to stay here and make sure this monster got to prison. I looked back at the breathless man lying on the floor. It felt good to see him so broken like he made my mother. A few times he tried to stand but fell back to the floor gasping once more for air. I enjoyed seeing him suffer. Two police men burst into the bedroom and grabbed Ed, they cuffed him and dragged him outside, he was fighting, kicking and shouting every word of abuse at the police as he could. I followed as they ducked his head and forced him into a near police car as he screamed out that my mum would get it when he was free.
I arrived at the hospital thankfully missing the actual birth, I've already been through it and seen the home video, there was no need for the highlights of the real thing. I have to admit I was one cute baby. I stood watching in the far corner of the room not wanting my mum, dad and baby me to feel cold or breathlessness. My mum held me in her arms and smiled down at me. This was the part where the video stopped, this was all new to me.
"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left, I guess I was just looking for adventure this is all my fault, I hope me and you can move on...look after this little one together" mum whispered not taking her eyes of me.
"Hey no need to be sorry this is not your fault! Of course I will look after this little mite with you, and I will try to be more adventurous" dad stated. Mum giggled as she elbowed him. She took her eyes of me and planted a kiss on dad's lips.
"I'm not going to let him anywhere near you okay honey, he's not going to hurt you and that's a promise" my mum whispered into my short black curls. My dad wrapped a protective arm around mum and grinned down at me.
"Yes that's right, he's getting nowhere near you, you or your mum! Do you hear me baby?" dad said forcefully, his eyes fixed on me. "Hey there little one I'm your dad, who might you be then?" dad asked holding out my finger for me to latch onto.
"Ellie" my mum whispered.
"Our little Ellie" dad repeated planting a kiss on my forehead.
So that's the crazy dad sorted but the unanswered question still remains...
Who killed me?
Maybe going back wasn't the right thing. Maybe I have to go while it was happing. I have to go to when it happened...
t":fa?T