How to Catch Butterflies (6 page)

“Fucking bastard! I thought he loved me. How can someone who’s supposed to love you do this?”

She turned to Lucy pointing to her swollen face.

“Oh Lucy, look at me, what will I do now? If you would have told me my life would have changed yesterday I would have said you were bloody nuts. I never saw it coming.” She started to cry.

Lucy’s heart crumbled for her as she put her arms gently round her badly bruised friend.

“Oh Hun.... I don’t know what to say or do?” After a long pause she replied. “He’s a fucking shithead. He never deserved you! You were always too good for him Becs.” She kissed the top of her head as she cuddled her.

“Everything will be all right. I know things may seem as bad as they can get now, but I promise you, it will get better. Not today, but soon. If you ask me, you’ve had a lucky escape Becs. I know you don’t feel like that now. But mark my words girl, it will. That I can promise. So what do you want to do today? Shall we stay in and hide under the duvet watching chick flicks? What do you feel like doing?”

Rebecca knew what had to be done.

“I have to go home. I have to get him out today”. And with that she walked down the swirling stairs of the mezzanine into the living room Leaving Lucy peering over the balcony at her.

“Can I make a quick call?” She shouted up to Lucy

“Of course Hun, me casa, su casa,” was Lucy’s beaming reply.

Rebecca picked up the phone and dialed David’s mother’s house, her heart pounding in her chest. She was grateful it was Carol, David’s sister, who had answered the phone and not
David ‘was he even released yet?
She thought. Carol was as lovely as always. Rebecca and Carol had become great friends over the last seven odd years.

Carol was married with two lovely children a boy who was the eldest and a lovely little girl. Both called her ‘Aunty Becs’. It was always Carol who was the primary instigator in their numerous reconciliations’ previously.
Not this time
she thought and she meant it this time.

Carol had been the individual to collect David from the Police station. She was the person he called when he was arrested and was allowed his one call. Carol started crying down the phone.

“Oh Rebecca, “Carol apologized profusely “I’m so sorry. I’ve given him such a mouthful I can tell you... He’s so sorry”.

That was David’s problem. He’s always sorry. Yes he was one very sorry mother fucker,
Rebecca thought.

” I’m sure he is,” replied Rebecca. She could hear herself falter so she composed herself to take stock of the ‘situation’. That’s what she would have done at work.

“Look Carol I’m only calling because...” and in a firm voice she said “I need to go back to the flat, and due to the impending court case against David,
your
brother. He”, she pushed on “he needs to be out of the flat by 1 pm. The police will be escorting us back onto the property, what he leaves I’ll burn, so he better get everything out. Lock stock, everything out. I’m done.”

*

Carol was shocked but unsurprised by Rebecca’s statement. She remembered how David had been very remorseful to the point of crying on the drive home, as he told Carol the truth about what he had done. He always told her the truth, everything that he had done to Rebecca and to the flat.

Carol’s face dropped horrified as his hands enacted the story of last night.

Carol knew she would never stand for what her brother had just done to Rebecca. If her husband had ever laid a finger on her, she would have killed him stone dead. Carol loved Rebecca; she was the best thing that had ever happened to David. Rebecca had always kept David out of trouble and believe me, he had been a handful before they were together. Although Carol loved her brother she knew only too well of the little shit he could be.

*

Rebecca had only the clothes from yesterday that Lucy had grabbed hurriedly for her. She brushed her long dark blonde hair (a shade or two more she would have been a soft brunet) and tying it back into a ponytail. Lucy and Rebecca set off for her flat. She was glad Lucy had called a taxi as she really didn’t feel like facing the world on the tube even though it was only a few stops, she felt far too fragile facing the world especially on a busy train. The taxi dropped them outside Rebecca’s.

They pushed the gate and walked up the garden path. As they walked Lucy leaned into Rebecca.

“George arranged for someone to go around and secure the property last night”.

Lucy smiled at Rebecca. He had told her last night when she called him. John had called him when they were in the station explaining the situation to him of what had happened and where he was. He had arranged it immediately. He knew Lucy wasn’t going to leave Rebecca’s side during this and he wanted to know they would be safe if they had to return there.

Rebecca felt quite proud of herself, walking back into the horror story that was her life. At first she felt a little panicked about walking in. She slid her key into the lock of her flat and entered. It was still an awful mess, exactly the way it had been lefts hours earlier.

She felt she was being ‘very matter of fact’ about it all. She wasn’t intending to do so; it just had to be done as she stared at the chaos.

“Right!” she exclaimed “I’d better start this clean up, it’s not going to start itself.” She reached for the long handled brush and started to sweep the broken glass and crockery into piles.

‘Genie Mac, fuck’
she thought
‘I’m cleaning up my life in so many ways because of this, because of that fucker’
.

She was knocked for six when re-entering her home, it really was smashed to bits more than she had remembered. There were pieces embedded everywhere she looked. He had gone to town on the place and it looked it. She stopped suddenly, remembering that David was supposed to have moved his stuff out. She dropped the brush down as she went from room to room as she looked round to see what he had actually taken that morning. Then the anger set in.

As per usual David had left it to her to clean up his mess. This was the
last one EVER!
She promised herself. She swore to herself ‘
You David Rosenberg and I are
so
done’
.

She was surprised at how quick they had managed to put the place in some habitable order. She even laughed when she suggested coffee before realizing that she had no cups to drink them out of. Bless Lucy; she had popped out to get some take-outs from the local coffee house.

While she was gone, Rebecca took stock of her home going from room to room noting what needed to be replaced and what had actually survived. She found that heartbreaking. She had worked hard to get the things they had and he had smashed it…just like her heart.

She really didn’t feel like this was home anymore. Home was supposed to be safe. Then she decided it was. It had to be. It was home just for the moment because she couldn’t think of looking for somewhere else right now. Not when her head felt like it was going to explode with all the questions flying around in it.

She was thankful for Lucy’s return with two velvety coffees in their paper cups. They moved around the furniture, trying to change up the place so it wouldn’t feel like last night. They plunked themselves down on the sofa chatting to themselves. They chatted a good while, trying to make some form of normality out of the madness that had occurred last night.

“Do you want to stay at mine for a couple of days or do you want me to stay here?

Rebecca thought long and hard before answering.

“No Luce I think I need to dig my heels in and deal with this shit. I can’t run away from this,” her hands semi in the air as she explained.

“And this shit will still be here when I get back. I’m only delaying the inevitable. Plus I will have to stay here on my own at some point. It’s better sooner than later.” Lucy agreed. She was proud of her gutsy friend.

“Well, if you’re sure Hun. I’m only at the other end of the phone if you need me. I will stay if you want. I don’t like the idea of you being on your own.” Rebecca knew sooner or later and there was no time like the present.

“I love you Lucy,” said Rebecca “I can’t thank you enough for being there for me when I really needed someone.” She hugged her friend.

“Before I found you again I had no one. Maybe that’s why I took it. I was so embarrassed, so ashamed of myself for putting up with his shit”. She started to laugh.

“Bloody hell I haven’t even got a TV anymore. I can’t play any music as he’s smashed bloody everything…God damn it! I just fucking hate him so much!”

”Me too”, laughed Lucy but she really did mean it with every inch of her being.

It was 7pm when Lucy was forced to go home by Rebecca. She was rearranging the room again. Wondering if she should buy this place anymore, she could afford to do it on her own. Her phone rang jolting her back to reality. She was half expecting it to be Lucy telling her she was home. To her surprise it was Carol, David’s sister, saying she was outside in her car and not to worry as she was on her own.

When Carol walked through the door her face dropped, she was noticeably horrified to see how battered Rebecca was. Her brother had certainly gone to town with his fists on this poor girl. But even with her swollen eyes, cut and bruised lips, Rebecca still looked beautiful.
God her brother was so stupid. He was such an arsehole,
she thought.

Carol stood awkwardly in the sitting room her hands in her Burberry style rain coat. She had a proposal for Rebecca.

”If David replaces what he has broken, would you think about dropping the charges against him? “ Carol stood there her eyes fixed to the floor, she hated herself for asking. David was, after all her little brother. And family was family. Rebecca understood that, she had been part of
their
family for so long, she knew the score.

She knew where she was coming from surely. She explained after hearing what David had told her, she felt it was the least he could do.

“You know he will replace everything.” She then tried another approach. “Becs you know our dad is ill. We don’t want to put any strain on him. You also know he’s having treatments at the hospital and it could set him back. No one wants that, do we?” She still couldn’t look at Rebecca.

“You know dad adores you.” Carol shifted her feet side to side clearly uncomfortable.

Rebecca stood there contemplating. She loved David’s dad. She knew once he had found out what his son had done and that he had a court case pending for assault and battery.

(
Rebecca had often taken days off and would spend them with him going to the pie and mash shop which was his all-time favorite as he was originally an East Ender
)

Then Carol told her what happened when David told his mum that he would have to move back home, only on a temporary bases, his father had overheard, and had questioned him why?