Double Exposure Read Online Free PDF Page B

a question and a statement. I looked up from his gentle hand to his steady eyes and nodded.
    â€˜Ian was strong when I needed strength. And he was good-looking. Except when he was drunk, which wasn’t all that often, at first.’
    I took a sip of my drink without removing my hand from his grasp. It was comforting and I was treading into dangerous territory.
    â€˜Then suddenly I was pregnant and everything changed overnight. The first time he hit me, it was like … My God! You hit me. You actually hit me … It was the only time I could ever remember anyone physically hurting me and I didn’t know how to react. I didn’t fight back, I didn’t yell at him. I just stood there and he hit me again. Later, he was distraught. He cried and begged me to forgive him. Which I did.
    â€˜It was the drink. He didn’t mean it. He couldn’t have meant it. I mean, if he did, what did that say about me – about the baby? It’s easy to rationalise, at first.’
    â€˜But he did it again.’
    â€˜That and worse. And it wasn’t just the drink … By the time I discovered the needles it was already over. I tried, but I couldn’t make a clean break. He wouldn’t let me.’
    In the restaurant opposite, a small crowd was celebrating and they launched suddenly into ‘Happy Birthday to You’. The interruption gave me time to gather my thoughts. Cain didn’t speak, but his gaze remained fixed on me, waiting.
    â€˜My mother was amazing, of course. The moment I told her about the baby she seemed to snap out of her depression. I was worried that it would drive her further down and I hadn’t told her when I first found out, but she was brilliant. When he came around looking for me, she told him to piss off or she’d call the police. I don’t think I’d ever heard her swear before, so it was particularly impressive. She said that her pregnant daughter needed peace and rest – and that the last thing she needed was a junkie dickhead boyfriend, even if he was the father.’
    This time when I paused, he must have sensed something.
    â€˜Go on,’ he encouraged, but for a moment I couldn’t. I felt I’d probably gone too far, revealed way too much. What’s the rule for sordid details on a second date?
    But hell, one way or the other it was already too late.
    â€˜The next time it wasn’t quite so impressive. She managed to slam the door in his face, but he kicked it in before she could close the deadlock. If it hadn’t been for one of the neighbours coming to help, I don’t know what might have happened. That was when we went to the cops and took out the AVO …’
    Finally, I trailed off.
    â€˜I think that’s enough. More than enough. It’s beginning to sound like a bad soap – without the commercials. Tell me something about you.’
    I can’t explain the smile he gave me at that moment, but it fired something inside me. His fingers squeezed my hand, and he leaned across the table and kissed me.
    â€˜After the movie, I promise. It’s ten past already. If we don’t get the check now, we’re going to miss the opening credits.’
    Surprised, I looked down at my watch. Two hours we’d been there and it felt like minutes.
    I was about to apologise, but he was already heading for the counter. Which I guessed meant we weren’t going Dutch.
    His keys were on the table next to his empty plate. I picked them up and ran the tip of my finger over the medal at the end of the chain.
    C.E.
    The initials were cast in an imitation of Old English lettering, and on the ring next to the keys was a small enamelled badge. Inferno Dance Club. The letters were flames against a black background and there was a phone number across the bottom. I closed my hand around the keys and made my way to where he was standing waiting for me.

Seven
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