HIS FOREVER

HIS FOREVER

__ She was twenty-four years old, naive, and alone for the first time since her marriage to Ron six years earlier. Kattlyn thought her marriage would be able to withstand her husband�s infidelity over the years, but she was wrong.
The betrayal had eaten away at her soul and now she found herself waking up to the left side of the bed being empty. It was a kind of emptiness that screamed out to her every morning for the past three months, making her feel cold even with the summer sun shining in through her bedroom window. Her life had changed to a degree she never imagined possible.

Although she was still living in the same duplex that she had shared with Ron, everything had changed immensely. She tried to keep to a routine, and as she padded across the cold linoleum floor from the bedroom to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, even this small task seemed too much for her to bear. Loneliness and utter despair had taken over and it was such a cruel thing to endure.
Sitting at the kitchen table sipping her coffee, she found her thoughts were still consumed by reruns of her life. She could feel her mood changing; depression was always threatening to creep in. Katt got up and made her way to the bathroom, leaned over the cold enamel tub, and turned on the faucets. She carefully stepped into the shower, letting the water pelt her numb body. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes, and they fell, undistinguishable amidst the stream of water. Crying had become a daily routine and even here, in the shower, she felt powerless as they overcame her.

She toweled off quickly and dressed for work, putting on a slightly wrinkled white blouse and a black skirt. Once back out in the kitchen, she glanced at her pet�s bowls to make sure they had enough food and water for the day.
She adored her two dogs and two cats. They had become her only companions now that Ron was gone but she was grateful for their company and filling her empty days with happy tail wags and gentle purrs.
Katt grabbed her coat from the hook, slipped it on and locked the door behind her. Starting the car and pulling out of the driveway, she made her way down the hill towards the Mall.
It was only a two-minute drive to work and she hoped today would turn out to be a bit brighter than the way it had started off.
She had no idea that her life was about to take such a horrible turn that it would put her inner strength to its ultimate test.

After parking her car she made her way through the parking lot, dodging the remaining puddles from last evening�s quick down pouring of rain. Wiping her shoes off on the large oval carpet at the front door of the restaurant, she looked around the wait staff area to see who was working this shift with her.

Sue was in as cook and stood looking out the pass through, giving Katt a big toothy grin as she walked by. Darrell was waiting the tables on the other half of the large dining room. Katt smiled to herself. Darrell was a couple of years younger than she was, and handsome. Even though he joked about her being single now and a good catch, she thought of him as nothing more than a good friend. He always made her laugh, even lately when life seemed so dark to her.

Seeing Darrel she knew it was going to be a good shift. Katt checked the coffeepot making sure there was enough made to handle the early morning crowd that was about to come through the door.
She let her mind wander, as she went about her morning routine in the set up area. Even without Darrell's persistance she was considering dating, but the thought of it scared her.
Ron had been the only man she had ever been with. They had been a couple since she was sixteen, and she wasn�t even sure how to start dating again now.

Suddenly she was brought back to the present by the sight of a dog walking past the large Mall window. It was a beautiful golden retriever and it immediately caught her attention. Absent-mindedly she walked toward the window to get a better look. Suddenly she stopped.
There bent down beside the dog, petting him was a nice-looking man about her age. He made a couple of hand gestures to the dog, then pulled open the full glass restaurant door. He walked in with a slow stride, yet he almost bumped into Katt. He made eye contact with her and she felt foolish for standing there staring at him. She could feel her cheeks getting red with embarrassment. She turned quickly and with short firm steps went back to the kitchen.

�Well, missy, what�s got you blushing?� Sue called out, her loud voice booming over top of the roar from the overhead fans.

Katt�s face got redder, �N-n-nothing,� she stammered, as she tried to compose herself.

Sue raised a thick brown eyebrow towards her, pushed her glasses up her greasy nose and went back to tending the eggs cooking on the grill. Katt pushed open the large wooden kitchen door to the set up area and saw that the man had seated himself in her section. She grabbed a breakfast menu and fresh pot of coffee and briskly walked towards his table.
She passed Darrel on the way and he winked and shot her a �Go get him girl� look.
She could feel the pink creeping back to her cheeks again and wished she could melt into the floor and disappear. As she approached, he looked up, staring directly into her hazel eyes.

�Would you like to see a menu?� her voice weak.

�No thanks, just a cup of coffee will do,� he replied, in a tone that matched the smile on his face, not once looking away from her.

Katt felt her heart skip a beat. She found she was drawn to him like she was drawing in her very last breath. She turned over the cup in front of him and poured his coffee, her hand trembling slightly.

�Thank you,� his voice was gentle.

She turned to go, �You�re welcome,� she shot back over her shoulder. She could feel him watching her as she made her way back to the set up area. It made her feel strange. It seemed the attraction between them was mutual.

Darrell was making another pot of coffee. �Well?�

�Well, what?� She tried to pretend she didn�t know what he was referring to.

�Did you talk to him?� He turned to face her.

�Yes, I asked him if he wanted a menu,� Katt replied with half a grin.

�You know what I mean, Katt. Did you ask him about his dog? That would be an ice breaker to start a conversation.�

�No, I just poured him a coffee and walked away.�

�You know Katt, that won�t get you asked out.� Darrell nudged her teasingly in the ribs with his elbow on the way past.

�Who said I want to go out with him?� she shot back before he was out of hearing range.

Katt leaned back against the counter. Maybe Darrell is right, she thought. I could start a conversation about his dog. After all, I have two myself. She gathered her nerve, took a pot of coffee in hand and made her way around her section refilling cups. As she got to his, he smiled at her and put this hand over the top of his cup indicating that he had had enough. This is it Katt, she said to herself, you have to speak now or he will be out the door and gone.

�Can I ask why you have your dog with you in the Mall?� Again her voice sounded weak to her.

�I train dogs.� He continued, �The Mall has let me come in to do a demonstration to help drum up business. Do you own a dog?� he asked.

�Yes, I have two actually, one like yours, and also a black lab.�

�Well, if you want, on your break, you could come out to center court and watch Zukee there,� pointing toward his dog, �go through his paces. You might find it interesting,� he added.

�I might just do that,� Katt said as she watched him push back his chair to get up.

He reached into his pocket and handed her a two-dollar bill, �Keep the change, and maybe I�ll see you later on.� He winked, and walked to the Mall door, pushed it open to an awaiting tail-wagging dog. He bent down to pet him, stood and waved at her.
Suddenly, Katt realized that she was just standing there staring at him again, oblivious to what was happening around her. She waved back and watched him walk down through the Mall, the dog heeling beside him. It was then that she realized she didn�t know his name.

The next three hours went slowly for Katt. She was anxious to have her break so she could see him again, and possibly learn his name. She asked Darrell if he wanted to go on break first, but he had noticed how preoccupied she was all morning, so he declined. Katt grabbed her purse and headed toward the Mall�s center court.
She stood at the back of the small circle that had gathered to watch him and his golden retriever go through the paces of their routine. She caught his eyes watching her intently and she shyly looked away from his gaze. When he had finished and the applause died down, he walked over to her, smiling, and pushed out his hand towards her, introducing himself.

�My name�s Eric,� he said as he extended a hand towards her.

�Katt. I mean, my name�it�s Katt,� she stammered.

�Yes, I know,� he said pointing to the nametag pinned to her blouse.

�Oh, yeah, I forgot,� Katt giggled, touching the nametag and feeling a little embarrassed.

He made a hand motion, �Don�t worry about it, happens to me all the time,� he laughed.

Katt looked him over as he continued talking; he had the exotic look of being half-native Indian and he held himself with such pride and confidence. His shoulder length brown hair flowed behind him when he walked, but it was his dark piercing brown eyes that held her attention. Katt knew there was no denying that she was attracted to him.
They stood talking with such ease that it felt like they had known each other for quite some time. Katt studied him intently as he discussed his ideas on training dogs to do tricks. When break time was up, Katt said her good-byes.
She could feel his eyes on her as she made her way back through the Mall to the restaurant. She smiled to herself and wondered if she would see him again before he left on Wednesday.

Eric showed up at the restaurant early the next morning for breakfast. He pulled out the white cane-backed chair, its feet screeching across the stone floor, and sat down in Katt�s section again. She was excited to see him, and actually hesitated for a moment to compose her self before going to his table. They exchanged pleasantries as she poured him a coffee.
He asked if she would meet him on her break later in the day, and she agreed. He continued to take his breaks with her for the next three days, weaving his charm upon her vulnerable state of mind, making her look forward to their short rendezvous.

By the time Wednesday rolled around, he knew he had her -- hook, line and sinker. She was entranced with him, so when Eric asked for her phone number, Katt gave it to him willingly.
He surprised Katt the next day by showing up at the Mall at break time and she thought it was sweet the way he was paying so much attention to her. She looked at it as a sign of him being rather captivated with her.

Over the next month, it became a regular routine for Eric to show up daily at the Mall to see her, sometimes four or five times in a day. Katt thought it was quite unusual that he had so much free time. He explained it away, by saying that his job, training dogs, was very open and flexible. He also told her that he did some gigs playing and singing at local pubs to pick up extra cash, but that usually only took up his time on the weekends or some evenings during the week.
His explanation appeased her curiosity early on in the relationship, and she had no reason not to trust his word completely.
It would be much later before Katt would begin to learn the truth about Eric Davis Herrington and his designs on her. His plans would change her, and her life, for eternity.

His constant attention to Katt paid off. After dating steadily for over a month, he began to set his well-conspired plan in motion. He was a slick character and knew that she was what he considered the perfect prey. She was young, with no support network around her, and recently separated from her husband. She was very shy and now under his spell. She also met all his physical requirements. Katt was attractive, thin, with a nice well endowed figure. She had a beautiful smile, sparkling hazel eyes and he loved the way her auburn colored hair gently fell over her shoulders.

He knew he had done well picking her out of the crowd that day at the Mall. She would meet all his needs if he played his hand out just right. Eric felt he had her right where he wanted and it was time to make the first big move. He knew she could not say "no" to him. In his eyes she would be his forever.

It was the first of December. The air around the base of the mountains was getting cool and you could almost feel the snow in the crisp morning air. Their peaks, already lightly covered with a dusting of snow, shimmered in the bright sunshine. Katt loved the mountains. She reflected that the only reason she had stayed here after Ron had left her was because of the beautiful scenery and the mild weather. She didn�t miss the cold winters or hot humid summers of her native East Coast Province.

She did miss her family immensely, and yet, she felt she never wanted to leave here. After six years, it was now her home and she was determined to stay and make it on her own terms now. It was a new beginning for her. She was also in a new relationship now and the dark cloud she had been under just a few months before had lifted.

The prospects of it excited and scared her, all at the same time. Ron had been her first and only love for the past eight years, and when they married, she firmly believed in �for better or worse�. Divorce, she had felt, was just not an option. She had loved and trusted him and felt so betrayed when he eventually left her for her friend Debbie.

Katt found it difficult at first to deal with the desertion and had withdrawn from her friends, often letting the phone go unanswered night after night, sitting in darkness, with tears flowing down her cheeks. It was a period of mourning, for both the losses of her husband and Debbie, a close friend. Once she got through that phase, she began to rebuild her confidence and self-esteem. She was a shy person at heart; yet, Katt could be very outgoing when she was at work dealing with her customers.

It was a job she loved and she couldn�t imagine doing anything that she would like half as much. She really enjoyed the people she had met over the years, and even though, like most places, they had their regular clientele, every day it was an opportunity to meet someone new.

Katt liked her co-workers and they worked together well as a team. She was the type who would pitch in to help, be it with their tables when they fell behind, taking their orders out for them or offering to take an extra shift if they called in sick. The Mall restaurant was a good place to work and the owner, Mike, treated everyone like they were family.
They often socialized together after work, or sometimes, on the weekends they would have BBQ parties. She felt lucky, lucky indeed. She let her thoughts go to Eric. They were spending a lot of time together, but she still had the feeling that she didn�t know him very well. If she inquired about where he lived, or even who his close friends were, he often hedged around it or would change the subject.

Katt found that unsettling. It left her often wondering what it was that Eric had to hide or why he wouldn�t disclose more about himself. He was always asking her questions; sometimes it had a tone to it that didn�t feel right to Katt, like he didn�t trust her. She certainly didn�t give him any reason to feel like that. Katt was a very honest person. She hoped that he would realize this the more he got to know her, and never gave it much more thought.

Eric was comfortable where the relationship was going, and was envisioning what it would play out like, when he showed up on Katt�s doorstep with his meager belongings. He had to vacate where he was living and was hoping the timing with meeting Katt was right on schedule. He owed two months rent and, since the dogs had been left alone inside so much, the apartment was a disgusting mess. Eric knew the landlord would throw his ass out next week if he didn�t pay up. He had no intention of staying there another month and wasting his money, not when he was priming Katt for his ultimate plan. Now he felt the time was right to go forward with it.

Later that evening Katt answered a knock on the door of her rented duplex. She was surprised to see Eric standing there with his three suitcases propped up against the deck railing. His two dogs were sitting at attention by his feet. ,br>She couldn�t quite comprehend what was about to happen as he spoke to her with deliberate authority, a tone she had not heard from him since they met.

�I really need a place to stay for a while, Katt. I knew you wouldn�t mind.�

With suitcases in hand, he brushed by her, not waited for her reply and hoping that he had her pegged right. He had. Katt took a half step back and opened the door wider to let Eric and the two dogs enter.

�Sure, I guess,, I�ve got the room,� she replied.

He walked through the house like he owned it, the dogs hot on his heels, sniffing the floor as they went. Katt snatched the other suitcase from the deck and started toward the spare room.
Eric had already dropped the bags he carried onto her bedroom floor, hoping she wouldn�t protest at what he was implying they do.

Katt�s mind was racing as she turned the corner in the hallway to see Eric put down the bags in her bedroom. She wasn�t ready to move to this new level in their relationship. And yet he had read her invitation to stay with her as just that. Katt felt trapped. She couldn�t rescind the offer now. She didn�t feel she was strong enough to say no and risk an argument with him. She didn�t want to push him away either.

Katt hated to argue. She�d had too much of it in the last few years of her marriage. She didn�t want to start off on the wrong foot with Eric after such a short time. She hesitated at the spare room door, then swung around and went across the narrow hall to her bedroom. She opened the closet and set the bag she carried inside. She was taking a very big step in the relationship and her confidence was not what it should be. Her instincts told her this didn�t feel right. Things were moving way too fast.

Eric was pleased with himself and how the move-in had transpired; he really was good at reading his pawns. As he thought about it, a proud, evil grin slowly crept across his face. Katt went about her nightly ritual of walking her dogs and playing ball, all the while Eric sat at the table watching her.
She was feeling apprehensive about going to bed with Eric, and as the time drew near, she was feeling the effects. Her stomach was doing flip-flops, and she could feel a tension headache in the back of her neck starting. She tried to calm herself down, but she felt like the whole relationship was now totally out of her control.

Eric got up from the table and headed down the hall to her bedroom, giving her one of his famous winks as he passed her. Katt shut out the lights and followed. He stripped off his jeans and tee shirt quickly, and sat on the edge of the bed to remove his socks. Katt was surprised to see that he wore no underwear.
The sight amused her slightly. She turned her back to him and started to undo the buttons on her blouse. He slid into bed lying on his side, facing her, with his arm propping up his head.

Her fingers fumbled with the tiny holes running down the front of her shirt. She could feel nervous perspiration forming under her arms. She slid her arm out of the sleeves and let it fall to the floor. She took her arms out of her bra, one at a time, turned it around in front of herself and unhooked it; her breasts fell free from its constraint.
Katt was suddenly feeling very vulnerable. She reached behind herself and pulled down the zipper on her skirt. It fell to the floor like a leaf off a tree in fall. She could feel Eric�s eyes on her skin as she bent over to pull off her panties and hose. She felt exposed.

Silently, she lifted back the heavy quilt on her bed and slid in between the sheets next to Eric, cautiously trying not to touch him directly. Eric immediately moved closer to her. She could feel his hot breath on her shoulder. She turned her head towards his and forced a smile.

�Come here,� he whispered as he reached out and pulled her closer to his naked body.

She could feel his hardness against her thigh. Katt shuddered. She had never made love to another man other than her husband. She hoped the fear didn�t show in her eyes and decided to close them tightly. Eric showed no passion towards her, wasn�t gentle or even seemed to care. It was all over in a matter of minutes.
For the first time in her life she felt used. It wasn�t a good feeling. She rolled over on her side, her back towards Eric as he smoked a cigarette.
The man that she thought would be kind and loving in bed with her had turned out to be very rough and selfish. She hoped that as they became closer emotionally, things would improve, and holding that thought, she slowly slipped off to sleep.

Katt was trying to adjust to the idea of having Eric around all the time, and soon they were attempting to settle into a routine of sorts. Eric took her to work every day, dropping her off and also picking her back up. Since he had no vehicle of his own, he used Katt�s car to run around in all day.
He felt he really had it made. Things were going very well in Eric�s eyes. He had a woman who paid the bills, a free place to live and a car at his disposal, but Katt didn�t share the same views as Eric.

She felt used in all aspects of the relationship, and lately Eric was often asking her for money. He never seemed to have anybody�s dogs around to train, and she felt like he was always lying to her. Communication between the two of them seemed to be failing very quickly. When she did get up the nerve to ask what he had done during the day while she was at work, he would ignore her even to the point of blatantly turning his back on her and walking away.
It had only been a couple of weeks since Eric had moved in with her and in that short time Katt began to notice some unnerving things happening to his behavior towards her.

When he dropped her off in the morning at work, she would spot him sitting in the parking lot in front of the large picture window, watching her as she waited on her tables. Throughout the day she would see him again watching her from different locations in the parking lot. It made her feel very uncomfortable.

At night, when he picked her up, he would ask her about who she was talking to at this table or that table. Grilling her as to why she stood there so long. Why had she talked to that man with the light blue jacket so long? Did she know him well, had she dated him? The questions were endless.
Katt tried to make light of it all. She explained that it was part of her job to be friendly to everyone. This flippant remark infuriated Eric. He reached out and, with his backhand, slapped her across the face.

Katt sat in shock and silence; she was afraid to let the tears, welling up in her eyes, escape to her cheeks. She fought them back, but felt like she would explode if she didn�t cry to release the pain she felt. Katt held on and bit her lip to stop the emotions from flowing. Eric started the car and drove home, not once looking sideways at her. Katt suddenly felt very alone and very afraid.

As they pulled into the driveway, Katt got out of the car quickly and went inside to prepare supper. As she peeled the potatoes, she reflected on the way he had reacted in the car towards her. She was not used to being under verbal fire all the time, having to account for her actions.
Most importantly, she never thought someone could be so distrustful of her. The rage that showed on Eric�s face was more frightening than anything she had experienced before in a person.

Over the years with Ron, she had been exposed to a certain amount of hostility. Her husband though, used to take it all out on their belongings, sometimes totally trashing the house in a drunken frenzy. But he had never hit her. This was new and scary and unacceptable. She wasn�t even sure how to react. This was something that only happened to other people, not to someone like her.

Eric walked around the dooryard with the dogs while Katt prepared supper. He was unhappy with himself for letting his guard down and showing his true colors to Katt tonight in the car. He could usually hold it together pretty well at the start of a new relationship, at least until he had the relationship under control.
Now the power he wanted to possess over Kattlyn was taking a stronghold on him. He couldn�t let this one get away he thought, he knew he could use her for a long time if he could gain total control over her. He wanted to dominate her in every way possible.

He let his mind slip back in time to his last girlfriend and how he had controlled her every move. That had lasted for almost two years. She had finally escaped from him during a rather vicious attack, which left her badly beaten and terrified.
He never found her again, and he presumed she had managed to get back east to Toronto, back to the safety net of her family and away from his abuse for good. Eric swore another woman would never leave him again. As far as he was concerned, he would never let Katt go. He would not let her out of his sight.
She was his forever.

Eric returned the dogs to the house and sat down at the table. Katt served him supper without speaking. She sat at the table playing with the stew on her plate. She just didn�t feel like eating.
As soon as she saw his fork hit the empty plate she picked up the dishes and headed for the sink scraping off what she didn�t eat into the dogs� dish. Katt stood staring out the window, her hands going through the motions of wiping the dishes with the wet cloth. Eric�s voice brought her back to the present.

�Are you going to take all night?� he spoke through the corner of his mouth. A lit cigarette hanging out the other. Katt wanted to ignore him and not answer, but she knew it would set him off in another tirade; so she turned to face him.

�I�ll be a minute,� Katt shot back at him. �If you want to go to bed, then go,� she added.

�Oh, not without you, I want you right beside me,� Eric replied grinning at her.

Katt swore under her breath. She had never felt so helpless in her whole life. Eric waited for her to finish washing up. He crushed the butt half out in the ashtray and watched the paper finish burning. She walked by him to the bedroom that once brought her peaceful sleep. Now it was a room for torture.

Minutes turned into days, days into months. The physical and verbal abuse, now occurring daily, got steadily worse. It was not a happy relationship for Katt who felt trapped and isolated from the outside world, as she once knew it.
To Katt, Eric�s mood swings and behavior were bordering on psychotic. She never knew from one minute to the next what demands he would place on her or what would set him off on a rage.

When Katt wasn�t trying to keep busy and out of his way, Eric made her sit on his left side to have her close at hand. The truth was, Eric liked to inflict additional pain upon her, by grinding out his cigarettes on her right arm when the mood struck him. The stench of burning flesh stung at her nose constantly, and the welts that they left turned into scars that would be a constant reminder of his horrendous abuse.

Clothing also became a big issue with Eric. The policy where Katt worked was that she was required to wear a white blouse and black skirt, no pants. Eric knew she had to be dressed in a certain way when they first dated and he had commented that he liked her in a skirt.
She certainly wasn�t what she would call a revealing dresser. Her outfits were pretty conservative by any standards. But suddenly, in Eric�s mind, everything she put on was to be �dressed up� for another man.

He had such extreme jealousy of Katt and yet it was unfounded. She was too afraid to even look sideways at another man since he had moved in with her. Even simply talking to a friend on the phone in the evening turned into a major argument, which would then result in a beating for her. The only time she was free to talk without him around her was at work, and Katt was so grateful for those eight hours a day.

On one particular morning, after her shower, Katt stood in her bedroom putting on a white cotton blouse. Eric walked by the doorway, backed up, and then raged into the room toward her. Katt stumbled backward trying to get away from him; she slammed into the end wall just as he grabbed the front of her dress.
�Whore!� he yelled, tearing it from her body. Small white buttons scattered to the floor as if to escape his fury. Eric began slapping her, and then, with a closed fist, he hit her. Katt�s head slammed back into the wall and she slumped to the floor.

In an instant reaction, Katt picked herself upright and ran for the bathroom, locking the door behind her and crumpling in a ball onto the floor, crying. Eric stood outside in the hall, banging and kicking at the closed door. He raged on and on, while Katt stayed huddled on the cold linoleum floor. Her hands cupped tightly over her ears, trying to block out the sound of his wrath and hoping to make it all go away. She was unsure how long she had laid there.
Cautiously, she removed her hands from her ears. His kicking had now been replaced by apologies. Eric was asking for her forgiveness. He was quietly knocking, begging her to come out so he could tell her how sorry he was.
Slowly, Katt got up off the floor, shaking and hanging onto the sink. She pulled herself up in front of the mirror. The sparkle in her eyes was now replaced by fear. A huge purple and black mark was forming around her left eye. With tear-stained cheeks, she asked God to �let her live another day�, the first of many such requests she would make over the next seven months.

Eric was still knocking, trying to convince her to open the door. Finally she did. For a fleeting second, Katt actually thought he looked remorseful, as he looked at his handiwork upon her face. She was visibly upset and knew she couldn�t go to work in this state. She walked slowly past him, letting his apologies fall on deaf ears. Picking up the kitchen phone that hung on the wall by the china cabinet, she dialed the restaurant. Darrell answered. He quickly picked up the frightened tone in her voice. Repeatedly, he asked her if she was okay. Katt paused, trying to steady her voice, and assured him that she would be better tomorrow. As she hung up, she lowered her head in shame. She hated lying.

Eric stood in the hallway, watching her; as she lowered herself down onto one of the kitchen chairs. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, none landing for more than a second. She had to get away from him. This she knew for a fact, but how and when, seemed so far away. The rest of the day, Katt tried to stay out of his way, busying herself by washing the dishes and doing up the laundry from the hamper. Eric tried to make small talk and Katt replied, but her responses were curt and almost programmed. She reflected on the morning incident, trying to rationalize his behavior, but as hard as she tried, she couldn�t see that she had done anything wrong. Her stomach was in knots and she prayed for the day to be over.

The next morning, Eric woke before her, and cuddled up to her back. Katt could feel he was aroused as he moved his hand down and parted her legs. She gripped the bed sheets in her hand and braced herself; she was in no mood to have him touch her, sexually or other wise. Katt started to protest as he entered her, but he ignored her pleas and Katt was thankful that, within minutes, he was done. She got up from the bed and walked quickly across the carpeted hall to the bathroom.

As the warm water from the shower rolled over her body, she scrubbed hard trying to wash his scent from her skin. Eric repulsed her. Katt emerged from the shower, wrapping a towel around her bruised body and stood in front of the mirror, running her fingers through her hair. She picked out the bottle of liquid concealer from her makeup bag. Gently, she tried to apply it so the bruise around her eye was not as visible. She didn�t want anyone to know what had happened to her. She almost felt ashamed for something she had done. In reality, she knew she had done nothing to warrant this attack.

Eric came out of the bedroom and stood hovering in the doorway, watching her every move. Katt was afraid to start dressing for fear of setting him off. She found she was walking on eggshells around him all the time, never knowing when the next punch would come and over what trivial thing. She was becoming an emotional sponge, sucking up his moods and working around them. She just knew that she had to get to work, and away from him, if only for a short time.

She craved to have some peace, and to be around people who still treated her with some respect and kindness. She put her makeup away, squeezed past him in the doorway, and went to her bedroom. Eric followed right behind her, step for step. Katt flung open the closet door, pushed around some coat hangers, then reached for a skirt and blouse. She threw them onto the bed and went to the dresser to retrieve her panties, hose and bra. Katt slipped them on. She felt so uncomfortable having him watch her like this. She wanted to speak out, tell him to get out of her sight, but the pain in her eye reminded her to be quiet and repress her emotions. Katt never acknowledged that Eric was in the doorway as she brushed by him to leave the room. She walked around the house in a daze, making coffee and munching on a piece of toast. She kept checking her watch, anxious to leave for work. She was so afraid of another confrontation ruining her chances to leave the house again today.

Katt arrived at work on time with no incidents this morning to ruin her day. Eric was still trying to make her think he was sorry for yesterday. As she was getting out of the car, he leaned across the seat.

�Hey, don�t spend so much time at one table talking, eh?� he called out to her.

It was a verbal slam, and she knew it, but she did not even acknowledge that he had spoken. Instead, Katt closed the car door and, without looking back, walked calmly into the Mall. There were second looks from her co-workers as she hung up her jacket, as if they thought they saw the purple hue around her eye but were not quite sure. They never asked, and Katt never volunteered anything, either. She went about the routine of opening up the restaurant for the morning crowd without saying a word to anyone about the nightmare she was living at home.

Twice, during the day, Katt thought she saw Eric in the parking lot watching her again, but he was trying to hide the car in spots that were not so noticeable to her now. Eric did not want to throw her off guard again today, she was becoming a challenge to control and he was hoping she would believe he was sorry and put this attack aside. Really, the only thing he was sorry about was that she wasn�t bending to his control. That was unexpected. Maybe he had underestimated her after all, he thought.

After dropping her at work, Eric went about his business of meeting Mike, his dealer, and getting a new supply of dope. His customers were getting edgy and so was he. It had been three days since his supply had run out. He was tired of sneaking a toke here and there, trying to hide his habit from Katt. Tonight, he decided, he would let her in on this part of his life and see how she would react to it. She had tried to question him about where he got his money, but he never answered her. She was way more inquisitive than his last girlfriend had been. Katt, he thought, was full of questions. Anyone who asks questions is hard to control, Eric thought to himself, but he would win in the end. He always did, and Katt was going to be his, just like the rest of them had been. He drove out Main Street until he hit 32nd Avenue, then turned left. Two blocks out, he saw Mike�s car parked in the service station. Eric pulled up close and rolled down his window.

Mike�s window slid down and Eric leaned over. �Ya got something for me today, Mike?� he asked.

�Yeah, but the price has changed. It�s another three bucks an ounce,� he replied.

�No prob,� Eric cursed under his breath. �Give me double from last time. Everyone is real dry.�

With that, Mike reached under the front seat and brought out two large coffee cans. He reached across the passenger�s seat and Eric reached in the side window.

Mike held on to them, � One week, Eric.�

�Yeah, yeah, I know,� he jeered, snatching the cans out of Mike�s hand.

�I don�t know about you, man,� Michael said shaking his head at Eric.

�Well, all you have to know is, I pay ya,� replied Eric, starting the car and revving the engine. Eric popped the clutch and squealed out of the parking lot back towards town. He had people to meet and money to collect.

That evening after work, Katt walked slowly towards the car. Her heart was heavy and she felt like a man on death row taking his last walk down a short hall to his execution. The minute she got into the car he lit up a joint. Katt turned to look at him with disbelief as he took another hit from it. There was no mistaking the pungent odor of marijuana. Katt was no innocent. She had smoked a bit before she had gotten married, but found she outgrew it very quickly.

She looked at Eric with a new understanding. The sudden outbursts of rage were coming more into focus. She knew that if he had been using long, it was probably a part of the reason for his behavior. The rest she still chalked up to him having some sort of mental disorder. It would also explain why he kept his suitcases locked up inside her closet. She now knew what he kept in there, and from where the money he had, off and on, was coming.

She had tried to sneak a peek into his suitcase, while he was in the shower one morning, shortly after he had moved in with her. Mainly, she had been yearning to find out something about him other than the little bit of information she did know. She had been unable to open them up and she still knew very little about him.

He had made reference in conversations that his mother was Cree, his father Irish. They both had problems with alcohol and were physically abusive to Eric and his siblings as they were growing up in one of the poorer sections of Halifax. Eric was in and out of trouble as a teenager, but Katt never knew what kind of trouble. He was very close- lipped about his past. Katt didn�t make a fuss as Eric sat behind the wheel of her yellow Ford Capri, enjoying the joint he had lit.
What could she do? Seeing him smoke was far less painful than the beating she was sure she would get if she tried to protest his using drugs, so she sat quietly, waiting for him to finish. Eric was pleased that she had kept her mouth shut. He took another toke and held it in as long as he could, getting the full benefits of the powerful drug. He had made a good score. Sensemelain had only recently become readily available in Canada and it was the drug of choice at the moment. Eric was flying high by the time he had finished the small joint. He sped away toward home, with Katt wondering what was to come next.

Over the next few days, Katt realized that Eric smoked dope the way most people smoked cigarettes. It really was shocking for her to see someone smoke that much dope in a day. As soon as his feet hit the floor in the morning he had one lit, so the mindset started very early in the day for him. And despite those who become quite mellow, his was a violent world, one that Katt wished she had never entered. There was no rhyme or reason for the physical attacks. They always came without warning.

Sitting in the bathtub the next morning, Katt was relaxing. The hot water covering her bruised body felt comforting. In her mind she was trying to plan her escape, one that she knew would prove to be difficult since he never left her alone. She had become so isolated now from her friends that Katt realized just how very alone she was. She knew that if she was to come out of this alive, she had only herself on whom to rely. Somehow, Katt was going to have to find an inner strength capable of carrying this through.

No sooner had the thought of escape entered her mind, than Eric charged through the bathroom door, carrying the cat litter pan. With one swift move he dumped it over her head. Katt had barely enough time to close her eyes, trying to protect them from the acidic litter that pelted her head and body. Katt could hear herself scream unable to stop it in time; it left her lips and filled the small bathroom. She found herself scrambling to get up, the litter was sharp under her bare wet feet and she almost fell trying. She reached out with her hand and steadied herself by the edge of the tub. Eric grabbed a handful of her hair and hauled her violently out of the tub. Water and litter spilled across the floor as he dragged her into the bedroom and threw her down onto the bed.

Katt tried fighting back this time, lashing out at him with her legs and arms flying in all directions. This just seemed to excite him more. He was yelling at her, �You fucking whore!� he screamed. �Do you want to see how a whore is treated?� he spat at her. Eric flipped her over on her stomach and proceeded to force himself into her, sodomizing her for the next half-hour. The pain was unbearable and she struggled not to pass out. Her screams went unheard, stifled by the pillow in her face.

When he was finally spent, and his anger once again subsided, he pulled out of her. He bent down close to her ear and whispered �You�re mine forever, Katt.� She lay bleeding on the bed, afraid to move, afraid to cry, afraid to even breathe.

Eric left the bedroom without another word. She could hear the shower running in the next room. All she could manage to think about was the kitty litter he had dumped on her running down the drain, clogging it up and him blaming her for it. She was terrified of him coming back in and beating her. She closed her eyes tighter and prayed she would wake up from this horrible nightmare.

Katt tried to move off the bed but the pain was horrific. She was sure he must have done internal damage to her. She curled up in a fetal position, pulling the blankets, still wet and covered with some of the cat litter, up around her as she tried to shake off the chill. She started to shake, and for a moment she was afraid she would not be able to stop. She was out of control. Her life was out of control.

She heard the shower stop, and a few moments later, she could hear Eric talking in the kitchen. He called her work, making up another lame excuse for her not coming in again. This would make the fifteenth shift in a month she had missed because of him. She knew, regardless of how good a worker she was, they would start to get tired of the time she was taking off, and the thought of losing her job terrified her.

He opened the bedroom door. �Get up and get dressed. I have people I need to go see, and you�re coming with me,� Eric hollered at her, slamming the door behind him as he left.

Slowly, Katt made it to a sitting position on the edge of the bed. She was nauseous and felt like she was going to pass out again. She gathered her strength and, clutching at the walls, made her way into the bathroom. Once again, she looked into the mirror. Her eyes were filled with pain and tears. Again, she asked God to keep her alive another day, hoping that she could find a way out, asking Him to help her. She looked at the cat litter strewn across the floor, knowing she had to clean it all up before he came into the room after her. Katt got down on her knees. Taking the dustpan in her right hand, she scooped up the litter, tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

Dressing was difficult, but Katt hurried as fast as she could. She found it hard to walk. With each movement, excruciating pain shot up through her, internally. Eric sat at the kitchen table, smoking a joint and acting like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. He seemed to get off on treating her like dirt, and she knew he was getting truly dangerous. He waited impatiently for her to make her way down the stairs to the car. He had no intentions of leaving her alone today. He knew the look of fear that was on her face and also knew that she was resisting his control and would try to run if she had the chance. Something he was not going to give her was a chance to leave him. The day was long, and the pain seemed like it would never end for Katt. Eric made his stops to unload some of his dope, and then they pulled into the local pub parking lot.

�Stay here. I�ll be a minute,� Eric got out and walked to the side door.

Katt laid her head back against the headrest, closed her eyes and tried to relax. She couldn�t remember the last time she felt relaxed. Twenty minutes passed, and Eric emerged from the same door he had entered. He climbed into the bucket seat, inserted the key in the ignition, and started the car. Katt never even acknowledged his presence. Eric looked at her.

�Don�t ya want to know what happened in there?� Eric asked her, with a smug tone in his voice.

Katt still didn�t answer, and stared straight ahead.

�I managed to pick up a gig for Saturday night, so you get a night out,� he sneered.

They drove in silence the rest of the way home.

The prospects of performing on the weekend seemed to lift his dark mood for a few hours. He called and invited over a couple of his drug friends and they sat around the kitchen table rolling joints and getting high, while Eric bragged about the upcoming gig. Katt hoped she might have a reprieve from his violence with his friends there. Everyone was laughing, and for a moment she forgot herself and found she was laughing also. Eric turned and gave her one of his famous looks as she sat beside him. The look she knew, and in an instant, he tipped her backwards in her chair. The rungs from the chair back rammed into her spine and her legs went numb. She couldn�t move.

Eric burst into laughter and his friends, at first shocked, joined in. Katt lay still, waiting for the feeling to come back to the lower part of her body. After what seemed an eternity, she could feel her legs start to tingle. Slowly, she made her way to her knees and used the upset chair to pull herself up. No one came to help her. She started to go into the living room to get out of his reach.

Eric barked at her, �Get your sorry ass back over to the table and sit down.�

Reluctantly she obeyed, sitting silently, nursing the pain in her back, and trying to keep her wits about her. Eric�s friends stayed another couple of hours and, as the night drew in around them, Katt became aware that she would soon have to lie next to him again in the same bed. Katt began cleaning off the table, dumping the ashtrays into an old coffee can, and wiping the ashes from the evening�s joints off the wooden tabletop.

Eric knew she was stalling. �Go get ready for bed. I�m horny,� Eric stated matter-of-factly.

Katt slowly made her way to the bedroom. She undressed, dreading the thought of having to be that close to him. She peeled back the blankets and slid into bed, the pain in her back still very much real. Eric opened the bedroom door and then closed it tightly behind him.

He stood at the end of the bed removing his clothes and watched her reactions. Katt kept all visible emotion from her face. She wouldn�t give him the satisfaction of reading the fear in her eyes. He pulled back the blankets exposing her nakedness, his eyes drinking her in. He climbed up onto the foot of the bed crawling up towards her, and forced his knees in between her legs, opening her up to his full erection. Katt turned her head to the side so she wouldn�t have to look at him as he entered her.

He was rough and she was an unwilling partner. Her lack of involvement made him angry. Eric reached out and slapped her. He still got no reaction. He slapped her again. He rammed into her harder and faster and then it was over. He pulled out, breathless, and flopped on the bed beside her. Katt lay motionless, letting his fluid run out of her onto the sheets beneath. Silently she prayed for a window of opportunity to come and release her from this terror. She closed her eyes and begged for sleep.

Saturday night was Eric�s night to shine. He loved to sing and play his guitar for a crowd. As much as Katt hated to admit it, Eric was very good. The pub was almost full and Katt, along with a couple of Eric�s friends, made their way to the upper level seating area. Her plan was to try to escape tonight while he was up on stage. That quickly vanished as she realized that Mark and Vern were only there to keep an eye on her for him. Her heart sank. She hadn�t recovered enough from the chair-tipping injury to her back to run very fast yet. She knew she didn�t stand a chance of out-running three of them.

One of the men, Mark, was a year younger than she was. He had a nice smile, and always treated her nicely. He was always flirting with her when they were around each other, and she knew from Eric�s nasty comments, that he had a crush on her. Katt tried to avoid him because of Eric�s jealousies. Now as she sat next to him at the table she wondered if push came to shove if Mark would stand up to Eric on her behalf. She hoped that maybe he could be an ally and help her out of this. She shook her head, questioning her own thoughts.

Eric�s first set went rather well. He had a fine voice and his skills on the guitar were excellent. The crowd really liked him and Katt hoped that the applause would somehow taper his mood for the evening. She wanted to get home and asleep tonight without him torturing her sexually in some way. She had never known such raw vicious sex before. He came at her sexually like he came at her with his fists, violently and frequently.

During his last set, Katt noticed that Eric seemed to be agitated with her, making facial expressions that she could read as trouble coming. Unsure of what he had perceived her doing, she was on her guard, waiting for the set to end. As soon as he finished his final tune, he downed the last of his beer in the glass and marched up to where they were sitting. He handed his guitar to Vern and told them to meet him outside. Roughly, he grabbed Katt�s arm and pulled her behind him down the upper level stairs and through the bar, toward the side door. Katt was scared. She replayed the night in her head trying to come up with an explanation for this, and found none. Eric pushed her out the door and hit her the moment it closed behind them.

Her face stung, she tried to duck to miss the second blow but it too landed on the side of her cheek. He was outraged, hollering, screaming at her for talking while he was up on stage.

�You were talking to Mark,� he yelled.

Katt tried to protest. �I was sitting next to him,� she exclaimed.

�Yeah, that�s what people do when they�re having an affair. They sit together,� Eric accused.

Katt tried to reason with him, �When could I do that when you�re always with me?�

He responded quickly with another shot to her face. There was no reasoning with him. The door behind him opened and Mark and Vern emerged. If they hadn�t interrupted, Katt was sure he would have pounded her into the very ground on which they stood. Mark, seeing the welts on Katt�s face and the small trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth, started yelling and moving in on Eric.

Eric cowardly walked away, dragging Katt by her hair along behind him. With Mark protesting and still a few steps behind them, Eric shoved Katt into the car and drove away. Katt remained quiet and dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a damp finger, licking away the blood. Inside she cried. Inside she dreamed what it would be like to be free of Eric�s reign of terror.

Once back at the house, Katt walked as quickly as she could without running, to the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and surveyed the damage to her face in the mirror. She was unsure of how much more her face could take of his beatings. She already had a scar over her right eyelid from a beer bottle he had hit her with one day last week and she had stopped counting the number of black eyes he had inflicted on her during the past four months. Her arms were scarred or still raw from the cigarettes he put out on her flesh. She was really afraid he would start to break some of the facial bones and the urgency to escape grew greater. Katt felt she was running out of time.

Eric stood in the hall, banging on the door, demanding she come out and get ready for bed. She covered her face with her hands. The tears wouldn�t come to the surface and she realized she was becoming emotionally dry, afraid to show anything on the surface or even here, alone in the bathroom.

She grabbed a face cloth, and gently washed her battered face with cold water. It didn�t change the reflection that stared back at her from the mirror. Katt reached for the doorknob and opened the bathroom door, cautiously walking into the bedroom. She removed her jeans and tank top and slid under the covers as he had ordered. She felt his hands sliding between her legs. She felt sick and closed her eyes. Unable to deal with the sex that was about to unfold on her bed, she found a safe place in her mind to go to, forcing her to think about something else as he raped her.

The early morning sun streamed in through the blinds on the bedroom window. It reflected on the wall next to the bed in fine lines interrupted with shadows of Eric moving back and forth inside of Katt. Eric rolled off from on top of her. Katt got out of bed like a zombie. She started the day off, like all the rest lately, and went to the mirror in the bathroom. She surveyed the damage from the day before and asked God to please let her live another day. Next came the task of trying to cover the bruises with makeup, while Eric sat on the side of the bed naked, smoking a joint, and grinning with satisfaction at the roughness of the early morning sex.

On the other side of the wall, Katt stood applying her makeup and wondering what she had done to deserve this in life. She was becoming severely depressed, and even at work, she was sullen and quiet. Unable to fully cover the amount of bruises she had daily, her co-workers were talking behind her back. She had lost her edge on life, and she truly believed that Eric was going to kill her. Finishing up, she quickly dressed, hoping Eric would not come in to watch her and that she could get her clothes on with some peace this morning. When she came out into the kitchen he was standing by the sink, tapping the ashes from yet another joint into it, looking very annoyed. Her stomach sank; she hated that look he gave her, such smug contempt. She braced herself for whatever was coming.

Katt grabbed her black flat-heeled shoes, and stuck them on her feet, her tense toes not wanting to flatten out. Reaching for her purse, hanging from a small wooden hook on the wall, she didn�t have time to see Eric swiftly swing around and he slapped her bruised cheek. She reacted, with such speed she didn�t have time to think about what she was doing. Picking up a heavy cast iron frying pan she raised it at shoulder level. Katt started to swing it at him; his eyes were on fire, glaring a hole in hers.

�Better make this one shot count,� he taunted her, ��cause if you miss, sweetheart, I won�t. You will be dead where you stand.�

All hope left Katt; she knew he was right. If she did not hit him hard enough to kill him, he would finish her off for sure. Giving in, she threw the pan to the counter. It landed loudly, startling even her. She picked her purse up from where it had landed on the floor during the confrontation and opened the side door, slamming it behind her as she left.

The fresh air hit her face and, suddenly the tears that were locked up tight inside her, began to fall. She heard Eric�s footsteps behind her on the stairs and quickly she wiped the remnants of moisture from her cheeks. They rode in silence toward the Mall. As soon as Katt got inside, she went straight for the staff washroom. Peggy, her supervisor, followed her in. She turned Katt around by the shoulders so she was facing her straight on.

�Katt, this cannot continue,� she said. �You�re coming in every day with bruises or marks of some kind, people are starting to talk about you here, and you�re calling in sick too much. Everyone has a shift to cover.�

�I�m really sorry Peggy,� Katt said. �You�re right. I know I have to get away, but he watches me all the time. I can�t just leave by the front door.�
Again Katt felt tears welling up in her eyes. God, she thought, I�m not stupid, I just want to get out of this alive.

Peggy kept at her verbally. Finally she looked down at her feet. �Katt, I�ll have your final pay ready for you in a few moments. Stop by the office and pick it up.� She walked out leaving Katt standing in shock by the bathroom sink.

Katt was visibly upset, and wished Eric had already left the parking lot. She might have made it home before he came back to find out she had been fired. As she peeked out the window, she saw him sitting in her car at the far-left corner of the lot, watching the restaurant.

Katt picked up her pay, gathered up her extra footwear and started for the car. She was trying to prepare herself for the beating she was about to get. After all, now that the income she supplied was gone, he would go wild about it. Her mind was racing so fast it was aching. Think, she told herself, think of something to do here.

A thought ran through her mind, and she grabbed hold of it like a life preserver. A German couple who ran their own restaurant up the road had offered her a job when she had first split up from Ron. Maybe they would hire her now.

She lifted the car door handle and swung it open, sitting down on the seat. She looked at the surprised look on Eric�s face. She started talking and didn�t stop until she had explained what had happened with Peggy. As she was talking, she told Eric to drive her up to the Schnitzel House. Katt held her breath waiting for his reaction. He yelled and hollered and called her a lot of names, slamming his hand repeatedly into the steering wheel, but he didn�t hit her.
She considered herself lucky and assumed he had resisted the urge to hit her because it wouldn�t look good for her to apply for a job with more bruises than what she had already.

Katt pulled open the large wooden door and walked in. The large-sized woman standing behind the counter warmly greeted her. Katt recognized her as Helga. Her husband, Hans, came out from the kitchen area, wiping his big wet hands on the apron that was stretched tightly across his large stomach. They shook hands and Katt asked if they were hiring. She explained she needed a job and could start right away.

Maybe it was the look of sheer desperation on her face, mixed in with the bruises, but Helga asked her if she could start that night. They had a banquet booked and were going to be a girl short. The shift was from 6pm - 2am but Katt didn�t care. She would be working and away from Eric, that was good enough for her. She didn�t even ask about the wages, it just didn�t seem to be important.

Helga took her into the back office, looked her over, and handed her a uniform to wear. She asked her to be back at 5:30pm so she could show Katt around the restaurant before she started working. Katt extended her hand. With a strong grip she shook it, thanking her for the opportunity.

She almost bounced back to the car -- she was so relieved. She caught sight of Eric, sitting in plain view of Helga and Hans, making a drug deal with a couple of local teenagers. She was horrified to think he would do that in view of the restaurant she was just hired at, so she got into the car and announced that she started working at 5:30 that night.

The next couple of weeks went well at the restaurant. Helga and Hans were your typical, older, married couple working together. They argued sometimes like cats and dogs. It made her chuckle when they got to carrying on, often speaking their native German. They were very gruff to the other girls who worked there, but for some reason, they seemed to have a soft spot for her.

Sometimes, when it was slow, Hans would stand beside her and tell her about what their life had been like when they lived in Germany. He told her how they had hidden and crossed the countryside in darkness to escape their homeland during the war, and the atrocities they had seen.

Katt missed her parents, so the fatherly attention from Hans was welcomed. She even considered telling him what was going on with Eric, but hesitated to draw them into the midst of her hell. She was petrified of what Eric might do to them if he found out.

Weekends were still the worst for Katt. It meant too much time alone with Eric and his crew of friends. It was commonplace to have the duplex�s dining room filled with the acrid stench of dope from morning until bedtime. She tried to keep herself as busy as possible, and out of Eric�s line of vision, trying to lessen the incidence of burns and beatings to her body.

The landlord, who lived in the adjoining half of the duplex, had given her another written notice about the noise and fighting. She knew full well that she was on thin ice with him. She only wished that he would pick up the phone and call the police when he heard Eric beating her, but not once did he get involved or try to help her.

Eric and Gene were sitting at the table taking the last hauls off a joint and arguing about whose car was fastest. Katt�s stomach was in knots, she knew where this conversation was heading -- a race. To make matters worse, it was raining, the roads were slick, and a misty fog was hanging above the blacktop. She was scared. She did not, under any circumstances, want to get into a car with Eric and race Gene. She fought to come up with a good excuse to stay behind at the house. She was nauseous and fighting to keep her stomach contents down as the discussion escalated to hollering.

Eric grabbed her as she walked by his chair, ordering her to get a jacket on; they were going to settle this car thing once and for all. Katt reached for the phone on the first ring, thanking in her mind whoever it was that had called, for saving her from going with them. Her mother�s voice came through the phone. Katt breathed a sigh of relief, and she called out to Eric that she had a long distance call and could not go with them. She watched as he roughly pushed the chair into the table, making it hit hard. He and Gene walked out the door. She heard her car start up in the drive. They were revving their engines. She didn�t have a good feeling about this at all. As they pulled out, gravel flew up into the air.

Katt looked at her watch, noting the time as she talked to her parents. Eric had been gone about fifteen minutes, plenty of time for two childish men to settle a bet she thought, as she hung up the phone.
The sounds of sirens in the distance and the screech of tires on the loose gravel in the driveway overrode that thought. She ran to the door and flung it open. Gene was sitting behind the wheel of his car, honking the horn. She ran out the door and down the stairs to see what he wanted. As she opened the front passenger door she saw Eric, covered in mud, and slumped over in the back seat. She got in and sat down.

�Man, you should have seen your car fly, Katt. He had her airborne,� Gene was pumped up with adrenaline, talking a mile a minute. Katt was trying to follow what he was telling her, and as they pulled out onto the main street, two police cars and an ambulance roared past them.

�Where are we going?� Katt asked. Her heart was racing.

Eric was moaning and barely conscious, his head hanging almost to his chest. Gene was still talking fast, and explained how the car skidded on the wet road by the small bridge on the top of the hill. It flipped end for end, hitting a telephone pole before landing out in the field. The rear axle, torn off the car, was lying out in the field about 50 feet away. Eric had been ejected through the rear window and Gene found him lying in the wet field unable to move. He dragged him back into his own car, trying to get away from the accident site before the police arrived. Eric, it seems, had no driver's license and was carrying a baggie of dope in his pants pocket. Gene had removed the dope and tossed it out before they landed back in Katt�s dooryard.

Gene raced down Main Street to the Hospital, only twenty minutes away. Up ahead they could see the red and blue lights of the police cruisers as they blocked their only route to the hospital. Katt sat stiffly, wishing she had not come with them. Gene slowed, rolling his side window down in the process. A police officer approached the window and looked in, he was angry and threatened to charge Gene with leaving the scene of an accident. The officer bent down further to look in at Katt. She knew a lot of the officers from their detachment but she didn�t recognize him. He looked in the back seat at Eric and, seeing the seriousness of his injuries, told Gene to fall in behind his cruiser, that he would escort him to the hospital. Another officer pulled his patrol car in behind them.

As they pulled into the hospital's front entrance, Katt jumped out and opened the back door. The officer must have radioed ahead, because an orderly and nurse were already standing there, waiting with a stretcher. They placed Eric on it and raced inside. Katt started to follow them in through the front door, but the officer motioned for her to follow him to a side room. There he questioned Katt about the accident but she stopped him short, explaining that she wasn�t actually with them when the accident had happened.

The officer told her he had figured that because, after seeing the extensive damage done to the car, if anyone had been sitting in the passenger�s seat they would surely be dead right now. Katt felt her knees go weak, as the officer continued asking how she knew these two men, what their names were, did she know where they lived? Katt told him what she knew, which really wasn�t a whole lot. When he was through she went to the desk to ask where they had taken Eric.

It was hours before she was allowed to see him. He had fractured his back and six ribs, along with multiple cuts and bruises. They had him pretty drugged up when she went into his room in the intensive care ward. He was laid out in some kind of traction machine and had a lot of wires and tubes attached to him. He lay quietly. She felt nothing for him as she watched him lying there. She turned and left the room.

Katt went home by taxi. Gene had left the hospital as soon as they had taken Eric out of his backseat, not waiting to talk to the police. She was pretty sure they had probably tracked him down by now, though. She fed the dogs when she got home, and put them out for a run in the fenced back yard. The peace around the house was almost deafening. It had been six months since she had been relaxed when she walked into her own home. She had visions of a good night�s sleep, but first there was something she wanted to do -- pack.

Katt knew this was her chance to get away. God had finally given her a window to escape.

She got the boxes she had saved from her move into the duplex out of the spare room and quickly started to fill them. She was anxious, nervous even, as though Eric was going to walk through the door at any moment and catch her. She found herself just throwing things in the boxes, not even wrapping them to keep them from getting broken.

As she was packing up her belongings in the bedroom, she reached down and pulled his suitcase up onto the bed and played with the locks trying to get it open. Even after all these months she wanted to know what he kept locked up in there. Unsuccessful, she went to the kitchen and retrieved a knife from the drawer. Upon returning to the suitcase, she pried open the lock and lifted the lid. She started to rummage through newspaper clippings. They were faded and worn on the edges, the paper yellowed with age.

One in particular caught Katt's eye, �Local Man Held On Attempted Murder� the headline read. Katt read the article in horror. She found herself slowly lowering her body down onto the corner of the bed, all the while her eyes were still fixed on the words she was reading.

The page was dated 1973. Seven years ago, Katt thought as she continued reading how Eric had beaten his wife and seven-month-old child so badly that, at the time the article was written, it was still unclear if they both would survive. The other articles followed the trial throughout the weeks to come, giving great detail to the horror this woman and child had endured during the two-year marriage. The subsequent pregnancy and the beatings had continued and intensified, until the final beating that almost killed them. Rubbing her latest black eye, Katt felt like she was reading about her life with Eric. It was all so similar.

He had been sentenced to ten years, but only served five, locked up in Ontario�s Penetanguishene prison system. Katt put the articles back in the suitcase and sat quietly, staring off into space, knowing she had to get going, but trying to take in what she had just learned. Not that she was shocked at all. Her suspicions had been pretty accurate about him, but now it had been confirmed. She knew she was in extreme danger.

She slept fitfully and was tired from packing well into the early hours of the morning, so she fell back to sleep quickly each time she had awoken. Katt was grateful for the calmness that was hanging over her. She knew what she had to do and she had set the plan in motion, so she felt a kind of excitement in it all. She had a fast shower, brushed out her hair and put some fresh make-up on, covering the bruises, which were now getting a yellow hue to them. She slipped on a pair of jeans and a pullover and ran down the list of things that she had to do for the day.

First on the list was to get another car. Something cheap. She had seven hundred dollars saved in her bank account. Katt had been saving that money for a trip home to see her parents and she was disappointed that she would now have to withdraw it to buy a car. But it was all part of the bigger plan so it had to be done. She would just have to start saving all over again.

As she got to the back door, and bent to put her sneakers on, someone knocked, startling her. She opened it to find the landlord holding a piece of paper in his left hand, his right nervously stuck in his pants pocket. He held it out for her to take, turned and walked down the steps without saying a word.

Katt read the first line �Notice to Vacate,� and her heart sank. She was hoping to have a couple of weeks to get things cleared out and look for a new place to live. Now she had forty-eight hours. Will anything go right, she thought, as she finished tying her sneakers? She opened the door and started walking towards the main street of the village.

Once there, she stuck out her thumb, hoping to catch a ride to Langley. It didn't take her long. An older model blue Ford pulled up. She peeked in and saw an elderly couple. The woman sitting on the passenger side inquired as to where she was headed. Katt told her and then hopped into the back seat. She got a lecture about a young girl hitchhiking alone from them, and inside she grinned. They sounded just like what her own parents would have said to her.

She thanked them, when they stopped forty minutes later, in front of the 'Rent A Wreck' dealer. Getting out and giving them a quick wave, she walked across the parking lot. Katt wasn't too fussy on what she got for a car as long as it ran and was under seven hundred dollars. A man, looking to be in his mid fifties, came towards her as she stood scanning the car lot. She explained to him what she wanted to spend and he steered her towards a small Grey Toyota four door. He handed her the key and she started it up, taking it for a drive around the block.

It was loud, in need of a new muffler, but it had a current safety sticker so she figured she could get away without replacing it for a few months. She and the salesman went inside the office, signed all the necessary paper work, and Katt handed him the check.

She felt good as she came back out and got into the car to leave. The first step done, she thought. Now the hard part was coming up. She had to go to the hospital and make an appearance so Eric wouldn�t get suspicious of her.
Eric was back to his old self. The minute Katt walked into his room, he started yelling at her. He wanted to know where she had been, what she had been doing, why had it taken her half the day to get in to see him, and most importantly, where was his dope? Katt stared at him in disbelief.

�You want me to bring in your dope? To the hospital?� she asked.

He grabbed her wrist and twisted it, Katt pulled away, but not before it left a red welt mark.

�Yeah, bitch. Go get it right now, I need a toke.� He replied.

�Eric,� Katt started, �I came here by taxi.� she lied. �I'm not going home and back again with your dope. You will have to make do with whatever they give you here for the pain.�

Eric slapped the wash basin with his hand; it flew off the end of the table and struck Katt in the hip before she could move out of the way. Just then, a nurse came into the room in time to hear him cursing and calling her names. Katt shook her head and walked out of the room. She was half way down the long hall before the nurse called out to her.

�Are you his girlfriend?� she asked. �Does he always treat you like that?� she inquired, referring to the incident in the room.

�No, I'm just his punching bag,� Katt replied. �Actually, he was being nice right then,� a note of sarcasm in her voice.

The nurse looked at her, quite puzzled. �He seems to have a very nasty temper, and has been very mouthy to us here on the ward,� the nurse said. She reached out and touched Katt's arm.

�If he is abusing you, why are you still with him?� she asked with accusing eyes.

�Well,� Katt said, as she continued to walk for the front door, �I was waiting for God to give me a break, and he just did.�

The nurse stood puzzled and watched as Katt walked out the front door, hoping in her heart that the young woman was right. Hoping that she was making a break from him, and wishing her luck under her breath.

Katt grabbed a newspaper at the 7/11 store before going home. Once there she started phoning around trying to find a place cheap enough to move into. The rent freeze had just recently gone off and now landlords thought it was free reign to increase their rents as much as they wanted. She found not one place under six hundred a month. That was her total monthly income. Depressed, she put the phone down and cried. She must have sat there a long time, trying to think of where she could possibly go.

Finally, she picked up the yellow pages and opened it to storage lockers. She got the rates and picked up the phone again to call for pricing on truck rentals. She set everything up for Thursday, got up off the chair, and started packing again, this time with a definite mission in mind and a very narrow time frame.
Wednesday came and went. She was all packed and ready to go and yet Katt still had no place to live. Work was going well and for that she was thankful. Leaving work that night, she stopped to talk to some of the local teens hanging out at the pool hall next to where her car was parked. They always spoke to her when she left in the evenings, and tonight was no exception. As they stood talking, they mentioned a spot where they party on the weekends called 'The Lights'. They were large light towers for the telephone and cable services in the area and the towers were lit up with the usual warning lights for aircraft. Sometimes the police check the place out on the weekends, but mostly it was their hangout place.

Katt started thinking, if worse came to worse, she could pitch her tent and stay there. The nights were still a little cool, but the dogs would generate body heat and they would protect her if need be. The kids were still talking away to her, but her mind was elsewhere. She had to make sure she was out of the house by end of the day tomorrow. Katt left the group and drove the short distance home, knowing she now had a place to go to.
Katt helped the men load up the truck. She didn�t mind, and it would make things go a lot quicker. They got everything unloaded on the other end, at the storage locker, that evening, and on the way back to the village, Katt stopped at the kennel to drop off Eric's dogs. She hated to leave them there. She may hate Eric, but the dogs were innocent of their owner�s crimes and it tugged at her heart to say goodbye to them.
Katt had packed the trunk of the car with everything she could think of that she would need with which to camp out. The suitcase with her clothes, she could use to prop up in front of the zipper on the tent at night to feel a little more secure, and she could leave the dog�s and cat�s food in the trunk so that it wouldn�t attract any wild animals.

Katt asked Helga if she could come in early to work and go down stairs to their small apartment and use the shower daily. Helga was upset that she was going to be sleeping in a tent, and the motherly concern was understandable and appreciated by Katt. At least if she never showed up for work, someone would know where to look for her.
With the cats in their small kennel, and the dogs on their ropes, she set off for The Lights. First she had to stop and pick up Darrell on the corner of Main Street and 122nd Avenue. He had agreed to show her how to get there and it was getting dark. Katt took a deep breath and started up the noisy Toyota to head back toward the village. Darrell was waiting right where he said she would meet him. He got in the car and with a lot of left and right turns he guided Katt to her new home. He stayed and helped her pitch the tent before she drove him back to the same spot where she had picked him up.

Katt spent a restless first night. The dogs had growled and barked at every strange noise and the cats meowed most of the night from being confined to their kennel. Katt thought maybe tomorrow night they would be better off loose in the car so they could wander and use the litter box when need be. The dogs would have to stay with her in the tent though, and hopefully, they would get used to the different noises they heard throughout the night.
She woke, sore from the ground, her air mattress had sprung a leak and it lay flat underneath her aching body. Sasha and Sam licked her face as she lay huddled under the blankets, her cue to get up and let them out for their morning call of nature.
Once all the animals were fed and looked after, she grabbed her uniform, packed her faithful pets into the car and headed to work. Her first day shift in weeks, she had been hoping to spend the day looking some more for an apartment but that would have to be put off until tomorrow now.

When she landed back at her new home that evening, Darrell and three of his friends were waiting for her. The kids were a much welcome sight, and Katt was so grateful for the company as dusk was coming on and she honestly was nervous about staying down there alone.
Darrell was a nice young man. She had worked with him in the Mall so she trusted his motives when he said they just stopped by to check in on her. They sat with her until quite late, sipping pop, smoking cigarettes and laughing. That was something Katt had missed so much. The sound of laughter in the night air made her smile. Freedom felt good.

Katt got through the weekend okay alone. She was beginning to enjoy the peacefulness of the area during the day, and she played fetch the ball with Sasha and Sam a lot to keep them busy. She also put the cats on the dog�s ropes so they could wander around quite freely without the fear of them getting lost.
The weekend nights at The Lights though, were one long party. The local teens showing up with their coolers full of beer. They were basically good kids and when Katt excused herself to go to the tent for the night, they kept the noise level down and she wasn't even sure what time they had broken up the party and gone home. The kids thought it was cool that Katt was living at The Lights in her tent, but she told them it wasn't half as romantic as they made it out to be. She would be gone from their space as soon as she found an apartment. They nodded in acknowledgment but she knew they just didn't get it.
She had found herself wondering what was happening with Eric and made a mental note to phone the hospital to make sure he was still in there. She had a very uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach today, and she didn't like it. She found herself tense and looking around a lot. She tried to tell herself that she was being silly, that he was still under the watchful eye of the nurses but somehow she could not make herself believe it.

She crawled out of her sleeping bag, slipped on her sandals and went about the routine she now had set for herself. The early morning dew was cold on her toes as she stepped outside into the long grass. The sun was breaking over the mountains; it was going to be a nice day.
Katt loaded the animals into the car, grabbed a bottle of pop from the cooler, started up the noisy car and headed towards the village to get the daily paper. She felt a slight optimism that something would be in it today worth looking at and, hopefully, in her price range. Flipping to the classifieds, Katt let her eyes scan over the ones she had read every day for the past week, waiting for something new to pop out at her. Disappointment filled her as she realized that there was nothing new. She resigned herself to the fact it would be another night at The Lights. Another day imposing on her employers to let her shower and get cleaned up in their washroom.

They had been so good to her, begging her to stay on their sofa even, but Katt felt she was really stepping over the line already by using their facilities, so she turned down their almost daily offers. She was starting to feel almost worth while again, although her defenses were still up and she still lacked the trust she once had in people. She knew deep down she had learned a great life lesson from the past six months.

�The Hollow�
Day 1-
Another night shift over, Katt grabbed her jacket and purse and stepped out into the parking lot. It was later than usual when she got out and the kids she looked forward to talking to each night had long since gone home. The cool night air hit her and she slid her arms into her coat and headed for the car. Hans had gotten into the habit of waiting until she got to her car before he turned the outside lights off. She turned back to wave to him and inserted her key into the door lock, swung it open and sat in the seat. She was greeted with lots of licks from the two dogs. Katt giggled and tried to sound serious when she told them to get into the back seat and be good boys. She reached out for the handle of the door to pull it closed, when a hand grabbed it first.

Startled, she screamed out, but his hand went over her mouth before a sound could be heard. Roughly, he pushed her over to the passenger side and he jumped into the driver�s seat beside her. The engine started and before she knew it they were pulling away from the restaurant.
Her worst fears had become a reality. It was Eric behind the wheel of her car, and Katt suddenly went into 'safe mode'. She was trying to act happy to see him, asking him questions about his stay at the hospital, but it did not work. He was furious, yelling at her for not coming to see him for the past ten days. He accused her of having sex with someone else while he was gone, wanting to know his name, where was she living now, with this new man? Where were his belongings, his dogs, she was bombarded with his questions. Unable to give the answers he wanted to hear, Eric backhanded her and she fell silent, her head hitting the side passenger window.

Katt sat quietly trying to decide how to get out of this. He was traveling on the highway heading towards Vancouver, and going much too fast to jump out. She knew she would have to wait until he got into the city and stopped at a traffic light. Almost like he was reading her mind, he suddenly pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and demanded she put her hands out.
Katt tried once more to talk to him, to reason with him. She asked where they were going but he was too focused to be drawn into her idle chatter. He slapped her and again asked her for her hands. She unwillingly complied with the order and he snapped the cuff around her left wrist and up to the handle above the glove box of the car and back to her right wrist. She was trapped, unable to move away from him or jump out now. Her stomach was in knots. Fear built in her, like steam in a kettle, waiting to be released.

The hour and half drive seemed to take forever. Eric was toking and yelling pretty much the whole way. He blamed her for having to sign himself out of the hospital just because she wouldn�t bring him his dope. Katt was doing what she could to block him out, trying to go to a safe place in her mind, trying to find some peace in all the chaos.
He drove through the city and toward the outskirts. Katt knew the road well; they were heading for the ferry. He was taking her off the mainland. Her fears intensified now, and her arms were going numb from hanging in the air so long. The road was twisty and he was driving much too fast. Her stomach was nauseous.

The line up for the ferry was small this early in the morning. About eight cars where lined up ahead of them. Eric paid the fare from the tip money in her purse and they drove onto the lower level of the ferry. It was very dimly lit inside and they didn�t disembark the car as required, but instead they sat listening to the roar of the engines as it pulled away from the dock and out of the harbor to open waters.
Katt was extremely scared. She was being taken out of her element, so to speak, away from anyone who could possibly help her. She had no idea where they were going. She searched her memory for any mention that he may have made over the months of knowing anyone on the Island, but she came up blank.

Eric had grown a bit calmer just sitting looking at her and Katt hoped that the worst was over for now. He reached over and undid one of the handcuffs from her left hand and her hopes lifted somewhat. It was short lived.
Eric ordered her to remove her pantyhose and underwear. Katt did as she was told and he lifted up her skirt, almost tearing it on the sides. He released the recliner lever on the seat and she found herself laid back, staring at the roof of the car. Quickly he undid the zipper on his jeans and let them slide to his knees. He picked up her left leg and placed her heel up on the dash. Bringing her hips up around his waist, he roughly rammed himself inside her. She was unprepared and dry and as he moved inside her, she felt like she was being scraped with sandpaper. Katt closed her eyes and went to her safe place, waiting for him to finish. He bent down to kiss her; something he rarely did, and she opened her eyes in shock when she felt his lips brush against hers.

She kept her mouth closed defiantly, unwilling to participate in his pleasure. He forced his tongue between her teeth, opening her mouth ever so slightly. Katt bit his lip bringing blood into her own mouth and quickly moved her head to the side. He slapped her across the face and it magnified his pleasure bringing him to the peak, causing him to explode inside her. The dogs cowered in the back seat; they too knew the wrath of his hand in the past and would be no protection for Katt.
Katt felt more used than ever, she felt his liquid run out from between her legs as he withdrew. Eric pulled up his jeans and sat back down on the seat beside her, telling her again she was indeed his forever.

She reached down with her free hand and put her panties back on, trying to reposition her skirt before he fastened her wrist into the handcuff on the dash again. Katt knew this rough sex was exciting to him. As much as the thought disgusted her, she knew she had to try to start thinking like him so she wouldn�t react as he expected her to. Up until now, she hadn�t fought back. Now she felt she would have to fight to save her life.

They felt the ferry dock. It hit hard and bounced back ever so slightly. The few passengers on board came back down the stairs towards their cars. Katt�s impulse was to start screaming for help, but almost like he was reading her mind, Eric menacingly placed his hand on her head and pushed her down into the seat more. She felt sheer desperation wash over her.
The main bay door opened and Eric started up the car. The smell of the car exhausts filled her nose and soon they were out into the open once again, like emerging out of a dark cave. Daylight had broken and the sun was coming up on the horizon. About a mile up the road, he pulled the car over to let the whining dogs out for a run. As he opened the car door they bounded out, running through the field, sniffing the ground. Sam lifted his nose and sniffed the air, the breeze from the ocean making his golden colored ears flap against the sides of his head. Katt smiled as she watched them run, wishing she could open the door and run also, run as far and as fast as possible away from Eric.

�Call your dogs back. I want to get going,� Eric said

Katt rolled down her window a bit, not an easy feat while handcuffed, and whistled. Sasha and Sam came running full tilt and hopped into the back seat again, panting and in need of a drink of cold water.
Eric pulled back out onto the roadway, heading north. Katt had been to the island before to visit relatives but they lived in Victoria. She was not familiar with this part of the island and unsure of where they were going to end up. They followed the coast for a couple of hours. Katt stared out the window of the car, mesmerized by the rough water. The white caps hit the shoreline and the sea gulls floated on the wind, so graceful, so free.

Eric turned off the main highway onto a secondary road. They were now heading inland. Katt asked him again where they were going, but she got no answer. He sat focused on his driving and smoking his joints. Katt was tired but too afraid to close her eyes. She forced herself to stay awake. She wanted to see where they were, what they passed along the way. Just in case she should get free, she wanted to know how to get back from where he was taking her.

The sun was warm on her face as Katt sat quietly next to Eric in the car. Her wrists were sore and she glanced back at the dogs, asleep on the back seat, Sasha�s head resting across Sam�s shoulder. The cats were sleeping also; unaware of what was really going on around them. So lucky, Katt thought, to be removed from it all. She turned back in her seat and for a moment she looked at Eric�s profile. She felt nothing but hate and contempt for him. He repulsed her deep to her core. She looked back out the windshield, the sun�s glare making her squint.
Eric slowed and made a sharp right turn off onto a steep gravel driveway, the rocks crackling under the tires as he applied the brakes. Katt sat up straighter in her seat, at the bottom of the drive was a beautiful log house with a wide veranda across the front. In almost a semi-circle slightly to the left of the log house were three travel trailers in varying degrees of disrepair. The area was well-secluded by tall cedar trees and shrubs, the deep terrain making them totally invisible from the main road they had just come off.

�Welcome to the Hollow,� Eric said to her as he opened the car door and got out.

�Welcome to what?� Katt asked.

But he was already walking across the driveway toward the house. A tall man emerged from the main front door and started across the veranda toward Eric, his hand extended. Katt managed to roll her window down completely and tried to hear what they were saying, as they stood on the veranda talking, straining her ears, but they were out of range. The tall man with the long blonde hair and full beard reached into his pocket and handed Eric a key; he then nodded and descended the stairs back toward the car.
Eric reached in and unlocked the handcuff through Katt�s open side window, but he held on to it as he opened her car door. The dogs took their cue and hopped out between her and the car door, barking as they went. Katt hoped they would stick close, they weren�t used to it here and she didn�t want them to get lost.

�What did you call this place?� she asked again.

�The Hollow,� he replied. �Our new home.� He pulled her along behind him as he moved toward the better looking of the three trailers.

�How long are we going to be here for?� Katt asked, knowing she was pushing her luck with the questions.

�Forever,� he replied with an evil grin.

He inserted the key into the padlock on the rust spotted metal door, it fell free and he put it in his pocket and pulled open the door, shoving Katt in ahead of him. The trailer was dark and the air was stale with the slight smell of mold. Eric reached across the table and pulled back the worn black and red striped curtains, and sunlight flooded the small room. Katt let her eyes adjust to the light and looked around.
The front of the trailer consisted of a table with bench type seats built into the floor and side walls. Just to the left of the door was a stovetop, and next to that, a small stainless steel sink. Cupboards dotted the wall over top and under the sink. On the opposite side of the trailer was a small white fridge built into the wall, with drawers the full length of the rest of the dark paneled wall. Beside the fridge was a door. Katt opened it and discovered the washroom, complete with a shower on the sidewall. The floor from the main living area was designed so that it curled up and was sealed to stop any water from the shower from flowing out of the room.

Katt instinctively reached out and turned on the tap to see if there was water. It sputtered out of the faucet and into the stained sink below. She let it run for a few moments then twisted the chrome fixture until it was off. The next door was a closet with some men�s winter coats on metal hangers hanging from the rod and an old worn broom stood in its corner. The very end of the trailer was a sofa that, when pulled out on the side, made into a double size bed. Katt took the few steps back towards the front of the trailer; Eric was sitting on the bench seat smoking yet another joint.
Katt stood nervously by the stove as Eric crushed the remainder of the joint into a tin can ashtray sitting on the table. He reached out and took hold of her wrist and hauled her toward the back bed area. She cringed at the thought of what he was going to do to her. Pushing her down onto the bed he pulled at her panties and out of frustration ripped them off her.

He tore her skirt as he pushed it up around her hips. Katt fought to keep from reacting to him by going to her safe place, letting her mind take her away from him. She showed no emotion as he forced himself into her. Just raping her was not enough for Eric to get off on. The fact that Katt was not fighting back made him angry. He wanted a reaction from her. He balled up his fist and hit her in the face. Her jaw exploded in pain that shot up to her temple. She tried to slap him back but he grabbed her hand in mid air and then hit her in the eye with his free hand. He continued to thrust inside of her, and Katt prayed in her head for him to hurry and finish with her. She noticed that this game too was losing its ability to make him come to orgasm as he liked and she wondered what he would think of next to do to her to reach his goal.

He stopped for a moment and lit a cigarette. She stared at him, with her eyes open wide. He struggled with her, trying to flip her over on her stomach. Katt clenched her teeth and prepared for the pain as he entered her anally. In a matter of seconds, he leaned down with the cigarette in his mouth and pushed the hot tip of it into her back. Katt fought not to cry out, but it was too much to hold in. Giving in, she cried out; and Eric came inside of her.
He slapped her on the buttocks and pulled out. She lay with silent tears falling into the dusty bedding beneath her. She could hear his zipper and belt being done up, and then he flopped down next to her on the bed smoking the rest of his cigarette.

Katt wiped her face into the bed so Eric wouldn�t see her tears. She didn�t want him to know how much he had hurt her. She was so afraid of what he would do to her next time. Eric rose up off the bed and, grabbing her wrist, snapped the handcuff around the small brass light fixture that hung on the sidewall. He went to the doorway, and looked back at her. Katt looked away from him. He opened the door and stepped out into the afternoon sun, closed the door and locked it behind him.

She could hear his footsteps in the gravel of the driveway as he crossed the yard. A moment later, the car started and she heard it pull away, the transmission straining up the steep driveway to the main road. Katt brought her battered body upright, she looked over the small light then, grabbing her other wrist with her free hand, she yanked as hard as she could, trying to break the light off the wall.
Again she tried, but it never budged. Once more she gave it all she had. Still it never moved. With her wrist now red and sore, she lay back down on the bed but the welt from the cigarette burn was painful and she rolled onto her side hoping sleep would come and stop the nightmare for a few hours.

She woke to the sound of Eric�s key in the door lock, and the dogs barking. He entered with his hands full of plastic grocery bags, dropping them onto the floor just inside the doorway. Katt never moved as she heard his footsteps coming closer, she pinched her eyes closed and waited. He fumbled with the handcuff key, but then it opened and fell loose from the brass light.

�Get up and put this shit away,� he ordered her.

Katt slowly rolled over, then sat up on the side of the bed.

�Can I have some clothes to put on?� she asked him.

Eric left the trailer and within minutes she heard the trunk slam shut and he was back inside the trailer with her jeans and a sweater. He threw them at her. Katt bent down and picked them up off the floor.

�No panties?� she asked.

�You don�t need them,� he replied, with a grin on his face.

Katt stood up and went into the tiny bathroom.

�Leave the door open so I can watch you,� Eric called out to her.

She pushed open the door with her foot and turned on the tap, letting the cold water spill over the washcloth in her hand. Katt washed up and slipped into her jeans. She put her head into the sweater and pulled it down over her breasts. It scraped over the burn on her back on the way.
She stepped in closer to the sink and looked into the pitted old mirror hanging over the sink. She shook her head at her reflection. No makeup was left on her face now and her hair was tangled. She wished she had an elastic band so she could tie it up out of the way. Her face was bruised and her left eye looked like it was going to turn into a real shiner. She ran her fingers through her long straight hair and then went back out into the main area of the trailer where Eric was still watching her from the bench.

Without a word, she went about emptying the grocery bags, putting the food into the small fridge and cupboards. The sun was going down through the tall trees casting eerie shadows in the trailer. Soon it would be dark in the Hollow and Katt longed to lay her head down and sleep some more. She fixed Eric something to eat, but she still couldn�t bring herself to think about eating yet. After she was finished cleaning up Eric slapped the handcuff around the table leg to her wrist and left the trailer, making his way across the yard once again to visit the blonde man in the log house.
Katt sat in the glow of the small brass light from the bed area. She imagined that the man in the log house must be Eric�s drug connection since he seemed to have an endless supply.

She didn�t even know what his name was, and wondered what Eric had told him about her, and what reason he gave as to why she never came out of the trailer all day. She sat at the table trying to fit together the pieces, but nothing seemed to make any sense to her anymore, especially why they were here.
Eric came back to the trailer around midnight. Katt had dozed off sitting up with her head resting on the back of her arm across the tabletop. She could smell the beer and dope as he bent down close to her to undo the handcuff from the table leg. She took that as an invitation to go to bed and Katt made her way to the back of the trailer and laid down fully clothed, on the bed, as close as she could against the wall. She heard the handcuff snap locked and looked down to see that he had fastened the other end of it to his own wrist. She would be tied to him all night while they slept. She turned her head away from him and closed her eyes, thankful that he was going to let her sleep.

DAY 2- ______

Katt awoke to the sounds of voices outside the trailer. Opening one eye, she glanced over at Eric. He was still sleeping and she was still attached to his wrist. She lay listening to them talk. It was both male and female voices but just far enough away that she couldn�t make out their words. Katt wished she could get up and go to the window, get their attention somehow. Her heartbeat grew faster from the thought. Eric stirred beside her. She really dreaded him waking. Her face and jaw were still paining from yesterday�s beatings. He opened his eyes, looking straight at her.

�Who�s talking?� he asked in a raspy morning voice.

�I�m not sure. There�s some people outside,� Katt replied.

Eric got up from the bed, causing Katt to be jerked along with him, going to the front windows by the table. He peeked out through the curtains, turned and undid the cuff from his wrist. He fastened it to the table leg again, leaving Katt standing there stunned. He ran his fingers through his hair, grabbed a joint from his jacket pocket and left the trailer, locking the door behind him.
Katt watched him through the window as they stood in the driveway talking. A few moments later the two women, Eric, and the blonde man went into the log house. Katt was grateful for the interruption this morning. It was one less sexual beating for her to endure for the day. She ached so badly and was still so very tired that she just didn't want to move. Katt lay back onto the short bench seat, her legs dangling over the end and closed her eyes. She waited impatiently for Eric to return so she could use the washroom.

Eric came back to the trailer an hour later. Katt woke when she heard the key in the lock. She sat upright unsure of the mood he would be in, preparing for the worst.

�You still here?� he laughed at her as he bent over and inserted the key in the cuff around the table leg. It swung free and Katt stood to stretch out.

�Can I use the washroom now?� she asked.

He grunted his approval to her and she took the few steps to the bathroom door.

Once inside, she surveyed the damage done to her face. It was terrible. Her left eye was badly swollen and two different shades of purple, and her cheeks were also sporting a hue of colors. She ran her hand along her jaw line. It too, was tender to the touch and there was a bluish tint under her chin. Katt took a face cloth off the small metal bar and soaked it in cold water, holding it gently to her face. No amount of makeup will cover this up, she thought. She re-folded the cloth and hung it back on the towel bar. Eric banged on the thin wooden door, startling her.

�Coming out sometime today?� he asked.

�Give me a minute, will ya,� Katt replied, a note of contempt coming through in her voice.

�Shit,� she whispered, as she realized how it had sounded. She feared repercussions.

�Don�t get cute with me!� he hollered back, hitting the door with his hand.

Katt was grateful the door was between them and that it was locked. She finished her business and emerged. Eric shot her one of his famous looks, and she was put in her place with it.

�Hurry up and fix some breakfast,� he growled, and Katt silently did as she was told.

He finished eating in silence. Katt still couldn�t find an appetite, so she went about cleaning off the table. It was then that she decided to try to broach the subject of calling her parents.

�Eric, if I don�t call my folks today or tomorrow they will think something�s wrong, and call work looking for me. Is there a phone I can use somewhere?�

He looked up at her with an evil grin �Well, nothing is wrong, is it?�

�No,� she swallowed hard, �I just don�t want them to worry is all. You know I call a couple times a month since Dad�s operation.�

�Tonight,� he was agitated. �Tonight you can call. There�s a phone booth up the road,� he answered.

Katt knew she had to think of something to say to them on the phone that would tip them off to the fact that she wasn�t okay. And she only had the afternoon to come up with it.
Eric leaned back on the bench and lit a joint, �Your dogs need to be fed,� he said.

�So do the cats. Can I go out and get their food from the trunk?� Katt asked. Eric snickered at her.

�Not fuckin� likely. I�ll have to do it, won�t I?� Eric snarled at her.

Katt turned away before he could see the look of hate on her face. She swore at him under her breath. She had never hated anyone so much before as what she felt for him. Katt sat down at the table, afraid to go near the back bed area. Eric finished smoking his joint. He got up off the bench, snapped the other end of the cuff around the table leg and left. Katt heard him slam the trunk back down and was relieved the animals were getting some food at last. What will become of us she thought, what was the end going to be?

She was so afraid of him she didn�t even have the words to describe how she felt. Deep down, her worst fear was that Eric would end up killing her and her body would be buried in this terrible place called the Hollow, never to be found again. She imagined her parent�s anguish at losing another child, their anger at the senselessness of it all. The questions they would have that would never be answered. She tried to block the thoughts, telling herself that somehow God was going to see that she got out of this and she desperately prayed he would, soon.

The afternoon was long and boring for Katt. Eric spent the day with the people in the house again. She could hear music from a distance; he was playing a guitar for them. Unable to move around, Katt found she was dozing off and on most of the day, keeping half an ear open for the sounds of his key in the door.
He came strutting in at suppertime. Smelling strongly of booze, he undid the cuffs, finally letting Katt free to use the washroom. Katt was getting angry. She was being pushed to the limit. Since living such a meager existence these past few days, she was very much aware of how totally under his control she was. Katt found she was unable to say or do anything except what he wanted. She had become a non-person of sorts, a prisoner to a man who thought she was his to own.

She sat on the flush, her head in her hands, depressed and lost. The emotions, sheer desperation, hurt, anger; they all came flooding in on her. She wanted to cry, to get some release from the pain she felt inside, but nothing would come. Katt fixed supper for him, cleaned up and asked again about the phone call. Eric stood up and with one swift move punched her in the stomach. She collapsed to her knees, holding her stomach and gasping for breath.

�You�re not allowed calling now,� he whispered as he bent down closer.

Katt flinched, waiting for another blow to strike. He took a handful of her long hair and started dragging her toward the back bed area. Katt panicked, knowing what was coming next. She was screaming and trying to slap him away from her.
He threw her roughly onto the bed. Fumbling with the zipper on her jeans he pulled at them, exposing her once again to his sick desires. Katt�s right hand landed a blow across his face. He exploded with anger. Holding onto her hands, he slapped her two times, the stinging on her face brought her quickly back to reality and she stopped fighting him. Slowly she tried to regain some composure.
He undid his belt and she lay still, he was fully aroused by the fight and he pried her legs apart. Unable to even look at him, Katt went far away in her mind letting herself leave the room until he was finished with her. When she snapped back to the present, he was calling her names and swearing profusely for slapping him. She tried ignoring his ranting by staring at the water-stained ceiling above her, but her core was being torn apart by him. The physical abuse was bad enough to endure but his words ate at her soul as well.

Leaning in toward her ear, he whispered to her, �Your existence, Katt, is only justified by the fact that you can satisfy my sexual needs, just remember that.�
Smiling, Eric pulled out of her and got up. He bent over and pulled up his jeans, fastened his belt and walked to the front of the trailer. There he plunked down on the bench seat and pulled out a joint and lit it. Katt rolled over on her side facing the wall, her back to Eric.
The pains in her stomach were subsiding and she could feel a big welt mark on her face where Eric had slapped her. She wanted to get up and wash. She felt dirty, exposed, but she didn�t want to move. She kicked her jeans off the rest of the way and reached down, pulling the dusty sheets around her. She closed her eyes, hoping for a momentary escape from this torture.

Day 3- _________

Katt woke with the handcuffs back on her wrist and attached to Eric�s. She was in the same position as when she had closed her eyes the night before; the sheets were damp beneath her. She had not woken when he fastened the cuffs, sheer mental exhaustion overtaking her. She still felt deep down bone-tired, but assumed that was the emotional strain coming into play. Her body ached as she tried to move ever so slightly without waking Eric beside her. She laid there thinking about what he had said to her last night, knowing that if she became useless to him, sexually, he would have no reason to keep her, and she had no doubts that he would kill her. She was so trapped and unable to foresee any way out of her tiny captive home.

As usual, Eric woke and abused her once again in his perverse fashion. Katt was no longer surprised by anything he found fit to do to her. This morning was no exception. As he entered her, he held a lit cigarette against her leg. Finally, unable to contain the scream building inside her. Katt let it out, hating herself for giving in to his sexual game. When it was over, he pulled out quickly, unlocked the cuff and went to the washroom. Katt looked at her wrist and realized she was no longer connected to him. She fumbled around for her jeans at the bottom of the bed. Scrambling to get them on before he came back out, she stood and ran the few steps to the door, doing up the top button of her pants as she turned the door handle, the smell of freedom just inches away from her.
The bathroom door opened just as she took her first step outside in two days. Eric managed to get a hold on the back of her sweater and pulled her backward making Katt land on her ass, her feet flying out from underneath her. He wrestled with her on the floor of the trailer, trying to get the door closed and keep a hand on her at the same time. Katt was fighting with all she had to give, not wanting to lose her chance to escape. She was kicking, biting, and connecting on a few of her punches but it wasn�t slowing Eric down. He continued to pummel her with his fists, gaining control of the fight as he sat on her, holding her down with his body weight. Both her hands were now in his grip above her head. Her knuckles were being ground into the floor, bits of fine sand and gravel biting at her skin.

�Don�t you ever do that again, bitch,� he spat at her, his angry face inches from hers.

Katt still struggled under his weight to get him off, her face was red showing the strain, and her body aching from his blows. �Get off me, you bastard!� Katt yelled again �Get off of me!� a frantic pitch rising in her voice. She made one last effort to get out of his grip, wiggling underneath him, grunting noises coming from deep within, looking for extra strength she just didn�t possess. He didn�t budge.

�I love it when you fight me, Katt. It makes me want you more.�

And with that, she stopped struggling. She lay still except for her rapid breathing. She could feel her rib cage rise and fall painfully with each breath. Eric continued to sit on her, smiling, not making any effort to get up. Katt kept her eyes diverted from his face. She was exhausted, and, at this moment, she was extremely tired of living.
It seemed like an eternity before both their breathing returned to normal and Eric got up off Katt, but not before snapping the cuff to his wrist again.

�From now on, Katt, where I go in here, you go. If I go to the bathroom, if I sit down, even if I lay down, so will you. I can�t trust you anymore,� he said.

Katt stood up with him, wiping the dirt from the floor off her hands, bare arms and jeans. The back of her sweater was ripped and her exposed back was covered with sand and small pieces of gravel were embedded in her skin. He sat down on the bench at the table. Katt stood for a few minutes but her ribs hurt too badly, so she extended her arm to allow for the handcuffs, and sat across from him. Sitting made the pain worse and she stood up again, slowly shifting her weight to ease the throbbing in her side.
Eric lit another cigarette and sat calmly smoking. Katt wished she could go lie down but the thought of being any closer to him than with this table between them was incomprehensible to her. He took hold of her arm and ground out the cigarette into her flesh. Katt tried to pull it away and, unsuccessful, she swore at him.

The taste of freedom was still fresh in her mind. It ate at her, consumed her thoughts. The idea of another day locked up with him was one she didn�t want to entertain. She simply wanted out. She wanted her life back, whatever it was. It would have to be better than this.
He got up suddenly from the table and it startled Katt. She raised her hands as if to fend off another blow. She looked at him. He had a smug grin on his face. He knew now she was afraid of him. It was the final piece to his ultimate control. She lowered her hands as he pulled her toward the tiny bathroom.
Leaving the door open to accommodate the handcuffs, he relieved himself and then stepped back out into the living area. He waved his hand toward the bathroom, an invitation for Katt to go do what she needed. She didn�t pass up the offer, unsure of when the next one would come. She stepped over the raised edge on the floor, washed up and then ran a brush through her hair. Katt wanted desperately to change her clothes, but was too afraid to ask. Instead, she buttoned her jeans, straightened her torn top, and came out.

The rest of the day was long and quiet. Katt never spoke to Eric. He seemed more bothered by the fact that he had to abide by his own threat, and stay attached to Katt with the handcuffs, than by the silence. She had found some old magazines the afternoon before and sat contentedly flipping through the pages. She could tell he itched to go out and hang with the mysterious people in the log house. Katt couldn�t see this threat of constant connection working for long, and that thought made her smile. She knew she could handle being locked inside the trailer alone much more than attached to the other end of Eric�s wrist.
His agitation was especially evident while she was cooking supper. Eric had to move around the stove with her every move and he was much too annoyed to keep it up any longer. He undid the cuff from his wrist leaving her free inside and left the trailer, the dogs barking and jumping at him as he walked across the yard toward the house. Katt was relieved he was gone and yet she also knew she had lost her precious chance at a phone call. Somehow she would have to get out to make that call.

It was after dark when Eric returned to the trailer. Katt lay at the back on the bed, pretending to be asleep. She heard him drop what sounded like a glass bottle and he swore as he bent down to pick it up. He stumbled back to the bed and sat down on the edge. He rolled her over toward him, but Katt kept her eyes closed tight, praying and hoping he would go to sleep.

�Take your clothes off,� his words were slurred, and she ignored him.

�I said, take your clothes off!� he yelled loudly at her.

Katt opened her eyes; not wanting to get him in a rage. She sat up and started removing her pants and sweater. He watched her, taking a long haul off the bottle, draining it. The smell of beer filling the air, her empty stomach turned over. Eric pushed her backward onto the bed. Using the tip of the bottle, he traced the outlines along her breasts and down her stomach stopping short of going over her pubic mound, tracing it in circles. She cringed as she realized what he was going to do to her.
He sat in between her open legs, pulled down his zipper and masturbated himself while ramming the bottle rhythmically up inside of her. A tear ran down Katt�s cheek as his wet sticky sperm landed on her stomach. He leaned over her with his foul breath and whispered, �You�re mine forever, Katt.�

He got up and swayed over to the table. Katt watched him walk away and wished he were dead. More than that, she wished that she could kill him. She couldn�t stop the tears now. Silently she cried, as she removed the bottle from her body, and threw it at the wall.

Day 16- __________

Days had turned into weeks, and Katt had lost hope. She had managed to get out with Eric to make her phone call to home. He stood in the phone booth with her, holding the phone out from her ear so he could hear everything being said on the other end, as well as from her.
Although her Father was doing well, she never had an opportunity to try to get a message out about needing help, and Katt left the phone booth with her spirit in tatters.
Eric drove back through the main street and Katt took it all in, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible about it. She hadn�t been outside the trailer for over two weeks now, and she felt that this must be what prisoners feel like when they are released from jail. Soon, they were headed back out of town towards the Hollow again, and Katt knew her brief look at the outside world was over.

As they drove down the sharp incline of the driveway, the dogs came bounding towards the car, excited to see them. Katt opened her door and Sam jumped up putting his paws on her shoulders and licking her face. Tears started to fill her eyes.

�Get in the trailer,� Eric snapped at her.

Katt patted Sasha�s head gently, pushing him out of the car. The two dogs followed her to the trailer door. She looked back at them while she waited for Eric to unlock the door, knowing full well that they missed the attention she was so used to bestowing upon them. Katt stepped up into the trailer as Eric held the door. He closed it quickly behind her and she could hear the lock clicking into place, then his footsteps in the gravel, as he walked toward the log house. She stood looking at her small surroundings. Despair took hold of her and she slumped down onto the bench seat and cried into her arms that lay folded under her head.

The physical and sexual abuse continued, and escalated, to degrees she never thought possible. Most nights, Eric came back from the house to the trailer smelling of booze and dope, making his cruelty intensified. No matter how much he hurt her the day before, it seemed that he would think of something new to do to her, something from which he could gain some sick pleasure.
Katt lay on the back bed reading a magazine by the dim light cast by the small brass wall light over her head. She was grateful that Eric had been gone to the house all day and had forgotten to handcuff her to the table. It had allowed her some flexibility in moving around the trailer. He came into the trailer around midnight, and Katt peeked at him over the top of the magazine pages, wondering what state of mind he was in. Fear built in her stomach. Her muscles tensed, and her mouth went dry, as he walked toward her. Eric reached into the closet and pulled a scarf and a mitten off the shelf, then kneeled onto the side of the bed by Katt. He grabbed the corner of the magazine and plucked it from her hands throwing it to the floor, gaining Katt�s full attention.

Fear came to the surface, as he pulled on her hair until she was sitting up in front of him. He tied the scarf around her eyes, as he held her in place with the grip he had on her hair. Darkness and the smell of mildew over came her senses at once. Before she could speak, he shoved the mitten in Katt�s mouth, making her gag involuntarily.
Eric stood. Katt could feel the weight change on the mattress. Unable to see what he was doing, she cocked her head, straining to pick up the sounds in the trailer. Her heart froze as she heard the zipper on his jeans, as he stepped out of them, leaving them in a heap on the floor. The mattress dipped to one side as he crawled back up onto the bed with her. Frightened, she was helpless as he stripped her of her jeans and sweater leaving her lying naked and vulnerable.

Eric placed his fingers into Katt�s ears. All her senses were now blocked, and Katt strained under his weight as he brought himself into her forcefully. Panic set in, and she screamed, but only inaudible sounds resonated from deep in her throat. Digging her heels into the mattress, Katt pushed with all her might, trying to uncouple from him. She could hear the muffled sounds of his voice and felt his long hair brush against her face as he bent down over her. Taking her nipple in his mouth, he bit, hard.
Katt tried to cry out, the gag restricting her. She could feel him moving faster inside her. He stayed clamped tightly onto her breast. Eric was reaching an orgasm. Katt was experiencing indescribable fear at being unable to sense anything other than touch. She was unaware of what he would do next, until it happened to her. She was so used to seeing his face and reading his expressions, watching him carefully for his violent reactions, that now she was totally cut off from all her defense mechanisms. She had reached the peak of defenselessness and felt she was starting to hyperventilate.

Time seemed to stand still; terror still forefront in her mind. Finally, Eric rolled her over, and untied the scarf from her eyes and pulled the damp mitten from her mouth. She breathed in deeply, as he rose from the bed, and pulled on his jeans and walked toward the front of the trailer, leaving her to regain her composure, trying to chill her state of mind. She wanted to scream. She wanted so much to be able to cry, but her emotions were dry. What she felt mostly was fear and hate. Katt wished she could kill Eric before his abuse finished her off, body and mind. As she lay there on the crumpled bed sheets, she let her mind fantasize about how she would do away with him. She drifted off to sleep, a slight grin visible on her face.

Day 33- ________

Katt spent a sleepless, restless night. Eric�s physical beatings were taking their toll. She ached severely when she moved ever so slightly on the bed. She viewed the cigarette burns on her arms in the dim gray morning light that filtered in through the old cloth curtain on the window over the bed. Some burns were worse than others, but she knew they would leave lasting scars. He had marked her for life with his deranged torture. She knew that if she ever escaped this hell, the wounds would heal, but wondered how the depth of her soul would come out of this in the end.
She felt Eric stir beside her, and she held her breath, hoping he would leave her alone this morning. She said a silent prayer, and it was answered. Eric undid the handcuff from his wrist, hooking it onto the small lamp and crawled over her to get to the washroom. When he emerged, he permitted her to use the washroom while he watched her every move through the open door. When she came out, she went about making breakfast while Eric sat at the table, smoking his morning joint. He ate, pushed his plate across the table at her and got up. Reaching for the door handle he looked back at her, sitting staring off into space. She caught his gaze, and for a moment she thought he was going to speak to her, something he hadn�t done for a couple of weeks. Instead, he turned his attention back to the door, opened it, and stepped out into the fresh air.

Katt so longed to be able to open up one of the windows in the trailer and breathe some fresh air. Eric had forbade her to do so again after he had found one open during their first week at the Hollow. He had beaten her severely for it. It was on that day that she had learned the blonde man�s name � Frank. A customer had called out to him from the yard and, with the window open, she heard it. Not that it would ever do her any good. He was no more her ally than any of the others, who had known her situation, had been. Sadly, it merely added a tiny measure of reality to the surreal life she faced in this prison. She knew if she was ever to escape, it would be by her own wits. She sniffed at the stale smoke-filled air of the trailer.

Her days were long and dismal, filled with dreams of escape and longing to enjoy the company of her animals, and human contact once again. She would sit and watch through the window as Sasha and Sam ran around the yard chasing each other, teasing each other with a chewed up branch they had found in the surrounding bush.
Eric�s pattern never faltered. He still left her alone most of the day, spending his time in the house with Frank and the people that would stop by to visit and buy their dope. She was grateful even if it meant she was alone with her thoughts, fears and concerns for most of the day.

Katt was lying in bed when he came in. It was just past two in the morning, and the air in the trailer had grown muggy. Her top was clinging to the perspiration on her back. Eric locked the door behind him, and then tossed the keys on the counter, by the stove. He sat on the bed shaking her. Removing his sneakers, he leaned into her face.

�Guess what we�re going to do tonight?� excitement in his voice. Katt turned her head without answering him.

�Look at me, Katt!� Eric yelled and she turned to face him again.

�I�m going to watch while you give Frank head. I owe him for some grass,� he said with a wide drunken smirk on his face. Katt closed her fist, and it caught him on the side of the face, knocking him sideways off the bed. He was stunned and a little too drunk to react quickly.

�I�d rather die!� Katt screamed.

She hit him again as he was getting up off the floor, her knuckles exploding in pain. Eric got up quicker this time and punched her in the face, sending her flying back onto the bed. Blood ran into her mouth as she rolled to the side just as he tried to jump on her. Katt sat up against the wall, her feet kicking at him, one blow landing in the center of his chest and he flew back, letting out a sharp gasp. She scrambled to the side of the bed and started to stand when he grabbed the back of her sweater. Katt held on tightly to the closet door handle to keep from falling back onto the bed with him.

She pulled free of his grip, but he was on his feet behind her, and spun her around. He reached out and slapped her with an open hand. It smacked hard on her left ear, pain and a high-pitched sound came at once, like the sound of a radio off station, turned up full blast. She grabbed her ear, and bent over, throwing up on the floor, missing his second swing at her.
Katt stood and kicked at him again, missing her mark. Eric grabbed the broom from the corner and swung it at her. She heard her ribs crack as it hit her in the side. Eric dropped the broom and put his hands around her throat. She could feel the life being squeezed out of her. Gasping for air, she went at him again, knowing she couldn�t give up and expect to live. She kicked at him, this time catching him in the groin, and dropping him to his knees with a loud groan. Katt bolted for the keys on the counter, grabbed them, and her hand shaking and bleeding, she opened the trailer door.

Her heart was beating loudly in her head. She could barely get her bearings in the dark. She ran right into the side of the car, and moaned. She was off balance and felt like she was drunk. The dogs came running over to her, their tails wagging, barking loudly with excitement.
The front door of the house opened, and Frank took a step out onto the veranda, watching her and the dogs. Before he could move, Katt had opened the car door, and the dogs instinctively jumped in. Katt started the engine and slammed the transmission into reverse as the car door closed.
Eric came into view in the doorway of the trailer. He was unable to move very fast, and Katt pulled away before he reached the car door. He slapped the rear of the car as she sped out; her heart leapt into her throat. She was free!

Katt turned on the headlights as she reached the top of the incline of the driveway. She turned left and pulled out onto the highway, heading toward freedom. She drove for two hours before she realized she had made a wrong turn, ending up in a small inland town. Frustrated Katt had to stop the car again. The noise in her head was excruciating, and she was so dizzy she had to get out and throw up once more at the side of the road. She lifted her sweater and inspected her side, it was purple and paining. Sitting back inside the car, she moved the rearview mirror so she could look at her face. Her eye was black, and dried blood from her nose stained her upper lip. Her other cheek was the color of a rainbow, with a cut to the side of her mouth. She dropped her head on the steering wheel and cried out loud. For the first time in over a month, she was out from under Eric�s control. God had gotten her out alive.

Katt knew she needed to seek medical help, the pain was making it hard for her to focus on her driving. She drove through the main street looking for a hospital sign. Just on the outskirts of town she spotted a small medical clinic off to the left, and pulled into the parking lot. It was only five in the morning and the sign on the door said they would be open at eight. Katt turned off the car and rested her head back onto the seat and closed her eyes. She was exhausted and her body was screaming at her now.

A car door closing in the distance woke her with a start. Sam gave her a big lick on the cheek and sat next to her, waiting for a pat on his head. She complied, and sat up straighter, then opened the car door, and reached back in taking the keys from the ignition. Katt locked the car, leaving the window down a crack for the animals. Slowly she walked up to the clinic�s front door.
The receptionist�s face said it all. Shocked and concerned, she escorted Katt immediately into an examination room and helped her lie down on the table. She asked Katt for her medical card, but Katt remembered that it was still in her purse in the trunk of the car. Not wanting to waste any more time, she told the nurse that she had left without it and apologized.

The receptionist patted her hand and told Katt not to worry, the doctor would be in shortly. Katt could hear the two of them talking in the hall. Lying down was making her dizziness worse. Her stomach was flip-flopping. She struggled, with the pain in her side, to sit up. Reaching for the wastepaper basket, she threw up in it, just as the doctor walked in. The same concern showed on her face as she looked at Katt�s visible injuries.

�Can I ask what happened?� the doctor inquired. Already sure of the answer, she helped Katt remove her sweater.

�Lousy boyfriend,� Katt replied half-heartedly, trying to find her lost sense of humor.

The doctor continued to examine her, making notes along the way. �We don�t have a hospital here, the closest is another 50 km, but you need x-rays.�

�Actually, I�m heading out of town and don�t plan on coming back,� Katt said.

�Well, you have a ruptured eardrum, thus the hearing loss and loud noise you describe, and it is also causing you the nausea and loss of balance. Without access to an x-ray, I would say your ribs are cracked, and by the look of your nose, and jaw I�d say they are fractured also. On top of that, your vocal cords are damaged from his attempt at strangling you.� She continued on, letting Katt absorb it all. �And you have over 40 burns on your body. Cigarettes?� the doctor asked.

�Yes,� replied Katt with a raspy voice. Emotions were starting to creep up on her.

�This has to be reported to the RCMP. You have been badly beaten.�

�I know, but like I said, I�m just passing through,� Katt got up to leave.

�Hold on,� the doctor said, trying to stall her. �I�ll get you something for the pain.� She left the room, and Katt heard her talking on the phone in the next office.

�Shit,� Katt said out loud. �She�s calling the police.�

Gently she lowered herself off the high table, slipped on her sweater and opened the door looking down the hall to see if the receptionist was in view. She walked down the narrow carpeted hallway and out the front door as quickly as she could manage. When she reached the car, she heard the doctor calling out to her. Not looking back, Katt got in, started the car and pulled out, hoping the doctor hadn�t recorded her license plate number.
She didn�t want to stay on the Island any longer than necessary and the police would just complicate things for her at this point. Katt was afraid Eric would catch up with her at the ferry and she just wanted to get on the next one off here. Katt backtracked to where she had made the wrong turn earlier in the morning. It was a cloudy, misty day. It matched her spirits. She kept watching her mirrors, expecting Eric to sabotage her escape. The loud muffler on the car made her painful eardrum injury worse and the dizziness had her totally thrown off.

As she rounded a curve in the road, there he was, walking backward with his thumb stuck out trying to hitch a ride. Katt screamed when she saw him, and for a quick second she actually had visions of running him down with the car. He spotted her coming, and walked out into the road toward the centerline. Katt put her foot down on the gas harder, her heart beating loudly in her ears. She pulled out around him, and watched in the rear view mirror, as he made gestures at her with his hand. Time was of the essence now. She hoped he wouldn�t get a ride and that she would get to the ferry first. She kept her foot firmly planted into the gas pedal.

Katt stopped at a small service station up the road about twenty miles, afraid she wouldn�t have enough fuel to get to the ferry docks. She grabbed her purse from the trunk of the car hoping there was still enough money in her bank account to cover it and that they would accept a personal check from a stranger. A man looking to be in his sixties sauntered out to the pumps as she pulled up, dressed in a red-checkered jacket and grease-stained pants. He asked her how much, without coming right up to her window.
Katt was grateful, one less shocked face to look back at, she thought. She inquired if he would take a check. He walked up to the car window and bent down a little to see who she was.

�You aren�t from around here are you?� He raised his eyebrow at her.

Katt kept her face looking straight ahead. �No, I�m not,� Katt replied, �but I have identification.�

�Well, that won�t do me no good if it bounces, now, will it?� he shot back.

�I really need the gas,� Katt said, desperation and tears welling up in her throat.

The man leaned down into the window more and she turned her head to look at him. He stood back up quickly, shocked at her appearance. He walked to the back of the car, and taking the nozzle from the pump, removed her fuel cap and started filling the tank. When he was done, he walked back up to her side window. Katt asked how much and filled in the amount on the check, her hand shaking. He took the check, folded it up, and stuck it in his jacket�s breast pocket.

�Good luck, young lady,� he called out as Katt rolled up her window, started the car and drove away. He figured she would need it.

The dogs were getting antsy, and Katt pulled off to the side of the road by a field over run with wild flowers. She opened the door and let them out for a run, her eyes darting around on the lookout for Eric. Just watching them, their tails held high, playing, jumping around, �yes, we�re free!� she thought, and the tears she had been stuffing back all morning came flooding out again.
She stood there taking in the view of the ocean on one side, and her dogs sniffing and romping in the field on the other, and knew just how lucky she was to even be able to see this.
Katt pulled herself back from her thoughts and whistled for the dogs. They came on cue, and hopped in the car as Katt held open the door. She wiped away her tears and once again started for the ferry, wondering what the schedule was for today and how long she would have to wait.

The line up was long, about 50 cars ahead of her. She was so very tired, but didn�t dare close her eyes yet. She kept a watch on the vehicles as they pulled up behind her in the line, and scanned the crowd by the dock gate where the walk-ons were waiting.
Over and over, she kept praying that Eric wouldn�t get there in time. The horn from the Ferry made her look out toward the water. Thank God, she cried as she saw the ferry making the last turn into the bay. As the cars disembarked, the ones in the line up with her started their engines. She sat tapping the steering wheel with her hands, anxious to get moving again. The line started moving slowly. One at a time, they drove into the darkness of the ferry�s bottom. It wasn�t loading quickly enough for Katt. Her nerves were raw. She took parking directions from one of the employees dressed in an orange vest and holding a cone shaped flashlight. Quickly, she cracked her window, shut off the car and bolted up the steps to the main deck, hanging onto the railing for balance. She ran to the traffic side of the ferry as fast as she could and stood examining the contents of each vehicle as it drove onto the ferry.

I don�t see him, I don�t think he made it, she thought over and over in her head. Her mind was racing in high gear. Calm down she told herself, you�ve got to get a grip on yourself. The damp breeze from the choppy water suddenly made her wrap her arms around herself. Others were mingling around the deck now too, and they were staring at her. I must look quite the sight she thought.
The huge doors to the car deck closed and the ferry pulled out into the bay. Slowly she walked along the deck, holding onto the railing, hoping to find a washroom, and trying to ignore the looks she was getting along the way. �Oh damn,� she said out loud, as she looked into the mirror. Her reflection even startled herself. She inspected her face in the new light. She could best describe it as looking like she had gone through the windshield of a car in an accident.

No wonder people were staring at her. She couldn�t stop staring at herself. Katt took some paper towels from the worn painted metal box on the wall, and wet them, gently wiping the blood off her face and the knuckles on her right hand. It didn�t do much to improve her appearance, and Katt realized that she would be best off going back down to the car holding area for the rest of the trip, and remain out of sight. Taking one last look in the mirror, she turned, pulled on the heavy wooden door, and stepped out onto the deck. Making her way below again, her footsteps echoed on the steep metal stairs.
Katt walked to her car, unlocked the door and, fending off the greetings from the dogs, sat down in the seat. She locked the car door with her elbow, tilted the seat back a bit more and closed her eyes, welcoming some sleep. She awoke with a start; the other passengers were filing down to their cars waiting for word to start their engines. Katt pulled the seat back up straight, and the action made her flinch as pain shot through her side. She grabbed her ribs and wondered how many days it would take for them to heal.

The mainland was sunny and warm and the sun made her squint as she drove her car out of the dark ferry. All she could think was getting back home as quickly as possible. Home, she thought. I don�t even have one to go to. Where am I going to go?
Panic struck her, she hadn�t thought further than getting off the island. Now she needed another plan. By the time she reached the bridge that connects North Vancouver to Stanley Park, she had it all worked out. She pulled into a convenience store parking lot, searched the bottom of her purse for a quarter and walked to the phone booth. Debbie answered the phone and, at first, Katt didn�t say anything.

�Is Ron there?� she asked.

�No, he�s out of town for a couple days. Katt is that you?� excitement rose in her voice.

�Yeah. Hi, Debbie,� Katt replied. �If I give you a phone number, can you call him right now and ask him to phone me? It�s an emergency.�

There was a hesitation on the line, �What�s going on, Katt? The police called here looking for you about a couple of weeks ago. Are you okay?� Katt could hear the concern in her voice. She thought back to when they had been best friends. Now she was living with her husband.

�I�m fine, Debbie,� she lied. �Please, just get Ron to call me. Here�s the number,� and she rattled it off to her, said goodbye and hung up.

Katt nervously waited for the phone to ring, tapping her fingers on the side of the phone booth. She picked it up before it had a chance to make a full ring, �Hello?�

�Katt, where have you been? Are you okay?� he asked frantically.

She broke down. As strong as she had wanted to be, just hearing his voice made her start to cry. In between sobs, she gave him a short run down on what had transpired. She took a deep breath.
�What I need, Ron, is a plane ticket home. I�ll give you the key to the storage locker for it. All our household furniture is in there,� her vision was bluring and she wiped the tears away from her eyes.

�Whatever you need. You know I still care about you.� And Katt started to cry again.

�I can get Bruce or Glenn to pick the key up. Where can they find you?� he asked.

�I�m heading back to the Schnitzel House. It�s the only place I know where to go right now.� Sniffing, she wished she had a Kleenex to wipe her nose.

�Okay. Are you sure you�re all right?� She could tell he was genuinely upset by what she had told him.

�I�ll be okay. I just have to get out of here. I know he�s coming after me. He's not going to leave me alone.�

�If that�s what you want, Katt. I�ll get the ticket to you by tomorrow, okay?�

�Thanks, Ron,� and as a second thought, � I hope you and Debbie will be happy together.� Suddenly their history together flashed through her mind, and she could feel the tears starting again.

�I have to go,� she sobbed quietly, covering the phone with her hand.

�Be careful,� he said, and with tears streaming down her cheeks she hung up.

Katt placed the receiver on the hook and got back into the car, her emotions were in a tailspin and she gave herself a stern tongue-lashing about staying in control of herself right now. She backed the car out and, checking the early evening traffic, she pulled out into the flow and took the exit to get out of Vancouver.

HOME AGAIN- _____________

It was late when she pulled into the restaurant parking lot. She drove the car up close to the entrance. Katt checked her reflection in the mirror, shook her head and got out of the car, locking the door behind her, the dogs curled up tight in the back seat asleep. Katt pushed on the door just as Hans pulled, he grabbed her and hugged her tightly, she groaned from the pressure on her ribs. Helga came running out from behind the counter and screamed when she got a look at Katt�s face in the light.
Her strong German accent was flowing as she started talking. Asking Katt one question after another, not leaving any room for Katt to answer her back. Hans picked up her hand and examined the knuckles, �Katt, what has happened?� he asked.

�Come, come sit down.� She motioned to the table.

Katt followed them to a nearby table, pulled out a chair and sat. It was good to see them again, and their concern was genuine.
Cathy, one of the waitresses, and her friend, came in from the other dining room and hugged Katt from behind.

�God, you�re a sight for sore eyes,� she exclaimed. �Everyone�s been really worried about you.�

Katt tried to answer all their questions in between tears and sobs. Hans explained that they had filed a missing person�s report on her when she never showed up for work. They told the police where she had been staying and, after going down to The Lights and seeing her tent and belongings still there, they knew something bad had happened.
Helga got up from the table and placed a call to the police station, letting them know she was back, while Katt explained her plan to leave for back east as soon as possible. Cathy offered her the couch to sleep on at her apartment, and Hans suggested Katt should go to the hospital and get reexamined and she agreed.

In a matter of minutes, a RCMP officer showed up, while they were still talking at the table. The others got up and left Katt to answer the officer�s questions. Hans patted her shoulder as he left. The officer sat, writing down notes in his small black book as she answered him.
Suddenly, she asked him to stop writing. She didn�t want to press charges, and realized that he was heading in that direction. He dismissed her concern for her safety at this point, telling her they would pick Eric up and he would be held until the court date, but Katt didn't believe him. Her gut told her to keep running.

�He�s going to do it again, Katt. You won�t be his last. We need your statement and testimony to press charges,� he pleaded.

�I can�t stay and take the chance. What if he gets out? He�ll hunt me down and kill me for trying to put him away. Don�t you see that?� Katt sobbed lightly into her open palms.

�But he has a prior record. They�ll take that into account for sentencing,� the officer countered.

�Maybe, but what if some shit lawyer gets him off, then what?� she asked.

�Listen, Katt. It is kidnapping, unlawful confinement, assault, rape, and, by the look of your neck, attempted murder.� He wasn�t getting through to her. �If you give me a statement now, we can get him off the street quicker.�

�I can�t,� Katt replied softly. �I won�t tell you what happened. There is no case. I�m back, so you can close the missing person�s report and put an end to it.�

He shook his head, and he tried one more time to sway her thinking. �Katt, off the record, if you were my sister, I�d tell you to nail this guy�s ass to the wall. He tried to kill you.�

�I know he did!� she screamed at him, then stood up and lowered her voice. �I�m leaving the province to make sure he doesn�t finish the job.� With that, Katt walked toward the front door holding it open for him. �I know what you�re telling me is probably right, but I�m not strong enough to go through a trial right now. I just want to forget this ever happened.�

�I think you�re stronger than you realize, Katt. If you change your mind�� he handed her his card, put on his hat and left.

Katt stood with the card in her hand staring at it, wondering if he was right, yet, all she was thinking about was going home. Tears filled her eyes.
Helga came back out when she heard the door close, and put her arm around Katt�s shoulder, �It will be okay,� she said in her thick German accent. �You go home with Cathy now, get some sleep. Tomorrow you need to see a doctor. Now go, go rest.�

Katt nodded her head, she was wiped out, the full extend of how exhausted she really was finialy hitting her. Cathy came out from the kitchen, putting her arm in the sleeve of her coat, and pulling up the zipper. �Are we ready then?� she asked.

Katt nodded again, to tired to speak and followed Cathy outside. Katt looked around the parking lot. She didn�t have a good feeling as she unlocked the car door. She plunked down in the seat, immediately locking her door, and she reached across to lift the lock for Cathy to get in.

�Lock your door, Cathy.�

�What�s wrong?� Cathy asked.

�I�m not sure. I feel like we�re being watched. I think my nerves have the best of me is all.� Katt looked in the rear view mirror.

Cathy scanned the parking lot as Katt put the car in reverse, but she could see no one.

�Jesus, Katt, you got me spooked now,� Cathy smiled at her yet a shiver ran up her spine.

Katt drove around a couple of different streets before heading off to Cathy�s apartment, making sure no one was following them. She just felt so uneasy.
Cathy was a good hostess. Since Katt�s clothes had been left behind at the Hollow, Cathy let her wear some of hers. She also gave up her bed for Katt to sleep on, instead of the sofa. It was a wasted night as far as Katt was concerned. She slept fitfully, waking up screaming once, and crying another time. Her body was still so sore and regardless of how she tried to lie, it hurt. Even the animals were restless, being in a strange place.

She crawled out of the bed and padded across the thick carpet to the bathroom. She wanted a shower so badly. She stood with her arms outstretched against the wall for balance and let the hot water spill over her aching body. The smell of soap and shampoo filled the room. Just to touch her skin to wash brought tears to her eyes. Pain is good, she thought to herself, it means I�m alive.
Katt stepped out of the shower and dried herself as best she could, finding it hard to bend over. She wiped the steam from the mirror and looking through the streaks saw how terrible her injuries were looking today. As she picked up one of Cathy�s combs and pulled it through her hair, a smile came to her face. �I�m not �yours forever�, you bastard� she said out loud and a single tear fell to the counter.

She dressed. Cathy�s clothes hung on her. They used to be close to the same size, and even though her own filthy clothes had been loose on her she noted she had lost more weight than she realized. Katt let Cathy sleep, shut the dogs in the bathroom and, after writing her a note, left for the hospital.
The emergency room wasn�t busy. She filled out the paper work and was sent down the hall to wait in another room. A nurse walked by, backed up and then came into the room.

�Oh my God, he did that to you didn�t he?� her mouth hanging open. It was the nurse Katt had spoken to in the hall when Eric had been admitted after the car accident.

Katt looked up from the magazine, �Hi, � she replied, surprised that the nurse recognized her.

The nurse sat on the chair beside her, �I thought by the way you were talking back then that you were going to leave him.�

�I did.� Katt shook her head. �It�s a long story. I�m free of him now, though.�

�I certainly hope so,� the nurse patted her hand."Do you want to talk about it"? she asked. Katt shook her head, the nurse rose from the chair and took the few steps out into the hallway, then stopped, and looked back. �Good luck.�

�Thanks,� Katt answered and watched the nurse walk down the hall out of sight.

After x-rays were taken, the doctor confirmed the injuries the previous doctor on the island had told her about. The worst news was that she couldn�t fly until her eardrum had healed a bit. She pleaded with him, letting him know how dire it was that she leave quickly. He went to a metal cabinet on the sidewall and opened it. Taking out a small paper box, he walked over and handed it to Katt.

�These will help a little bit, but the loud noises your experiencing will only subside as the drum starts to heal over. I don�t know what kind of hearing loss you will experience in the long run from this, only time will tell that. You will need to be tested.�

Katt read the directions on the box and thanked him.
�Has this been reported to the authorities?� he inquired.

�Yes, I gave a statement yesterday,� Katt lied, not wanting to be held up there answering questions any longer.

He eyed her closely. �Be sure to see a doctor when you get back east, okay?� and with that, he was gone on to the next patient.
Katt finished dressing and left the hospital. She was getting used to walking like she was drunk all the time and, with the help of Gravol, the nausea had subsided quite a bit. She made her way to the car and headed back to town. She knew she had to hide out another week for the bruises to heal enough to face her parents at the airport. She still hadn�t told them what had happened and she wasn�t sure she ever could.
When she got back to Cathy�s apartment building, she saw Glenn walking out the main entrance. She walked up toward him, smiling. He didn�t seem to recognize her at first, and then he stopped dead in his tracks. Her brother-in law hugged her and kissed her bruised cheek. He held onto her hand as they stood talking the look of genuine consern never leaving his face.
Ron had come through with the ticket for her. Katt opened her purse and took the storage locker key off her key ring and handed it to Glenn. She gave him the address for the locker and the number on it. He kissed her cheek again, and when he left, Katt knew she would never see him again. They had been friends for eight years; now distance and divorce would separate them.

Katt knocked on Cathy�s door. She opened it carefully; relieved when she saw it was Katt. Katt saw the plane ticket on the counter, walked over and picked it up, and for some reason she held it to her nose. It smelled like a new start.
Katt stayed very close to Cathy�s over the next week and a half, only venturing out to walk the dogs in her back yard. She still had the difficult task of finding them homes. She knew it would be impossible to take them back with her since she would be staying with her parents for a while untill she could secure a job and an apartment.

Word got out that she was looking for a home for then and a nice couple had come to Cathy's to look at them. They wanted to take them right away but Katt asked to spend her remaining days with them and they agreed.
The day she had to drop them off, she cried like she was losing her only friends. They had been her companions for four years and she would miss them deeply. She hoped the couple would be as kind and loving to them as they had been to her over the years.
She decided to take the cats with her. Since she had no real luggage to bring, the kennel counted as a bag. She stopped at the vet�s and got some tranquilizers to give them for the flight home. Everything was coming together at last.

Katt stood in front of the full-length mirror in the bathroom as she changed her clothes and surveyed her body. She had healed enough to go home. The black eyes had faded enough that make up could cover the rest, and the marks on her neck and arms could be hidden with a long sleeved turtle neck since it was still quite cool back home.
She was ready. She would say her good-byes at the restaurant and then Cathy was going to drive her to the city to catch the plane. She left the apartment and drove the few blocks over to the restaurant, taking in all the sights of the small village that had been her home for the past two years, knowing she would never see it again.

It was tearful and heart wrenching to say good bye to everyone. Hans gave her one of his famous big hugs and he had tears in his eyes as he waved to her from the doorway. She left with a heavy heart.
Katt had one last stop to make and that was at the drugstore for some more Gravol for the plane ride home.

She recognized his walk as soon as she saw him coming down the sidewalk toward her. She bolted for the car, and so did Eric, both reaching it at the same time. There were too many people walking nearby for him to try anything, so Katt kept her composure.
He tried to grab for her wrist, but she pulled her hand back quickly and backed away from the car.

�Don�t touch me,� she hissed at him angrily.

�Did you really think you could get away from me, Katt?� he glared at her with fire in his eyes.

�I did get away, and you�ll never see me again after this.� She threw the car keys at him and ran down the sidewalk weaving in and out of the crowd.
Eric started hollering at her back as he watched her disappear around the corner. Katt was out of breath, she paused leaning against the side of the building. A police car was parked up the street in front of the barber shop she made her way up to the shop, opened the door and stepped inside.
The officer sitting in the barber�s chair was one she knew from the restaurant. The barber turned to look at Katt as she stood by the window watching Eric round the corner, wondering what he was going to do.
Finally, he turned and retreated back the way he had come. A moment later he drove slowly by the shop where Katt was hiding. He hesitated again and then sped away.
Katt was afraid to leave the barber shop for fear Eric was waiting up the road for her to come out. She turned to the officer and explained what had taken place out on the sidewalk. Katt asked if he could give her a ride to Cathy�s, when he was finished getting his hair cut. They left together and drove the short distance up the street to Cathy's apartment building. Katt thanked him and quickly went in side.
Safely indoors, she breathed a sigh of relief, her back resting up against the locked door. Cathy was ready and waiting for her.
Katt explained to her what had happened down in the village as she put on her coat and snapped the lock on the cat kennel. She picked up her bag and kennel from the kitchen floor and they loaded Cathy�s car for the drive to the airport.

They chatted like a couple of schoolgirls on the way in to Vancouver but once at the airport, Katt got quiet and reflective. Cathy, sensing the mood change, gently squeezed her arm, �Katt, you�re going to be okay.�

�I�m scared Cath. I�ve got to start all over again,� and tears flooded her eyes.

�Listen. You�ve been through a lot,� the look of genuine concern showed on her face. �but you�ve come out alive! Listen to me. You�ve been given another chance. Not everyone gets one, so make the most of it.� She winked at her, and Katt forced a smile.

�You�ve been a good friend, Cathy. Thank you so much for everything,� she hugged her close, turned, and walked toward the departure gate.

The flight attendant checked her ticket and Katt looked back over her shoulder. Giving Cathy another wave, she boarded the plane, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
The plane left the tarmac and she settled back in her seat, looking out thoughtfully at the mountains, unsure if she would ever see them again, watching their beauty fading away through the small window as the plane gained altitude into the clouds. ________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ To those who read this, a foot note...
This has been my therapy, writing down what happened to me. For almost 20 yrs I never let myself go back there with my thoughts and would hid my scars, both the physical and emotional ones that were left on me by this experience.

I finialy had to "own" my past life experience and deal with it so I could move on and learn to trust again.
Please know that you can, like me, overcome the abuse you are going through and find a life that is peaceful, happy and enjoyable.

You do not deserve to be treated with out respect.
You are not capable of "fixing" the abuser
You are not responsible for his/her behaviour
You are not the person that he/she calls you with those horrible names.
You DO deserve to be loved, cherished, and treated nicely
The line "no one else will want you is a LIE !
You WILL find someone else who will love you for you
You DO have the inner strength to leave the abuse, even if it means leaving everything you own behind.
They are only posessions and are replaceable. Your life (and your childrens life) and happiness is NOT replaceable.
Tell SOMEONE - anyone who will listen
Enlist the help of friends, family, co-workers, comunity abuse centers to help you devise a plan to get out.
Do what ever is necessary to leave the abuse behind you.
Don't fall prey to his/her pleas that things will change once your out, the abuser will try anything to make you believe that things will be different "this time".
Know that you are loved, by your children, your friends, your family....you are important!!!
BE SAFE AND BE HAPPY, IT IS POSSIBLE...BELIEVE IN YOURSELF !

Sign Guestbook View Guestbook