She knew as soon as she entered the house and saw the empty beer cans on the kitchen side that it was going to be another rough night. Debbie had only been gone four days and three of those had resulted in a beating at the hands of her monster of a husband. Thankfully he had passed out the previous night, allowing her small break. She felt guilty for wishing Debbie was here, not that she would begrudge her a holiday with her friends. She had worked so hard lately studying for her exams and deserved some down time.
Things were always worse between her and Harry when Debbie was not around, not that the beatings stopped, he was just more discreet. Debbie knew, and Bea hated that. She hated being so weak in front of her daughter, what kind of role model was she. She only hoped that Debbie would be stronger and never allow anyone to treat her the way Harry treated Bea.
In three months Debbie would be leaving for university and Bea was both looking forward to and dreading the day. She hated the thought of Debbie being so far away but knew that once she was out of harm's way she could try and break free from Harry for good.
Bea made a start on dinner, already late due to a walk-in at the salon. She had just finished chopping the vegetables when Harry walked into the kitchen, pushing her out of the way so he could get another beer.
"What time do you call this you useless bitch, I've been waiting over an hour for my fucking dinner" Harry yelled in her face, spitting all over her.
Bea braced herself, knowing what came next, stumbling back into the breakfast bar following the right hook Harry had just landed on her left cheek. He swung at her again, connecting with the side of her jaw this time. Bea covered her face, trying to block his fist. This only encouraged him, the next blow harder than the previous ones knocking her to the floor. She then felt his boot connect with her ribs, she knew the drill all too well. Luckily for Bea, not that any of this could be called lucky, Harry's mobile rang, putting a temporary stop to the beating.
He answered the call in his usual friendly manner, the physical and verbal abuse reserved only for Bea, and headed into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. She knew she had to get away, even if it was for a few hours, or until Harry passed out at least.
Grabbing her mobile in case Debbie sent her a text she stumbled out of the house, as quickly as her body would allow. Maxine only lived a few blocks away but she was only a couple of streets away from home when she felt her legs start to give way. Pausing momentarily to take a breath Bea pushed herself forward, knowing she had to put more distance between her and Harry. Looking back over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't following her as she rounded the corner Bea slammed into something, hitting the pavement hard.
Allie walked down the road, exhausted from another long day at work. She loved her job and would be eternally grateful to Franky for hiring her, but by the end of a Saturday shift she was ready to drop. Her mind drifting to the long hot bath she was going to have as soon as she got home she didn't see the figure travelling in the opposite direction until it was too late.
"What the fuck…." Allie mumbled, fighting to keep herself upright. Looking down to see what had hit her she saw a woman lying on the floor.
"Shit sorry, I didn't see you there" she said crouching down to help the woman up. As she got closer she noticed blood on her face, just visible under the dim glow of the streetlight.
"I'm so sorry, you're hurt". The woman tried to stand but stumbled forward, Allie gently placing her hands on her hips to help steady her.
Bea felt an electric shock at the touch, looking up to see long blonde hair and a worried expression on the face of a very attractive young woman. Shaking her head to clear the fog, before focusing on the woman again Bea thanked her while trying to pull away.
Allie grabbed a hold of the stranger's hand, stopping her from leaving. She noticed a large gash over her left eye, a nasty bruise beginning to form around it, and a cut above her top lip. "Let me call an ambulance, you need to get checked over" Allie said.
"No, please don't, I'm fine, honestly" she replied, the panic flashing across her eyes.
"Ok, I won't call anyone but on one condition…" Allie said, turning to point to a house across the street "That's my house there, I have a first aid kit, come with me and get cleaned up"
Bea's eyes snapped back up to the blondes "I don't know you, why would you help me?"
"I'm Allie, Allie Novak, no more excuses…come on" she said, holding her hand out to the woman.