This came to me in the middle of the night; it's a bit random, and has no idea where it is going to go…but we'll see….
"I don't want to do this anymore" Janet stated.
There it was. The words rang in his ears; hearing them over and over again, only more painfully each time. Andy felt his anger levels rising. He wanted to cry, but he couldn't; not in front of her. She walked towards the door, but he couldn't just let her go, walk away all over again, he said 'he loved her'. He ran up behind her and slammed the door shut just as she opened it. She was frightened instantly. His eyes were wide; she could see the anger in them. His hands shook with rage; she didn't think she was coming out alive.
Andy grabbed hold of Janet's arms and pulled her back into the living room, pushing her to the settee. He stood over her, intimidating her. She leant back away from him, not knowing what was coming next.
He called her every name under the sun; none of which were actually true, but he said it so coldly, so angrily that she started to doubt the person she was. He laughed at her; the way she spoke, the way she dressed. He told her she wasn't good enough; she was a bad parent, a bad wife, a bad lover, a bad police officer, that she was even bad in bed. Again, this wasn't true, but his tone of voice, his manner, caused Janet to believe every word he was saying. He told her to repeat it, to admit it; she did.
As Andy turned away, Janet tried to run for the back door. But he got there before she did. He grabbed a handful of hair and dragged her back to the sitting room. He held her by the throat up against the wall, and told her to do as she was told or something not very pleasant would happen to her girls. She answered back; a big mistake. His hand clenched and made a fist. He lifted his arm until it was in line with her face. Her eyes closed and she winced, knowing there would be pain any time soon. His knuckles met her face. She lifted a shaky hand to her nose and lowered it again; seeing her hand covered in blood. Janet panicked. Her breathing became faster; her palms sweaty; her heart racing so fast it was about to leave her chest.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Janet. It'll never happen again Janet, I promise" he crawled. She remained silent out of fear of saying or doing the wrong thing.
_X_
"What on earth has happened to you?" Gill asked, noticing the bruising on Janet's face and the cuts around her eye.
"Got a bit pissed last night, fell down the stairs" Janet lied, knowing Andy was watching.
"You be careful" Gill said, mothering her almost. As she walked away, Andy came closer, whispering in her ear;
"Good girl"