Part 3
"Where is everyone?" Tess asked as she entered the kitchen. Alex was the only one at the table.
"Gone out to muster," He answered as he looked up at her. She still had her sunglasses on. She hadn't once taken them off since she arrived.
Tess sat down and rested her head on her hand. She really was glad to be back. She only wished her sister was there with her. She had missed her like crazy. The painful thought of never being able to see Claire again broke her heart.
"Tess, you know the sun isn't as bright in here," Alex tried to joke. He knew he wasn't up to his usual quirky standard, but he had to try. He had spent the last few days hibernating in Claire's room and looking after Charlotte. He had to try and get back into life again. Claire would have wanted that.
"What are you talking about, Alex?" Tess was confused.
Suddenly he reached over and pulled her dark sunglasses away from her face. His jaw dropped as he saw the black eye which had been hidden.
"Christ, Tess," He exclaimed as he examined her eye. "What the hell happened?"
Tess stood up. Suddenly she felt very uncomfortable. She felt as though she was under a microscope. Although Alex was only worried, she still felt frightened of his touch. She hated to be touched by any man.
"It's nothing," She brushed off Alex's concern. "It was stupid really, I walked into a door, can you believe it?" She let out a small laugh, trying to convince both Alex and herself that she was speaking the truth.
Alex shook his head as he stood up and moved towards her, "Give us a look."
"No," Tess moved quickly towards the door "It's alright. I'm fine."
With that she took off towards the stables, leaving Alex stunned and deep in thought.
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"That looks nasty," Meg commented on Tess' eye as she joined in on the mustering.
"Yeah, I walked into a door. No big deal," Tess said trying to act cool. Inside she was scared as hell. If anyone could see through her lie it would be Meg.
"I see," Meg answered, looking on at Tess as she hastily took off to work from another corner of the mob of sheep.
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Alex arrived at Wilgul a few hours later to find Nick fixing a tractor. Tess still hadn't come back to the house. He was worried. Tess wasn't acting like herself at all. He had thought that it was the loss of Claire, but it wasn't. He could tell by the look in her eyes. Something was wrong, something was very wrong.
"You seen Tess yet?" Alex asked his brother.
"Yep," He grunted. "I saw her with that rough looking bloke earlier... Blade?"
"And?"
"And what?"
"And what did you think?" Alex asked impatiently.
"Alex if you've got something to say then say it. I'm busy," Nick said looking up at him.
"Well don't you think it's a little odd that Tess is so thin . . . so pail?"
"She's living in the city, Alex," Nick reminded him of that small fact. "She's not out in the sun as much as she used to be. Maybe that's got something to do with it?" Sarcasm found its way to the end of his statement as he went back to working on the tractor.
"Is that the reason she's got a black eye as well?" Alex asked knowing the answer to the question.
Nick put his tools down and turned to his brother whilst dusting off his hands, "What do you mean a black eye?"
"I mean a black eye, Nick. A real beauty. She reckons she walked into a door."
"Well maybe she did"
"Mate, have you ever known Tess to walk into a door?"
"These things happen," Nick retorted.
"Yeah, and I'm the king of bloody England, Nick!" Alex was becoming frustrated with Nick's blase attitude.
"It's none of our business, Alex. If she said she walked into a door then she must have."
"Or he hit her," Alex argued.
"Hang on, you're always on about how much of a good bloke Chris is, now you're telling me he hit her?" Nick couldn't believe his ears. Alex was always telling Nick to pull his finger out and accept that Chris was her husband. He was always ranting and raving about how happy Chris made Tess. Alex was forever rubbing his face in it.
"Well you didn't see the way she reacted, Nick"
"Alex, why are you telling me this?" Nick growled. "What do you want me to do about it?"
"Talk to her, Nick. If she opens up to anyone, it'll be you," Alex knew he was right. Tess had always been able to open up to Nick, no matter where their relationship was at.
"I'm not gonna get involved in this, Alex"
"So you're prepared to just sit back and watch another McLeod go down are you? You know in a few years, or even months, it could be Tess we're all mourning for"
"You don't know there's anything wrong, Alex. And if there is then I'm sure Tess will ask for help if she needs it. I'm not her guardian angel!"
Alex glared at him, "Well it's great to know you care mate. I'm sure Tess will be very grateful"
As Nick went back to work on his tractor, Alex got in his ute and sped off back to Drovers. He certainly wasn't going to sit by and watch Tess be used as a punching bag.
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Nick knocked on the door, startling Tess and causing her newly emptied glass to go crashing to the ground. She felt the what little color that remained in her face drain away.
As she turned around, Nick saw for the first time her black eye. He realised Alex wasn't kidding when he said it was a beauty.
He wasn't sure what to say, he wasn't even sure why he was there. Maybe Alex' outburst had gotten to him after all.
"Nick," Tess said breathlessly "Hey."
She was flustered. She was scared. He could see it.
"I didn't mean to startle you," He said moving towards her, "Let me help with-"
"No!" She interrupted before he could come near her. "It's fine. I'm fine, I can do it."
"Okay," Nick said, a little shocked by her defensive manner.
She bent down and swept the broken glass into a dustpan which she pulled from a nearby cupboard before tipping the broken pieces into the bin nearby.
She turned to Nick once more, "What are you doing here?"
"I just dropped by to see Alex," he answered. He was stretching the truth a bit, but he didn't want to let on that Alex had spoken to him.
"Well he's not here," Tess said softly "He's over at Killarney."
"Well I can wait," Nick said as he took a seat at the table.
"He'll be a while, Nick"
"That's okay," He answered.
Before either of them could say anything else, the phone rang. Tess quickly moved towards the study.
"Drovers Run, Tess speaking," Tess said wearily into the phone.
"I said check in with me every two hours, didn't I?" Blade's voice came down the phone.
"Oh," Tess had totally lost track of time, "Sorry... I was out mustering."
"Were you just?"
"Yeah... it takes a while"
"Look," Blade said firmly "I said two hours for a reason. If you don't keep to the schedule-"
"I know Blade," Tess tried to keep her voice down, "I know, alright? And I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
"I should hope not, because if he finds out I left you on your own he'll come down on me like a ton of bricks, and then I'll come down on you even harder, understand?"
"Yes. I'll speak to you soon, but don't call here again, people are already asking questions," she whispered before hanging up the phone.
She let out a long sigh before turning to find Nick in the doorway. "You are aren't you?" Nick asked.
"I am what?"
"You're sleeping with Blade"
"I already told you that he's just a friend, Nick"
"It didn't sound like that to me, Tess"
Tess shook her head and tried to pass him, "Think what you like."
Nick took hold of Tess by the arm causing her to jolt and back into the nearest wall. Her face drained of its color as it did only moments earlier. "Don't touch me," She said in barely a whisper.
He moved towards her slowly. It was time to let go of the hostility and help her. It was clear that she was hiding something, and it was clear that it was taking its toll on her.
"Then tell me what's going on, Tess. Did he have anything to do with that black eye of yours?"
"No," Tess shook her head "Why would he?"
"Well what happened?"
"I walked into a door, that's what happened"
"I don't believe you," He said, moving a little closer to her shaking figure.
He wasn't stupid. He could see she was lying. He could also see she was scared, scared that he would see through her and see the truth.
"Nick, I came here to bury my sister. It's hard enough doing that without you blowing things out of proportion and making assumptions." Tess tried to stay cool and calm.
Before Nick could reply the phone rang yet again. Nick moved and picked it up, "Hello, Drovers, Nick Ryan speaking... Oh hi, yep I'll just grab her for you"
Nick held the phone out to Tess, "It's Chris."
She cringed. Having Nick answer the phone would only fuel Chris' rage. He could be incredibly jealous of other men, especially significant ones like Nick.
"Hey," Tess said down the phone.
"What's Ryan doing answering the phone?" Chris was angry. Tess saw it coming.
"Oh, he just popped over to see Alex," Tess replied trying to keep her voice from shaking.
"Put Blade on"
Tess froze. What the hell was she supposed to do? Blade was in town. He would be furious if he found out Blade wasn't with her.
"Blade... he's ah... he's out in one of the paddocks trying his hand at mustering. I can get him to ring you back when he gets in"
Tess saw the look on Nick's face, but she had no choice but to lie in front of him.
"So Blade's off mustering and you're with Ryan?" Chris asked
"Look I have to go, Chris, Charlotte needs her feed. I'll get Blade to ring you" Tess hung up on him. She would most defiantly regret it later, but she couldn't talk to him any longer. She was struggling to stay in control.
She was shaking badly as she punched the number to Blade's mobile into the phone.
He picked up, "Yeah?"
"Chris... he wants to talk to you," Tess stammered down the phone "I said you were out mustering and that you would ring him."
"Mustering, what a joke," He laughed in an almost evil manner.
"Just ring him," Tess said before hanging up the phone for what she hoped was the last time.
She took a few deep breaths trying to calm herself down and stop the shaking. She had been so caught up in what was going on that she had forgotten Nick was there.
As Tess turned around Meg rushed in, "Oh good, you're here" she said breathlessly. "We've got a problem. There are brumbies on the property."
"Where abouts?" Asked Tess.
"Well Jodi and I saw them in the far paddock, near the national park... I'd say they came from that direction," Replied Meg as she took of her hat.
Tess grabbed her hat off the desk and bolted out towards the stable. She saddled up Blaze as fast as she could and took off. Nick came after her on the nearest horse he could find, Star.
"Tess!" Nick called as he tried to catch up with her. She was going like lightening. "Tess would you slow down!"
Star couldn't move quite as fast as Blaze. The horse was getting on in years. Nick cursed at himself for not taking a more reliable horse.
"Tess, what the hell are you doing?" Nick continued to call out to her "Have you lost your mind?"
She didn't turn back once. She just continued at her fast pace. She wanted to go as fast as Blaze could handle. She didn't quite know what she was doing though. Her thoughts were a big jumble. The one thing she did know though, was that she enjoyed the fresh air that hit her face, the journey of freedom brought to her by Blaze. She had almost forgotten the feeling of freedom.
Suddenly the mob of brumbies came towards her and Nick. Blaze reared up and threw Tess to the ground, at the site of them before the brumbies took her away with them.
Nick remained unhurt due to the distance between he and Tess. He had lagged so far behind that he hadn't come into contact with the brumbies.
"Tess!" Nick dismounted star and rushed to her side. "Tess are you alright?"
Tess looked up at him as she lay flat on her back. He was standing over her. "I'm fine."
"You could've been killed you know that? What the hell were you thinking? You know how dangerous brumbies are! Especially when you're riding a mare!"
Tess didn't say anything. She just sat up and rubbed at her temple.
Eventually she spoke, "You're right. I should've known that. I wasn't thinking"
Nick sighed and sat down next to her, "Tess what's going on? What's with all the lies? You're lying to Chris, you're lying to me... Is Blade the problem? Is he blackmailing you?"
Tess laughed. If only it was that simple. "No, he's not doing anything of the sort, Nick."
"Then what's with all the phone calls?"
"If you must know," Tess began, "He's seeing Chris' sister. He's meeting up with her in town. They're trying to keep things quiet for a while and asked me to help out. That's all it is."
"You really expect me to believe that?" Nick asked, looking into her pail face.
"You can believe what you want, Nick"
"What's happened to you, Tess?" Nick asked, abruptly changing the subject. "The Tess McLeod I know would never spin these lies. I can't even see that she's here anymore."
"That's because she's not, Nick. The Tess McLeod you knew doesn't exist. People change all the time"
"Not you, Tess," Nick said quietly. "But you have, and I can't say that it's for the better."
Tess shook her head, whilst Nick continued, "You used to be so bright and bubbly, but look at you now... you're miserable."
"We better go and track down Blaze," Tess whispered before getting up. As she got up her hand went automatically to her back, "Ow," She winced as she felt the pain.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." She trailed off for a moment "I just ah... I guess I landed harder than I thought."
"Show me where it hurts," Nick said as he slowly pulled up the back of her shirt.
Before Tess could pull away he had seen the bruising on her back. Panic ripped threw her entire body once she realised that he had seen what she had been so desperately trying to cover up.
She pulled away and turned to him. As she looked into his face she saw the pain there.
"Tess," Nick said softly "Your back..."
"It ah," She stammered, trying to think of an excuse. "The fall... it must've-"
"Tess bruises like that don't show up within two minutes of falling off a horse!" Nick yelled.
He was shocked beyond belief. Alex was right, he had to be. What other explanation was there?. Tess had been beaten.
She looked at him blankly before moving towards Star. The only way out of this situation was for her to do a runner.
She didn't get far though. Nick had caught her in his hands before she could get to the horse.
"Tess," He looked into her eyes. "What's he done to you?"
Tess shook her head as her heart rate sped up, "Nothing. It's nothing."
"It's not nothing, look at you," Nick said in barely a whisper as he ran his finger around her black eye "Look at you."
Nick felt her trembling again, he released her from his grip. "Why won't you admit it?"
"He loves me," Was all Tess could say in Chris' defence.
Nick turned away from her. He didn't want her to see the rage which was building up. If he loved her then why the hell did he beat her? If that was love then he was, as Alex put it "the king of England."
"So he beats you because he loves you?" Nick finally spoke.
Tess didn't say anything so Nick turned back around. He didn't care what she saw anymore. Maybe it would help her face reality. She was just standing there, looking at him with that same blank expression on her face. It was as though what he had said didn't register with her.
"If that's love then I don't ever want to experience it, Tess"
"You don't understand," Tess told him
"You're right," Nick moved towards her. "I don't understand why you put up with it!"
"He's getting help... he said he's going to-"
"Bloody hell Tess," Nick yelled as he grabbed hold of her. "Can't you see it? He's not going to change!"
Tess tried to struggle out of Nick's grip "He said he would and I believe him!" She screamed.
Nick wouldn't let go, and Tess wouldn't stop struggling. In the end they fell to the ground and Nick pinned her down in an effort to keep her still as he told her a few home truths. She stopped struggling and met his eyes. His tone was soft but firm.
"He won't change Tess! How many times has he beat you? How man times has he said sorry and that it would never happen again? It will happen again! Why can't you see that you have to get out while you're still in one piece? Tess, he isn't going to stop. You have to save yourself before it's too late."
He was pleading at her now which sent Tess over the edge. She began to shake as a dangerous amount of tears flooded from her eyes. The fact that Nick cared so deeply about her, after all this time meant something to her. The fact that he would do anything to keep her safe did as well. He had managed to bring her emotions back to life. Since marrying Chris. Tess hadn't been able to cry, to laugh, to do anything. Her emotions were all out of whack.
"Tess," Nick whispered, staring down into her tear filled eyes. "I care too much about you to watch you go like that, Tess. I want you around for at least another 50 years."
Tess began to sob. Nick was so gentle, so kind... she had forgotten what it was like to be loved like that.
"Come on," He whispered, helping her to her feat. "Lets get you home."