Adam

There was no sign of them anywhere. We checked and double checked the security tapes and they had just vanished into thin air. We'd searched the hospital, all the wards, store rooms and offices and still there was nothing. I paced back and forth the tiny security office waiting while one of the tapes rewound. It smelt of smoke and crisp packets littered the desks. The security guard was plumb, his small slit eyes scrutinising the screen in front of him. I looked down at the top of his bold head watching the light reflect of it as I moved around the room. My attention then returned to the screens. They showed different scenes from around the hospital normal people getting on with their lives. They had no idea mine had just stopped.

I didn't want to think about what he was doing to her but I couldn't push the thoughts out of my mind. She was helpless, I'm not even sure she would have regain consciousness yet and even if she had she wouldn't be able to fight, her injuries would prevent her from doing so. She had no chance unless we found her and every minuet that past it was getting more and more unlikely that we wouldn't.

Would that really be the last time I saw her, broken with out the sparkle in her eyes. So weak that she couldn't fight back.

"I found them." The security man said jumping heavily from his seat and pointing at the screen. They had gone in the direction of the east stairs. I rushed out of the small office not even bothering to thank him. Jay and I had been given radios so that we could keep in contact with security whilst we searched. I tugged mine out of my scrub pocket and directed everyone in the same direction as me.

The east stairs where the only staircase in the hospital which lead to the roof and made me dread even more what I was going to find when I found her. I raced up the stairs Jay joining me on the third level; we gave each other apprehensive looks but didn't slow down. We reached the door labelled roof access. Jay stood back as I opened it slowly quickly glancing at what I could see. I found only an empty roof with nothing but a couple of pigeons to keep it company. I ran my finger though my hair trying not to show my disappointment. Jay patted me on my back showing that he too was finding this hard.

"Come on." He sighed taking the lead back down the stairs, I followed. We walked down the stairs in silence, the sound of our foot steps keeping us company.

Nita

If you had asked me this time yesterday I would have told you about my life and my family and about our lives together but now I'm unsure. Had it all been a lie? If you asked me now, I wouldn't know what to say. Over night my views have changed, my eyes have been opened, my blinkers removed and I've seen what I could never imagine, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I would never ever have believed it to be true. Now my views of my life and of my family are very different; changed forever.

I lay awake that night, unable to sleep, I told myself well into the early hours that I imagined what I saw or that it was a bad dream, that when I'd woken to the screams they weren't real; they were just echoes from a nightmare, one I couldn't remember. But I couldn't tell that to myself any longer. I thought I'd expelled that night from my memories forever but it seems the memories have refused to budge, lurking in the back ground waiting. I had been able to push then to the back of my mind forgotten from the morning after it happened but now something had triggered my memory. I had remembered something. Just that one small detail replayed in my mind, I'd heard those screams before, I just couldn't remember where and when and then inevitably that evening which I'd banished from my memory all came flooding back.

Screaming, ear piercing screaming was coming from down stairs. I pushed back the covers and padded my five year old bare foot self across my bedroom and onto the landing. I was terrified I'd never heard anyone scream like that before. I wanted to run down stairs, help my mum. Stop whatever was happening to her but I couldn't, her screams kept me away. I perched a couple of steps from the top of the stairs grasping both of my small shaking hands onto the banister.

Amongst the screams I could hear an angry male voice. Telling me her to shut up and sneering at her pain. The smell of burning filled my nostrils. The kitchen door was open just a crack and I could see my mum struggling with everything she had to free herself. I gasped quickly covering my mouth with my hand hoping no one had heard me and I could stay hidden. The person who was torturing my mum - who I thought to be a burglar - was no other than my dad. I felt sick I could clearly see him pouring boiling water from the kettle onto her. The burning smell was her flesh. I gagged reaching the toilet just in time as I threw up. After I'd finished I ran back into my room curling up under the covers cuddling my favourite stuffed dog, spot. I cried quietly into my pillow, the duvet pulled up over my head. I was terrified at what I'd just seen.

I wasn't even meant to be home last night, I'd been staying at Hannah's but we'd had a massive fight so I'd snuck in not wanting to talk about it. I remembered; I knew what had happened last night. Is this what happened every time I wasn't home?

I knew the truth, I'd seen the truth and now I couldn't pretend it had never happened like mum could. I would not let her go though anything like that again. I was not going to run from it. I'd seen some of the bruises and now I knew how she really got them. Had it been happening this whole time? I've got no doubts that it has. I thought back cringing realising how much I'd missed. All the cuts and bruises, broken house hold items and trinkets.

It's most defiantly been going on all these years, I sighed. How could I not have seen what was going on? How could I have been so blind? Why had she put up with it? I would have been on her side if she'd told me. I would and will make her leave and I'm going with her there no way I'm letting my dad do any thing else to my mum. He always blamed her for her bad moods and sullen looks. I always thought she was being nasty to him but it was the other way around. I'd always taken his side not questioning whether it was the right one or not. Now I knew that it was the wrong one, no wonder she never told me. She probably thought I would take his side if I knew. Maybe I would have believed it was her fault if I hadn't seen what I had. She probably though if she left then she would loss me, she couldn't have been more wrong. How could she think that? I've always been a daddy girl and she's known it. I've always thought she didn't care about me as much as dad. He was always there while she was off at work too busy to bother about me. When really she was working for the money we needed and to escape him, if only for a while.

I've been so mean to her sometimes, coming down on his side when really she hadn't done anything. I'd made her cry and thought she deserved to, maybe I was as bad as him.

Warren

He was meant to wait till she was doing better but he had just waded in and taken her. I don't want her to die. I just don't want to be blamed. She wasn't well enough yet anyone could see that. I needed to get her back and soon, I didn't want to lose her. I'd asked the nurse to be straight with me how long she could go without medical care. The answer wasn't good. I'd tried phoning him but his phone was switched off. Surely he could see that she wasn't well enough to be with him. I didn't even know where they were. Were they still in the hospital? I excused myself making my way out of the double doors and into the cool winter air.

The phone rang and rang going to voicemail. I angrily hit the red button knowing that every minuet I was closer to losing her. I scrolled though the numbers on my phone and hit the call button on the number I wanted.

"Hi." Nita spoke somewhat reluctantly.

"Pass me onto your Grandma now." I knew I sounded harsh but I didn't have time to worry about that now. The phone went quiet for a little while.

"Warren, I trust everything is going well."

"No, he has to bring her back now. She wasn't ready; she's going to die if she doesn't get medical attention straight away. He was meant to wait until I said. What happened?"

"Warren calm down I'll phone him, she's not going to die."

"His phone is off mom, what am I going to do. This is not what I wanted. I don't want to loss her."

"You won't,"

"No mom, you didn't see her today. She was shattered. I've crushed her. She's not herself anymore; I don't think she was even acting in the hospital this morning." I stopped unable to go on tears filling my eyes and a train sized lump stuck in my throat.

I love my wife but I know what she's like. I know she's a flirt and that she's cheated on me with that doctor. It hurts so much to know my wife doesn't love me like that anymore. That she stays with me only for our daughter, if it wasn't for Nita she would have left me years ago and now with my M.E. I depend on her and she resents me for it. She stays at work later these days always 'losing' track of time. She won't even admit to me that she's been with him. I'd thought that up until today but if she had been with him then he would have noticed the bruises. He would know it was me but he doesn't. Maybe she has been faithful to me this whole time. He would have made her tell him if he'd seen them and she would have finally caved.

"Warren, you still there?"

"Yer."

"They will find her. Go back inside and take you part. I'll try and phone him again. Bye," and with that she hung up leaving me feeling worse than I had before I phoned her. Please Kirsty fight, fight for me, for Nita for our family. I need you.

Thank you to anyone who reviewed. Quick question what do you think to Jay and Emily cute couple? I am getting to Adam and Jessica just this day seems to have dragged out and is going to carry on for a couple more chapters and she has to put in an appearance just at the right time.