Telling Annie
1064 Words
We arrived back at the house the next day and I was exhausted. Liam turned on the lights after putting his keys on the table. “I’m gonna go and have a shower” he stated and headed off to the bathroom. I walked into the spare room where I was staying and collapsed on the bed. The time that we had spent at the hut was amazing. I had forgotten the fun me and Liam could have and the orgasms he gave me. My phone started to ring and I sighed at the disruption.
“Hello?” I answered it without looking at the screen.
“Elle?! What’s happened with you and Dan?!” Annie shouted down the phone. f**k. I hadn’t told her about us breaking up or the s**t that he has put me through.
“Annie! I...” I was speechless.
“Dan told me you broke up” she continued.
“Did he... did he say anything else?” I asked.
“He won’t tell me anything! He still thinks that you two are going to work things out but when I got to the house I noticed all of your things have gone” she explained.
“Have you moved out?”
“Me and Dan aren’t going to get back together Annie” I told her.
“But why? What happened?!” She exclaimed and I sighed.
“It’s hard to explain. Things just got complicated between us. We weren’t working” I said.
“But you promised me that you’d always be friends Elle. Something serious must have happened for you to go back on your promise” she interrogated.
“I don’t really want to talk about this over the phone. If your around tomorrow then I could meet you somewhere and we could have a chat” I suggested.
“Okay, fine, I’ll meet you at the coffee shop in town at 12pm” she ordered. I agreed and hung up the phone. I don’t know how she is going to handle the truth or whether she’ll believe it. Luckily I still had a few bruises I could use as evidence.
Ordering my coffee, I looked around the shop to see if Annie had arrived yet. I couldn’t see her anywhere so I paid and sat down at an empty table by the window. I checked my phone to see if she had text me but she hadn’t. The waitress brought over my coffee and the sandwich I ordered. As I took a bite, Annie appeared from the side of me and sat down on the opposite chair.
“So sorry, I completely lost track of time” she excused. I smiled at her and she grasped her hands together on the table.
“Talk to me Elle” she demanded getting straight to the point. I finished my mouthful and looked down a the table. I was so nervous about her reaction. I took off my jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. I was wearing a tight white t-shirt and black jeans. I heard Annie gasp and I turned my attention to her.
“Elle, your arms!” She yelled, pointing out the cuts and bruises that were in the process of healing.
I looked at her slightly embarrassed. I tried to cover them with my hands but she pulled them away so she could inspect them.
“Who did this to you?! Was it Cameron?!” She exclaimed and I shushed her to get her not to draw attention to us.
“No, it wasn’t Cameron” I told her. The concern on her face drained into horror.
“Did... did Dan do that?” She hesitated, afraid of the answer. I nodded and she gasped.
“He did that?!” She exclaimed and I shushed her again.
“What happened? Tell me now Elle” she said sternly. I sighed deeply.
“Dan’s been under a lot of stress lately, I think it might have just got on top of him” I excused and she lowered her brows.
“What did he do Elle?”
“He got annoyed that I came home late and assumed that me and Liam were up to no good”
“Why?” She snapped.
“Because he’s my new boss but I hadn’t done anything, I was just late from work because of the amount of paperwork that needed to be sorted out” I confessed.
“He got really angry and he slapped me across my face. I wasn’t letting him get away with it this time so...”
“This time!?” She interrupted.
“He’s slapped me before but didn’t do anything else” I said.
“So I stuck up for myself and he didn’t seem to like that. He was furious and started throwing punches at me and kicking me” I began to tear up at the memory of his aggression. Annie took my hand and squeezed it.
“Elle... I am so sorry” she said and I shook my head at her apology.
“It’s not your fault” I replied. She took a moment to process everything and then huffed.
“I can’t believe him, the one thing our parents drummed into us growing up is to never hit a woman. That’s exactly what he has done and it’s shameful” she gritted her teeth.
“Don’t say anything to him, I don’t really want him coming for round two” I begged and she shook her head.
“He’s never coming near you again Elle, I assure you. At least I understand why you broke your promise” she smiled trying to lighten the mood slightly.
“So where are you living now?” She asked me and I took a sip of my coffee.
“Liam’s” I answered.
“He has a house?” She raised her eye brows in shock and I giggled.
“I know, I couldn’t believe either”.
“So he has his own house and he’s also your boss?” She stated and I nodded my head.
“Yep”
“Oh how times have changed” she laughed. I bit my bottom lip as I remembered who she was going out with.
“How’s you and Dylan?” I asked trying to hide my sarcasm. Her posture straightened with excitement.
“We’re great actually. He’s so sweet to me and spoils me rotten” she giggled.
“We are looking at moving in together actually, buying a house of our own”. Great... I couldn’t think of anything worse than to see him again. Haven’t I had enough s**t happen to me in my life time? I forced a smile and replied “that’s brilliant, when were you thinking of doing that?”.
“In the next few weeks actually. Hopefully we will find somewhere soon because I’m sick of that tiny flat I’m living in. The neighbours are pricks” she rolled her eyes.
“As for my brother, if he even tries to contact you again, let me know I will make sure he stays away for good” she threatened and I grinned at her.
- Writer
