The Fractured Wife

Chapter 7

“Roma, what happened? Why are you here and why did you not stay in touch?” Jane asked looking questioningly at her sister. “I know the last time I saw you were at your wedding to Frank so come on tell me please,” Jane put her hands on her sister’s hands and watched Roma flinch away from her. Jane could tell that this was not going to be easy to listen to as Roma took a deep breath and began her story.

“Well, where do I start? You know that I met Frank in high school and he was a total gentleman and said the right things to our parents so they gave him their permission to ask me to marry him.” Roma sighed thinking back to how it used to be with Frank. He wasn’t always the monster that he became. Roma remembers the first time she saw Frank he was tall, dark and handsome everything she thought she hated. When he sat beside her during gym they hit it off straight away. His hair was black with his curtains falling into his eyes. His eyes were a smokey hazel and she melted every time she looked into them when they met. If she knew what was going to happen she would’ve stayed away. She was the quiet type who was funny when she got to know someone. She had a group of friends that were sort of popular that they were not picked on but everyone knew them. Frank was one of the jocks who everyone tried to be friends with and he always had a girl on his arm at parties. Roma shook her head and with a sip of her tea she carried on with the story. 

“It was the day after we got back from our honeymoon that things started going downhill between frank and me,” Roma stated not looking at her sister who had moved to sit beside her. “He started by demanding that I quit my job at the store knowing I loved helping people pick things to make their houses their homes. I tried to get him to change his mind and that’s when he became violent for the first time. He came home drunk that night I said I wasn’t willing to quit my job and he got right in my face shouting calling me a ungrateful b***h and that I would end up doing everything he wanted. He proceeded to call me a w***e and that he only wanted a s*x slave and not a wife.” Roma felt a tear run down her cheek as the memories opened the wounds all over again. 

“The next day I quit my job to keep him from verbally abusing me again. The next day he apologised and promised it would never happen again. Things were great for a few months then he went back to being verbally abusive and accusing me of cheating on him when he was at work. I wasn’t allowed to leave the house, use the phone or see any of my friends. I felt like a prisoner in my own home. This went on for a few years then I found out I was pregnant with Grant. I couldn’t wait to tell him and maybe he would ease up on the abuse. When he found out I was pregnant he slapped me screaming that I got pregnant by someone else.” Roma paused as she heard her sister gasp. “As my pregnancy progressed he didn’t hit me again till we found we were having a boy, Frank wanted a daughter. He proceeded to tell me that I was useless that I was having a boy. Jane you have to understand I thought that as soon as he saw our firstborn he would change. Boy was I wrong.”

Roma glanced at her sister and noticed silent tears streaming down Jane’s cheeks. Roma grabbed her sister’s hands, she didn’t want to continue but she had to carry on. 

“After Grant was born he would play the doting father in public but when we were behind closed doors that’s when things got worse. Frank would ignore Grant and if the baby made a noise he would scream at me telling me to shut that thing up. By this time I was trying everything I could to stop Grant being at the end of his father’s temper. As Grant grew Frank drank more to the point one night Frank went too far and slapped Grant because he was being noisy playing with his toys and his father stood on one of the blocks Grant had on the floor. I screamed at Frank to leave Grant alone and that’s when Frank got physical. He pushed me to the floor then grabbed my hair and kept slapping my face.” Roma let her tears run freely now as she knew she was safe in telling her story. 

“He threw me onto the floor and proceeded to kick me in my stomach and anywhere else he could reach. If he couldn’t get a place on my body with his feet he punched me. That night I decided to leave him for good. I packed up Grant’s things and started packing my bag when Frank came in all apologetic and begged me to stay with him and that he would get help. I believed him and decided I would give him another chance.” Roma stopped and grabbed a tissue to wipe her eyes and blow her nose. 

“It was good for a little bit and I thought Frank had changed as he played with Grant and showed me affection. But a leopard doesn’t change his spots. He gradually went back to his old ways and it was horrific. The beatings became more severe that I had to hide bruises if I went out with Frank to play happy families. Frank scared all my friends away and whenever you phoned I wasn’t allowed to talk to you in case I told you what was going on. It stayed like that till I announced I was pregnant with Conan. Frank didn’t want another child but he started to come round to the fact that he might get a daughter this time. At our scan we found out we were having another boy he went crazy.” The abuse continued getting worse over the next 6 years till one night he turned on both boys who were in bed screaming in their faces and when Grant tried to stand up to him to protect Conan, Frank hit him with his belt for talking back. I was shouting to Frank to leave my boys alone but he was in a frenzy. The next time he went out drinking with his friends I packed up and ran.”

Roma had finished her story with a huge sigh of relief. Roma sagged back in her chair with a heavy sigh. She was glad to finally be able to get all that off her chest. She felt lighter as a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders. Jane looked at her sister gobsmacked as she couldn’t believe what Roma had been through.

“Roma thank you for telling me and I promise that you and the boys will be safe here. Come on let me show you where you and the boys can call home.” Grabbing her sister’s hand and leaving the comfort of her kitchen.