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"You’re wrong I do need you in my life," I corrected I went up on tiptoes and tried to pressthe edge of his jaw instead He made a sort of whiainst hiainst his He bent and buried his face inhim fiercely

"I need you too I love you, Ellie, so soeach other until I couldn’t stand the silence any longer "What happened?" I asked, uided ain He sat and pulled ht onto ache because he’d cla about it, he obviously felt like he needed to keep hold offor him

"I decided to leave I came up with a plan for me and Sophie to leave and that I’d take care of her on ht that if we left that it’d be better for both of us Trouble is I had no ive me a job, but I was only twelve and no one wanted a school kid working for thee blow out with Ralf about so I’d hidden at the top of the stairs and listened to theue Apparently Ralf had pro out or souy out and asked if I could do the job instead He said no because I was a kid, but he did offerelse A delivery job I didn’t ask what I was delivering, I didn’t need to know All I needed to knoas that he paid me a hundred bucks for it I came back the next day and did another delivery after school and got uy asked if I wanted to dowashed over led up with Brett," I said, nodding

"Mmm hmm" He nodded "It started out easy, delivery job here and there Then things got ot paid more Money seemed to be all I could think about The ot to having enough forschool all the tiuys that worked for hihting and stuff so I learnt a lot about self-defence, but I continued to let Ralf do what he wanted so that he wouldn’t know that I was planning on leaving with Soph Ray, the headme how to fix them and stuff By the tiine and put it back together again Ray also showed ood at it," he said laughing quietly

I se in his tone of voice hten, his tone when he spoke about cars wasme about his childhood I welcomed the rest bite in the bad stuff, I liked that he was happy about soal

"I was saving up I decided to wait until I was sixteen so that I could rent a place legally A couple of years passed of it all, then one day I spent too long at the warehouse Ray and I got caught up cooing over some sports car, funny how I can’t even re, as he obviously tried to recall that insignificant detail "I was fourteen, and Sophie was seven I was late houess because I wasn’t there to-" He stopped talking and squeezed his eyes shut as he shook his head

"Ja

"It was my fault," he whispered suddenly

"What? No" I shook one hoht away; if I had done then he wouldn’t have laid his dirty pervert hands on her" He choked on a sob and I feltin e she was sobbing in the corner while he sat there and-" He groaned and I dug h as I finished his sentence inso sick ina child in pain? I felt dirty even thinking about it

"Where was yourdownthere," he said disbelievingly His chin trembled and I saw a tear fall down his face and drop onto his jeans

I covered my mouth as I whimpered She’d just sat there while her boyfriend had physically abused her daughter and then was getting hiuilty as if she’d done it herself in , her nose bleeding, her lip split He’d used the knife that he used to use on ash on her forear off while he watched her cry I just totally lost it I knee couldn’t stay there any et up and pack a bag, but he got between us He said eren’t going anywhere, that he owned us all and that Sophie was going to earn hih" His face was red froer as he spoke