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‘We’ve talked about this, Louisa.’ Em seethed quietly. ‘I love you, but she’s right.’
Louisa’s madness has become normal to us, so we’ve messed up and let it slide. Jack had occasionally shown up with scratches or a bruise, but he dismissed it too quickly; and we moved on, too quickly. He often talked about how Louisa lost her temper, but we’d dismissed it, because he is a bloke. We were complicit, and the realisation made me feel sick to my stomach.
Ariella reappeared in the doorway with her suitcase. ‘Caleb, can I have the keys please?’
‘Ariella, don’t leave like this. Stay, let’s talk it through,’ Em pleaded.
‘I’m sorry, Em, I can’t. I’m intruding. It’s obvious that you all love each other very much, so you’re going to need some privacy to work through it together.’
‘I’ll come home with you,’ I said, standing up and placing myself between her and Louisa.
‘Jack’s going to need you here, Caleb. This doesn’t get better if they don’t have your support.’
‘Oh fuck off!’
‘LOUISA!’ Tim and Em shouted in unison.
‘Goodnight, Em and Tim. Thank you for having me. I had a lovely time. Jack, look after yourself, please?’ Ariella turned to me with a small smile. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’
With that, she walked out of the front door, rolling her suitcase behind her.
‘Good riddance!’ Louisa shouted after her.
The room fell into silent shock. What just happened?
Jack spoke first.
‘Is it okay if I crash here tonight?’
The first blow from Louisa landed on the side of his head. It took me a second to react, because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I had no idea it wasthisbad. When Tim and I eventually pulled Louisa off Jack, the room was stunned into silence. What were we going to do now? As much as I wanted to, we weren’t going to call the police on her.
‘Go home, Louisa,’ Em pleaded.
‘Come with me now,’ she screamed at a silent Jack.
‘Just go home, Lou,’ he responded, looking away from her.
Em was now crying. That was Tim’s final straw. You did not mess with his wife.
‘Let’s get your stuff, Lou.’ He gently ushered her out, while I grabbed her bag and phone. ‘We’ll talk in the morning, yeah.’ It wasn’t a question.
After he shut the front door behind her, we stared at each other.
‘Fuck!’ he whispered at me in disbelief.
That word contained everything we could possibly say. We returned to the living room, where Jack was glued to his chair.
‘Mate, we had no idea it wasthatbad!’ I started as I sat opposite him.
‘It wasn’t always. I don’t know how we got here.’
The four of us sat there silently, wondering how we let this happen.
‘Is Jack all right?’ says Ariella, walking into the kitchen just as I come in through the door. She’s showered, judging by her damp hair and that familiar apple and grapefruit smell. It makes me smile. She’s such a creature of habit. It feels good to have her back.
‘Yeah. He’s still there.’
‘How’s Louisa?’
