I pretend to still be asleep when Liam gets up and leaves my room. As usual, he pauses to kiss my forehead, but this morning I almost sob when his lips touch my skin. I’m not stupid; I’m aware he knows I’m up to something. I also know that I probably should tell him what’s going on and accept his help, but I can’t. I need to end this myself. Enough people have already been hurt at that monster’s hands. I won’t allow him to hurt anyone else I love.

I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night. The photo he sent me a few days ago has been burned onto my eyelids, along with the thought of what I could be walking into today. This could be the biggest mistake of my life, but I’m not shying away from that arsehole. All this bullshit ends today. I just hope it’s the way I want.

My hands tremble as I dress once I’ve heard Liam leave for work. I don’t need to set off yet, but I can’t just sit here, waiting. I’ll drive myself crazy.

After making myself a very strong coffee, I get in the car and head off for a place I’d quite happily never visit again.

I loved it when I first moved. Being away from my parents and doing my own thing meant I thought Cardiff was the best place in the world. The nightlife was insane and my uni mates were awesome. I thought it was the beginning of something epic. Then, I met David, and I thought I was going to have it all. A caring boyfriend and the career I’ve always dreamed of. I never expected everything to go so wrong, so fast.

A bubble of excitement threatens to erupt at the thought of my new job, but I force it down. I can’t look forward to any of that until this is sorted. I’ve tried to look happy about it in my attempt to keep Liam at arm’s length, but I’ve failed. He’s worried, and probably rightly so.

The sun’s beating down when I pull up into the car park behind the building I used to live in, bathing the whole place in a brightness it really doesn’t deserve. My entire body trembles with adrenaline as I sit and wait.

Dragging my phone from the bottom of my bag, I open my messages for a reminder of why I’m doing this.

I suck in a breath just like I have done every time I’ve opened his message. The photo is everything I feared would happen. It’s the reason I stayed.

The sight of David lying in a hospital bed, battered, bruised and attached to machines fills my screen, and I fight the tears that sting the back of my eyes. I haven’t been in love with him for a very long time, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt to know what he’s been through.

Scrolling through Griff’s threats that followed when I didn’t respond to the photo ignites a fire in my belly.

Blowing out a long breath as I prepare for what’s to come, I grab my phone and drop it into my hoodie pocket before getting out of the car.

I didn’t give a time. I knew I didn’t need to. I have every confidence that he’s waiting.

The security system’s fucked like it always has been, so I easily get into the building. My heart pounds in my ears as I climb the stairs, the very familiar piss smell filling my nose.

When the sight of my old front door comes into view, I stop, afraid that I’m going to puke. Every muscle in my body is pulled tight, and I can hardly breathe through the fear.

I hit call on my phone before I swipe the key from its hiding place and try to walk inside with as much confidence as I can muster.

I heave the second the smell hits me. It’s so putrid that I can’t even decipher what it could be. It’s dark, and as I round the corner, I find all the curtains pulled with just a lamp on in the corner of the room. There’s crap everywhere; it’s nothing like when I lived here. In just a few short weeks, Griff’s managed to make it look like a crack den. I almost laugh to myself as I think that that’s probably what it is now. David’s in hospital trying to recover from his most recent and most brutal beating, while Griff’s been here doing fuck knows what.

My breath catches the second I see his dark form on the sofa. I watch his shoulders move with his slow breathing as my heart jumps into my throat. He’s going to know I’m here any second. What’s he going to do?

“You’re even fucking stupider than I thought, bitch.” His quiet words slam into me and, as he turns his evil eyes on me, I realise what an epic mistake this was. His eyes hold mine before they drop to take in my body. My stomach turns over and my skin prickles with hatred. When his eyes eventually come back up to mine, they’re dark and hard, holding a promise of what’s to come. He’s going to fucking kill me before anyone has a chance of locking him up again.

Standing, I breathe a sigh of relief as he wobbles. I can only hope that I’m slightly more alert than he is and therefore have the upper hand. Quicker than I expected, he’s right in front of me, his vile breath rushing over my face as his nose lowers so it’s almost touching mine.

I’m desperate not to show that I’m scared but, without realising, I start backing away. The second I look to the side, I realise I’ve made a massive mistake. He’s backed me into a corner. My body trembles and tears burn my eyes, but I won’t cry. I will not allow this motherfucker to see that he scares me in any way.

He moves before I have a chance to react. His hand wraps around my neck and I’m slammed back into the wall with a thud before his fist connects with my eye socket. Pain radiates from my eye and white light flashes before me, blinding me to what might happen next.

His fingers squeeze my throat and I fight to drag any oxygen into my lungs as pain pierces my head.

“You have any idea how long I’ve waited for this?” he snarls, his breath causing bile to burn my throat. His nose runs along my jaw as the tears I don’t want to shed fill my eyes. “It ends today. You’ll give me what I need.”

His fingers pull down the zip of my hoodie, and I find some fight. I start clawing at the arm still holding me against the wall by my neck.

“Keep fighting, bitch. You know how much I enjoy it.”

I growl as I scratch at him, his skin bunching up under my nails.

“It was worth putting that little fucker in the hospital to get you back here. I’m going to do what I should have done all those months ago and fucking ruin you. You’ll never forget who this pussy belongs to.” He lowers his hand and grabs me between the legs. A cry falls from my lips and he presses harder against me. “I’m going to ruin you for anyone else.”

My vision starts to blur from lack the of oxygen. Griff must sense what’s going on because his hold on my neck loosens. “I ain’t giving you the pleasure of blacking out. You’re going to experience every single second of what I’ve got for you. I’ve been dreaming about fucking up this tight little body, and now I’ve got you all to myself. No one’s coming to your rescue this time, princess. So, where shall I start?” His eyes drop from mine, and I shudder as he opens my hoodie to get a better look at what’s beneath before his disgusting black fingers pop the button on my jeans.

“NO!” I scream, swinging my arms, trying to fight him off. He might be strung out on fuck knows what, but he’s bigger and stronger than me. One swift kick to my knees and I’m down. My head slams back on the floor. White light flashes behind my eyes once again, and I lose sense of my surroundings.

When I come back to myself, I feel his dirty hand trail from my breast, down my stomach, tugging at my waistband.

I scream at the top of my voice, although I know it’s pointless. Most of the flats here are empty or full of drunks and druggies. No one’s coming, and the weight of my stupid decision to come here hits me full-force.

I called for help before I even stepped foot in this place. If they were coming, they’d be here by now.

My head pounds, my throat burns and, as I feel harsh movement at my waist, I turn my head to the side and retch.

It’s at that moment I hear a crash, followed by the best sound I think I’ve ever heard in my life.

“LIV!”

I watch, eyes wide as Liam barrels into the room. He slams his fist into Griff’s face, making him fall off me and straight to the floor before he drops next to me.

“Fucking hell, Liv. What the fuck were you thinking?” he asks, after he’s given me a once-over to check for injuries.

He’s just lifted me up into his arms when the people I was expecting come rushing through the door.

“Police!” Two men run over to Griff, pull him up to a sitting position and restrain him while a woman and another man turn to us.

I’ve never experienced relief like I did the second I wrapped my arms around Liv’s body. She’d been acting weird for days. I knew she was up to something. I never would have said anything to the others if I didn’t think she was going to put herself in danger, but as much as I wanted to have her beside me every second to ensure her safety, I knew I couldn’t, so I had to rely on everyone else to keep an eye out.

The moment BJ’s name lit up my phone, I knew. My stomach dropped and I was making my way out of the studio before I even answered the call. He didn’t have any details, but I didn’t need them. I knew exactly where she was heading.

My girl wanted to put an end to everything that happened up in Cardiff. I couldn’t blame her after what she went through, but I sure as hell wished she’d asked for help.

Her body trembles in my arms and her tears soak the fabric of my t-shirt as the police do their thing. Their arrival was a bit of a shock, but I’m so fucking glad she was sensible enough to call for some back-up.

Fury fills me as I watch the coppers drag Griff’s limp body from the floor and push him towards the door, before the female officer drops beside us.

“Liv,” I whisper when she makes no attempt to move. “The police would like to talk to you.”

She pulls her head from the crook of my neck and my heart aches when I take in her bruised, tear-stained face. As relieved as I am that she’s okay, I’m furious with her.

“We’re going to need to take statements from you, love. Are you okay to come to the station or do you need medical attention?”

“I’m…I’m okay. Can Liam come?”

“Of course.”

The officer leaves after giving us instructions to follow them, but Liv makes no attempt to move.

“Liv, we need to go.” I try to keep my voice soft. She’s been through enough; she doesn’t need to know how I’m really feeling on top of all that.

After a few minutes, she climbs off me and I follow her down to the car park.

We’re in the station for hours. I spend most of that sat in a tiny waiting room, not having a fucking clue what’s going on or how long I’m going to be sat there. It does give me a chance to make a few phone calls, though—something Liv should have done a long time ago. I’m done with allowing her not to deal with any of this properly. If we’re going to have any kind of future together, she needs to start trying to put all this behind her. Unfortunately that’s going to have to start with her talking about it, whether she likes it or not.

The longer I sit there, the more images I manage to conjure up of how differently this day could have gone. My fingers grip onto the chair, my knuckles white as thoughts of Griff touching my girl enter my mind. It was obvious the second I walked in what he was planning. Just the thought of his fingers on her flawless skin makes me murderous. It’s probably a good thing the police turned up when they did, because I’ve no idea what I would have done.

I’m totally consumed by my thoughts and fears that I miss the movement in the doorway until I hear my name.

“Liam, I’m done,” Liv says quietly as she stares down at the ground.

Standing, I walk over and pull her into my arms. Her body trembles against me and it’s enough to push my anger down a little as I focus on getting her away from all of this.

Wrapping my arm around her waist, I direct her towards my car with the intention of getting her home.

That idea’s shot to shit the second I start the engine.

“Can you take me back to the flat, please?”

“What? Why?”

“I’ve still got a few things there I’d like to collect. If it’s okay?” she adds, clearly sensing my unease.

“You’ll have five minutes.”

“That’s fine, thank you.”

The drive to her old flat is in silence. She must know she’s really testing my patience right now.

I pull back up to the shitty old building and blow out a long breath as Liv hesitates to get out of the car.

“You don’t have to do this. It’s just stuff, Liv. You can get more.”

“It’s not just stuff. You can wait here if you like. I’ll just be a minute.”

“No fucking way.”

I follow her up and then stand in the hallway and wait while she rummages about a bit, filling a bag.

“Done?”

“Yes.”

“Fantastic. Now, let’s get the fuck out of here.”

The bruise on her face is getting darker by the second, and she looks like she’s about to collapse with exhaustion.

Taking the half-empty bag from her hand, I guide her back out to my car. She glances over to hers at the other side of the car park but she doesn’t say anything as I open the door for her. “We’ll sort that out later,” I say, but all she does is nod as I lean in to help her with the seatbelt.

I expected her to fall asleep immediately but, to my surprise, she sits staring out the window for a lot longer than I was expecting.

“Turn around,” she demands.

“What?”

“Turn the car around.”

“No fucking chance.”

“Liam, please. I need to go back. There’s something I have to do.”

“I’m taking you home.”

“Then I’ll just come back on my own.”

I know she’s playing me to get what she wants, but fuck if it doesn’t work.

“Fine. Where are we going?”

“Just turn around and drive. I’ll direct you.”

The tension in the car is heavy as we head back into the city. I was already fighting my anger over what she’d done, but now I’m about two seconds away from exploding. My hands shake where I hold the wheel with a death grip.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I snap when I see the sign for a hospital.

“I need to do this.” Her confident voice from a few minutes ago is gone, and it dispels my irritation a little. “I need to see him and put everything behind me.”

“I’m not fucking happy about this,” I mutter as I pull into an empty parking space.

“You can stay here.” The look I pin her with must show how unlikely that is. “Or you can come…”

She’s out of the car the second I pull it to a stop, and I rush to catch her up. I follow silently as she checks where he is before getting the lift to the right floor.

She’s just about to push the door open to the ward when I stop her. My hand lands on her forearm and she turns her tired, sad eyes on me. My breath catches at how broken she looks.

“You don’t have to do this. It’s over.”

“I do. I need to say goodbye.”

Nodding, I continue to follow her.

“He’s over there,” she says, pointing to a bay of four beds through the window in front of us. I don’t need to ask for more details; I can see which one he is from the state of his face.

Every part of me screams to pick her up and march her out of here, but I do understand her need to do this. They were a couple for years. I get that she needs to put an end to this so she can focus on us.

I watch as she hesitantly walks towards his bed. His eyes stay closed, but when she’s a few foot away, he must realise he has company because they slowly open—well, as much as they can with all the swelling.

It’s like someone hits me across the chest with a baseball bat as I see his eyes lighten at the sight of her. It’s clear that he still loves her. I almost want to laugh; how can that be the case when he’s allowed all of this to happen?

I stand and watch as she says whatever it is she needs to say to him, my fists clenched tightly the entire time as I fight my growing need to drag her out of this place and away from him.

Thankfully, it’s not all that long before she gives him one last smile before turning my way. The second her eyes land on mine, I know I did the right thing by bringing her here. Some of the shadows that were in her eyes just minutes ago have vanished. She really did need this to put everything behind her, but it still doesn’t mean I’m not livid.

Silently, we make our way back to the car and, after staring blankly out of the window once more, Liv succumbs to her exhaustion and I hear soft snoring coming from her.

She misses the entire journey and I end up lifting her from the car and carrying her into the house.

“Fuck, Liam. Is she okay?” BJ asks in a panic when I walk through the living room.

“Yeah. Get me a beer.”

“Sure thing.”

Carrying Liv straight up to her room, I carefully pull back the covers before lowering her to the bed. I pop the button on her jeans before pulling the denim down her legs. My hands tremble as I think about that motherfucker trying to do the same thing only hours ago. Clenching my fists and blowing out a long breath, I try to talk myself down, but his smarmy, disgusting face is right there behind my eyes.

I stand and look down at her sleeping peacefully for a few seconds. The purple bruise on her face keeps my anger simmering just under the surface. I flex my fingers, the need to go and punch something only growing stronger the longer I stand here.

Eventually, after telling myself that she’s fine, I silently walk out of the room. I look back at the last minute and almost change my mind and crawl in beside her, but I know it’s pointless. I’ve got too much pent-up energy to be able to lie in bed, let alone sleep.

“What the fuck happened?” BJ asks the minute I step foot in the room.

“Beer,” I demand, and thankfully a can is thrust at me in seconds.

Popping the top, I start pacing back and forth in front of the sofa where my best friend sits and watches.

“Well?” he demands.