How to Catch Butterflies Read online

  For Rebecca, it meant that she could sell the applicants on personality. She would say “anyone can send a CV, yes that will get you an interview....but it’s the personality that gets them the job’. ’Best form of advertising and the cheapest... is recommendations!

  Her clients and applicants alike adored her. If flowers or gifts came to the office nine, out of ten, they would be for her. Her wall was full of the thank you cards stuck there with drawing pins, it reminded her why she done what she done, to make people happy. She always dealt with the odd client trying to get a bit too friendly which was a big no-no.

  She would always tell them that she ‘Never mixed business with pleasure’ plus she was engaged. And putting it frankly, ‘A Cat Doesn’t Shit on Their Own Doorstep. Things funny enough started to go wrong when she received her promotion if she had to pinpoint it exactly. David was a postman. He hadn’t done that well at school and left with no exams unlike Rebecca who had left with numerous A levels.

  David had bounced from building site to building site before landing a secure job as a Postman. It suited him perfectly. He saw it as easy money with little work or effort. With the hours he could fit his beloved Karate training in and any other extracurricular actives he wished.

  The only problem was he loved going out on the weekends. It was like he’d live for them. He would be pretty much be boozed up over the weekend. She had never seen this as a problem until now ....Genie Mac.... how blind she was. How very blind she had been.

  She couldn’t bear him touching her anymore; he had started to repulse her. He as a person had not grown at all within the relationship, especially sexually. He was still the unskilled boy she had met, despite the numerous affairs he had over the years.

  He seemed to only try something new when he had actually cheated on her and HAD actually had the nerve try something he had obviously done to someone else. She found him disgusting on so many levels. Not only the idea of knowing he has done this to another girl, but to actually try to do it to her and so bloody badly.

  Yes it was a sure sign of his cheating. She knew it because of his unusual and awkward fumbling, they were not enjoyable experiences. David’s version of performing oral sex was so awful, it was decided they would never to do it again.

  That’s why it had become routine and mundane and very infrequent at this point, maybe it was plain old complacency, on both of their parts that kept them together. He really wasn’t a lover he was a fighter and tonight he had proved that once again.

  She was sick and tired of asking herself stupid questions that she knew the answers to already. ‘The definition of madness is to repeat the same thing over and over again and expect a different result each time”...

  But either way it didn’t matter, she knew....she knew it was OVER. And there she was ...bloody and bruised ...Again from one of David’s drunken binges. Her home of six months was broken in less than six minutes.

  There was no way on god’s green earth she was going to live her life like this.

  The last thing she remembered was dropping the phone as David’s fist hurtled towards her face again.

  Chapter 2

  ‘Goodbye Heartbreak’

  At twenty four Lucy was living the dream, she had the career every girl wanted; she was working at a very well know Record Company in London. Lucy was very well liked by her colleagues and social groups. Because of the ‘Industry’, she rubbed shoulders with some very high profile people.

  Lucy was gorgeous looking with a strong personality which opened many doors to this amazing social life..... She was a social butterfly; if she wasn’t out at some concert with backstage passes, she would be out regardless at some event or other. Yes life was great for Lucy.

  She was a strong independent woman, who enjoyed the trapping of working hard; she had an amazing loft apartment in a converted red bricked factory overlooking the River Thames in Hammersmith, West London.

  The main living areas was open planned. She had a huge oversized velvet couch which suited the room perfectly, coffee table, sideboard and other furniture. Her dining room table and chairs was bespoke as one of her artisan friends made it for her as a housewarming gift.

  The kitchen was again open plan; it had stainless steel counters on handmade walnut units and divided the room as so to speak was enormous it was one of the many features she loved.

  There was also a guestroom, and a bathroom. Her master suite was upstairs on a mezzanine level with its own on-suite. Lucy loved her place; she had bought it before the building work had finished off the plans.

  People at the time had said she was mad tying herself down with the heavy responsibility of a mortgage at a young age. But Lucy had a great head on her shoulders and saw the potential in the property. She was clever enough to know that if, and when she did sell, she would have at the least doubled her profit. But either way she loved her place, it was home for her.

  It was in an ideal location, close to work and easy to get home to, from where ever she had been out. It was so central for everything.

  And for the last six months, Lucy had been seeing the dazzling fantastic ‘George De Vere’. It was on her way home from him when she had received that horrifying call from Rebecca.

  * * * *

  Lucy had only just stepped out of the car when her phone rang. She was surprised to see it was Rebecca as they’d had only spoken earlier that evening. She had heard Rebecca’s screams of; “Lucy Help me please” and the awful commotion that followed leading to the line eventually going dead...

  Without hesitation, she spun round towards the car that she moments ago had only just got out of. She frantically tapped the front passenger window, trying to get the chauffeurs attention and she jumped back into the vehicle. Once she was seated safely, the car sped away.

  Her phone still in her hand, she dialed 999. The called connected, Lucy breathed out slowly feeling the panic in her rise. She composed herself and spoke in a cool, calm manner, steadily explaining the urgency of the situation, and what she had just heard. She gave the person she was speaking to, Rebecca’s address.

  Before she knew it they were there, the road was lit up with blue flashing lights. At first it freaked her out for a second, until she remembered; it was her that had actually called the Police.

  The chauffer had hardly pulled up behind one of the three parked police vehicles when Lucy had leapt out of the car. She flung open the gate to the property yelling Rebecca’s name as she pushed past the officer at the front door.

  The chauffer didn’t think twice, and before he knew it he was following Lucy. He had heard the call she had made and was alarmed at the number of Police vehicles they were met with due to the blaze of blue flashes it was an eerie scene.

  But that was nothing to the situation Lucy saw upon gaining entry to the flat after she was questioned about who she was, and why she was here. As she pushed past the officer giving him a mouthful of abuse.

  The Main entrance door, hanging from only one hinge it was leaning inwards at a very awkward angle, which meant you had to sort of duck and dive to get in.

  When she entered, she was taken aback at the scene of dismay that lay in front of her. Shards of what looked like broken glass and crockery everywhere and she meant everywhere. There was even some embedded into the walls, the polished floors everything that could be smashed was.

  It looked like a scene from a natural disaster that you would see on the news. ‘And one guy did this’ she thought.

  A Police officer walked from the kitchen stating ‘it was like this in every room, the boyfriend had obviously gone on some bender to do this’ shaking his head in disbelief.

  She could hear sobbing; Lucy’s eyes were then adverted to a corner in the room from where she had heard the sobbing coming from.

  There was Rebecca, sat on the floor amid this chaos cradling her blooded self. Two of the six officers who were in the flat approached Lucy.

  “Look we need to know if this is the boyfriend” and a
torn photograph was shown to her. Lucy noticed the other half lying crumpled, thrown on the floor, much like its human counterpart.

  “Yes that’s the shithead” said Lucy...

  ”Ah” said the officer shaking his head side to side “I don’t really want to approach the young lady just yet. We’ve had two calls, with regards to this particular Domestic Disturbance”. He looked over at the door hanging by its hinge.

  “We needed to break the doors down to gain entry; we could hear her screams from outside”.

  Lucy’s face had turned ashen, her eyes wincing, her body recoiling, as she listened in horror.

  “He must have hot tailed out the back and through the gardens when he heard us coming through the main door. We were only here a few minutes before you arrived”. His head now averted back at Rebecca’s direction. Lucy nodded her head as the officer continued to speak “We really do need to I.D. this guy” he said looking around at the carnage of mess. The torn crumpled picture was still in his hand.

  “Yes,” said Rebecca through sobs “that’s him in the picture; he’s actually wearing the very same clothes”.

  The officer nodded, clutching the photo in one hand and his radio in the other and proceeded into the kitchen giving a full description of David.

  What seemed like hours, when in fact it was only ten minutes later. The police radio’s all bleeped in unison which startled everyone. The officer who still had David’s photo in his hand, returned back into the Living room, declaring that the suspect had been apprehended. David was being brought to the station, to be charged and would be spending the night in the cell.

  Out of the two, it was Lucy that had looked up at hearing the news about David’s arrest. It was then she made eye contact with the officer, giving him the opportunity to speak directly to her.

  She was cradling a still sobbing Rebecca, telling her over and over again that “it was going to be okay, it’s okay, I’m here darling, I’m here” as she brushed the blooded hair off Rebecca’s face. .

  “Sorry Miss to disturb you. But we do need the young lady to make a statement but firstly she does need medical attention. We have a Doctor on site at the station, and they can decide if she needs to go to hospital for further treatment”. He bent down squatting as he spoke to her; he continued to speak to them.

  ”It could save a long and hopefully unnecessary wait at a hospital” he explained with a kind expression, Lucy nodded, she was so grateful at the empathy and tact that was shown by all the officers involved. She nodded again acknowledging what he had said, trying gently to get Rebecca to her feet, and ready for the few minutes journey to the station.

  Rebecca was in a now bloodstained and slightly ripped nightshirt. She looked around for Rebecca’s coat, eventually finding it. Wrapping it over her poor friend’s shoulders and sitting her down on the sofa.

  “I’m going upstairs to get you some clothes Bec. I’ll only be a minute okay”. She looked at her friend and flew up the stairs to the bedroom.

  For her everything was a blur ... God knows what it must have been like for poor Rebecca?

  She was thankful John, the chauffer, had waited for them when they had finished at the station. She had thanked him for doing so when he had driven them back to her apartment.

  Now she was home safe with her. She had bathed Rebecca to wash the blood off her and out of her hair. She helped Rebecca into bed, snuggling up beside her, trying to comfort her heartbroken friend.

  She was grateful it was Saturday night well Sunday morning really, her heart filling with compassion for her friend. Rebecca cried herself to sleep; that was also hard to hear. The only comfort for now in knowing at least they didn’t have to get up for work the next day.

  As she lay there restless, all she could do was think and her mind went in to overdrive.

  She had known things were bad between them, she knew this wasn’t David’s first time hitting Rebecca. Rebecca had confessed this to her friend only last month when Lucy had called round when he was out. Rebecca had told her after a couple of glasses of wine too many. She could feel the anger rise in her as Rebecca spoke

  “Oh but he was very sorry and promised her he’d never do it again.

  What angered Lucy was Rebecca had actually believed him. That night she had so wanted to tell her friend exactly what she thought of the shithead.

  But Rebecca was in love and that wasn’t a good idea. She had tried that many years ago, when Rebecca had first met David. She had seen David cheating, she confronted David, and he of course denied it.

  He had told her, she would be gone before him and he would make sure of it. Rebecca was his now.

  She told Rebecca what she had seen and Rebecca had stupidly believed him. He had turned her into an old maid before her time which Lucy thought was a shitty thing to do such a pretty girl with so much going for her.

  Her mind flashed back to the Medical unit housed within the police station.

  Rebecca was being photographed for evidence. The swollen cuts and bruises on her still pretty face were photographed from different angles. They used a ruler like instrument which measured the area’s affected. Lucy thought it down right degrading, but unfortunately completely necessary. It was photographic evidence.

  David had hit her hard, hard enough, that the red marks were now turning black and blue for the camera. Rebecca lifted her shirt up, exposing her bruised ribs and stomach. Poor Rebecca stood there in her knickers and bra as each and every one was noted for the records. “And how did this one happen?” she was asked again and again as the camera clicked.

  Lucy thought she would be sick. It was an awful sight to witness. Thankfully it was only bruising, there were no breaks considering Rebecca’s tiny frame against the muscular Karate freak David.

  She held Rebecca’s hand as she gave her statement of the night’s events. What time he went out. What time he returned. The state he was in. How it started. Rebecca squeezed her hand as she explained. It was gut wrenching hearing how he had picked her up slamming her into the floor, while he punched and kicked her as she lay in a ball. As she spoke Lucy looked up to stop the tears popping out of her eyes. It was heart breaking to hear never mind having to endure it.

  But all that didn’t matter now. Tonight had been a nightmare for all concerned especially poor Rebecca. She was just thankful that David was spending the night in a cell.

  Lucy was worried about tomorrow, she knew that the Police could only hold him that night, and at some point during that day, he would be released. She could only hope that he would have the common sense to go to his mother’s, which is where he was going when he was arrested.

  God she hated David with a passion, with all her heart. The anger coursed through her body. She couldn’t believe what he had done to her Rebecca. What a fucker, she hoped he’d choke on his own vomit in the police cell and do them all a favor and die.

  As the first light of dawn shone through her curtains she thought it was pointless trying to sleep, the adrenalin was still pumping through her body. She knew couldn’t sleep. She crept out to her kitchen to make a quick call to George. She needed to hear a friendly voice.

  Lucy had started seeing George six months earlier; it had taken him a whole month for her to actually agree to go out with him.

  They had sort of met at one of her work s numerous Charity Events held on the Music Companies Premises. It had been a ‘Wild West’ themed night and everyone invited had to wear fancy dress in some shape or fashion. He was there by invitation from the owner who was friends with his family for many, many years obviously to make a hefty donation to the worthy cause. George was there with a group of friends who had accompanied him.

  Lucy had been unimpressed with the antics of his friends throughout the night. Every time he went to talk or approach her she would walk off. He had to ask around for the rest of the evening, about the best-looking cowgirl he’d ever seen, before he found out her name. It had taken a month of daily calls asking if she would go for a dr
ink before she had agreed just to stop the calls. Now they were very welcomed.