Melissa turned to the bed, and stopped. ‘He’s trying to drive me away,’ she blurted out tearfully. ‘Or drive me insane. I’m not sure which. Both probably.’
Well, she was well on the way to the latter, Jade thought, following her to put the soup down on the bedside table – and make damn sure she drank it. She looked demented. A bedraggled mess. Not quite the bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, smug cow Jade had first met.
‘Mark?’ Jade feigned disbelief. ‘But… he seems so nice. So normal.’ She blinked confusedly. ‘I can’t believe he’s—’
‘Been overmedicating me?’ Mel turned to her, her eyes full of hurt.
Jade looked at her boggle-eyed. ‘Really?’
‘You don’t believe me.’ Melissa searched her face, her hope fading.
Jade stepped towards her. ‘I didn’t say that,’ she said, placing a hand on her arm. ‘I’ve been in an abusive relationship myself, Melissa. The man was a complete control freak, a sociopath. Presented a perfectly respectable front to the outside world, but behind closed doors… Believe me, I know how deceitful and hurtful men can be.’
Melissa studied her, her pale face flooding with obvious relief. Then, nodding, she closed her eyes and sat shakily down on the bed. ‘He’s accused me of drinking,’ she confided. ‘Excessively. But I haven’t been. He’s even planted bottles.’
‘Bloody hell.’ Jade widened her eyes in mock horror.
‘He was vile – so angry, so cold.’ Melissa tightened her hold around herself. ‘I think… he’s trying to get me certified. Trying to take the children away from me.’ Her expression was now one of fear. A bit like the fleabag cat, Jade recollected, as she’d pressed the polythene bag over its pretty, green-eyed little face.
Melissa notched up her chin. ‘I won’t let him.’
You won’t have much choice. Jade sat down as a cold shiver ran through Melissa’s body, which was looking a bit scrawny, Jade noticed. She really ought to drink the soup.
‘Thank God you alerted me to his affair with Lisa.’ Melissa looked miserable. ‘He might have got away with it if you hadn’t. Oh, God’ – she gulped back a sob – ‘what am I going to do, Jade?’
Jade squeezed her shoulders and held her tight for a second, which was frankly a second too long for her own liking. ‘Drink your soup,’ she said. ‘Get a good night’s sleep, and then make a doctor’s appointment.’
Melissa turned tear-filled eyes towards her.
‘You need to change your medication,’ Jade went on firmly. ‘Whether or not Mark is feeding you drugs, God forbid, the medication you’re on obviously isn’t helping your symptoms. You need to change it, and stay on top of it yourself. You also need to let your doctor know what’s happening, for your own sake, so he’ll have it all on record.’
Jade prayed it sounded plausible. The ridiculous woman couldn’t just stop taking her medication. That would be a complete disaster.
‘You have to get yourself right, Mel. For the children.’ Jade passed her the mug, and then gave her shoulders another squeeze. ‘If you need some support, I could always come with you.’
‘Would you?’ Melissa’s hopeful look was back.
‘If you want me to, yes. Don’t worry, I’m on your side, Mel.’
‘Thank you.’ Melissa breathed out a heavy sigh – and took a sip of the soup. ‘I was going to go. Take the children and leave,’ she said, glancing uncertainly towards Jade. ‘But you had my car.’
‘Oh, Mel, I’m so sorry,’ Jade said, looking suitably distraught. ‘If I’d known about any of this, obviously I wouldn’t have taken it. I wouldn’t have gone.’
‘It’s all right. I shouldn’t be driving anyway, not like this, not with the children. In any case, I don’t think I should.’
‘Oh?’ Jade felt suddenly apprehensive as Melissa took another sip from the mug.
‘I’ve been googling it, on my phone.’
Googling what, for fuck’s sake? Jade was growing agitated. Immensely.
‘I shouldn’t leave the marital home. I would if I thought the children were in danger, but I honestly don’t think Mark would hurt them. So’ – she took a heartier drink of her soup – ‘I’ve decided. I’m going to fight back. I’m staying.’
Shit.
Fifty-Two
JADE
Thank God for that. Jade offered Melissa her new tablets with a smile. She’d eased off the drugs she was feeding her, but she couldn’t hope to up them again without drawing suspicion if Melissa wasn’t taking any medication at all. She’d been able to continue with the sleeping tablets, however. She couldn’t watch her 24/7, and Mark desperately needed some sleep. He could do with a good meal inside him, too. He’d said he would get himself something for dinner, but Jade doubted he had actually eaten anything over the last two days while she’d been babysitting his needy wife. He looked dreadful. He would make himself ill at this rate.
‘Why don’t you have a nice bath,’ she suggested, ‘light some candles and put loads of bubbles in. You could dye your hair back, too.’ She nodded towards the copper dye Melissa had purchased from the chemist, determined as she was to try and ‘get back to normal’, as if she ever had been normal. Listening to the nonsense the woman had spouted in the surgery this evening had been painful. The doctor had nodded in sympathy, given her various abuse helpline numbers, but he’d clearly thought she was off her trolley. Jade had made sure to back up his inclinations, looking appropriately concerned and doubtful in turns.
Melissa, who was now sitting on the bed, feeding Evie, to Jade’s annoyance, looked up at her, smiling wanly. ‘Nice idea,’ she said, ‘but Poppy needs bathing. Then there’s her bedtime story.’
‘I’ll see to Poppy.’ Jade smiled warmly, though she could cheerfully strangle the woman for alienating Mark from his children in his own home. He’d have to learn to live without Poppy eventually, but she didn’t want him further upset now, on top of all of this. Jade had tried to convince her that Mark wouldn’t just snatch them, that he’d know how upsetting that would be for Poppy, but still Melissa was wary, insisting on moving the cot into the main bedroom and telling Poppy she could sleep with her because she was feeling lonely with Daddy sleeping downstairs because he wasn’t feeling well.
‘Or… you could let Mark help out,’ she suggested, deciding to try again. If Melissa had decided to ‘fight’, then Jade had to up her game. She had to ensure there was no doubt in Mark’s mind that this woman was a danger to Poppy and Evie. To which end, Jade needed him to be hands-on with the children.
‘No.’ Mel shook her head adamantly as she lifted Evie to her shoulder. ‘If he insists on staying here, he stays on my terms. He’s given up any rights to his happy family life. I still can’t believe he’s done the things he’s done. He ought to be locked up. If only I could prove it.’ Stroking Evie’s back, she pulled her possessively closer, and Jade’s heart constricted inside her.
‘I know,’ Jade said, turning to get her little angel’s cot ready, her face flushing with jealousy and anger as she did. ‘The thing is, though, Mel, it’s Poppy who’s suffering. She doesn’t understand. She misses him.’
Melissa stood, turning to lower Evie into the cot. Jade couldn’t quite read her expression, but suspected she was wavering. ‘Where is he?’ she asked.
‘Out running.’ Trying to run his frustrations off, she knew. He couldn’t hope to, though, when the source of it was under his roof. ‘You’re not on your own with this, Mel,’ she reminded her. ‘You can rely on me to keep an eye on things.’
‘I know.’ Melissa smiled sadly. ‘Okay. I’ll have a bath,’ she relented.
Good, Jade thought. Pity she hadn’t taken her sleeping tablet. With a bit of luck, she might have drowned in it.
‘And make myself beautiful while I’m in there.’ Mel rolled her eyes. ‘Well, presentable, anyway,’ she said self-effacingly, causing Jade to wince. ‘Even though there doesn’t seem to be much point any more.’