No Way to Say Goodbye - Anna McPartlin [77]
“I know.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry too, love.”
He stayed with her until she slept.
Ivan woke from a broken sleep at dawn. Sienna was sleeping soundly so he got up and moved across the room as quietly as he could. He managed to make it as far as the dressing-table and then he stubbed his toe – the yell was muted and he hopped just once.
“I’m awake,” she said, eyes closed and a grin on her face.
“Sorry,” he said, sitting down on the bed with his foot in his hand. “That feckin’ hurt.”
Sienna stretched, luxuriating in it like a comfortable cat. “The bed’s hard,” she noted and Ivan agreed. “Have you checked on the kids?”
He confirmed that he’d looked in on them next door a number of times during the night.
“They’ll be OK,” she told him, hugging his waist.
“I know,” he agreed, although anxiety was etched into his face. “I’ll have to take them home.”
“I know.”
“I mean them all. Norma too.”
“I know,” she repeated.
“She can’t stay here. She’s got nothing here,” he said, by way of explanation, but Sienna pressed a finger to his lips, much as his wife had to hers the previous evening.
“You don’t have to explain.”
“I don’t love her any more,” he said.
“Good.” She glowed.
“Good,” he said happily.
She lifted the covers. “Now get in here,” she said, pointing, “and then get in here.” Ivan, despite all his problems, was only too happy to oblige.
Sienna took Ivan’s shell-shocked kids to the cinema so that Ivan could visit their mother. She seemed a little better than the previous day. Her lip was less swollen and her speech clearer. She wasn’t in as much pain as the morphine had fully kicked in. Her mental state had improved too. She didn’t appear to be constantly on the verge of tears. She’d even smiled at him, or so it appeared, but with the swelling and the stitches it was hard to tell. She told him how many times she had been beaten and why she hadn’t confided in him. He didn’t understand any of the reasons she gave but he didn’t say so because it was unnecessary and Ivan was never one to enter into an unnecessary argument. She reiterated that her boyfriend had never laid a hand on the kids. Ivan had soothed her when she became distressed while she was recounting her latest and most brutal ordeal. Later he brought in two coffees. He helped her to drink hers by holding it to the less damaged side of her mouth as her broken ribs and fractured arm prevented her doing it for herself. She gave up after a few sips.
“The doctor here says you’ll be fit to travel in a week’s time. I talked to Dr Macken and he said he can get you into the Regional in Cork for any follow-up appointments for your arm –”
She put up the good one to halt him. “Dr Macken? Ivan, I’m not going back to Ireland.”
The shock on his face was clear to see.
“What made you think I’d go back to Kenmare?” she asked.
“I don’t understand.” He scratched invisible sea salt from his hair.
“Ivan, I won’t be going back to that house, but we’re staying in the UK.” She tried to meet his eyes.
“Well, where will you live?” he asked, exasperated.
“That’s my problem,” she said.
“What?” he all but roared.
“We’ll be fine,” she said sternly.
“No, Norma, you won’t be fine. You’re in bits. You’ve nowhere to live. You’ve got some lunatic trying to kill you and you’ve got my kids.” He was trying to be calm but his face had flushed.
“I’m tired,” she said, when he sat down. “Please leave.”
He got up. “This isn’t over, Norma,” he promised, and left her to her insane thoughts.
The kids were next door, playing with an Xbox he’d bought earlier that afternoon. Sienna sat cross-legged on the bed, listening intently to his rant and attempting from time to time to allay his increasing frustration.
“What the hell is wrong with her?” he said.
“Just give her time.”
“To do what?” he shouted.
“She’s had a shocking experience. You need to give her breathing space.”
“I gave her breathing space and she nearly got herself killed,” he said, lowering his tone.
“You’re not her father. You can’t just drag her home.”