28. Twenty-Eight

Twenty-Eight

" O ut," Theo demands. The knife glints in his hand, reminding me not to try and make a run for it.

I shuffle forward but sense his impatience as he glances up and down the street. I'm clearly not moving fast enough.

He grabs the back of my neck and pulls me forward, making me stumble out onto the street. It's getting dark, which tells me we've been driving longer than I thought. Which means I'm farther away from home than I thought.

My heart sinks.

I glance about for any clues, but I don't see any. We're outside a red brick building with a black door and silver keypad on the wall. Theo puts one arm around my waist and hurriedly punches in a code. The door opens with a click. I catch a glimpse of a silver plaque on the wall above the keypad, but I don't have enough time to read it as he yanks me through the door, keen to get me off the street .

A single flight of stairs leads upwards to a door.

Once the door from the street shuts, he releases his painfully tight grip of my hip and nudges me forwards. "Ladies first."

I glare at him and am about to tell him to go fuck himself when he pulls the knife from his pocket.

He waves it in the direction of the stairs. "Come along, Sophie. Hurry the fuck up."

I reluctantly head up the stairs and reach a door, which leads to a small room with grey walls and floors and three black leather bucket chairs. There's a large pinboard on one of the walls, decorated with leaflets of varying shapes and sizes.

Where the fuck is this?

But I don't get a chance to take in anything else because he pulls me through another door.

Framed certificates adorn the left wall, and three bookshelves cover the right, under which sits a two-seater black leather sofa. The room is bathed in soft light from a lamp over in the far corner. As Theo moves out of the way, the ugly truth as to why I'm here.

Aisling is sitting in a black leather armchair, dressed in black jeans and a black polo neck jumper.

He's brought me to see her. Ironic, given I'm the only one in the room not certifiably insane.

"Where's Art?" I snap.

She gives a small smile, which doesn't reach her eyes. "Art's arriving home to discover that his fiancée has disappeared."

"Is he okay?"

"Of course." Her smile vanishes. "I'd never harm him. I love him." Her eyes narrow into slits as she takes me in. "You, on the other hand, are going to be taught a lesson."

I glance at Theo, who's guarding the door in case I make a run for it.

"Both of you are fucking crazy," I cry .

"Tut-tut." Aisling smirks and gestures towards the sofa. "Please, take a seat on the couch. We've a lot to discuss."

"If you think I'm going to sit down and listen to your bullshit, then you're wrong."

"Just do as you're fucking told." Theo roughly pushes me down on the sofa.

I straighten up and scoot to the far end, and he takes the other.

Aisling tilts her head to the side and looks at me with renewed hatred. "You're incredibly manipulative, aren't you, Sophie?"

I can't help it. I laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Completely. You've convinced Art that you're perfect. You've reeled Barbara in too. Not to mention, how you treated poor Theo." She juts out her bottom lip and shakes her head in mock disappointment.

"You're a twisted, conniving bitch." I stab a finger in her direction. I don't care if it's two on one. I don't care if he's got a knife. I'm not going down without a fight. I swing my eyes to Theo. "Why did you start going to Savage?"

He rubs his hands together. "Why not? I'm a man. I've got needs."

"It helps fulfil Theo's need for sexual control," Aisling says.

"Is that what you call it?" I snap.

She cuts her eyes at me. "That's where we met. We got to talking, didn't we, Theo? And you decided to give therapy a go. It's by pure coincidence he hooked up with Tara. Isn't it a small world?"

Six degrees of separation.

"And that played straight into your hands. Because we thought Tara was the one feeding Theo the stuff about Art and me when, really, it was you. It was just a red herring. And you've never stopped going to Savage, have you? What you told Art was a lie!"

Aisling rolls her eyes in boredom. "Oh, give it a rest, will you? Honestly, all I've heard from Mum and Barbara is Sophie this and Sophie that." She looks at Theo. "And like I've told you, Theo, they've all fallen for her little act, like you did. But you're wise to her. "

"What about all the things he did to me?" I protest.

Theo snatches a hand through his hair and leans forward on the sofa, not looking at me. "It was because I loved you."

"Fuck off," I spit. "You hurt me. What you did was wrong."

He swallows hard, still avoiding my eyes.

"Now, this is what I was talking about in our sessions, Theo," an authoritative voice cuts in.

He instantly looks at Aisling.

"How you've been emotionally blackmailed and manipulated by her into thinking what you did was wrong when it came from a good place."

I don't believe what I'm hearing. "You're meant to help people. You're brainwashing him," I cry.

"Aisling told me I should speak to you to get everything out in the open, so I could put us behind me. But you didn't want to listen." Theo glares at me with bloodshot eyes. He doesn't look like he's slept for a week. "It's your own fucking fault, Sophie."

I stare at him, aghast. "You threatened me with a knife. You've kidnapped me."

"Sometimes, a little force is needed to make people realise what they really want," she pipes up.

I snap, "Fuck you. You're doing this because of Art. You want him, and he doesn't want you. This is all part of your fucked up game to try and get him. He'll never want you. Get the fucking message."

The serene expression she's worn so far twists with anger. "You silly little bitch. He won't want you after tonight. No one wants tainted goods."

A fresh wave of anxiety floods through me.

"I never stopped loving you. But you'd flirt with other guys and wear short skirts, and that just made me jealous and angry," Theo mutters, head in his hands.

Tears well in my eyes. I shake my head. She's delusional, and so is he.

"No, I didn't. It was all in your head."

"Little tart," Aisling interjects, spewing her bile.

"What about you cheating on me?" I say .

"You made me feel like shit, like I wasn't good enough. The others didn't."

"So, it was my fault?"

Rage flashes in his eyes. "They wanted to fuck me; they didn't have to be held down."

"Raped, you mean."

"That's your fucking duty as my girlfriend. To have sex with me."

"Everything's your fault, Sophie. This is what I've been telling Theo. We've become good friends. He trusts me. Don't you, Theo?"

He nods.

What the fuck?

She stands up, a sly smile spreading across her face. "It's about time you're taught a lesson. Theo's going to teach you one. He's going to make you realise that you do still love him. You're just fighting it."

Theo gets up and walks over to the other side of the room, pulling off his jacket. Nausea swirls in my stomach at the thought of what he's got planned.

"You crazy bitch. Why, Aisling? Why now? What's triggered this? I can't believe for one minute it's because I told Barbara you fucked her son. You don't give a shit about her, so what's happened to push you to do this?"

Her eyes harden. I've touched a nerve. Then, I realise.

"It's today, isn't it? Art told you he doesn't want to see you again and that he doesn't want you."

"And he definitely won't want you after this. I'm making sure of it." Her eyes slide to the couch behind me. "On the very same spot where I fucked your fiancé, Theo's going to take back what's his."

My mouth fills with saliva.

Aisling smirks. "If Art can't be happy with me, I'm going to make sure he's not happy with anyone."

I launch at her with everything I've got. She screams as I send her flying back into the wall, her framed certificates crashing to the floor around us. But Theo's hands are on my shoulders, and he hauls me off .

Aisling lunges forward and slaps me around the face. "You silly little cow." Her lips twist into an evil smile. "I was going to leave, but now, I think I might stay and watch." She looks at Theo. "Over to you."

"You evil bitch. You're sick, do you know that? You've got a twisted mind and a black soul, all because the man you love doesn't love you back. And he never will."

Anger burns in Aisling's eyes at my truthful words. She slaps me across the face again. "Shut the fuck up!"

Art bursts into the room. I cry out in relief at the sight of him, but Theo's arms are around my neck, and I feel the sharp tip of a blade press into my throat.

Art registers the panic in my eyes and gives me a look that says, Everything's going to be okay.

Please let it be.

"Darling," Aisling gasps.

"You stay where you are, or I'll slit her fucking throat," Theo yells, dragging me backwards across the room.

Art throws his hands up in the air and slowly edges forward, like he's approaching a wild animal. His gaze flicks from me, to Theo, to Aisling, assessing the situation. "I think everyone needs to calm down," he says.

Ire flickers in his eyes, and his jaws set tight. I know he's anything but calm, but he's putting on a convincing show. "Why don't you put the knife down?"

"Please be careful, darling." Aisling rushes up to Art and flings her arms around his neck. "He's deranged."

She's deranged, I want to cry, but I'm too scared to move.

"Do you think I'm fucking stupid, lover boy?" Theo tightens his grip around my neck, and I wince as the blade scores my flesh.

Art clocks the fear in my eyes. His gaze slides to Aisling, still with her arms wrapped around his neck, looking up at him adoringly. He's changing tack.

He shoots me a purposeful look and turns his attention to Aisling. "I've been thinking about what you said to me earlier, and you're right. Sophie can't give me what I need. Only you can. "

"Oh, darling, I knew you'd see sense," Aisling cries.

Is she seriously buying this? She must be properly unhinged.

She kisses him for what seems like an eternity but can only be a matter of seconds. Clearly, she is.

"We should go," Art says. "Theo's welcome to her."

She cackles with glee, and then she turns around and flashes me a smug smile. "Maybe he can be happy with me after all."

She holds his hand, and they disappear, the door closing behind them.

I know Art's got something planned, but at the moment, I'm left on my own with Theo, who has got a knife to my throat and is about to rape me.

He gives a sardonic laugh and pushes me down into the sofa. "Looks like lover boy's not so into you."

I scramble round to face him, so I can at least try and fight him off, but he's immediately on top of me.

His weight crushes me into the sofa, and he grabs my face with his hand. "You see how you feel right now? Now, you know how I felt when you left me and for every fucking day since."

"I left you because you were an abusive rapist," I spit.

He slaps me across the cheek, leaving me dizzy, and I've barely come round when his hand closes around my neck.

He presses his face into mine. "You always did like it when I was rough. Now, this is gonna hurt."

I close my eyes tight and try to scream but can't because his grip around my throat is too tight. His other hand starts tearing at my clothes, and I'm willing myself to go to my happy place when, suddenly, he's not there anymore. For a split second, there's no noise, no nothing, and then an almighty crash tears through the room.

I draw in lungful's of air and push myself up. Theo is sprawled on his back across the room, and Art's standing over him. One minute, I'm looking at him, and the next, Art is scooping me into his arms and cradling me to his chest. I cling to him and bury my face into his neck, sobbing tears of relief .

We don't speak for a few moments. We just hold one another.

"You're safe now. Did he hurt you?"

I can barely shake my head. "What … what about Aisling?"

"She's been taken care of. Big Steve's outside with her until the police arrive. She's not going anywhere."

"How did you know I was here?" I ask, tilting my face up to look at him.

Art cradles my face in his hands and wipes the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs. "When I got home, I picked up the voice mail you'd left me. You weren't there, and I just knew something was up. I made the concierge go back through the CCTV footage and saw you and Theo leaving. I knew he'd bring you here. Going back to his was too much of a risk."

"She's fucking deranged."

He nods gravely. "I saw it this afternoon. When I told her I didn't want to see her again, she tried to kiss me. When I asked her what the hell she was playing at, she went insane. Crying, shouting. Completely crazy."

"Mental bitch," I mutter, relaxing against him.

He presses a kiss to my forehead. "Theo needs proper help, and I think she does too. I'm guessing that kidnapping, false imprisonment, and all the rest carry pretty hefty sentences. It's all over now, Sophie." He rests a hand on my head, and I nuzzle into him. "No one's ever taking you away from me."

I hold him tighter. My protector. As long as Art's by my side, I know I'll always be safe. And he will be, for as long as we both shall live.

Footsteps thud up the stairs, and Big Steve appears in the doorway. He surveys Theo lying on the floor with a pitiful shake of his head. "Fucking hell. You okay, Soph?"

I nod. "I am now."

"Good. The police have just arrived. They're putting her in the back of the car." He glances down at the floor. "They'll be up for this one next."

Art kisses me. "Come on. Let' go down to the station and end this once and for all."