Chapter 7: Chapter Seven

Catherine POV

I couldn't go to work that day, I had to call in sick again, and if any more of this then I would be forced to quit my job there and this was something that I didn't want to happen no matter what happened. I had to make sure that I didn't lose my job or Alex would say that I was a useless being who couldn’t even keep a job. This was why I didn't want to get scolded again, I noticed that there was something off, I saw an odd box of condoms lying around the room.

I knew immediately that Alex had called someone over to the house but then why did he say that he had called the office? I knew that if I dug deeper then it would mean that I was trying to interfere in his business and it would mean that I didn't trust him. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel that I didn't love him anymore and I wanted to make sure that there was no problem between him and me.

I got to work that day, I was still in pain after the beating I had gotten and I wanted to make sure that there was no way anyone would see the pain I was in. This was not going to be the first time that I had gotten this beat up and I had to fake that I was hurt, the only person that seemed to find out when I was lying was always Sandra and she was good at it.

I got to work a bit late but it was worth it, everyone was busy with their work so I saw the opportunity to sneak to my desk and start working before there was any chance for them to put their attention on me.

“Hey Cathy,”

I turned to see Rachel coming towards me with files in her hand, I knew that she must have been waiting for me to come and I was here now which meant that she was going to give me all the work that I was meant to do.

“Good Morning Rachel, sorry I am late. I lost track of time.” I smiled to throw her off my track and make sure that she didn't ask me any questions. I watched as she rolled her eyes and stopped in front of my corner. She looked at me like I was some kind of plague, it was only her in the entire Company that always seemed to ask me what happened or why I was late.

“Well, these files have been here since morning and you need to see to it that you send it to everyone that needs to receive it.” She handed me the files and was about to leave, her hands touched a bruise on my wrist. I winced out of pain, Rachel looked at me and immediately noticed that there was something wrong but then I didn't want her to ask me if there was anything wrong so I had to make sure that I sucked in the pain.

“Cathy? Is there something wrong?” her tone was filled with worry and I knew why, I just had to make sure that she didn't try to find out what had happened, I had to come up with a lie to make sure that she didn't go deeper with her question.

“I bruised myself this morning while I was trying to get something, it's no big deal, it's just a small scratch.” I looked at her to see if she was going to buy it and stop asking questions but she was still standing there looking at me.

“Are you sure that there is nothing else wrong? I could ask the boss to give you a day off if you’d like, I don't want to see you all hurt and in pain.” Rachel looked at me with worry still written in her eyes. I had to make sure that I made her feel like there was nothing wrong in any way or the other.

“I am okay, I am okay. I just need to get to the pharmacy and make sure that I get my wounds closed.” I smiled and I knew that there was no way of shaking Rachel’s suspicions off that easily.

“If you say so, but then please be careful you know that you will have to be showing up here almost every day. Because you are an important part of the company and if anything were to happen to you it would mean that we would be somewhat understaffed. This is something that we don't want to happen.” Rachel said about to turn away and headed back to her office.

I sat down and went back to work, I knew that the rest of the day would go smoothly because no other person would come close enough to talk to me or even want anything to do with me. Due to the way I dressed and always acted it seemed to them that I was some kind of zombie that didnt know what to do.

Well, I knew that Alex made sure that no one put his or her eyes on me, I didn't bother but then it was like a plague on me and a dark cloud hovering over me. I only wanted to make sure that I didn’t lose Alex and I wanted to be with him no matter what happened.

After work that day, I headed to Sandra’s house to see her. It was always good to talk to her but then I didn't tell her that Alex was hitting me and I would always try to tell her that he was changing and no longer hitting me. But then I knew that there was always a suspicion in her heart whenever she saw me in pain.

But I knew that if I was to keep up with hiding it from her, she would eventually find out that there was something wrong and that I was not okay. I got to Sandra’s house and she was inside playing with Becky, her little toddler.

I knocked a bit on the door to tell her that I was there, Sandra was always thrilled to see me and I knew that there was no other person I would rather be with than her. She was so excited to see me again even though it was just yesterday that we saw each other but then it was Sandra, I knew she was always happy to see and there was no other person I could turn to if not her.

“Cathy! I didn't know that you would be showing up here today, come on in.” Sandra always made sure that she opened her doors to me and she would always tell me that I was welcome to come to her home anytime.

I entered her house and looked around, I always wondered how Sandra managed to be a single mother and still so happy that you would want to question if her joy was real or fake. “Where’s Becky? I hope I am not ruining mother-daughter bonding time?”

I turned to see Sandra’s graceful smile and I knew what the smile meant, “Becky is asleep, I was bored, and thank my goodness you showed up if not I don't know what I would have done if you didn't show up then it would mean that my day would wrap up with me going to bed early.”

I smiled back as I knew she was always trying to be optimistic but then there was the thing about her that always seemed to give me confidence, I just wanted to be with her for the meantime before I went home to Alex. “Oh, I get what you mean Sandy, you know that there are other things to do for fun.” I smiled as the both of us began laughing.

Sandra was always so positive that it seemed that nothing could make her feel otherwise but then I knew that she was always the one that would know when I was being maltreated and it was not the best kind of thing for her to find out.

“I will only be here a while Sandy, I need to go grab some things from the market and run some other errands.”

“You mean Alex wants you home early,” Sandra said making me go suddenly silent, I didn't know that she was going to say something like that. Or even think about something like that but then I knew that Sandra always had the strangest intuition.

I looked at her and she smiled, “Look Cathy, I know that Alex is a controlling man and he is the one that wants you home early but since you said that he has stopped hitting you this finally meant that he was going to give you your own space but this is still him being controlling.”

I tried my best to make sure that she didn't go through the wounds on my body so that it wouldn't mean that I was trying to hide something, I knew that there was going to be a problem if she saw the bruises on my body but then I had to make sure that I didn't make it too obvious that i was hiding something.

“No Sandy, you got it all wrong. I just need to get home early and make dinner. There is no other thing attached to it.” I was looking at her, I knew that she still didn't believe me but she didn't push further and left me to be.

“Look Cathy, I know that you love him and he says that he loves you. But are you sure that the love still lives there? Or are you living in an illusion?”