Maddie felt as though her whole world was ending, her heart was racing, bile rising in her throat, the last time she’d set eyes on this man everything had changed. Her family, her life...he’d directly caused EVERYTHING that was bad in her life. And now he was here, miles from her family home.

What the hell was he doing there? She had no idea, but it was far too close for comfort. She tried to fight the wafts of nausea that swept over her again. This was her nightmare incarnate. She never thought she’d see a part of her old life again, but here she was almost face to face with the demon from her past.

She didn’t think he could hurt her anymore, but seeing him, was more painful than she ever imagined. This man had ruled her life, been responsible that everything that happened to her, and she hated him.

Maddie had two options, run or confront him. She suddenly realised that she didn’t need to confront him. But what would confronting him do? She’d told Evan almost everything, Jake and her family were a distant memory; this was just shock, that’s all. She was over him, Evan loved her, she knew he did, and frankly, he was ten times the man that Jake could ever be. The issues she knew they had to face were in the future, but for the first time in the last few years, she actually felt herself taking back the control of her life. The control this man had snatched from her. But if she ran then that meant she was scared, didn’t it?

She fought an internal fight for those moments before he spoke again, and once he did she knew that she couldn’t flee.

Suddenly she felt ten feet tall.  She didn’t turn, didn’t try and look at him, but she could hear him moving across the pavement towards her, so she continued to stroll, in what she hoped was a controlled manner.

                "Madeleine! Wait! Is it you?" His hand reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her around, and Maddie wanted to scream, to shrug clear of his touch.

She took a deep breath and turned slowly, then looked him up and down for a moment, he was smiling at her...he had the gall to smile at her, look at her in surprise. After too long a pause to be comfortable, she nodded, "yes it is me. But I have nothing I want to say to you!"

                "Mads! Don’t say that!" He reached for her again.

                “DON’T touch me.” Her raised voice caused him to look over his shoulder nervously; obviously he was with company and didn’t want to be embarrassed by her.

With that she marched off in the direction of Evan, darling Evan. Her saviour. She’d barely turned the next corner, having text Evan to tell her she was coming to meet him, when Jake appeared again, breathless at her shoulder. Now she was angry, not upset or scared.

                “What do you want?”

He struggled to get the words out he was so short of breath, when did he get so unfit...she looked him up and down, and overweight. He’d been so good looking when she’d been in school. Now he looked like a prematurely middle aged man. Libby was more than welcome to him, it almost seemed like karma.

                “Haven’t seen you in years, why are you being so hostile?”

She scoffed, trying not to laugh out loud, "you think I’m wrong? I have nothing to say to you. No interest whatsoever.”

He shook his head, “but we go back a long way!"

Now she did laugh out loud, "excuse me?" Did he really just say those words? She could barely believe this man, was his memory that bad, or did he really not realise all that he had done?

He reached out to try and take her hand, but she snatched it out of his reach. "I told you once, do not touch me!"

He looked visibly shocked, "Mads? Don’t be like this."

Maddie could feel the anger simmer under her skin as she fought the desire to retaliate, lash out, hurt him, because that would give him the wrong sentiment that she cared about what he said or did. She could almost hear Evan telling her to be the bigger person. She smiled at the thought of him, then wiped it off her face immediately, this man was so thick skinned he’d think she was smiling at him.

She placed her hands on her hips, seeing him for the man he really was, low life scum. "Jake, you are dirt on my shoe. I have nothing to say to you, and I never want to see you again!"

As she turned to leave, she heard him mumble, "I made a mistake."

Spinning around she glared at him, "a mistake? Which bit of your life was a mistake? Promising me the world? Taking my virginity? Flaunting a relationship with my sister? Lying? Making everyone hate me? Making me hate myself?" She shook her head, "God you make me sick. You ruined my life, a cold, calculated destruction! You have no idea what it’s been like. I’ve had no one, NO ONE!"
She wanted to scream ‘I hate you’ and scratch his eyes out, but that was more to do with his ignorance than anything else.

                "I hate her Maddie, you were right, she’s a bitch." The words stopped her in her tracks. The bastard DARED to involve her in this? She felt her eyes widen, the blood pumped in her veins. The cheek of the man.

                "When did you confuse me with someone who gives a shit? I have NO interest in your life. None at all. Anyway, you’ve made your bed now lie in it!"

It was quite pitiful to see him look at her quite desperately, “we were meant to meet up today, don’t you see? Won’t you help me?"

                "NO!” She roared in anger, then tried to calm herself, he'd think she cared, “And why would I? You and my family are evil. I have no desire or inclination to help any of you! Do you know how long it’s taken me to get over you all, and all the things you’ve done to me? I made one mistake, and that was to have misguided feelings for you, but what you instigated in me, the feelings of no self worth, low esteem. Jake I grew up a long time ago and to be honest you have taken up more of my time than you ever deserved."
                "I’m sorry!" He had the bare faced cheek to look pitiful.

Maddie laughed out loud, so long she’d waited for this moment, and she’d imagined how satisfying this would feel, instead she wanted to be free of this, away from him, shaking her head she glared at him, "and if you’d come out of that restaurant ten
minutes later then you’d never have seen me, and never have had to think about these things. Still be sorry then? You’ve never thought of me other than in humour at the chaos you caused since I left."

Shaking his head he stepped towards her, "I think about what I did every day. I know I was wrong, and if it’s any consolation, I’m being punished."

                "What living with my sister? She’s bad, but it doesn’t even come close to the punishment you deserve. Rotting in hell for an eternity is too good for you."

                "I can’t have children Maddie,” he whispered as she turned away from him again, “and that’s all Libby and your parents want!"

Pain and nausea returned like a ten ton truck hurtling towards her, almost knocking her off her feet, reaching for the doorway to her left she steadied herself.

                "Are you kidding me? Now I know you’re taking the piss!"

He shook his head, "It’s true."

The floor started to move under her so she tightened her grip on the steady doorway. Taking a few deep breaths she looked up at him shaking her head, “Sorry but there’s no way on this earth that that is the truth! I don’t know what the issue it with her, you, but don’t give me that bullshit sob story! There a million things that you could say to get pity, but not THAT!”

She suddenly gasped; she’d given too much away. Turning she started to walk away. Jake was sorrowfully contemplating her words when he froze.

                “It’s the truth, you’re father hints that I’m not a man, Libby tells me it’s all my fault, she’s had tests apparently, and there’s nothing wrong with her.”

Maddie gave a snort, “And you think the problem is with you?? Ha ha! Good one Jake. Maybe this is the karma I’ve been wishing for all these years!”

                "What do you mean?" He called after her.

But she was too busy walking away quickly, guiltily.

                "Maddie stop!" He jogged after her again, grabbed her arm, pulling her around to face him, "what do you mean?"

                "Nothing!" she avoided his eyes. But she was rubbish at lying, at hiding things.

                "You’ve gone white, you’ve lost that cocky attitude, you know something, is it Libby? Has she got a problem? Is it her problem? What do you know?” But she avoided his eyes, “TELL ME! You have to tell me."

But it was her story and her pain, telling him made it about them. But then the pain of those weeks after he’d slept with her, those weeks of humiliation when he dated her sister. All that time she’d ignored the signs, pretended that nothing was happening, that it was all just her heartbreak, everything was due to her emotional turmoil.

But as he looked at her, selfish wanting to know what she would tell him that would alleviate his guilt, take pressure off him; she suddenly knew that telling him would make it easier. That she’d at last put some of that guilt back in his court. It may not make her feel any better about things, but at least she’d have got it off her chest.

Maddie blinked back a tear as she stared up at him, "that one time, that one awful time, it was hell, you were...that’s not important...I was pregnant...after. SO the problem isn’t with you!"

She wasn’t going to say anymore, he could think what he liked, but she had no intention of making this easy for him.

He looked at her in shock, his mouth opening and closing with a barrage of unspoken questions like a goldfish in a pet shop. Shaking her head she stepped back, she would say no more, that was it. Turning away from him she turned and saw Evan not ten steps away. She knew he’d heard everything, and by the look on her face he was as stunned as Jake.

He should never have found out like this, it was meant to be calm, quiet, an explanation over dinner. Instead the man who loved her, she had no doubt of that; he’d heard her sordid story as she’d screamed it at another man. Poor Evan.

She gave him a sad smile, she’d ruined everything. She knew that.

                "What happened Maddie?" Jake asked. She’d forgotten he was still there. Looking from Evan back to the man she hated, she felt tears well. Shaking her head, she glanced briefly between the two.

Evan started to panic; nothing had prepared him for spotting her from his taxi talking to a man in the street. He wasn’t a jealous man, but the other man had a familiarity with her, the way he looked at her, touched her. As he paid the driver and walked towards her he picked up enough if the conversation to conclude that this was Jake, the bastard who’d tried to ruin her. She’d held her head up, he was proud as she looked at him so damningly, dismissed him so strongly.

Until the last few words.

He was terrified, he had no idea what this girl had been through, he’d heard so much already, but this revelation caused real pain in him. He looked at Maddie, so close to tears, and recognised that same look of terror in her eyes that he’d witnessed on the few occasions when she’d lost the plot. She was at breaking point, and he’d been so proud of her as he’d listened to her chastise that bastard.

                "What did happen Mads?" Evan asked coming towards her, wanting to take her into his arms, but knowing that would be the wrong thing to do.

She felt the floor start to spin, her head felt light. She looked at Evan, but his face became a blur, turning to Jake she spat at him, "I lost it Jake. As my heart broke seeing you with my sister, I started to have pain. Do you want the graphic details? What I saw? What I had to hide from a family who hated me more and more as the days passed? Do you want to know that six months later I had a really bad infection from not getting medical care, from not being able to tell my mother? Do you want to know that because of that I can’t have kids?" By now she was crying. "That because of you and what you did, I can’t be with the best man in the world, because I can’t give him children?" She looked at Jake’s stunned face, then turned back to Evan. "Evan I’m sorry!"

Evan was shaking his head walking towards her, his face filled with pity, with sympathy, but she couldn’t deal with that, the last thing she needed was pity, panicking she turned towards the road, she started to run, paying no attention to anything she ran across the road, needing to put distance between herself and these two men.

                "Maddie! NO!"

As she turned at the sound of Evan’s terrifying scream she felt a bone crushing blow to her body, she’d not seen the car, and as she felt herself lift into the air, her mind went blank, the world went dark, and the pain ended.