Chapter 1
Louise Bailey had what appeared to be a wonderful life. She had a wide circle of friends and was liked by almost everyone she met. The one exception was Jason. Somehow he had taken an instant dislike to her and all she stood for. No matter what she did, nothing seemed to be good enough for him so eventually she stopped trying. Jason, being Jason, didn't notice at first but eventually realised that she practically ignored him when they were out as a group. This suited him as he would do all he could to avoid her if possible. So it didn't come as much of a surprise when he heard she was getting married and he hadn't been sent an invitation.
After she married Ricky, Louise's life really took a turn for the worse. She soon found out he was the jealous type. Not only jealous of her male friends but of her popularity as well. One by one he set about driving all her friends away. He also had a temper and would slap her at the least provocation. It finally got really violent one evening after he got fired for punching the boss. He went home in a rage to find her on the phone to one of her last friends instead of cleaning the house as he thought she should be doing. He accused her of being a lazy slut, more interested in having a good time than in him. The truth is she hadn't had a good time for the last two years at least. He worked as a crane driver on construction sites and became more and more unstable as his reputation for drink and violence got round and the work dried up. Eventually no one would employ him. That's when he turned to drink in a big way.
Over the next several months the slapping became beatings and these were getting more and more frequent. Louise found she had no-one to turn to as none of her friends wanted to get involved. The final straw came when he was thrown out of a bar for fighting. He came home and beat her so severely she ended up in hospital with two broken ribs and a broken nose. When she came home Ricky apologised profusely as usual. The "honeymoon period" lasted about a month but then, over the next several weeks, the situation gradually reverted to normal.
There was a knock on Jason's door. When he opened it, there stood Louise. He didn't recognise her at first as he hadn't seen her for nearly six years now. What made it more difficult was she had a black eye, bruises on her face and her looks had been spoiled by her broken and badly set nose. After getting over his initial shock he invited her in and made her coffee, asking what he could do for her. She sat down and as she started to tell him her story she broke down and simply wept. Jason was at a loss what to do as all the old animosities came flooding back and he started to think it served her right. Then he changed his mind, feeling that nothing she could have done deserved the beating she appeared to have suffered. Still feeling cold towards her he realised that she must have been practically friendless to turn to him because she must have known he would be the last person to sympathise with her. In that, seeing her sobbing on his couch, he was right.
He sat down next to her and took her hand. This seemed to surprise her and as she went to take her hand away Jason wouldn't let go. This kind action seemed to settle her a little and her sobs subsided. Jason let her calm down and start to tell her story in her own time.
She told of how Ricky became jealous of everyone she knew. The first time he beat her she left and went to stay with a married friend. Ricky found her and caused a scene in the street until she came out. When he got her home he apologised profusely and promised never to be violent toward her again. That promise lasted all of a week: the next time it happened she went back to her friend and the same thing happened as before, only this time when her friends' husband came down to try to calm the situation, Ricky beat him mercilessly. When Louise rang to apologise she was told not to go there next time as they wouldn't open the door. It was only because they were friends they hadn't called the police. The events got round her circle of friends and gradually all doors were closed to her.
Chapter 2
Recently things seemed to have calmed down but tonight Ricky had got into a bar fight with a gang of motor-cyclists and had come off worst. He came home drunk, bruised and battered. Although Louise tried to tend to his injuries, as usual he turned his rage on her. This was why she had arrived on Jason's doorstep in the hope that this would be the last place he would think of looking. Instead of waiting for her to calm down and then asking her to leave, Jason did something quite unexpected - he offered her his couch, which folded out to become a bed. She told him again what Ricky would do if he found her here and Jason said "Don't worry, I can take care of myself."
It took three days for Ricky to find her. When he did turn up, he was drunk as usual and he started banging on Jason's door. Jason opened it and told him that Louise didn't want to see him and he was disturbing the neighbours. This only made him worse. He started to throw wild accusations about, shouting that he knew the dirty cow was screwing him and he was going to kill them both. Jason tried to reason with him but as usual Ricky resorted to violence. He took a swing at Jason who sidestepped the punch but was pushed to the floor by the momentum. He then aimed a kick at Jason's head but Jason - who had been studying Judo, was prepared this time. Catching Ricky's leg in mid-air he wrenched the foot round and twisted the ankle, almost tearing the tendon. In a complete rage now and impervious to the pain Ricky charged again as Jason was getting up. Jason caught him under the chin with the heel of his hand, snapping his head back and stopping him dead in his tracks. Bringing his knee up sharply he connected with Ricky's groin, causing him to let out a howl of pain and promptly collapse to the floor and be violently sick. He scrambled to his feet, took one last look at Jason and limped quickly away holding his nuts and muttering dark threats under his breath. He came back several days later and started shouting and banging on the door again until Jason came out. He started to swing at Jason who took 'The Judo stance' and when Ricky saw this he decided to retreat shouting "You can have the worthless cunt. Don't think I want her back now that you've fucked her - she was no good in bed anyway!"
Jason closed the door of his flat and found Louise sitting on the couch crying. Without thinking he put his arm round her and drew her to him. She didn't pull away and allowed herself to be held. Sobbing she tried to apologise for Ricky's behaviour and for drawing him into her problems. Jason just held her until she stopped crying. He heard himself tell her she could stay as long as she liked and that she would be safe here. After she calmed down, Jason asked where her parents lived. Louise explained that she had left home because she couldn't get on with her step-father so going back wasn't an option. It seems her life was not as perfect as she had led everyone to believe.
What annoyed Jason the most was not the fact Ricky accused him of screwing his wife or the fact he had attacked him but that he had taken someone who was kind and gentle and reduced her to this wretched creature now sitting on his couch.
Chapter 3
Louise had been living on Jason's couch for nearly a month now. He arrived home one evening to the smell of cooking. The table was set and as he got into the lounge he heard Louise's voice from the kitchen "Sit down, it's almost ready, I've got some news."
Over the meal she explained that the previous week-end Ricky had gone out and got drunk again. He had been flirting with the barmaid all evening and waited for her to get off work and then accosted her. When she told him to get lost he tried to force her saying "You know you want it" all the time pawing at her clothes like an animal. She was lucky to escape with only torn clothing and wounded pride. Louise continued "It appears she has three brothers. They followed him home later in the week and left him outside the apartment block almost dead. The doctors say it is quite possible he'll never walk without a limp again."
"How did you find this out?" queried Jason.
"One of my friends - or should I say one of my ex-friends - told me. That did it, I've decided to get a place of my own and get out of your hair as soon as possible; then I'm going to file for divorce."
Jason, much to his own surprise, said "There's no rush. You know you're welcome stay here. Why don't you start the divorce from here then you can look for a place at your leisure."
The last statement took Louise aback. She thought Jason would be only too eager to see her go.
"That would mean I would have to get all my things from the apartment and put them in storage."
"That's not necessary" he replied, "we will go out at the weekend, buy a cheap bed and put it in the box room. You can keep your belongings in there as well."
It was then she surprised him.
She said simply, "I've been wondering why you haven't tried to make a pass at me - am I that repulsive?"
