Short Story: Abused and Abusive

Rena remembered how Danny left. He stared at her with accusing eyes, accusing her of betrayal as the police slapped the handcuffs on his wrists. Those eyes grew even more menacing in the flashing blue siren lights but his face looked old, tired, years beyond his twenty-eighth. Rena stood at the doorway with what strength she had left, bruised, battered and bloodied, holding tightly to a red phone receiver.

That was three years ago. Rena had long recovered from the terrible beatings but body shall always be riddled with scars, her mind with the memories. Living was hard without her breadwinner husband but she had to survive, she had to endure now that her only child, six-year-old Darren, will soon begin a life outside his home. She needed more than just the comfort of her neighbours. She needed security.

And was why Danny stood right in front of her house. He looked different now, thinner, and more forlorn, yet he wore a soft smile and his eyes looked at her differently. There he was, the same man she fell in love with. Although Darren was too young to have remembered how she protected him from his father's terrible fists, he pulled hard on Rena's skirt, clearly wanting to get away from this stranger.

Danny touched a long, jagged scar on her right cheek, but Rena did not flinch. He had changed, she knew he could and believed he had. Especially when he suddenly broke down and fell on his knees, clutching her and sobbing on her breast, crying, begging her to let him come back. He said everything she had always wanted him to tell her, how much he loved her. Rena could not help but cry as well.

Indeed, Danny had changed for the better. No longer did he stalk his neighbours for money. He found a respectable job as a bank clerk. No longer did Rena waited late up into the night, fearing he would return with a beer bottle. Danny came home early and sober. Sometimes he brought a rose for her or a toy for Darren. Darren still looked at his father unsmilingly, but no longer does hide behind his mother from him. Rena hoped that one day, Darren would come to love and trust Danny.

However, not all changes were good. Rena's friends, who had helped her willingly before, now stopped speaking to her. When she passed them at the market or at a shop, some pretended that she did not exist. This baffled Rena until Nor, a neighbour who took care of Darren while Rena sold desserts, explained that some were jealous of her new life. Many were still abused by their own husbands and could not truly be happy for her.

Darren too was affected. One day, he came home from kindergarten with uniform dirty, his bag torn and one of his shoes was missing. He did not shed a tear and his face was like stone. He told Rena how no children would be his friends because their parents had told them how his father was an ex-convict. Outnumbered and defenceless, he was bullied and humiliated almost every day. Even the teachers isolated him in class and would only scold him for being a filthy boy.

Rena was very depressed but she did not mention her troubles to Danny. Danny was working harder than ever after his promotion as head clerk. He would bring his paper work home and continue late into the night. He no longer brought home roses or toys for his family. He eats his meals in silence now and sometimes would return home very late. But his eyes and touch were still soft and he continued to smile and never raised a hand in anger.

Then, a well-dressed fat man came to Rena and, with a grin, explained that Danny had owed some money to his bosses. He was there to receive collection. Rena had seen this man many times before, at the gates of her neighbours' houses, but had never spoken to him. Danny had never asked for money from this man, only from the neighbours. The fat man told her how Danny had been very successful at his job and had returned to his old gambling habits.

Rena was shocked. She could not and did not believe the fat man. She asked Danny about the incident. He denied and said that he had been in meetings with his four colleagues. But the fat man continued to appear at her gate, smiling and demanding money. Rena gave him some of her own, hoping to lure that stranger away. But he was persistent and came everyday with descriptions of Danny's so called exploits until she no longer greeted him.

One day, the fat man returned but did not call out. Instead, he threw a package on to the floor and left quickly. Inside, to Rena's horror, were explicit sexual photos of her husband in a bed with many different women. That night, she confronted Danny with the photos. Danny looked grave and denied any wrongdoing. When Rena told him about the fat man, he countered that the stranger was a liar and that the photos were fake and it was not he.

Rena was so angry that she struck her husband on the face. He was stunned, but Rena was even more so. Danny did not strike her back. He touched the long, jagged scar on her right cheek and told her that he would never hurt her again. But he continued to bury himself in his work, even more so since and always stayed up late at his office. And the fat man started to call her on the phone almost every day.

Without a friend, her husband now hardly speaking to her and trouble still plagued Rena and her son, she became more and more agitated. She jumped or shouted at small things, ignored the phone almost every time it rang and was always angry with people, even Darren. One morning, the bank called Rena for Danny's whereabouts, as he was due for an important meeting. Rena did not know but she feared the worst.

Danny did not come home that night, nor by the next morning. Rena waited long at the doorway for him, neglecting a hungry Darren as he cried for attention. It was late that night when Danny finally came back.

He was in a complete disorder, his eyes were teary and bloodshot and there were stains on his shirt. When he saw Rena at the door, he cried and bowed his head low, begging for forgiveness. Rena saw that the stains on his shirt were red lipstick and he smelled like a strong mixture of alcohol and perfume.

Rena was furious. All rational thought left her mind as she struck him with her fists in rage. Danny did not fight back, but cowered before her, still begging and pleading. Rena was not satisfied. Instead, Danny's weakness only made her even angrier. She took her broomstick and began to beat him hard until the wooden handle broke. She continued to beat him with the sharp edge of the broken broom while scratching his eyes with her other hand.

She cried and screamed at him, and still he only lay as low on the floor. She shouted her frustration, asking him why he had done what he did. But Danny still did not answer but allowed her to beat him red raw. Rena struck, slapped and scratched until she had spent all her fury. A great wave of sadness washed over her and she felt a heavy weight on her shoulders. Her hands were blistered and slick with red blood.

Rena called out to her husband, but he did not move. She shook his bruised back gently and spoke soft pleads, but Danny still did not budge. From the outside came loud and familiar sirens that rang like thunder in the cold dark air.

She looked up and the flashing blue lights blinded her sight. She turned face into the house and in the darkness, she saw her son, Darren. He stood quite still like a statue with a thin face that was expressionless. In his hand was the red phone receiver.