Page 67 of On the Edge

Nel felt a surge of hatred pulse through her veins but tried not to show it.

‘He’s paranoid I’ll leave him like my mum left my dad,’ Sophie said.

‘Does he hurt the kids?’

‘Not yet, but it feels like it’s only a matter of time.It’s getting worse.I used to be almost relieved when he’d explode because I knew it would be a few weeks, a month even, until the next time, but it’s happening so often now.Charlie’s starting to stand up to him, trying to protect me.’

‘Have you reported it to the police?’

Sophie let out a cynical laugh.‘Do you watch the news?You know what happens when women report this stuff?They end up dead.Sometimes the kids do too.’

An image flashed in Nel’s mind.A bright-eyed mum and her three beautiful kids posing with Santa, killed by the man who was supposed to love them most, a week after she’d moved out of the family home.There had been nationwide outrage, with much handwringing and head-shaking by politicians who quoted the horrific statistics about women killed by their intimate partners, insisting that something must be done—but eventually everyone moved on and nothing changed.

Sophie ran a hand through her hair.‘It’s not just the physical violence.The worst bit is the control, the mind games.’A shadow crossed her face.‘When I met him, I had lots of friends, but one by one he turned me against them.I didn’t even realise he was doing it.’

‘What about your family?’

‘He turned me against them too.“They don’t give a shit about you,” he’d say.“They dumped you.You mean nothing to them.”’She frowned, thinking.‘I can see through it now, but it made sense to me at the time.I felt abandoned, I guess.My mum had moved to Adelaide with my sister.’

‘Is your dad still here?’

Sophie shook her head.‘He moved to Cairns with an Indonesian woman he met on the internet.I was with Ryan by then.He was everything my dad wasn’t.Confident.Passionate.Protective.’

There was a long silence.The air between them felt charged.

‘I’m pregnant,’ Sophie whispered.

‘Shit.’Nel sighed.‘Have you thought about leaving?’

‘Every day.’

‘Do you think you will?’

Sophie looked at Nel and shook her head.

‘Why not?’

‘It would be a nightmare.’

‘But better than living like this, surely?’

Sophie shook her head again.‘He’d want shared custody.He’d have plenty of money to keep going back to court.I’ve seen what he’s done to rival real estate agents.He can be ruthless.And what would happen if I wasn’t there to bear the brunt of his temper?’She shuddered and closed her eyes.

‘What about just … disappearing?There are organisations that could help you.’

‘He would look for me until he found me.He’ll never let me go.’

Nel felt a surge of despair.‘But you can’t go on living like this, and with a new baby …’

After a moment, Sophie turned to Nel.‘You should be careful.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I don’t know … He really hates you after what happened with Maddie.I worry about what he might do.’There was an intensity to her gaze, as though she was trying to communicate more than she was saying.

Nel’s heart quickened.‘Has he ever talked about the night she went missing?’

Sophie looked back out the windscreen.‘She was pregnant,’ she whispered.‘He told me he met her at the lighthouse and told her to get an abortion, and then the next day she was missing.’