Abandoned Read Online Free Page A

still fixed firmly in her mind; secretly she hoped for more of the same tonight.
    ‘So how was your day, love?’
    ‘Same old, same old, dear. You know how it is, there are always sick animals to tend to,’ Charles responded automatically.
    She didn’t pry any further, as she could see he looked tired. She simply just offered to run him a nice hot bath.
    ‘That would be great. Thanks, dear. I’ll just take Tess for a quick walk whilst you do so.’
    With that, he headed back out of the door.
    He looked forward to his evening walks with Tess, as he would make a habit out of talking to her about his problems and feelings; even though she didn’t respond, he somehow felt as though they had a connection. He liked to believe she understood him on some level.
    ‘I had to do it, Tess, I had to. She would’ve talked, she would’ve sent me away! She asked for it, but its ok now, she can’t talk anymore, she’s gone for good. It’s just us again now, no more distractions.’ Once he had finished offloading, they turned around and headed back to the house.
    Upon their return, Rebecca had his customary glass of red wine poured ready for him, and announced that his bath was ready. ‘Just be quiet,’ she warned, ‘as the kids have not long gone to sleep.’
    He thanked her then headed to the bathroom, where he removed his filthy clothes before proceeding to relax in the hot, tranquil bath before him. He drank his wine, scrubbed any trace of DNA from his body, then just lay there, lost in his own little world, a twisted sense of justice and justification engrossing him. He was proud of what he’d accomplished. The realisation that he was capable of exerting that dominance and control over another human being, and inflicting the ultimate punishment, not only excited him, but empowered him. The feelings of being lost, helpless, and at the mercy of others as a child no longer held weight in his mind; for once, he had the power and control — and he loved it!
    Forty minutes passed before Rebecca came and knocked on the bathroom door.
    ‘You ok in there?’
    ‘Yeah, just getting out now, love,’ said Charles, snapping out of his reverie.
    ‘Ok’, she replied. ‘I’ll just be in the living room.’
    He put on his dressing gown that hung on the back of the door, picked up the pile of clothes in front of him and took them to the kitchen, loading them straight into the washing machine. He set the controls to a boil wash, inserted the powder, and pressed start. He relaxed a little, pouring himself another large glass of wine, finishing off the bottle by doing so. He found Rebecca waiting for him in the lounge, but, ignoring her, he sat on the couch, took control of the remote control and turned on the news channel.
    About fifteen minutes or so of national news headlines appeared on screen before it got to the regional news. They showed footage of flooding around the west Cumbria area before finally getting to the news of the missing girl.
    ‘Still there is no news on missing Lucy Mitchell…’
    Charles is somewhat pleased by this, but Rebecca seemed less so.
    ‘Have you seen this Charles? It’s terrible. That poor girl’s family must be devastated. Gretna is only forty minutes from here. I couldn’t bear it if that was to happen to one of our girls, I’d be beside myself.’
    Charles just mumbled, ‘Yeah, me too,’ on autopilot, as he was too engrossed in what was happening on screen.
    The news finally came to an end. Downing his drink, Charles got up.
    ‘I’m off to bed. Work’s exhausted me today,’ he announced.
    Rebecca seemed a little miffed — perhaps she was hoping that last night’s passion might have unlocked some of the old spark from their relationship. However, she pecked him on the cheek in forgiveness; after all, he was a hardworking man that provided a good stable life for the family.
    ‘Ok dear, I’ll be through shortly, goodnight,’ she said,and looked at him wistfully as he turned