In Chains Read Online Free

e-mail. I have a reply from Dan.
     
    Babe, what’s wrong? I don’t understand. Come back home and let’s talk about it. Where are you? I’m worried about you. I’ve been trying to call you. Are you with your brother? You know I love you. Just come home, we can work it out, we always do. You know I don’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry, I promise I’ll change. Just come home, I miss you xxxx
     
    Realising I’m holding my breath; I let out a sigh. I’ve heard this so many times before, he promises to change and its better for a while but he soon goes back to his old ways. I tried to get him to go to counselling with me but he wasn’t interested. I’m not willing to be his punch bag. I’m not going to reply, there’s nothing more to say.
    I curl up in the armchair with my e-reader and continue reading the romance I started earlier. As usual I get lost in the book and when I glance at my watch I see it’s almost seven. Damn, I’m supposed to be going grocery shopping. Hopefully the stores stay open late here. As my laptop is still on, I do a quick search for the nearest one. It’s only about fifteen minutes’ drive and it’s open until ten.
    My car feels like a fridge. Shivering, I put the heater on, which is a futile gesture, by the time it warms the car up I’ll be at the store. I dislike driving in the dark and it’s even worse here, there are hardly any street lights and the roads are narrow. I crawl along at twenty miles per hour, hoping no one comes in the opposite direction because there isn’t room for two cars. Glancing in my rear view mirror I’m relieved there are no cars behind me. I can do without an irate driver tooting his horn because he’s used to doing sixty along this stretch. Feeling around for my cigarettes I pull one out of the pack and flick my lighter, trying to locate the end of the cigarette while keeping my eyes glued to the road. I open my window a fraction and shiver as a cold blast of air comes in. It’s so desolate here, tall hedgerows line either side of the road, they look eerie in this darkness. The only sound is the hum of the car engine. At the end of the road I turn right and relax a little, this road is much wider and has streetlights. I pass by a newsagents and a cafe. I might pay a visit to the cafe another day, see if they need any staff. Finally I spot the supermarket. There are only a couple of cars in the car park; it’s obviously not busy so this shouldn’t take long.
    There aren’t many people in here. The aisles are deserted except for a few staff who are stacking shelves. I wander around, putting anything that takes my fancy into my trolley. I still have some money in my bank so I can cover this; I may as well stock up. As I near the checkout I freeze. He’s standing there. Dan. I quickly dart behind a display. I don’t want to deal with him right now. He’ll try to persuade me to go back with him and he’ll keep on and on until he wears me down. After what seems like a few minutes have passed and he hasn’t approached I peek back around the display. He’s with a woman. They’re packing groceries. I can see his face clearly now and I realise it isn’t Dan. My mind was playing tricks on me. I make my way to the checkout, pay for my shopping and take it to my car.
    I’ve just turned back onto the narrow country lane when I spot Kayden. It’s not long after eight; he must be on his way back from working for Simon’s neighbour. It’ll be nice to have some company for this stretch of the journey, so I pull over and wind down my window. “Do you want a lift Kayden?”
    He bends down and smiles at me. “Thank you.”
    He gets in the passenger seat and glances around. “Is this your car?”
    I look at the sweet wrappers littering the floor and the ashtray that’s overflowing with cigarette butts and I’m tempted to say it belongs to someone else. I can’t even remember the last time I cleaned it. “Yes it’s mine,” I reluctantly