Diary – 3rd And 4th February 2017

Tweet

Diary Friday 3rd February 2017 Friday seemed destined to be a housebound day for me, until about 9pm when my neighbours unexpectedly invited me to join them in the local pub. Normally such invites don’t lead me to hesitate much but the lady opposite me has serious health and alcohol intake issues. As the invite seemed to be initiated by her boyfriend and she was obviously going with or without me I decided to go along. I haven’t spoken much with the boyfriend so it seemed nice to get to know him a little better but as I chatted with him, I sensed she was looking very uncomfortable. I kept trying to draw her into the conversation but eventually without warning she walked out of the pub and went home. She started franticly sending her boyfriend texts and calls, all of which he ignored. Eventually she actually found the pub number and phoned the staff who gave him their phone to take her call, which I never listened in on. He then carried on drinking until the pub closed. He had no keys but as he has been living with her for months I let him in the building. I last saw him knocking on her flat’s door at gone midnight with her ignoring him. He jokingly asked if he could sleep on my floor if she didn’t let him in. I said yes, confident that he would get in eventually. After a while things went quiet so I assumed he had gotten in. The consequences would become apparent the next day. Diary Saturday 4th February 2017 I was woken at 7am by my neighbour in some distress shouting through my door asking if her boyfriend was in my flat. I told her he wasn’t and went back to bed, confused by why he wasn’t around. At 9am after I got up she sent me a text asking if I had seen him yet. I looked out the window and saw his car outside. I know he lives twenty miles way so it is unlikely he could be far away. I suggested she see if he was asleep in the car. He wasn’t. I suggested she contact the police if really worried but she was hesitant. A few hours late, I saw her for the first time since the pub. Her nose was severely bruised and her face was swollen. I learned now that she had let him in her flat and at some point he had beaten her up before storming out on her. I and other neighbours advised her to dump him and even report him to the police but she wouldn’t. After some shopping, I returned home. Soon after he returned to her flat. She let him in, and after a few minutes they got in his car and drove out somewhere. I hope my warnings that it will be a matter of time before he hurts her again are wrong. Arthur Chappell