Morag was illuminated on the floor by the soft moonlight coming from behind clouds, like a creature crouching down on all fours, wild-eyed and sobbing, she used the light to lurch forward, grabbing something from the counter and was by Rose in seconds, holding the long kitchen knife out towards her from her crouched position threateningly. Rose recoiled in fear.
‘You couldn’t just leave him alone, could you?’ Morag hissed, her breath heaving dramatically. ‘He wasn’t yours to take... He was mine!’
Rose dragged oxygen into her lungs trying to find her voice, her body shaking violently, and her eyes glued to the sharp metal, glinting in the light mere inches from her throat.
‘Morag please... I didn’t take him... He chose to come to me.’ Rose’s voice was shaking, breathless and low, she was terrified at seeing nothing but hatred in Morag’s eyes and unsure if Rob would even get here in time anymore.
‘No ... NO... You seduced him... You wrapped him up and made it impossible to leave you... I know your type! ... What did you do Rose?’ The strangled voice and hitching hysteria in Morag accelerated Rose’s heartbeat, boosting her adrenaline. ‘Flutter your lashes and give him perverted sex that he couldn’t refuse, do things for him that no decent woman would do?’
‘Morag, I swear... Please don’t do this, it’s not that way. He loves me. I love him.’ Rose was gasping through tears, unable to conceal her fear, curling up small and trying to keep the point of that blade away from her neck.
‘What do you think I’m going to do Rose? .... Hurt you?’ Morag bursts into an insane laugh ‘Maybe I will... Maybe I should... I should kill you for what you have done to me... You need to leave...Go far, far, away and let me have what is rightfully mine.’ She swung the knife around carelessly, the heavy weight making it look unstable in her hand, her own eyes streaming scornful tears.
‘This is my home Morag...’ Rose pleaded desperately, but it only fueled Morag’s manic anger.
‘No, it’s fucking not! It’s my home... It’s Rob’s home... You’re an outsider... An intruder that doesn’t belong here in my village... If you leave I can have my life back!’ She spat cruelly, shuffling closer so that the knife inched nearer Rose’s face. Morag was kneeling taller than her and looking menacing.
‘He doesn’t want you Morag.’ Rose was finding her inner strength, that inner stubborn and fiery part of her, unable to back down even though sense told her to be submissive. She had let this woman rule her life for too long and was choosing the worst possible time to rile her.
‘He does... Rob just sometimes gets distracted...I know there have been others... You’re not the first whore he took to bed... Like the rest, he will end it with you and come back to me, like he always does.’
‘Then why are you here? If you are so convinced that he will leave me and come back to you, then why do you even need to do this?’ Rose snapped, anger replacing fear and pig-headed rage at how much the woman ruined everything, kicking in to push logic aside.
‘Shut up... Shut up!’ Morag clawed at her head a moment, trying to clear her racing thoughts, looking deranged and uncontrolled. Rose could see the mental turmoil reflected in her face. ‘He gave you his mother’s ring... You’re a clever little witch, aren’t you? Wonder how you swung that one?’ She jabbed at the air again with the sharp tool, turning it so the light reflected across its width in a terrifying way before bringing her focus back to Rose.
‘He loves me Morag... Really loves me... He doesn’t love you.’ Rose lifted her chin defiantly, refusing to be a victim even if this was to be her last moment in life.
‘What the fuck would you know .... You have no idea about the love we share. If you did you wouldn’t be hanging on like some sad desperate puppy with your fucking doe eyes. Can you not see how pathetic you are?’
Rose held her tongue, wondering if Morag was really talking about Rose at all. Her clearly unstable state hinted that she was talking about herself and delusional about it.
‘If I left he would come after me Morag, and you know it.’ Rose knew this for certain and knowing he was coming soon to save her had strengthened her resolve to keep her talking. ‘He’s on his way, he will see what you are doing, and he will hate you for it. You have no idea what this will do to your relationship with him. He will never forgive this.’
‘No... He fucking won’t...He will understand...He always understands!’ She jabbed the knife in the air menacingly and once again rubbed her face as though trying to get control. She was all over the place, her voice and tone up and down, her moods shifting from sorry to cruel and then anger and back to sadness.
The flash of headlights through the cottage indicated Rob had arrived, relief swept through Rose’s body as she cried out for him, not caring if Morag tried to silence her. Breathlessly at first, but then screaming on him frantically, bringing her hands up defensively as Morag lurched at her, attempting to quiet her by holding the knife to her throat and gripping her by the hair. Rose tried to push her hand away, trembling at the realisation of what Morag intended to do to her. Rose again cried out, determined to alert him.
Rob would be in the house by now. He had to be. He had to know that she was here. That sharp point pressed into her skin, biting her neck with its coldness and causing her heart to stop in her chest. Feeling the grip tighten harder and finally pushing her to hush.
Rob heard the cries from the door and burst through. Searching in the darkness and coming to a halt at the kitchen door, the moonlight showing him enough to stop him in his tracks. His powerful form taking up the doorframe, but Morag had a tight grip on Rose. Still heaped on the floor, unable to move with the crouching form of Morag leaning over her, backing her into the corner. The woman was clutching at Rose’s shoulder now with one hand and the other holding the point of a large knife at Rose’s neck. Morag turned her face towards him, eyes flashing like a demon.
‘Morag?’ Rob’s hands went up, palms forward defensively, his face changing from sheer despair to that instant mask of coolness that appeared when he was in crisis clean up mode. ‘Just put down the knife.’
‘Go away Rob. Go away!’ She screamed at him and Rose shuddered as the knife moved further up her neck scraping her flesh like a burning poker. She closed her eyes tight for a moment, afraid that it would descend into her throat and squirming back to try and put distance between her and it. Rob moved back, still holding his hands up as though trying to show her he would make no sudden movements, his eyes never leaving Rose.
‘You don’t want to do this Morag! You don’t want to throw away your life by doing something you would never be able to live with.’ His voice was unsteady, despite his calm demeanour. Rose could barely make out his face, but she could tell he was trying to keep his head together and to her, he sounded afraid.
‘You think this is what I wanted?’ She screamed at him. ‘That this is what I planned?’ Morag was sobbing through her anger, her voice crackling and her body vibrating.
‘Just put it down and we can talk. Please. I’m begging you.’ He was desperately trying to make out Rose’s face in the dark, his eyes barely able to see anything more than their outlines and forms and the shining metal of the blade at her throat.
‘I came here to talk... To her! ‘She motioned with the knife at Rose, moving it away from her neck and waving it in the air like a pointer. A tiny wave of relief ran through Rose’s body as she tried to edge away, but the grip on her shoulder tightened. Hauling her back to Morag’s side brutally and making it clear she wasn’t done with her yet.
‘Why? It’s me who you should be angry with.’
‘I wanted to see her... Tell her to leave you alone! ... You were not listening to me, Rob. I didn’t plan this. Any of this! I was hurt... I was angry with you... I just needed to see her...Warn her off...’
The woman let out another sob and rubbed her sleeve across her face childishly, sniffing hard.
‘Morag, please. Just let her go. Look at me. Talk to me. We can fix this together, you don’t need to involve her.’ Rob edged forward slowly, his voice softening as he tried to get through Morag’s hazy clouded logic.
‘LIAR!’ She spat angrily and pushed him to move back again, afraid that angering her would mean she turned back on Rose, now she had the knife turned at him.
‘Rose isn’t the person you want to hurt. It’s me you’re angry with. Me that you should be pointing that at.’ His voice was shaking, his emotions on the brink of collapse as nerves and the sheer impact of this scene hit him. Morag let go of Rose’s shoulder, rubbing her eyes dramatically with the freed hand.
Rose, seeing her moment, pulled away, crawling along the cupboards at speed against the units out of reach of her grip, the sharp point still stuck in mid-air between her and him. Blocking her escape so all she could do was sit out of reach, poised and ready to run as soon as she got a chance. Morag seemed oblivious to Rose’s almost escape, so focused on Rob and glaring at him with a broken heart.
‘You know what I got this morning, Rob? Morag laughed through tears and gritted teeth. She sounded so detached from the various versions of Morag that she didn’t seem real at all. ‘A fucking letter!...Informing me that you’re taking steps to get out a restraining order against me... Warning me off... Telling me to stay away from you.’ She broke down crying again, clutching at her hair. ‘After everything we have been through together... Fifteen years, Rob! Every goddamn thing I have been through and the one person I trust most cuts me loose. Warns me away?...WHY???’ She screeched at him.
‘I’m sorry, Morag. It was wrong. It was stupid. I just wanted you to understand that I wanted it all to stop, that things couldn’t keep going on this way. I was tired of this never-ending cycle we go through.’ He sounded genuine, reaching out with his hand as though gesturing her to come to him, looking inviting. His voice was steady but betrayed the panic and emotion in the undertones and the way his gaze kept flicking to where Rose crouched, checking her every second to see if she was okay. He was trying to appease Morag and get his girl away from her. ‘It all got out of hand. You were behaving erratically. Making threats. I didn’t know how else to handle you anymore.’
‘You are stupid!’ She spat viciously. ‘You had everything I could offer. All of me! You just pushed it away again and again and for what? For that!’ She pointed the blade at Rose again, causing her to lift her hands instinctively and Rob impulsively moved forward and then back again when Morag spun her head to face him with a sneer.
Rose’s own face wet with tears, a hot thick liquid had made its way down her skin on the left side, her eye stinging with its invasion and making everything blurry on that side.
‘Morag, please. If you’re using her to hurt me, I’m right here. You hurting her is the same as sticking that knife right here.’ He thumped his hand on his chest over his heart. ‘So why not just do it? If I’m the one you want to punish, then leave her alone and turn that blade on me.’
Rose shook her head, unable to formulate any words, panic searing her heart. Her head shook involuntarily.
No, Rob, please.
But Morag just cried out
‘NOOOOOO!... I love you!... I don’t want to hurt you... I want you to do to her what you did to me. I want you to return to me and forget you met her.’ She was shaking wildly, the knife swaying and her body giving up on her, sliding down from kneeling to sagging.
‘I never wanted to hurt you, Morag. I didn’t choose to fall in love. It just happened.’ Rob moved closer, gently stepping with small, easy movements, but she felt his closeness and panicked. Screaming out and grabbing for Rose again, catching the fabric of her hooded top and yanking her a tiny bit closer. Rob froze, sliding back calmly, keeping her eyes on him.
‘You think I just woke up one day and wanted to throw you aside? You were my friend, someone I cared about. I knew you needed me. I couldn’t do it anymore...I was weak, and I let you down.’ He soothed, his manner calm and genuine.
‘I need you more than she ever could!’ Morag reverted to quiet tears, hands shaking and the knife drooping before her.
‘Maybe that’s true, Morag... Maybe you’re right... But it’s not about her needing me. It’s about ME needing her.’ He was gaining control of his voice, the fear replaced with strength and conviction, a new tactic as he saw her resolve begin to crumble. ‘And if you do something to take her from me, I’ll never recover. I’ll never come back to you, Morag, even if she was gone, even if she chose to leave me. I would never forgive you... I would blame you for an eternity and hate you for it.’
Morag’s hand began to shake, the knife waving in the air between the two women.
‘Why couldn’t you just love me enough?’ Her tone was lowering, her screams now soft sobs as reality seemed to come back to her, and his words started filtering through.
‘I tried, Morag. I tried to be who you needed. I tried to love you the way you wanted all these years. But I couldn’t. I tried to help you instead, but all I did was keep you like this.’
She shook her head at him, watching him from her slumped shape on the floor and crying dejectedly. Rose held her breath, seeing the woman losing her violent rage and becoming more submissive.
‘If I had let you move on. If I had made a clean break and allowed you to accept we were over Morag, I don’t think we would be here now.’
Rob shrugged, moving into the room a little, very slowly and carefully.
‘You’re wrong.’ The fight was draining from the woman, and Rose, braver, was trying to edge forward towards Rob as he motioned her with a nod. The knife held loosely just out of reach from either of them but not being held aloft anymore.
‘I’m not wrong, Morag, if I hadn’t kept picking up the pieces, kept coming back into your life over and over. Torturing you and stopping you from ever moving on, then where would you be now?’
’You just needed time to forgive me. We were good together, and I ruined it all with lies.’ Her gaze on the floor was now at her feet, silently sobbing.
’Morag, the reason you felt you had to lie about the baby was that even then, you knew I didn’t love you that way. You knew I would do the right thing by you. Ask you to marry me, even though deep down you had known for a long time I no longer looked at you like that. I was stuck in a relationship with you because of guilt and a sense of duty for one drunken night. Rob extended a hand in Rose’s direction, urging her to keep moving towards him and trying to get close enough to intervene if Morag saw her.
‘Stop it’, Morag was silently crying, her shoulders lifting with every shuddering breath and looking completely spent.
‘I wasn’t what you needed. I just stood in the way of letting you see what you needed. Stood in the way of you going out and finding your own life. I was the problem!’
The woman cried out in anguish, tears falling fast and thick, shaking her head but unable to argue. Rose paused mid-crawl, fear biting down once more and afraid to move another inch. Rob paused too, eyes widening and waiting to see what would happen, taking another sliding step closer.
‘You’re always what I need. I don’t know how to go on without you!’ Morag sobbed loudly, still her eyes on the floor.
‘I don’t want to be in your life anymore, Morag. I want a life of my own. A life with Rose... I’m sorry, but that’s how it is. All of this has proven how toxic I am in your life.’
There was a pained, stretched silence. Morag was motionless, letting his words filter through her foggy brain as she sat silently staring. The tears fell fast down her cheeks and dripped onto her shirt. The knife fell from her fingers silently, clanging to the ground as she broke down, giving in to the overwhelming pain with a release of sound that closely resembled a wail.
‘I never wanted to hurt her.’ She cried, falling onto the floor face first, her hands following to the ground as she curled up into a ball and wept desperately.
Rose grabbed the cold, sharp weapon from the floor where it had fallen and moved forward like lightning into his outstretched arms. She threw it away from them into the lounge beside him and burst into tears. It slid loudly under the couch out of sight as he pulled her against him breathlessly, turning her away from Morag’s crumpled body and shielding her. Crushing her against him with a force that almost winded her, he pulled her back, his hands searching her body and face for wounds, his face searching hers, asking if she was hurt.
Forehead to forehead, as he inhaled loudly, the sweeping sound of relief that he had her in his arms, and she could feel his body trembling now, his breathing shallow. His shoulders were heaving as he tried to regain control. She had never seen him so scared, kissing her firmly and pulling her towards him in another bear hug as though she might disappear at any second and returning to checking her over for signs of injury almost frantically.
Rose felt her knees go weak and the blood draining entirely from inside her. The acute relief at being safe suddenly swept over her.
He kept pulling her away, desperate to assure himself that she was okay and scanning her body repeatedly. Sure there was a concealed injury he was missing, returning her to his chest every few seconds, needing to hold her close and protect her. She could see his face clearer now, the moonlight shining from the window to the side of them, directly on his tense features, his eyes full of tears and emotion, and his hands shaking.
‘It’s going to be okay, baby. I’ve got you. I’m here now... It’s over.’ He murmured soothing words, for both their benefit, soft and hoarse, almost a whisper. Stroking her face and arms, kissing her forehead and calming both of them. He protected her behind him, turning and looking down at the woman on the floor, now a soggy mass of pathetic weeping. Completely oblivious to anything around her. Rob Pulled out his phone and pressed 111. He handed it to Rose to take; she just stood mutely, trying to reel in her mind, automatically putting it to her ear, but she was not listening. Shock took over in place of adrenaline.
Rob moved forward slowly, stepping over the frail and pathetic heap on the tiles where Morag sobbed manically, no longer a threat to anyone. Lost in her pain and reality, everything around her had finally crumbled. He flicked the light switch on. Illuminating the mess of the kitchen. The broken, torn-up dishes and pans and the scattering of utensils. The chaos of having everything in sight thrashed around by hands clutching in the darkness. It looked like there had been a tornado of destruction, and it brought physical pain to Rose’s heart to see it all now. Turning to the knife block, Rob picked up the whole thing and moved it up high to the overhead units, where Morag could never reach them. He took the ones from the dish rack and placed them beside them, clearing the kitchen of anything Morag could use to repeat the attack.
It was obvious she was spent and wouldn’t have the ability, but it was making Rob feel calmer, having a focus. Stopping to rub his hands across his face and through his hair and pull himself together, inhaling deeply again, taking steadying breaths and regaining calm control. Turning, he looked at Rose in the light of the electric bulb, his face crumbling instantly as he saw her for the first time in the proper light. He quickly crossed the room and pulled her face close to his. Rose was still numbly holding his phone to her ear, oblivious of anyone on the other end.
‘Shit, baby.’ He pulled up his t-shirt, holding the soft fabric to her face and pressing it against the blood trickling down. It was almost at her cheek now. She could feel its warm descent. His eyes traced her swollen, bruised lips, face, and tear-stained cheeks. Cursing under his breath repeatedly, eyes filled with a look of anguish and anger tearing him apart. He struggled to keep control, the urge to turn on Morag evident in the tense set of his jaw and deep, angry frown.
‘I’m okay... It’s not as bad as it looks.’ Rose cleared her throat; her voice was weak, trembling, and barely audible, but Rob pulled her back into his arms.
Rob could hear the voice coming from the phone, asking her which service, and realised she was oblivious to anything right now, shock setting in. He took it from her, looking at the pitiful sight on the floor cruelly, lost in its mind and heartbreak. He felt nothing but hatred for her now. All sense of empathy had died the second she had done the one thing that would forever make him hate her. She had dared to hurt his Rose.
He asked for police and an ambulance.