A noise in the doorway made them both turn. It was Schrödinger coming in without a glance in their direction, heading for the chair by the window. While Craig’s head was turned Jenny raised her hand and swept the knife from her neck, the knife clattering on the floorboards and making the cat jump. Jenny rose from her chair as Craig turned to her, and threw her fist as hard as she could into the side of his head, connecting with the temple, feeling her knuckle crack with the impact. His neck snapped back and he almost toppled from his seat as Jenny’s chair scraped the 305floor. She was up and sliding past him towards the door, Schrödinger looking at them now, then she was beyond him as Craig swore and held his face. A couple more steps and she was at the doorway, then she felt him grab her hair and yank her off her feet, some of her hair ripping out at the root. She landed on her hip with a thud and was dragged backwards, rucking up the rug underneath her, splinters from the floorboards pricking her hip where her skin was exposed.

She swung her hands above her head, scratching at Craig’s fist in her hair, heard him breathing heavily then the cat hissing. She looked over to see Schrödinger with his back arched, tail high. Then she felt a kick to her lower back, kidneys screaming, then another and another, so she lowered her hands and tried to protect herself. Craig pulled her head down and it thumped against the floor sending sparks across her vision, pain stripping her body. She felt her hair released and tried to push herself up, got as far as one elbow when Craig came round and swung his foot into her face, a red burning in her ear and a crack in her cheek as she fell onto the floor again. She could see dust bunnies and toast crumbs under the table, then she heard the knife being picked up from where it had landed by the window.

Schrödinger made a spitting noise and Jenny turned to see Craig’s foot connect with the cat’s midriff and lift him into the air, claws out, hammering against the glass of the window and bouncing onto the floor.

Craig stepped towards her with the knife held out, looking at it as if he had no idea what to do with it, like it was an alien artefact.

‘Wait,’ Jenny said, holding her hand up. Her body and face ached, pain soared through her, and she had a brief thought that this would destroy Hannah most of all.

‘No,’ Craig said, hunkering down and staring into her eyes.

He looked at her with something like love then slid the knife into her stomach and held it there.

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DOROTHY