Alfie The Doorstep Cat

Chapter Thirty-Three

My legs were shaking as I approached Claire’s house. Tiger was waiting for me outside and she gave me a quick nuzzle and wished me luck. She asked me to reconsider but I said I couldn’t; something told me that this had to be done for the good of Claire, whom I loved so much. I might have been angry with her, I might have been annoyed at how weak she was, but I loved her and she needed me. I felt as if I was all she had and although that didn’t feel like much, I hoped that now it would be enough for her.

I leapt with more energy than I felt through the cat flap and stood still for a moment. I could sense that Claire wasn’t home yet. Joe was in the living room watching television. I took a breath and felt my fur stand on end. I remembered last feeling this level of terror when I first started being a homeless cat. My little cat heart was beating so fast that it was almost jumping out of my body.

I sat outside the living room, waiting. I wasn’t sure how long I was there before I heard Claire walking down the path and I thanked God for giving us cats such excellent hearing. Timing was everything. I ran into the living room and jumped straight up onto Joe’s lap. He looked surprised and then, as I had guessed he would be, angry.

‘Get off me you stupid moggy,’ he shouted and I hissed at him before lashing out and scratching his arm. I closed my eyes, as I had predicted what would follow.

‘You stupid bloody cat, I hate you,’ he said, as he threw me across the room. I curled myself into a tight ball and when I felt myself falling, I put my legs out and landed straight. Claire had entered the house, so I yowled as loudly as I could.

Joe darted across the room and began to kick me repeatedly. The pain seared through my entire body, and I could no longer even cry out.

‘Oh my God, what the hell, get off him, get the hell off him, you bastard!’ I heard Claire cry before everything went black.

I wasn’t sure, despite watching lots of hospital dramas with Margaret, whether I was conscious, unconscious or something in between. I knew I wasn’t dead because I hadn’t seen Agnes or Margaret and I was pretty sure that in death I would. I was warm though, although it felt as if we were moving as the pain seared through me. I could vaguely hear voices and was reassured that one of them was Claire’s.

‘What have I done?’ she cried. ‘I let him use me and now he’s gone and nearly killed Alfie. Oh God, if he dies, I’ll never forgive myself.’

‘Claire,’ it was Tasha’s voice I could now make out. ‘You were vulnerable after the divorce. We thought you were better but that wasn’t real, was it? You still felt worthless and I should have seen that. But Joe, well he did see it. Men like him sense these things. You can’t blame yourself. Look, Alfie will be OK, we’re nearly at the vet and I know he’s going to make it through.’ But she didn’t sound sure, I could hear it in her voice. ‘And he saved you.’

‘You know, Alfie watched him punch a wall the other day. I bet he thought he would have done it to me next.’

‘He would have done if you hadn’t kicked him out.’

‘I know that now. When he was kicking a poor defenceless cat I suddenly woke up and finally found the strength I never thought I had. I pulled him away, I was so angry that I shoved him and hit him myself, but then he started to do the whole “sorry” thing. Unbelievable! This time, I wouldn’t have it. I told him if he didn’t get out in five minutes I’d call the police.’

‘What did he do?’

‘He cried, just like when he punched the wall, but I stood firm. I was too scared to pick Alfie up, which is why I called you. There was blood everywhere and he wasn’t moving. Joe was still standing there, not going anywhere, so I told him to get out again, and then he got nasty. So with the phone in my hand I dialled 999 and told him: one more step and I’d press the call button.’

‘And that was when he finally left?’

‘Yes, but not before calling me all the filthy names under the sun.’

‘He was horrible.’

‘But why didn’t I see it?’

‘I don’t know, if I’m honest. I thought he controlled you. But then when you want something badly enough, you only see what you want to see. Claire, you have to learn from this; there are, unfortunately, lots of men like Joe out there.’

‘I am so sorry and stupid and I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to Alfie.’

‘That sort of attitude, calling yourself stupid, got you into the mess in the first place.’ I could hear that Tasha was being very real with Claire, which I liked, and Claire was crying, which I didn’t like, but as I drifted off back to the blackness, there was very little I could do about anything any more.

My plan had worked, I had got rid of Joe at last. I just hoped the cost wasn’t too high.