It's All About Him by Colette Caddle

and I was really sick for almost a week. Neil was great. He took me to the doctor, went to the chemist for my prescriptions, and looked after me so well. He was really kind and it was the closest we'd been in months. He stayed in the room with me all of the time and, believe me, it was a tiny room. At this stage we could only afford to rent the tiniest, dingiest places.
    'One evening I told him to go out and get something to eat and just take a break. I was a lot better but I had no real interest in food and I knew he must be starving. He didn't want to go but in the end he agreed, promising he'd be back within the hour. I fell asleep and I woke up at about eleven, nearly four hours after he'd gone out and he wasn't there. I had my suspicions but at the same time I was worried because he'd been so good to me and so caring and I just didn't believe he'd have left me to go gambling. I decided to go downstairs and have a look around. I was pretty unsteady and light-headed but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I was sure that he was safe.
    'There was no sign of him anywhere in the hotel or outside and I was about to go back to the room when I met one of the staff. He was laughing and telling me that I'd be moving to a four-star hotel in the morning because Neil was on a winning streak. I asked him where he was and he gave me directions.'
    Dee had to stop and swallow hard as she remembered that awful night. 'I thought I must have got the directions wrong because I was heading out of the town and it was dark and deserted and obviously a poor area. I felt a bit nervous and I decided to go back when I heard a huge cheer. I followed the sound and suddenly I was in a square and there were thirty or forty people crowded around, screaming, shouting and whistling. I pushed my way through and then I saw them.' She shuddered and closed her eyes. 'It was a cock fight. It was nearly over by the time I arrived, one of the cocks was covered in blood and its eye was hanging out, the other wasn't much better.'
    'Jesus!' Conor muttered.
    'Neil was there, right in the thick of it. He had a bunch of notes in his hand and was jumping up and down like a madman but it was the wild look in his eyes that really scared me. I knew then that he had a problem and there was nothing I could do or say to fix it. I went back to the hotel and packed.'
    'Did you not see him before you left, to confront him?' Conor asked.
    'Oh, yes,' she said with a twisted smile. 'I was determined to explain to him why I was leaving and why we were finished. I suppose I thought it might bring him to his senses and he would get help.'
    'But he didn't?'
    'He said he would, he said he was sorry, he cried, we both cried, and he begged me not to leave until the next day. He said I was too weak to travel and that I should get some sleep before I faced the journey. I was tired and miserable and very weak and I realized he was right; there was no reason to leave in the middle of the night. The next morning when I woke he was gone and he'd taken all of our cash, a ring he'd bought me in San Francisco and my dad's watch with him.'
    'The bastard! What did you do? Did you go to the police?'
    She shook her head. 'I was too embarrassed and humiliated. Luckily I still had my credit card and so I could pay for my flight home.'
    He sat back in his chair, shaking his head. 'I can't believe it.'
    'Yeah, well, it took me a while to believe it myself. I knew he had a problem but I never thought for a second that he would actually steal from me.'
    'I can't believe he had the nerve to show up here today.' Conor stood up suddenly and started to pace. 'What is it, is he looking for more money? He saw your face in the paper and thought you were good for another few bob?'
    She shook her head. 'No, at least I don't think so. He says he's stopped gambling and he's now running his own business, he was driving this very flashy car and he did seem changed, more mature and in control. And he gave me my