dot.

22: Family

Unknown pov

  She dialed the phone number, digits branded into her mind after years upon years of typing it in. It was too dangerous to have the number saved on a mobile, Nimue had said, and so she had to hop from phonebox to phonebox, always being careful that she wasn't being watched.

  Never before had she worried about her daughter so much.

  'Hello?'

  Nimue's voice floated through the speaker, blessing the woman with the surefire indication that she was alive and well.

  "Hello, sweetheart. How are you doing?"

  'Good thanks. I have some cool news to tell you- but before that, how's everything at home? No one's hurting you, right? You're still receiving the money?'

  The mother chuckled and leant against the dirty glass window of the phonebox, over the moon about getting to speak to her daughter after so many weeks. "Yes, yes. Everything's fine here, I promise you. What's your news?"

  'Well,' she took a deep breath, the static noise ringing through the phone, 'I kissed Tiro.'

  "You did?!" She clasped a hand over her mouth on instinct, giggling with her daughter over the phone like schoolgirls. "How was it? I always knew he had a thing for you, you know, even when you were children he'd follow you around like a stray puppy."

  'It was really good, actually. I was only originally doing it to make up with him, but I don't know. He's really cute.' She could almost see Nimue's blush, even though the woman was miles away.

  Christ, when had her little girl become a woman?

  "So, when's the wedding?"

  'Mum! No!' Her daughter laughed, frantically trying to defend herself as she was relentlessly bombarded with teasing statements. ( "When should I meet his family?" "Should I get your dad to warn him about what will happen if he hurts you?" "Do I need to start knocking before I go into the same room as you two?" )

  'It's not like that.'

  "Yet."

  There was a lot of muffled giggles and sighs streaming from the other end of the call, and a short moment of silence before Nimue eventually responded with an irritated 'Yet.'

  "Hmm, good girl. When are you going to come and visit me again? You said you were coming a few weeks ago, but you never showed up." She felt her heart sink as she spoke. Why had she not even bothered to tell her that there had been a change of plans?

  'I know. I'm really sorry. I had already boarded the plane to come to you and everything, but my boss said he needed me. You know he doesn't like it when I talk to people he has no control over. And you also know I can't risk losing this job.'

  She sighed, and ran her fingers through her greying hair. "It's okay, love. Do you know when you can next see me?"

  Nimue didn't respond for a moment, kicking her feet against the bottom of the stall and swallowing thickly. 'Not for a while. My boss kept me with him for a few weeks, so we're behind schedule.'

  "With what? That boy you work with?"

  'Y-yes. Him.'

  "What was his name again? Bot?"

  'Dot.'

  "Ah, yes. I remember now. Will I ever get to meet him? He sounds very sweet."

  She listened as her daughter made a weird whispering sound and mumbled into the phone, as if the information was top secret. 'Uhm, no. Yeah- no. I don't... Well, aha, I'm pretty sure he'll never let you meet him."

  Her stomach tied itself in knots and spun around like a ferris wheel, the thought of her daughter's boss and job making her feel ill. It brought in enough money to provide the whole family with a comfortable life and then some, but she'd throw that all away in a heartbeat just for the security of knowing her daughter was safe. "Nimue, I really don't like him. He doesn't sit right with me."

  The woman across the world sniffed and shuffled around in the phonebox, speaking again in a voice that wobbled dangerously. 'I know mum. But I'll stay safe. He won't hurt me.' At the last sentence, her voice broke and she started to swallow and breathe heavily on the other side of the call, struggling to keep herself together as she sniffed every few seconds.

  "Baby? He doesn't hurt you, does he? Answer me please." She was going to be sick. She was actually going to be sick. Had he hurt her? Was he hitting her? Forcing her? Manipulating her? She couldn't stand the thought, and her own trails of hot, salty tears patterned her face as she begged Nimue to tell her something more.

  'Bye, mammy. I love you.' And with that, her daughter was gone.

  She stared down at the dead phone with shaking hands, biting a trembling lip as she continued to imagine all the possibilities that the man could be doing to hurt her family.

  Frantically, she dialed in another number she knew off by heart- her eldest daughter's. She lived closer to Nimue, and was bound to know more about what could be going on over there.

  The phone rang and rang, her chest about to burst from anxiety when it finally broke out with a cheerful, 'Hel-lloo Eirene! What gives me the pleasure for speaking to such a lovely lady on such a lovely day, may I ask?'

  This was not her daughter.

  'Oh, shove off Alfie. What is it mum?'

  Ah, there she was.

  "Cynthia, I have something to ask you. Please be honest." She chewed on her thumbnail, desperate for an answer.

  'What is it mum? Are you okay? Your voice is shaking- ALFIE! Go! A! Way!' She yelled at her friend, who was still shamelessly trying to talk with Eirene.

  'Alright, alright, I get the idea.' Said Alfie, and presumably left the room.

  'Mum? What is it?' Her daughter asked, sounding more concerned than earlier. 'Mum?'

  "Right, right. Sorry." Eirene let herself breathe and clear her head before continuing. "I need you to give me more details on what Nimue's boss is do-"

  'You know I can't tell you that. She doesn't want you knowing. It's only going to upset you.' Her tone was stony, words grave as her mother's stomach sank.

  "Thia, please... I need answers. Is he hurting her? Tell me, tell me love, please say."

  'I...' Thia sighed deeply into the microphone, cussing quietly and scratching her head. 'I can't say.'

  "You can't say? Oh god, oh, oh he is isn't he? He is, he is, he is."

  Thia sniffed and continued talking. 'I think you should know, but she'll never forgive me for telling.'

  "Tell me, please. I can take it, please." Eirene was practically tripping over herself in her desperation to help her daughters, determined to not stop trying until she knew what was going on. "She'll forgive you, I know she will. We're family. Please don't keep secrets from me." She took a moment to step back and wipe her eyes, trying not to sob down into the phone in frustration. "If someone's hurting Nimue, I need to know."

  Thia made a strangled little noise in the back of her throat and whispered down the phone. 'You're really not making this easy for me.'

  "Tell me."

  '...'

  "Please." It was a final plea, a dying cry for help.

  'Fine.' Thia muttered. 'I can't believe I'm doing this, but I'll tell you.'