As Viv got ready for work, all she could think about was Siobhan. She thought back to the first moment she'd met the blond when she'd popped into the nursery office. Despite Siobhan's cold demeanour Viv had never found her intimidating, in fact she'd immediately found her intriguing. Something about the blond had tugged at her heartstrings, she just seemed so lifeless and defeated. The pain behind her eyes was immediately obvious to Viv, so when Siobhan had been rude to her she really hadn't taken it to heart.
Now that she'd found an overnight babysitter for Jamie, she'd been able to pick up some night shifts. Most of her colleagues thought she was strange for preferring the later shifts, but she'd always gone against the grain. Once she was ready to leave she checked her phone and saw that Siobhan still hadn't read her last text. She'd read the one before though and she didn't always reply immediately, so Viv sighed before shoving her phone back into her pocket.
As she drove to the hospital she tried to listen to the radio, but all that did was scramble her brain. She'd not seen Siobhan in person for a couple of days, but when she had seen her, she'd noticed an ugly purple bruise on her wrist. Since they'd formed their friendship the blond had confided in her about the way Roger treated her. Viv had made sure to let Siobhan know that she'd left an abusive relationship herself and she knew how hard it was to cope, especially when it seemed like there was no way out. That revelation had been enough for Siobhan to feel somewhat comfortable, so she'd told her new friend about the abuse she was facing. It had been so difficult for her to finally articulate what she was going through, but Viv had made sure to let Siobhan know how brave she was. She'd taken the first step towards taking her freedom back.
Just before Viv started her shift, she checked her phone one more time and confirmed that Siobhan still hadn't replied. As she stared down at her last sent messages, she hoped that the blond was ok and that Roger wouldn't hurt her tonight. The entire situation was so delicate, she understood that more than anyone, but sometimes she was so tempted to storm straight into Roger's house and confront him directly. It was clear to Viv that recently things had been escalating and that monster's treatment of Siobhan was only getting more abhorrent. She wished so desperately to free her friend from his clutches, perhaps then she'd finally get to see Siobhan smile, laugh and enjoy her life. Viv took once last quick glance at the message she'd sent to Siobhan before locking the screen and throwing the phone into her locker. Momentarily, she imagined that Siobhan had left her phone in the lounge while she had dinner, or she'd left it on the bedside table as she showered.
It didn't occur to her that it hadn't been Siobhan who'd read that last text message. It hadn't been Siobhan's baby blue eyes looking down at her words.
Roger's eyes had narrowed as he read Vivs last message. Siobhan's very existence was beginning to enrage him more and more recently, she was so insolent. No matter how many times he reminded her, she couldn't grasp the fact that she was nothing more than his possession. He was so sick of her.
'THAT MAN IS A MONSTER'
He inhaled deeply before thinking "I'll show you a real monster."
