An: rushed chapter, just wanted to get something out for you guys.
It had been a week. A week since Siobhan had been in the facility, that left Vivian with three weeks. Three weeks to devise a plan to get Siobhan out of her situation. She had no ideas, no leads.
Well, maybe one. It was going to be a long shot. Vivian knew that people were aware of Rogers "red flags", and she figured out that Siobhan was probably not his first victim.
She was aware that the deputy manager of her son's nursery was Rogers daughter, and she was familiar with Reece knight aswell, the manager of the sister nursery.
Autumn, was a very closed of woman. She didn't tend to show much emotion and was very closed off, great for professional circumstances, but in terms of her personal affairs? Not so much.
Reece was the polar opposite of his father, he was a sensitive and caring soul. He was soft, gentle, that much was clear to Vivian when she saw how he'd taken the young apprentice under his wing.
In the past week, when Vivian would drop off Jamie, she would hang around. She would either make small talk with Marjorie, or she would linger outside the office and eavesdrop. She had learnt about a certain redhead, a woman who was still dealing with the aftershocks of Rogers abuse.
There were lots of little secrets that Vivian had come to discover. Lots of pieces of information that would only make sense if you managed to meticulously slot them together. All of it fit in to place when you realised what a terrible man Roger was. Oh how she craved to see his downfall.
Today was one of those days where Vivian had decided to linger outside the office. The walls were paper thin, all she had to do really was stand outside of the office. She pretended to check her phone to avoid suspicion.
In the office was Marjorie and Autumn. They were talking about some kind of plan they had with Reece.
"So are you really going to take the nursery away from your dad?" Marjorie asked "isn't that going to be really hard?"
"Mhmm" Autumn responded, "it's the last piece of our lives that connect us to our dad, and this place deserves owners who actually care" she then went on to describe the process, getting the deeds and securing the votes from the board.
"Well we know Siobhan's probably going to side with my father, and there's the silent partner. Aswell as Janice, she's going to vote for my father aswell."
I wouldn't be so sure about Siobhan.
"So that's, you, Reece and Mia for you guys to takeover the nursery, and then this 'janice', a silent partner and Siobhan?" Marjorie took in a breath, "there's no way to do it if it's 3 against 3."
"Not to mention my dad will also definitely count his own vote" autumn tutted "so it would be 4 against 3, we would lose"
That was all Vivian needed to hear, this was all she needed to know to come up with a vague plan, it was risky, but it would be so worth it if it would work.
...
The next day, Vivian dropped off Jamie and headed to the office. She needed to speak to Marjorie face to face. She had already gotten permission from Siobhan to let the manager know about the current situation, well, where the blonde was.
She couldn't wait for Siobhan to come home, well not to her home. Vivian was content in keeping their blooming relationship a secret, especially if it meant keeping Siobhan safe. Vivian felt as if she was burning with a desire for Siobhan, not a desire for her body or anything like that. But a desire to get to know Siobhan and really give her the love she deserves.
It wasn't love at first sight when she met Siobhan. But Siobhan was seared deeply into Vivian's flesh. It was the kind of love that made it's way into your veins. It was the kind of love you carried deep in your bones. Now that it was so deeply embedded, there was no way for Vivian to ever forget about Siobhan. She craved everything about Siobhan, but if she was ever going to fulfil that craving, Siobhan needed to be free and safe.
And even then, there was a chance that Siobhan wouldn't feel the same.
Even if Siobhan were to leave, move on and forget about Vivian. Vivian would do it thousands of times over if it meant she was safe and happy.
The nurse lightly tapped her knuckles on the office door. Marjorie granted her permission. Vivian walked in and saw that autumn wasn't there.
"Awh Hiya Viv, have a seat please. How can I help you today" Marjorie greeted.
"Actually, I think I might be able to help you" Vivian said sitting down.
The manager looked confused, but allowed Vivian to continue.
"I know where Siobhan is, I know about the nursery takeover" Vivian started.
Marjorie looked startled, by both revelations. "Okay, can we start with Siobhan please? Roger won't say anything to us about her whereabouts"
"She overdosed, she was in hospital last week, when I had my babysitter drop off Jamie. I was the nurse on the case. She's in rehab at the moment, but she's running out of time Marjorie. I promised her I'd find a way for her to get away from him. He caused all of this." Vivian's brain went back to Siobhan's drug problem, the miscarriage, all of the physical and mental wounds.
"Wait so are you and Siobhan like friends?" Marjorie asked. "I hope she's doing okay, I'm glad she's got you in her corner"
"Yeah let's call it friends, anyway. If she thinks that this will be a way for her to get away from roger and his abuse, she will vote your way and I can promise that. She needs a way out, before the worst can happen to her. I've got a little under three weeks to get something in place for her or she'll have to go back to him. If I can't do that and if you can't help me, she will at the very least overdose again." Vivian took a deep breath in.
"I can't lose her Marjorie," Vivian said as her voice broke. She had already seen Siobhan so many times, too close to the edge for her liking. Vivian had always found a way to pull her back, whether it was through the healthcare she provided or the love she had for Siobhan. But it was only really a matter of time.
"Oh my darling you won't. Do you know, this doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Knowing his kids and what they went through, it doesn't surprise me that Rogers taken to Siobhan now" Marjorie sighed.
"You can't tell anyone where she is, she was very firm on who could know and who couldn't. She doesn't know who to trust and I get that" Vivian said.
"I won't darling I promise" Marjorie said sincerely "and you cant tell anyone but Siobhan about the takeover okay, I'm trusting you with this"
"Cross my heart, hope to die" Vivian reassured. She was going to keep this to herself, in order to help Siobhan find safety. If she failed to keep this secret, she would happily endure a great pain, and torture. She would keep her word.
The two women said their goodbyes. Vivian wouldn't be seeing Siobhan until the next day. But she had found a way to help Siobhan, and she was so grateful for that.
