Roughly, he gripped her arm the moment she walks over to him. She could feel his fingers digging into her skin, preparing for the bruise that would form later that day. He pulled her closer, his grip still firm on her arm. She could feel his breath on her face.
"Who do you think you are? Ignoring my calls. Get in the car now." his voice was threatening but unusually quiet, this petrified her even more. She knew that he would not want to make a scene, especially outside of one of his beloved businesses. There was something in her that wanted to scream, to shout for help and to finally get away from him but she knew her cries would inevitably fall on deaf ears. Roger was a resourceful man. She would never be able to escape and she knew that.
Little did the pair know there were concerned eyes watching them through the window of the office. Marjorie had heard the sobs coming from the meeting room but understood that it wasn't her place to intervene. She had never seen or heard the blonde express any form of emotion before, so this was unusual. The past few weeks she had really noticed a change in her, ever since her meetings with Vivian began. It was as if her spark disappeared recently, her snarky remarks and the smirk that constantly adorned her face had vanished almost in an instant. It was like watching the life drain from her in real time. That was until Vivian arrived. She had brought her smile back, albeit not completely. Her face still looked drained but the joy that was plastered over her face when she saw Viv was undeniable.
Marjorie had never been friendly with Siobhan, in fact they had both despised each other the entire time in which they had worked at the knight nursery. That didn't change the way her heart ached every time she saw her enter the office.
Watching as Roger pulled her closer, anger prominent in her eyes she saw red and flew out of the office. As she did so she felt somebody grab her from the side, softly but enough to stop her. A confused look grew on her face as she looked up to see Vivian.
"I'm sorry Vivian i just need to do something and i'll be right back" as she went to move away she felt the other woman's grip tighten.
"Marjorie. Listen to me. It will only make things worse you have to trust me on this" her voice was soft but it was firm enough that she got her point across. She didn't want to scare or upset Marjorie but she knew for a fact that if Roger knew that Siobhan was slowly building a village for herself he would go nuts. If he knew she had made a friend, or even just if somebody noticed her situation, things would get dramatically worse for the blonde.
"We can't just stand here and let him do that to her that's not fair. Why should he get away with this?" her voice grew louder as the panic rose in her chest.
"Okay Marjorie I appreciate that you care for her. I really do but you need to be quiet. Let's go to the office and talk okay? For her safety" nodding in the other woman's direction they both made their way to Marjorie's office.
Vivian remained standing whilst Marjorie sat on her chair, slumping down into it. The tension in the air was thick. Neither woman wanted to speak first, Marjorie unsure what to ask, Vivian not wanting to reveal anything Siobhan had told her in confidence.
"Is she okay...?" those were the first words to escape the brunettes mouth.
"In all honesty. No she's not. But she's coping, she's Siobhan. She's a stupidly strong and stubborn woman but that's good in this case." she felt her heart clench as the sight of her crying into her arms flashed through her mind.
"What do we do? I don't know the full extent of what she's going through but from what i've... heard and seen... She needs help." she tried to tread ever so lightly with what she said.
"I'm not going to reveal what she has said to me in our meetings as she told me that in confidence but you are right. We can't do anything just yet, all we can do is give her a listening ear and watch out for her. She won't leave until she feels safe enough to, we can't force her into that." she felt as if she was breaking the blondes trust by speaking to Marjorie about this but it had to be done. Roger was getting out of control and he needed to be stopped.
"Okay... Thank you Vivian for helping her. Me and her have never been close at all but I'm glad she has a friend. She hasn't got many of those" it still felt odd speaking about Siobhan this way after the years of hatred between the two.
"Maybe she could use a few more. I've got to go work awaits, call me if you need anything" the pair exchanged a look of agreement before she left.
______
The drive back to the mansion was painfully long, Roger's silence making her heart pound aggressively against her chest. She was used to yelling, screaming, insults, everything. But the silence was new and it terrified her.
As they pulled into the drive she felt Roger slam on the brakes as he shot out of the car, slamming the car door shut behind him. He trudged over to her door flinging it open.
"Out." one simple word invoked so much fear in the blonde but she obeyed, getting out of the car and walking inside the house. Once this house felt like a home to her, now it was her prison.
Roger walked in behind her, slowly locking the door. As she heard the lock click shot she jumped, letting out a small whimper.
"So. Who is she? And don't you dare lie to me Siobhan." his voice was laced with spite. Her eyes shot open. How did he know about Vivian? Had Marjorie snitched on her? She hadn't told anybody. She was so careful. How could he have known?
"I- I don't know who you're talking about Roger" maybe is she played the sweet, innocent little girl card then he would should some remorse.
"I said. Don't lie to me. You have one last chance to tell me the truth." he walked closer to her as she backed away from him, eventually smacking her back against the bannister. She had nowhere to go.
Even though she knew that lying wouldn't work in her favour she had to protect Vivian. She couldn't do that to her after everything she had done to help her these past weeks.
"I'm sorry. Im not lying I don't know what you're talking about" her voice came out as barely a whisper. For a moment he did nothing, he just stood staring at her and for a second she thought she was safe. What a stupid thought that was.
In one swift movement he grabbed the back of her head, throwing her to the floor. Her face crashed against the cold hard tiles as she felt her nose crunch from the impact. She let out a small scream as her nose throbbed violently from pain.
Her blood dripped down onto the perfect white tiles, staining them a deep red.
"Clean that up" was all he said as he stepped over her trembling body towards the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of whiskey as he usually did, watching her struggle on the floor.
She pulled her sleeve down all the way past her hand as she wiped away the blood that had splattered against the floor. After she had finished she slowly stood up holding her nose to prevent any further blood from trickling down.
"Come here let's get you cleaned up baby" his voice was soft and gentle as if he would never lay a hand on her. Except he had. It scared her how quickly he switched after his fits of rage.
She obeyed, walking over to him.
He held a tea towel in his hand and pressed it gently against her face.
"Silly you. How many times have I told you to be careful walking down the stairs, they are very narrow Siobhan. Let's get you to the hospital to check on that pretty nose of yours" the blondes eyebrows furrowed as she heard the lies spill from his mouth. So this was the story that she would tell the doctors. Now she understood.
"Yes please." she watched as he downed the glass of whiskey, gesturing her back towards the car win which they had just exited only moments before.
The entire drive he held his hand on her thigh, slowly inching further and further up to let her know that he was still in control.
They pulled up to the hospital as he went over what she was to tell them again. She had believed that he would let her go in alone but that was not the case. As she exited the car he followed closely behind her towards the entrance.
That was when she saw Vivian.
