The Painted Door

Chapter 4

"No, you ain't listenin GiGi, Nikki needs a good home!" Ronnie shouted

"I understand fine what Nicola needs, and you? A good home? HA!" Ginny laughs, "Ronnie, you ain't nothing but a crook, a drug-dealing deadbeat. Nikki needs to grow up surrounded by love, yes. But you are not the solution!" Ginny continues

Ronnie scrunched his face up, and took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down, and then lit up a cigarette, started puffing smoke into Ginny's face. She gagged on the smoke and shouted at him to move away from her if he was 'going to smoke those fucking death sticks'

"Nikki ain't gonna have a lovin' home 'ere neither GiGi" Ronnie growls

"Oh-ho-ho" Nikki chuckles, "Ronnie D'Amelio, don't you dare even try and tell me that I ain't good enough for our daughter!" she shrieked

"Mummy?" Nicola appeared in the door, rubbing a nap from her eyes. Nicola looked much like she did as an adult, brown hair, freckles on her round face, "Why are you screaming at Daddy?" she asks, her innocent 4 year old voice fell like daggers on the ears of these awful adults who were twisted and warped, corrupted and noxious in personality.

"Mummy and Daddy are just talking sweetheart" Ronnie scoffs, ashing his cigarette.

"Daddy, what is 'deadbeat'?" Nicola asks, pulling at his heart-strings

"Nikki, sweetie, a deadbeat is a low-life who don't care 'bout nothin'" Ronnie says, picking his daughter up into his arms and looking into her green eyes with his own.

"Mummy said to you" Nicola says, pointing at Ginny

"Yeah, I know, but how can I be that, my gorgeous little honeysuckle?" Ronnie smiled, "I care about you, are you nothin'?" he asks, twisting the dagger in Ginny's chest

Nicola shakes her head 'no', Ronnie laughs and asks her if she wants to stay at his house for a couple days, and this is why Nicola remembers the event as Ronnie stealing her from her mother. Ginny flew into a fit of rage, throwing things at Ronnie, he had to shield his daughter from harm and started running from the house, Ginny shrieking 'give her back!' loudly as he stumbled on the stairs, Nicola covered her eyes against Ronnie's shoulder as they went.

"GIVE HER BACK!" echoed through the house and through Nicola's sponge-like mind.

"She's mine, as well as yours!" Ronnie retorted, "She's comin with me whether you like it or not!" he growled

Ronnie strapped his daughter into a car seat, and she watched as Ronnie and Ginny brawled on the precipice of the house, the blows were loud, the screams were louder. Nicola's screams. Screaming at her parents. Sceaming for them to stop. Screaming unto deaf ears. Screaming into the void. Ronnie eventually wrestled himself free form Ginny's grip, one last strike to her head and Ginny fell to the ground with a thud, Nicola's eyes filled with tears as Ronnie ripped open his car door and sped towards his house. Nicola curled into a ball, she had never felt frightened of her father before. But seeing him, red-faced, veins pulsing in his temple, breathing like a bull in heat. She was terrified.

Ronnie led his daughter into his house, and collapsed on his own sofa, lit up a fag and Nicola found her toy and started playing at his feet, she had two action figures a GI Joe and a Barbie; Nicola was using the man to beat the woman, Ronnie noticed.

"Stop that Nikki" he said, looking at his 4 year old daugther forcing her figures to fight

"It's you and Mummy" Nicola cried

"No, Nikki." Ronnie groaned, he knew she had seen him knock Ginny out cold. How could he lie his way out of this one?

Nicola threw the Barbie to the ground and stood the GI Joe over it and said

"That's what you get for keeping my daughter from me, you skank!"

Ronnie lost his cool, and grabbed Nikki's t-shirt at the front and dragged her to the toy cupboard, he didn't even notice that the door was a red painted door with a rusting handle, and threw his daughter into the toy cupboard before it slammed itself shut, suddenly Ronnie realised that the door was painted red and began babbling in bewilderment. There was a sudden rumbling noise; then a whooshing, then suddenly the door vanished with Nicola inside. Ronnie ripped the door off it's hinges after realising his mistake, he opened the toy cupboard, but Nicola was gone.

"Nikki?" he called, with trepidation in his voice, "NIKKI!" He screamed, frantically throwing toys and all sorts around the cupboard, crying and cursing, calling out for Nicola, foolishly clinging to the hope that she would be in there. She was gone. Ronnie heard the sirens outside, the wails attacked his ears like needles, the door came down with a crash and boots stampeded inside. The young officer who went missing earlier appeared in the doorway to the toy closet, and his judgement was made.

"Mr Ronnie D'Amelio, you are under arrest for the endangerment of a child, battery and assault." he shouted, "Step out the cupboard, sir. NOW!" Ronnie obliged, and was pushed against the wall as the cuffs clicked round his wrists, he was taken outside where the bloodied face of Ginny was staring at him, he smirked and blew her a kiss, causing her to rampage and try and attack him, she was subdued by Officer McIntyre and a young female officer, who we know to be Nicola. She whispered something to Ginny, and she was suddenly calm.

"Eh, what you say to her?" Ronnie shouted at Nicola, "Oi! you inbred trash, the fuck you say to my wife!" he screamed as he was forced into the back of a squad car, Ginny was seen talking to Nicola, and Ronnie saw the two embrace in tears; mother and daughter reunited whilst he was sped away to the holding cells where we would meet Harry Davidson very soon.