Time skip: it had been around a month and Siobhan and Vivian hadn't met up again since, however they would talk in the hallways most days and exchange a phone calls occasionally. They were definitely getting closer...
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A few weeks had passed and Roger was getting worse. The stress of planning the nursery merger was eating away at him and he took it out on Siobhan. She felt so weak and exhausted constantly. All she could think about was Vivian. Vivian was the opposite of Roger; kind, caring, funny and sweet. She saw Siobhan for who she really was. They had become really close friends over these past couple weeks. Siobhan looked forward to seeing her every week. She made sure to update the system at exactly 7:30 AM every Monday just to catch a glimpse of Vivian. Siobhan had never had a friend like this before. Was it normal to like her so much?
Every morning was a struggle. Her alarm blared at 6:00 AM startling her awake from a restless sleep filled with horrors of Roger's violence. She glanced over to the empty space next to her. She had to get ready and sneak down the stairs for her meeting with Vivian. She hadn't slept well, tormented by memories and Roger's wrath. Her screams of terror echoed in her mind, tortured by them. She was tired and weak but seeing Vivian was the one thing that kept her going. As she shoved on her heel she noticed Roger passed out on the sofa, clearly hungover. She felt a wave of dread wash over her as she stepped out the door fretted by the cool morning breeze.
She arrived at the nursery and was greeted by winter, a man she admired. A kind man, a wonderful husband. Perfect for autumn, she deserved him, especially after growing up with Roger as a father. She was glad she found someone to heal her. She wished she could find someone like that...
"good morning Shibby!" He cheerfully called out.
"don't call me that." She mumbled. She looked drained, sick almost.
"are you okay? You don't look well." Siobhan began to feel emotion brew, tears almost spilling as she ran off.
She ran into the family room, since she was early no one should have been in there. She broke, falling into the door in floods of tears. Usually she could control her emotions well but she was exhausted, too tired and lost control of herself. Her stern facade shattered and she held her face in her palms. Her body shaking with sobs as a voice came from the corner of the room. "Siobhan?" She looked up and met Vivian's caring, concerned gaze. "Siobhan what's wrong?"
Vivian urged, steeping towards her softly. All Siobhan could do was drop to the floor and sob.
Vivian's heart shattered at the sight of this, the woman she was falling for was at breaking point. A strong, stern, emotionless woman overwhelmed by emotions buried deep inside her, finally bubbling to the surface and spilling over. She wrapped her arms around the blonde who continued to cry. Siobhan despised physical touch but she was reassured by Vivian. "You're safe."
Vivian soothed her. She heard these words and immediately wept more. Vivian was more than a friend. This was the moment Siobhan realised, she was falling for viv...
All she could do was breakdown as thoughts rushed past her 'She was trapped with Roger'
'She couldn't be gay, it goes against everything she grew up with' 'stop crying, please stop'
'Weak, you're pathetic.'
All she could utter was a simple 'thank you' as she looked up at Vivian who cradled her arms, rubbing it gently to comfort her. She hoped Vivian understood what she meant. She did.
