The Hanging Noose

Twenty-Nine

Polly had stayed with Dottie until Dottie was snoring. She had wrapped her up in her duvet, stroking her hair and running her fingers across her scalp to set the disturbed girl to sleep. Once she was asleep, she kissed her forehead and slipped out from beneath her, changing in to a pair of warm pyjamas and gathering up the blood stained clothes from the bathroom. She had taken the pins out from her hair before removing her makeup in the bathroom mirror.

When all was clean, she crawled back in to the bed, gently pulling Dottie close to her. She rests her chin against Dottie's head, sighing and keeping her close. She had no idea what time it was when her eyes fell shut.

—

The family stare at each other. There's three people missing; Micheal, Polly and Dottie. The three Grays. Micheal went off when he heard the gunshots, Arthur found him further in the house and had explained what happened. Micheal had them tried to barge in to Dottie's room, trying to console her, however Arthur and John stopped him, explaining that Dottie wasn't there, she was with Polly, and when Dottie wants to see Micheal, she'll come to him.

Micheal didn't react well, going off somewhere else in the house, leaving the rest of the family to stare at each other.

"No one says a word to anyone," Tommy starts, staring at each family member, "even to Dottie."

The family nod in unison. An agreement. A silent agreement.

Ada is the first to talk, her voice is small and quiet. "I can't believe I didn't realise what was happening..."

"We warned her."

"That doesn't excuse us ignoring her cries out for help," Ada argues back. "She went insane, didn't she? Probably because of him! She was probably so scared of him that she didn't feel safe enough around him... oh god. How did we not realise? All the times he said she didn't want to see us... it was all him."
Ada shakes her head, she then stands up, walking over to the door.

"Oi, Ada," calls John, his voice slurring. He places his glass down on to the table and leans against the wall, watching as Ada looks unimpressed at him.
"Where you off to?"

"I'm going to find Polly. And Dottie. I want to help her." Ada retorts.

"Ada—"

"Don't try to stop me, it won't work," Ada argues back, interrupting her brother's protest. Before anyone can say anything else, she struts out of the dining room, leaving the Shelby brothers staring at each other.

She walks quickly out of the large dining room and towards the spare bedrooms. She finds Dottie's bedroom door open, and no one occupying indoors. She frowns, and stops in her tracks, trying to listen to find out where the two women have gone.

The loud bustling conversations from the dining room distracts her. She's closes the doors, trying to block out the voices of her family, as well as the children running around Arrow House. She frowns as she hears Polly's soft murmurs.

She follows the sound of Polly's voice. Polly's bedroom. The door seems to be closed apart from a slight creak in it. She kneels down to see Polly sitting on the bed, and Dottie curled up. Her eyes shut. Polly sings softly, a lullaby she once sung to all of her nephews and her niece. She had taught it to John and Ada when they both became parents.

Ada watches as Polly's hand gently strokes Dottie, her fingertips playing with Dottie's dark hair. She watches as Dottie's chest rises up and down repeatedly.

"I've longed for years to see you again," Polly mumbles quietly, "when you were taken away it felt like my heart had been ripped out. Oh how I cried..."