The Bars Between Us

31. 'Roman-Free Zone'

           

Hi! I am so sorry for the long wait, I have been trying to get back into a sort of schedule for a while, but things seem to just creep up (like the festive period. I hope you had a great Christmas and have a great 2018!). It will probably mean that there will be another break between parts, however hopefully it will only be a month as I will try and get parts up ASAP! Thanks for sticking with the book, and I'm sorry for the weird update schedule. I prefer to delay a part going up, rather than giving you something that I am not 100% happy with/rushed.

When Piper opens the door to her moderately sized apartment, all the tears that had stopped on the drive over, appear again. I fall into her awaiting open arms, clutching onto her to make sure that she was real and I haven't been dreaming my whole escape. She doesn't say anything, just letting me have my moment, knowing I will speak only when I'm ready. We stand in her open door for I don't know how long, but eventually the tears wane and I move back from her.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?" she asks as she closes the door.

"For Imposing on you, bursting into tears on you without any explanation, tonight. Everything."

"It's OK, that's what I'm here for. Now, go and sit down in the living room, and I will go and get us some ice-cream." I smile at her, before making my way into the apartment. I enter the living room to find the couch covered in papers, candles alight around the room, and Piper's Australian Shepherd, Mindy, lying on a rug. I feel guilty about interrupting her work, but that is all forgotten when Mindy jumps up and runs toward me, wagging her tail. I reach down and stroke her head, and feel a lick across my palm. I stand by the couch, Mindy pressed against my leg, not wanting to move any of the papers just in case I destroy her order or system. Piper walks into the room, a tub and two spoons in her hand, before walking to the couch and shuffling all the papers into a pile. It looks like there was no order after all, just a mess.

"Sorry about that, work never stops with Mr. Woodley," she says with a fake smile. I giggle slightly, sitting down on one of the newly cleared cushions, Mindy sitting on my feet. She sticks a spoon out in my direction for me to take, before sitting down next to me. She offers the tub to me silently, allowing me to take a chunk of the ice-cream. I let the ice-cream melt in my mouth as I try and figure out how to go about telling her. How do you tell your best friend that you have been abused for the last two years? I swallow, and everything comes tumbling out.

Over the next half an hour, I tell her all about Roman's abuse. I have to stop a couple of times as the tears don't allow me to say anything, but once I have gathered myself I continue. Eventually I get to what happened tonight, and how the cop acted. I don't look at her throughout the whole time I was talking, afraid of what I could see.

"...I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to get out for a couple of days." I find the courage to look up and when I do, I see tears in her eyes. She pulls me into a strong hug, and I feel her tears drip onto my clothing.

"Fuck a couple of days, you need to get out of there for good," she says. I jump at hearing her swear. She hardly ever does.

"No, I can't. You heard what the cop said."

"So? We go to another cop, until they do something."

"I can't Piper. Please, he'll..." I trail off, not wanting to think what could happen. She stares at me with a level look.

"OK... but if things get worse I will be the one to go to the police, and I will sit there until they listen. Understand?" I nod, thanking her.

"Thank you for telling me. I always knew something was wrong, but never wanted to think that it was that bad. You know my door is always open for you, you can stay here however long you want to." I smile, looking down at the carton of ice-cream which is now more like soup. We had both forgotten about it.

"Did you tell him you're here?" she asks. I nod.

"It would only be worse when I got home if I didn't." With her reminder, I pick up my bag and fish out my phone, checking if I got a response. I hadn't.

"Nope. You are not to pine after a response from him. He doesn't deserve it," she says plucking the phone out of my hands.

"I was-"

"This is going to be a Roman-free zone." Piper places the phone of the table in front of us, out of my reach. I let out a small huff, but don't disagree. She's right; I can't let him control my every thought any more.

I go to place my bag back down on the floor, but stop when I see the file poking out. Piper works in law, and we used to sleuth together in high-school, maybe she'll be able to help me.

"I've been working on something, and was wondering if you could have a look at it for me?" I ask her.

"Of course, what is it?"

What did you think?

What will happen next?

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CC ;)