Chapter 15 – coming home
Piper walked Alex back to the apartment, it was Sunday afternoon and Diane was working. Lucy was spending the afternoon at a friend's house, so the apartment was empty. Piper led Alex into the apartment and sat her on the couch. Alex was calmer, but she wasn't talking. Piper knelt in front of her, putting her hands on Alex's knees, "Al, look at me, how are you feeling?"
Alex just shook her head, "fuck, I'm just…..I'm angry Pipes. I'm angry that the fucking cops never caught that asshole, and now he's gonna fucking come back! I will fucking kill him if he does anything to Diane. We have to call the police now." Alex got up and started pacing the room, just constantly shaking her head. Piper was worried about what Alex would do, she grabbed her arm to stop her from pacing. "We will call the police right now ok, but you have to promise me you won't do anything stupid ok. Please Alex…..please calm down."
Alex sat back down on the couch and tried to slow down her mind, she needed to get back some control before they called the police. Piper took out her phone and asked Alex for the phone number of the officer they had previously dealt with, "do you want me make the call?" Alex just nodded in reply, she wanted to get it over and done with, she would tell Diane later. Alex sat in silence while Piper spoke to the police, she knelt in front of Alex again once she hung up, "they want us to meet them at the station now to give them all the information. Are you ok to do that? Or do you want to stay here?"
Alex didn't hesitate in her response, "no, I don't want to be alone, I'll come." Piper held Alex's hand as she drove them to the police station, Alex was quiet for the entire drive. Twenty minutes later they were sitting in a meeting room at the police station, waiting for an officer to speak with them. Eventually a man entered the room that neither girl recognised, "you must be Piper and Alex, I'm Detective Andrews, I've been assigned to this case. Now, I understand you have some new information you want to discuss?"
Piper, still holding Alex's hand, did all the talking, "yes, we've been told that Robbie wants to get back together with Diane Vause, Alex's mum. We're worried he might just show up at the apartment, or Diane's work."
The detective listened to Piper as he took notes, "and how did you hear this?"
Piper wasn't sure if this would get Emily or her mum into trouble, but she wasn't going to lie to the police, "Robbie's daughter told us, I think she heard it from her mum. But her mum doesn't know where he's hiding."
The detective just kept making notes, "ok, we'll need to talk to these people, I'll get their details from you before you leave. I know it's been a frustrating few months for you, but I assure you we're doing all we can. We'll contact you again once we've spoken to Mr Green's daughter."
Piper just nodded and provided Emily's contact details before leaving, still holding Alex's hand. Alex finally spoke when they were back in the car, "we were in there for 5 minutes, they hardly asked any questions, it's like they don't even fucking care!"
"They probably just want to talk to Emily to get the details, he can't hide forever Alex." Piper was trying to reassure Alex, but deep down she agreed with her. Before she could say anything more, Alex's phone rang, "Hey Luce," Piper was glad Lucy had called Alex, it would be a good distraction for her. Lucy wanted to be picked up from her friend's house, which was only 10 minutes away. As usual, Lucy was already in the front yard when Piper pulled into the driveway and wasted no time running to the car.
Piper and Alex smiled as Lucy got in the car, sometimes Lucy was the only one that could get Alex to smile, "Hi Lucy, how was your day?"
"Hi Piper, yeah it was ok I guess."
"Your mum's working late tonight, I was thinking we could pick up some pizza for dinner?"
"Yes! But only if we go to Gilbert Street." Piper just laughed, Lucy refused to get pizza from anywhere else. Alex just smiled, but still didn't say anything, which didn't go unnoticed by Lucy.
"How was your day Ally?"
"It was good kid, but I could definitely use a relaxing pizza and movie night." Alex smiled back at her sister, but she still couldn't shake the fear that Robbie would just appear at their apartment any day.
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Two hours later and all 3 girls made themselves comfortable in the lounge room as they watched TV. Piper sat in the arm chair, while Alex and Lucy took the couch. Alex sat on one end of the couch, while Lucy lay down with her head in Alex's lap. Alex kept subconsciously running her hands through Lucy's dark hair, glad to have her sister so close. Diane was working a double shift and wouldn't be home until midnight, Alex hated having to wait that long to tell her mum about what happened during the day. Then, Alex was pulled out of her thoughts by Lucy, "Ally, do you think the police will ever catch Robbie?"
Alex froze momentarily, before she answered, "Yeah, I do kid. He can't hide forever. Everything ok?"
"Yeah, I just worry sometimes that they'll never catch him. And everything's changed, mum works all the time again, I miss her."
Alex knew Lucy was missing Diane, but hearing her say it just made her heart sink, "don't think like that Luce, they'll catch him. And in the meantime, you've got me for protection, ok. I know it sucks that mum works so much right now, but I promise it won't always be like that."
Lucy just nodded in reply, "can I sleep with you tonight?"
This made Alex smile, "of course. So what type of pizza should we get for dinner? What do you feel like Pipes?"
Before Piper could answer Lucy shouted over the top of both of them, "supreme!"
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It approached 10pm and Lucy was fast asleep on the couch, Piper and Alex were in the kitchen clearing up the pizza boxes and plates, "I'll sleep at my place tonight, give you and Lucy some space."
"You don't need to do that Pipes."
"I know, but I think Lucy needs some alone time with you."
"Ok," Alex knew Piper would be more comfortable in her own bed, but she still wanted her to stay. She pulled Piper in for a long kiss before wrapping her arms around her waist and hugging her tight.
"Love you Pipes."
"I love you too. I'm gonna head to bed, call me if you guys need anything ok." With that, Piper went to her own apartment. It felt weird being there, she hardly spent any time there anymore, she spent all her time in the Vause apartment, it felt like her home now.
Meanwhile, Alex knelt next to Lucy on the couch, who was still asleep, "Lucy, time for bed." Lucy slowly opened her eyes and looked at Alex, "I don't want to sleep alone."
"You won't be alone Luce, you'll be with me." Alex picked Lucy up from the couch and walked to her room. Once they had both changed into their sleep clothes they cuddled together in bed, it was cold that night, Lucy wanted another blanket. Alex put her arms around Lucy to keep her warm, "Love you Luce." She felt the 10 year old relax in her arms as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
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It was 11pm when Alex could hear someone knocking on the front door, she just assumed Diane had forgotten her keys. Alex got out of bed slowly, careful to not wake up Lucy. She opened the door, not even paying attention to who it could be. Before she actually properly registered who was standing in front of her, she was pushed back into the apartment by strong hands, "what the FUCK are you doing here?" She couldn't believe it, standing in front of her was Robbie, acting like nothing had ever happened.
"Not that it's any of your business Alex, but I'm here to see your mum. Thought I'd have the best chance of catching her later at night, given all the extra hours she's probably working now." He stood there with a smug look on his face, standing over Alex, trying to intimidate her. Of course Robbie scared Alex, but she knew she had to hold her nerve, and she couldn't let him know Lucy was in the apartment.
"She's not here, so just turn the fuck around and get out of here." Alex spoke through her clenched jaw. Part of her wanted him to stay so she could contact the police, the other part just wanted him gone.
Robbie stepped closer to Alex, shoving her backwards, "didn't you learn your lesson last time you spoke to me like that?"
Alex just scoffed, "what? When you put me in the hospital? You're a fucking coward, I don't know where you've been hiding since that night, but you can't stay on the run forever."
"That's nice Alex, real nice. But see, I'm not here to talk to you, so you'd better just shut the fuck up. Once I've spoken to Diane, this whole mess will be resolved." Before Alex could respond, the front door opened again, except this time it was Diane who walked through it, looking surprised that the door wasn't locked. As soon as Diane looked ahead and realised who was in the apartment she froze, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her thoughts immediately went to the safety of her daughters, "Alex, are you ok?" Alex just nodded in reply. Diane knew she had to stay calm, she didn't know what Robbie was capable of. She could feel him starting at her, watching her every move.
"I haven't touched her Diane, I'm here to see you." Robbie looked like he was almost pleading with Diane, he would do anything to get time alone with her.
"Just go, get away from her and go." Diane was fighting back tears, but she would not let them fall. She had balled her hands into fists and could feel her nails digging into her palms.
"Why won't you just listen to me! I need you Diane, I don't want this to end. What happened wasn't my fault." Alex could sense Robbie was getting upset as she felt him grab a hold of her arm roughly and pull her next to him. "I don't want things to end like they did last time, you WILL talk to me Diane." Robbie knew how easy it would be to use Alex's safety to force Diane to speak with him, that's all he cared about.
"Don't you touch her, or I swear I will kill you." Diane's voice quivered slightly, she had no idea how to defuse the situation before it ended in violence. Before Diane could say anything else Robbie pulled Alex closer to him again and backhanded her across the face as hard as he could. He kept a tight grip on her arm to stop her from falling to the ground. She lost her footing but he immediately pulled her back up against him as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife. Diane felt her heart race as she looked at Alex and saw the blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. Alex tried to keep a determined look on her face, but she felt her emotions get the better of her when she saw the look on Diane's face, how distraught she looked. Alex felt Robbie press the cold blade against her cheek before he spoke again, "I don't want to be the bad guy Diane, I'm not a bad guy. But you really should talk to me, at least for Alex's sake." Once again, Robbie didn't hesitate to use the love between mother and daughter against Diane.
Diane just kept her eyes on Alex, she wasn't willing to risk her daughter's safety, "let her go, and we can talk."
"First, lock the door behind you and give me your keys and your phone." Diane quickly did what Robbie wanted, then turned back to look at him. He shoved Alex hard in the back, forcing her to stumble to her knees towards Diane. Diane quickly ran to Alex to help her stand, before pulling her into an incredibly tight hug.
Alex whispered into Diane's ear, "I'm ok mum, but we need to call the police, and Lucy is asleep in my room." Diane forced herself to pull back from the hug as she looked at her daughters face. Robbie was getting impatient as he hurried them into the lounge room, dragging a kitchen chair with him. He removed several zip ties from his pocket as he proceeded to use them to tie Alex's hands and legs to the chair. The plastic ties were tight, and Alex could already feel them cutting into her skin. Before he was done, he ordered Diane into the room he used to share with her, and Diane felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, "I'm not leaving you alone with her."
Robbie had no intention of physically hurting Diane, but she was testing his patience as he spat his next words at her, "get in that fucking room or I WILL hurt her!"
Alex wanted to keep Robbie calm, she did not want to think about her mum being locked in a room with this maniac when he was at his angriest. "It's fine mum, I'll be fine." Diane kept trying to hold back her tears as she walked into her room feeling completely helpless. Robbie had already taken her mobile phone from her, so he knew she couldn't call the police. He kept talking to Alex as he finished tightening the plastic ties around her wrists, "thanks for the help there Alex, didn't think I'd ever be saying thanks to one of your kind." Alex just kept looking him in the eye without speaking, she knew she would just make him angry if she said anything. "It didn't have to be this way Alex, all you had to do was stay out of my way, and keep your lifestyle out of this fucking apartment. But you always were selfish, no wonder your dead beat dad never stuck around." These words hurt Alex more than she cared to admit, but she still wouldn't let herself lash out, not when there was so much at stake.
"Still not talking huh? That's ok, that works well for me. But you see, I still gotta make sure you don't make any trouble for me while I'm talking with your mum." He could now see the panic in her eyes, and he loved every minute of it. He moved close to her face, so close that she could smell him and feel his breathe on her neck, "Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a second." Alex didn't have time to think before he punched her hard in the jaw, causing her head to snap to the side before she lost consciousness, her head now hanging forward. He just stood there and looked at what he had done, looking at Alex's motionless body as the blood dripped from her nose and mouth. After he was satisfied that she was out cold, he went into the bedroom to speak with Diane.
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"I love you Diane, we were good together. Why are you so determined to demonise me because of what happened with Alex, give her some of the blame!"
Diane just looked at him with pure anger, "You want me to blame my child for the fact that you abused her?"
"She's exaggerating Diane! I never abused her."
"You fucking hit her!" Diane's voice was starting to quiver. "You hit my daughter, you kicked her, you put your hands around her neck. You….touched her."
"I was just trying to set her straight Diane! You let her run around, bringing girls home, what kind of example do you think that sets for Lucy?"
"And what example does it set for Lucy that you put her sister in the hospital?"
"Don't be ridiculous Diane. Look, I came here because I want you back. Why end everything over something like this?"
"You are fucking disgusting. I don't want you back, and I don't want you anywhere near my girls."
"What do I have to do Diane, to prove to you that kid is no good?
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Lucy was sleeping soundly in Alex's bed until loud voices and banging startled her, she woke up and realised Alex wasn't next to her anymore. When the sounds didn't stop, Lucy got up and tip toed down the hallway to see what the commotion was all about. It was dark in the lounge room, but she thought she could see a figure in a chair, scaring her, "Alex, is that you?" Lucy was getting worried, and then heard voices coming from Diane's room. Lucy walked closer to the figure in the chair, turning on the lights as she went. Then she stopped, her heart pounded through her whole body, she started to shake. All she saw was her sister, slouched forward in the chair, not moving. Lucy grabbed the spare keys before she ran out the front door to Piper's apartment. "PIPER" she shouted, banging her little fists on the door. "PIPER PLEASE I NEED HELP!"
Piper slowly got up and opened her front door, she hadn't even made it to bed yet and was still sleeping on the couch. She saw Lucy standing there in her pyjamas, crying and petrified. "PIPER! Please Alex is hurt. I don't know what happened please come now!" Piper was stuck to the spot for a moment, all she heard were the words "Alex is hurt", and before she knew it, Lucy grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the Vause apartment. They burst through the front door and Piper gasped. There was Alex, tied to a chair with her head hanging down, not moving, blood on the floor. Piper ran over to Alex and gently touched her face, "Alex, baby, can you hear me?" Tears were now running down her face, "Fuck!" Piper looked more closely to see the tight plastic ties that were holding Alex to the chair. She jumped up and ran into the kitchen to grab a pair of scissors.
Lucy stayed next to Alex, gently rubbing her hand "Ally please wake up," she sobbed, before she heard a small groan come from Alex. "Ally? Are you ok?" Alex didn't respond, but tried to move her head back up. Piper rushed back to the lounge room just as Alex managed to lean her head against the back of the chair, exposing the bruise on the side of her face, "Alex please, what happened?" Piper felt the tears running down her cheeks while Lucy gripped Alex's hand as tightly as she could. Alex tried to move again and groaned in pain. "No Alex, don't move, I'll get you out of this chair first." Piper tried to speak calmly but seeing Alex like this was killing her, it just brought her back to the last time she saw Alex hurt on the kitchen floor. She noticed Alex squeeze Lucy's hand, "hey kid, it's ok. Are you ok?"
"Ally please stay awake, I need you," Piper hated the fact that Lucy was being forced to see Alex like this all over again.
Alex managed to speak again in a strained voice, "it's ok, I promise I'm ok Luce."
Piper took the scissors and carefully cut the plastic ties around Alex's wrists, which had now properly cut into her skin, "Lucy, I need you to help her sit up ok sweetie," Lucy just nodded as she walked behind the chair and placed her arms around Alex's shoulders, helping her to stay upright. Piper then cut the ties around Alex's ankles. She stood up and cradled Alex's face in her hands, "I'm gonna help you over to the couch." Piper leaned down to place her hands under Alex's arms to help lift her up. Alex spoke quietly when she felt Piper's face next to hers, "he's in the bedroom with Diane. Take Lucy back to your apartment and call the cops, we just need to keep quiet." Piper felt a wave of nausea hit her, realising that monster was still in the apartment. She gently lifted Alex and helped her limp towards the couch. Once they were both seated on the couch, Piper took Alex's face in her hands and kissed her gently, not caring about the blood. "Are you sure you're ok?"
Alex nodded, as she gently rubbed Lucy's back while she rested her head in Alex's lap, not wanting to let go. "Get her out of here Pipes."
"You're coming with us!"
"Not yet, he's in there with Diane, I'm not leaving her alone with him!"
"Are you fucking crazy, please just come with us, I can't lose you," Piper could not even fathom how she would cope if something happened to Alex.
"No, I can't do that, just trust me ok, you won't lose me. He's not gonna do anything crazy in front of Diane, but I just can't leave her alone with him." After a lot of persuading, Piper finally agreed to take Lucy to her apartment while they called the police, but Lucy was petrified of Alex not going with them.
She clung onto Alex's legs, afraid that she'd never see Alex again if they parted ways now, "Ally you have to come with us."
"Lucy, I promise you nothing bad will happen to me. You come first, it's my job to protect you remember? That's why I need you to go with Piper so I can make sure mum's ok. You have to trust me kid." Lucy responded by wrapping her arms tightly around Alex before leaving the apartment with Piper. Alex wasn't sure what her plan was from her, but she knew she had to go into that room to make sure Diane was ok.
Hey folks,
Hope you've all been well. I don't know why, but it took me ages to get this chapter down. I re-wrote it a few times before I was happy enough to post it. I'm keen to hear your thoughts – did Diane do the right thing by agreeing to talk with Robbie? Should Piper have agreed to leave Alex in the apartment?
Cheers.