Lindsey stepped into the flat, letting out a sigh of relief. She'd got the visit to Joe out of the way and now she could get on, live her life without him getting the way of anything. She hung up her coat and bag and chucked her shoes by the door. Walking into the living room, she tried not laugh as she saw Freddie sat on the floor, Daisy lying on the changing mat infront of him whilst he changed her and JJ sat beside them pulling literally every single toy out of his toybox.
"Looks like you're having a…fun time." Lindsey said, leaning against the wall as she looked at them all.
"Hey, look, you're back!" Freddie exclaimed, glancing up at Lindsey before back down at Daisy. "I've had a wonderful afternoon. Dais hasn't stopped crying, JJ's not happy unless he's being carried or he's got food to chuck around the place."
"Calm down, I'm here now!" She replied, chuckling as she walked over to them and sat on the floor beside Freddie.
"Where did you go anyway? You left…suddenly." He asked, doing up the buttons on Daisy's babygrow.
"Oh, um. Yeah, I need to speak to you about where I went and I don't want you to get angry." She spoke softly, picking up Daisy into her arms.
"What have you done? Is everything okay?" He asked again, turning to look at her.
"I uh, I went to see Joe." She said quietly, looking up from where she was gazing down at Daisy.
"What? And you didn't think of telling me?"
"I didn't want to put more stress on you and we've got the kids! Nothing happened, I was fine!"
"But I've said before, I wanted to be there with you if you went to see him, protect you because we both know what he is like!" He snapped.
"I don't need protecting, I can protect myself!"
"I'm not letting this happen, I'm going to see him." He stood up, grabbing his coat and shoving on his shoes.
"Fred, please."
"No, Lindsey. I need to speak to him."
Freddie walked into the same room that Lindsey had been just a day before, spotting Joe in the back row of seats. He took a deep breath, making his way over to where Joe was and taking a seat in the seat opposite him and crossing his arms.
"What are you doing here?" Joe asked, looking at his brother angrily.
"Why did you ask Lindsey to come and see you?" Freddie looked at Joe sternly.
"I had to tell her why I took my son away from the likes of you. Tried to warn her about the monster she is forcing JJ to live with."
"Would you stop using your son as an excuse for atleast a minute? I'm not letting you get back inside Lindsey's head. You need to deal with what you did and you deserve everything that's coming to you."
"I'm stuck in here for trying to keep him safe and you're still roaming free in the village. You're the one that should be sat here."
"Shut up, Joe. Your 'dark past' caught up with you didn't it?" He sighed and moved so he was leaning his arms against the table. "Now, I've got a girlfriend and two wonderful children to go home to. Enjoy the company in your cell." He smiled sarcastically at him, Joe lunging over at him but Freddie jumping out of the way and the prison guard grabbing Joe's arm.
"He's not yours and he never will be!" Joe yelled, being yelled back by the prison guards.
"Whatever you say, Joseph." He shouted back, shoving his hands into his pocket and leaving the prison.
Lindsey placed a blanket over JJ as she finished settling him to sleep. She then went into the bedroom and checked on Daisy who was fast asleep before hearing the door go, raising an eyebrow and walking out, opening to see Mercedes stood with a grin holding a bottle of wine.
"Surprise!" Mercedes beamed, looking at Lindsey. "Well, thanks for the warm welcome home." She scoffed, strutting into the flat.
"Sorry, it's lovely to see you I just wasn't expecting you at this time of night or back so soon!" She replied, closing the door and slumping onto the sofa.
"Nevermind me, I'm here to cheer you up." She exclaimed, heading to the kitchen and grabbing two wine glasses and taking them into the front room. "Where's that other half of yours I never see you without?" She asked, perching herself beside Lindsey and chucking off her stilettos, putting her legs up on the footstall
"Gone to visit his brother in prison."
"Linds, I'm so sorry to hear about Joe. The news came on in the villa and I just wanted to give you a massive hug." She poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Lindsey.
"Don't be sorry, I'm glad he's out of our lives, gave us nothing but hassle. The main thing is that I've got JJ back where he belongs and he's safe and that….cretin is locked away." She took a massive sip of her wine, sighing deeply.
"Why don't I believe you, Lindsey?"
"Believe what?"
"That you're so happy he's gone out of your life. Just admit it, you're not all that happy for him to be locked away. You're happy that he can't get your son but you never stopped loving him and it hurts you to see him prison."
"It's just bringing back some old memories, that's all."
"What do you mean bad memories?" Just as Mercedes spoke, Daisy began to cry. Freddie luckily walked in the front door at that exact same time.
"I'll get her, don't worry." He said, chucking his coat on the seat and placing his keys on the side. "Oh, hey Mercedes. Back from Spain already? Shame." He joked, walking past the girls and into the bedroom to see to Daisy.
"Lovely to see ya' too." She shouted, Lindsey telling her to shush because of JJ, Mercedes pulling a disgusted face in response. "Anyway, this thing about Joe?"
*TRIGGER WARNING*
"Me and Joe had been together for just over a year. One night we had a falling out because I found out I was pregnant, one night of no protection and that was it, he told me he wasn't ready to be a father and freaked out." She breathed heavily, trying to stop her voice from shaking. "He'd had a lot to drink and wasn't stable at this time, he lost his temper and um, he lunged. The next thing I know, he's dragging me down the stairs. Being my clumsy self, I lost my balance and fell down half of the stairs. He ran off, left me there and didn't bother getting help. I lost consciousness and when I woke up, I was rigged up to hospital monitors a midwife came in to tell me I'd lost my baby. Joe showed no remorse for what he'd done, no pain for losing our baby and all he wanted was for me to cover up for him. I didn't, I spoke and told the police that it was him and he got arrested for ABH. He was put inside for two years. Almost every day I'd go and visit him, tell him it was okay and that he'd be out soon. I never stopped loving him Mercedes, yes I never forgave him for what he did but I was too young and in love to realise what the relationship was. He was abusive and I only let him do two years because I loved him too much and all of this, it's bringing back so much. After he found out about my affair with Freddie, he started grabbing my wrists, my shoulders and pushing me over because he knew I was a soft touch. I didn't tell the police about that and only Freddie knew about my wrists. Merc." She said sadly, wiping her eyes gently to get away any tears. "I want him to be away for life and I know that he's only going to get about 6 months and I can't risk it. I can't trust him with JJ, Daisy or anyone."
Mercedes stared at Lindsey in shock, trying to take everything in. She took Lindsey's wine glass and placed them both on the side before pulling her friend into a tight hug.
"Ssh, Linds. It's okay, Joe can't hurt you." Mercedes soothed, sighing deeply.
"Linds. Why didn't you tell me?" Freddie asked, stepping out from the bedroom in shock by what he'd just heard.
A/N: So, I've added in alot about Joe's dark past in my own style. Sorry to anyone who may be touchy around this subject. I've been thinking about doing an earlier fanfiction on this subject, around the early times of their relationship and how it became abusive, of course still having Frindsey when Freddie steps in to protect Lindsey. I've been reading as much as I can to approach this subject carefully and there will be trigger warnings incase it is touchy for some people. I just wanted your opinions on whether you'd read something like that or not?