"Luce! Roger!" Our names echoed through the house. I was the first to wake up, confused.
"Lucy!" At the sound of my voice again, I jolted out of bed and sprinted to the front door. I didn't care that I was only in a shirt and underwear. As I flung open the door, my heart stopped beating. My body froze and my internal organs contorted.
"Lulu, who is it?" Roger yawned from the doorway to our bedroom.
"Go and get my first aid kit." I demanded.
I couldn't take my eyes off the woman in front of me. Her blazing green eyes were bright in the night, but maybe that was the bruising around them. Her trademark red lipstick was smudged, blackened tearstains from her eyes dripping down to meet the red.
"Luce." Vivienne cried as I pulled her into myself and hugged her. I held her against me, her hair in my hand, as she sobbed into my shoulder. I let myself cry a little, kissing the top of her head.
"It's okay now. Roger and I have you." I reassured and Roger ran back in. In the darkness, I took the bag from his arms, keeping one arm around Vivienne.
"Go to bed, blue eyes. It isn't pretty." I whispered. Roger looked at me with a worried frown and nodded, slowly walking back to our bedroom, turning every few steps to look at me. Vivienne cried harder and I returned my attention to her, closing the door behind us. I guided her up the staircase and into the kitchen, turning the light above the sink on to illuminate the room gently. Vivienne sat down at the wooden dining table and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, calming herself down. Cries lulled to hiccups as I sat down in front of her, dragging a chair to nearly meet hers.
"Chin up." I whispered, wiping a cold face-washer under her jaw and onto her chin. I cleaned the red off her lips and followed the black streaks up to the bruising. I gently dabbed under her eyes, causing Vivienne to grab onto my bare leg and claw into it in pain. A whisper of agony left her mouth.
"It's almost over. I'm sorry it hurts." I replied as she closed her eyes. I wiped her eyelids clean of makeup.
"How come you are so much better than me at handling these kinds of emergencies?" Vivienne asked, letting go of my leg. Nail marks of red were glowing in the soft light against my skin.
"I was assigned to all the violence cases in the maternity and children's wards. There's nothing much I haven't seen." I replied, taking the cloth back to the sink and washing it. I sat down again and cleaned the small cuts on her arms, Vivienne clenching her jaw and letting occasional whisper screams of pain escape. I was being as gentle as possible when filled with heartache and rage, but the antiseptic liquid was brutal.
"It's okay now. It's over." I wiped the last drop of blood off her upper arm and sat the dirty cotton balls in the bin next to me.
"We can talk about it later, or never if you prefer. I'll grab you some pyjamas and you can have the guest room next to me and Rog." I offered, taking her hand in mine. Vivienne nodded silently, letting me lift her up and lead her back down the staircase. She stood outside my bedroom as I went in. Roger sat up in bed as I opened the door.
"Luce, what's happening?"
I sighed and walked over to him, sitting on the bed next to him.
"Vivienne. I'm not sure what happened yet but I'm not going to push her to tell me. I'll give her some clothes and set her up in the next room." He kissed me heavily, one hand in my hair and the other on my waist.
"You're so hot when you work." He joked as I play punched him.
As Vivienne restlessly tossed and turned under the blankets, quietly sobbing, I laid in my own bed, Roger's head on my chest. I stroked his blond hair, listening to him breathing. Henry was blissfully unaware, sleeping beside us. As Roger fell deeper into his sleep, he snuggled deeply into me, hugging as tight as usual. There was another tightness around me, constricting my reasoning. The green alarm clock on Roger's bedside table ticked over 3AM, the light glowing against his glasses neatly folded next to it. Sleep felt impossible, even though my eyes were heavy. How could I sleep when I knew someone had done that to my best friend?
At 6AM, after a scheduled breastfeed, I walked into the kitchen and made Roger a coffee, popping bread into the toaster. I returned to our bedroom, hot drink warming me up. I sat it down on the bedside table as Roger slowly woke up.
"Good morning." I whispered, picking up his glasses and sliding them onto his face. Roger looked at me through thick glass, half-smiling.
"Did you get any sleep?"
I shook my head in reply, kissing him lightly. In the doorway of our bedroom, Vivienne appeared. Her bruising was darker in the morning light and my Star Wars pyjamas floated on her body.
"I'm ready to talk."