//------------------------------//
// Chapter 16 (Warning: Heavy Subject) 
// Story: Tavi and Vi 
// by Master Koschei 
//------------------------------//

Vinyl busted through the front door, seeming to be in a panic.  Octavius looked up from his sheet music, accidentally playing a foul note due to the disturbance.  “Vinyl?”  He stood up quickly, setting down his cello and bow.  “Darling, what’s –“
“Turner showed up at the store where me and Flutters were shopping.  He started some trash about how she hurt him by leaving, and how he missed her so much, and how he would change, and how… And how…”  Vinyl shook her head in frustration.  “I tried to stop her, but she left with the bastard.  Octavius, I’ve been with douchebags like Turner before.  They don’t change.  They manipulate you into coming back, any way they can.”
“Where did they go?”  Octavius pulled on his jacket, slipping on a pair of shoes by the door.  “I think we both know this isn’t going to go well for her if she stays with him.”
“No it won’t.”  Vinyl opened the door, waiting on Octavius anxiously.  They both headed down the stairs, though Vinyl was considerably slower due to her rapidly expanding belly.  “Turner will be mad she left.  He’ll start in on her as soon as they’re alone.  We can’t let that happen.”  Vinyl paused for a moment.  “I won’t let that happen.”  She grimaced and placed a hand on her stomach.
Octavius turned to her in worry.  “What’s wrong?”
Vinyl forced a smile.  “Nothing.  Your daughter is just kickin’ the crap outta me is all.  Must be able to tell momma’s real worried about something.”
Octavius helped her into the passenger seat, then got into the driver’s seat himself.  “So you never told me where he took her.”
“I think he took her to their house.  Try there first.”
“Alright, hold on love,” Octavius said as he back out of the driveway, then headed down the road.
“God dammit, I’m so stupid,” Vinyl muttered under her breath, placing her head in her hands.  “I shoulda stood up to the prick, I shoulda told him to get lost, I shoulda –“
Octavius placed his hand on her thigh comfortingly.  “Love, you’re starting to sound like me.  Relax, ok?  We’ll get her out of there.  Everything will be ok.  It’s not your fault.”
“But, Tavi,” Vinyl started, turning to the cellist and brushing his hand away with her own.  “I just stood by and let it happen.  I watched as he took her away, watched as she cried quietly, trying to hide her tears.  I watched as that sweet girl was walked back into hell.”
Octavius sighed.  “Vinyl, everything will work out, ok?  Let’s just –“
“AND WHAT IF IT DOESN’T, OCTAVIUS!?!”  The woman’s screaming caught Octavius off guard.  He looked at her shocked, tears falling from behind her purple glasses.  “What if we’re too late?  What if they’re not there?  What if she’s hurt?  Octavius, I know your parents sucked, I really do know that.  But this is different.  A man like Turner will do everything he can to take away any control you have over your own life.”  She looked down at her blue jeans, tears staining the denim.  “He’ll start off sweet, acting like he only care about what’s best for you.  He’ll make himself out to be prince Charming, smiling and being polite to you and your family and making you feel like a queen.  He’ll make you happier than you ever were.
“But then, once he knows he has you… Things change…”  She lifted her shades, keeping her eyes closed tight as she wiped the tears off her face, then returned her glasses to their proper resting place.  “He starts to take away your privileges.  Starts to phase out your family and friends.  Eventually all you have left is… Him… Your ‘prince’, your ‘white knight’, your everything…”  She turned to Octavius.  “And then, once you realize you’re not where you want to be, it’s too late.  You’re trapped by the same man who said he would always love you.  The same man who called you his soul mate.  The same man…” Vinyl looked down, tears falling harder now, leaving droplets on her glasses.  “The same man you were gonna marry.”
Octavius stared at her in stunned silence.  “What…?”
Vinyl looked at Octavius sadly.  “Seven years ago, I was with this guy.  His stage name was ‘Neon Lights’.  He was the best thing ever.  Or so I thought.  Everyone around me thought he was a jerk, but not me.  I thought he was the greatest guy in the world.  We dated for about a year before he proposed, saying he didn’t want to go a day without his soul mate.  I believed him.”  She dropped her voice even quieter.  “Turns out all he wanted was a punching bag and a fuck toy.  I’m surprised he didn’t knock me up with how much he used me.
“Eventually, though, I met Dash.  She saw what was going on and did what I never thought anyone would do.  She offered me a way out.  So one night I packed all my things, and I left.  Neon saw the headlights leaving, and watched on the front porch as I ran from him.  I thought it was over, until two months later, when I saw him again.  He said he missed me so much, and that he’d done some self searching and found I truly was all he wanted.  I didn’t have Dash with me at the time, so I bought into it.  And when I got back to his house, the beatings I suffered were twenty times worse than before.  I had to go to the hospital.  I lied and said I had had a bad fall.  They knew I was lying, but they couldn’t do anything about it.  Neon left the room one day, but didn’t come back.
“Instead, Dash came in.  She was escorted by a couple of cops.  They said Dash had reported the abuse, and that Neon already had a history of assault.  They had taken him in, and Dash was going to help me get on my feet.  It was her who got me my first DJ gig, setting me up with the owner of a local club.  Word got out that I was good at what I did, I built a name for myself, and then I met you.”
She looked at Octavius.  She wasn’t crying anymore.  “So I want to save Flutters.  I never want her to have to go back to Turner.  I never want her to be in that situation.  She’s so sweet and kind.  She doesn’t deserve it.  So please, Tavi,” she placed a hand on his arm gently as he continued to drive.  “Help me save her.”