The Hanging Noose

Sixty-Nine

Dottie crawls in to the large bed beside Isiah. Her hair is damp, and her clothes are falling off her body. Her face is free of any makeup.

"Mum shot Linda," Dottie says quietly, knowing the walls aren't soundproof.

Isiah himself, sitting against the mountain of pillows.

"They used Tommy's knife to get the bullet out," Dottie adds, curling up on her side to face Isiah. She looks up at him.

"And it brought back memories?" Isiah asks, slumping down further in to mattress. "Want to talk about it, Dots?"

"Tommy poured opium in Linda's drink. Made her drink it, well more than half... just made me think of Reggie. He would force me—" she bites her lips, her eyes closing.

Isiah leans down, draping his arm over Dottie.

"I thought I was over it all." Dottie reveals, her voice wavering as her chest heaves up and down.

Isiah sighs, pulling her towards his body so her head lays against his beating chest.
"Can you hear that, Dots?"

"Your heart?"

"My heart," Isiah confirms. "As long as I've got one, I'll still think of memories. Whether they're good or bad. I always will, whether I've gotten over it or not."

Dottie listens carefully.

"My mum use to say to me when I was younger that you're never truly over something. You can be healed, and moved on, but every now and then your mind will go back to it."

Dottie doesn't respond.

"She use to the memories we have, they live with us. They pop up every now and then to remind us how far we've come. They come to mind every so often to tell us to keep going."

Dottie nods, lifting her head up, "do you miss her? Your mum? You never talk about her."

Isiah now nods, "every day I miss her. Dad misses her too. They were childhood sweethearts, you know? When he first came over from Jamaica, everyone made fun of his accent, apart from my mum... they were together from fourteen, up until my mum died."

Dottie nods, cuddling in to Isiah's side.

"Florence looks like my mum an awful lot," Isiah reveals, "she's got the same smile and the same eyes."

Dottie hums, "yeah?"

"Yeah. You know that's why I wanted her name to be Florence. My mums name deserves to be lived on."

Dottie leans on her elbows, pushing her head up, "it's a good thing I liked the name," she says with a small smile on her face.

Isiah grins, pushing his face towards her. He takes hold of her lips, kissing her softly. However, when the door bashes open, he jumps, pulling away like a naughty teenager.

"I'm so sorry, Dottie!" Tommy's maid Mary cries as Eliza and Florence bounce in to the room.

Both girls jump on the bed, with Florence needing a little help from Isiah. They crawl in between Dottie and Isiah, cuddling in to their parents.

"It's fine, Mary," Dottie says, dismissing the woman. "Thank you for tonight."

"Of course," Mary responds, nodding her head slightly before closing the door.

Dottie falls against the pillow, pulling Eliza in to her chest as Isiah wraps his arm around Florence.
"What are you doing here, hmm?" Dottie asks sleepily, her eyes half shut.

"Flo didn't want to sleep without you," Eliza reveals causing Florence to shriek.

"Oi," Isiah says, "stop that. If you want to sleep in here, you gotta be good, Flo."