Restraining order

'Oh, hello. Come in.'

'Thanks. I'm sorry to just turn up unannounced, but I want your advice. I thought, with you having more experience of this kind of thing, you'd know what to do...'

'Ah, okay. What's the problem?'

'M-My ex...'

'He showed up at her place. He looked like he was about to get physical right before I intervened.'

'Oh fantastic. Can you tell me a bit more about the altercation?'

'He was still angry over me leaving him.'

'He wanted me to go leave so they could "talk". 'Course I told him to fuck off. Then he was tryin' to convince me she cheated on him and said she'd do it to me too.'

'He kept calling me a whore...'

'What a charming specimen. Right, well if you have reason to believe that he was going to get violent and that your safety is at risk, I can see about getting a restraining order against him for you.'

'Can you? Because I'm really scared. I don't know how he found me but I can't rest easily knowing he could come back! He used to hit me before...'

'But he ain't gonna get the chance to do it again.'

'Right, shit. I'll make it a priority on my shift tomorrow, okay? Can you give me this cunt's name? And anything else about him that you think'd be useful.'

'Austin Donovan. Um, I don't know... He's Feli's bio dad but he doesn't know. He never mentioned her, anyway...'

'Ouch. What about a physical description?'

'Okay, he's 37, white, tall and broad, brown hair shaved at the sides...'

'...Hmm. I think I know who you mean. Is he a drug dealer?'

'Y-Yeah... Does that mean he's been here a while?!'

'Unfortunately at least long enough to start gathering customers, I'm afraid. Christ. Talk about a gentleman and a scholar.'

'Oh fuck.'

'So what can you do 'bout him?'

'Well, with Nyla's consent, I'd like to pass on his name to Ellis. He's already made himself known to us, though we didn't have a name initially. So this should help us deal with his deals, as well as get a start on a protective order for Nyla.'

'Okay, if it'll help. Thanks for this, Nalini.'

'No problem. Unfortunately the self defence laws are a bit bullshit, so I would advice against carrying something like pepper spray. However, I'd suggest looking into affixing a pinhole camera to your coat or bag, and getting some kind of alarm to carry on you, if you're worried about running into him when out and about.'

'Alright...'

'And I'll move in with you temporarily. You won't have to be alone, so you oughta feel safer.'

'Sounds good. Keep either Ellis or myself informed, okay?'

'I will.'

'Right, so I've managed to get you one last slot before your holiday. I don't know for sure who you'll be fighting but I'll let you know soon.'

'Alright, thanks.'

'Good job yesterday, by the way. People were impressed.'

'I'm just glad I didn't end up with any injuries. That'll get hard to explain if I keep getting bruised up. I can't keep blaming wrestling training, especially 'cos I don't even do it any more.'

'Better keep winning, then.'

'Mm.'

'There's something else, ain't there? You've been acting weird all week.'

'I've just got a lot on my mind. That's no different to usual. I won't let it get in the way of my work, though, I swear.'

'Forget that for a minute. If you got a problem, I might be able to do something about it. I try to look after my people. So, spill.'

'Okay... so it turns out my mum's boyfriend is a woman beater.'

'Oh shit.'

'Yeah. I don't know what to do for the best. I wanna help her. I wanna get her away from him, but... I don't think I can.'

'Why not?'

'Because when I told her about it before, she didn't believe me. I had an altercation with him a few months back...'

'...And he hit you?'

'Yeah. We were arguing. He was talking to me like shit, as usual, and I decided I'd had enough so I stood up to him. He lashed out and ended up giving me a black eye.'

'The fucking cunt. But I don't understand how your mum didn't believe you. You had proof right there!'

'Well, the thing was, she walked in on me beating the shit out of him.'

'For real?'

'Uh huh. I wasn't gonna let him get away with it. So I hit back. A few times. She only saw me doing the beating... I tried to tell her the truth but she was having none of it.'

'What the fuck? She'd just believe some boyfriend over her own kid?'

'Precisely. And not only did she blame me, she punished me by throwing me out of the house. I'm 18, so there was nothing I could do.'

'You were punished for being hit by her boyfriend? What the fuck is wrong with her?'

'He told her I was the instigator and she's too much of a stupid bitch to believe he might be lying. She said she could no longer trust me and didn't wanna support a violent kid.'

'...I'm sorry she failed you.'

'Thanks... '

'Where've you been staying, then?'

'Well, I haven't really been staying anywhere.'

'You mean you're homeless?'

'...Yeah. I am.'

'Jesus Christ.'

'It's fine... I've been coping. I've still got a gym membership so I've been using their showers. It's why I don't stink.'

'Where do you sleep?'

'That... varies.'

'That ain't no good, Jude. We can't have you sleeping rough.'

'I don't have much of a choice. I can't afford my own place, and my boyfriend doesn't know any of this so I can't ask him either.'

'Bloody hell. Well now I feel like a real prick, taking you on when you're in this shit situation. I feel like I'm using you.'

'No, no, I need the job. To get myself out of the shit situation. Don't take it away from me, please, Boss! You know how it is! Most of 'em are in shit situations anyway. I'm no different to any of the others.'

'Alright, fine, I won't. But let me make up for it. You can sleep on my sofa.'

'Oh no, you don't have to-'

'No, I ain't having you on the streets. It's wrong.'

'But I don't want you accused of favouritism either. Why are you going the extra mile for me?'

'Cos I've been there myself. The streets ain't a good place to be, especially for a young girl. Now I know you can defend yourself. You proved that. But fuck, it ain't worth taking risks. If you don't wanna, I get it. Your other option would be to tell your boyfriend. Why you keeping it from him in the first place?'

'...I wanted to fix this myself. I thought I was being proactive, getting a job with you, doing it on my own... I feel like it's my own fault I've ended up like this. Besides, what can he even do for me? He hasn't got his own place, and I probably can't live with his family 'cos he lives with his uncle, who's the school counsellor. It'd probably be against some kind of rule.'

'Well, it ain't your fault, and that's that. Obviously it's your choice whether you tell him or not, but I reckon you should. If he's any kinda decent bloke, he'll help you.'

'Heh, he is. He's really great. Okay, I'll try to work up the courage to tell him...'

'Good. 'Til then, you're with me.'

'Thanks, Boss. I really appreciate it.'

'Don't mention it.'