Freddie looked up as he heard a noise from the first floor. He had lost count of how long he had been locked in Foster's house, bleeding profusely from the wounds the baseball inflicted. Since then Foster gave him a few scraps and a bit of water, but other than that he left him there. Gingerly sitting up, Freddie listened intently for any more unusual sounds. Suddenly he heard a shout that he knew well; "I AM COOK!"
Freddie's heart leapt. Had Foster caught Cook too? Or had Cook come looking for Freddie? If Cook was here where was Effy?
Effy. She's been the one constant thought since Foster attacked him, and long, long before that. Did she hate him now? Thinking that he abandoned her when she needed him most?
Another shout from downstairs brought Freddie back to the situation. This time it sounded like Foster, a loud cry of pain. Getting up from the floor and being careful not to reopen his wounds, he made his way to the door. Looking out of the keyhole he wondered if Cook would come looking for him, feeling hopeful he took a deep breath and shouted, "COOK! Are you there mate? It's me, Freddie!" hoping that he could hear his yells. A few minutes later he heard loud clumsy footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Freds? Mate, is that you?" Cook's gruff voice inquired through the door.
"Yeah Cook, it's great to know you're here. Did you get Foster?" Freddie asked, a tear escaping his eye when the reality of this all came crashing down on him. He was free, he could go back to Effy and Cook obviously didn't hate him anymore.
"Fuck yeah I did, he tried punching me and grabbed for a baseball bat but no one defeats the Cookie Monster." Freddie could just imagine the smug look plastered across his mate's face.
"Hey, so can you get me out of here? The door's locked, mind breaking it down?"
"No problem Freds, you might wanna move away first." Cook warned, the sound of his footsteps getting fainter as he backed away from the door. Freddie moved away from the door, still feeling ecstatic that he was finally getting out. Hearing Cook's thundering steps, he saw the door fly open and the form of his best mate entered the room.
"Freddie!" Cook said, his face breaking into a huge grin as he grabbed him and pulled him into a bear hug.
"Ow, watch my head." Freddie warned, hugging him back then gingerly extricating himself from Cook's embrace.
"Let's get outta here now, this place gives me the creeps." Cook replied, taking Freddie's arm and supporting his weight as they moved towards the stairs.
"I love you, you fucking twat. Thanks."
