Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
The grandfather clock at the foot of the stairs chimed to mark the arrival of the third hour of the young day.
Brendan lay awake, unable to remove the thoughts spiralling in his mind. He looked at Ste, towards the door, and back again to Ste. His arms were wrapped around him, shielding him from any danger that may emerge from the night.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Brendan felt as though time had come to a stand-still. It felt like hours since he'd checked on Cheryl in her bedroom only ten minutes before. He had considered making the short journey across the flat to his Pa's room, but as soon the thought came into his mind, he remembered Ste on the sofa, alone. Ste could not, and would not, be alone.
Brendan thought again about the concept of time, and how a person can change in such a short space of it. He thought about the person he was when he arrived in the village, and now thanks to the man held tightly towards his muscular frame, how he'd changed into the man he was now.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Although even now he wouldn't think twice about taking a man's life, he knew that he'd be doing it for the right reasons, to protect Ste and Cheryl, two of the four people he loved the most in this world.
He gripped onto Ste tighter, holding him until morning light. Even the sheer thought of Ste having a nightmare terrified Brendan, for as far as he was concerned, fear of any kind was not something Ste should ever have to face.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Brendan wondered about his Pa in the room only twenty-feet from where he currently lay guarding his lover. He thought about the shocking pain inflicted upon him by the villainous man, both physically and mentally.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
It's just dust. It can't hurt you anymore.
He remembered what Ste had said in the bar in Dublin, how for all of the torture placed upon him by his Pa, it was all in the past, and Ste was his shining future.
Feeling immediately more at ease with himself, Brendan tried to close his eyes. He continued to grip Ste as tightly as before, but at least he was no longer a prisoner of his own obsessive thoughts.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
The grandfather clock at the foot of the stairs continued to chime, but Brendan didn't hear it.
