The Almost End
1)
"I thought I was gonna die!"
"It's okay...it's okay."
They stood wrapped in each other for another long minute, neither one quite ready to let go yet. There was safety in their embrace, which held a complete contrast to the marks on Ste's face, he knew. But there it was anyway.
Finally, Ste forced himself to pull away, rubbing his still tearful eyes.
"I'm just gonna go and..." he trailed off, pointing in the general direction of the bathroom.
Brendan nodded, but looked concerned. "Ye okay?"
"Yeah...I just need a few minutes. You go and look after your sister – I don't know what I'd have done without her tonight, you know."
Ste left Brendan to it and made his way upstairs, where he locked himself in the bathroom. He sat on the edge of the bath and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He'd really thought he would be a goner in that fridge.
He thought about Leah and Lucas, and how close he'd come to leaving them fatherless.
So much for calming down – there were now more tears than before, and he could even hear gentle sobbing. Delayed shock and preoccupied thoughts meant that it took him a moment before he realised the sounds were coming from him.
"Steven?"
He tried to take another deep breath, but this only caused another choking sob to escape.
"Steven...are ye alright in there?"
"Yeah," he managed, standing up to run the tap and splash cold water over his face. His cuts still stung at the contact, and he hissed under his breath at the pain.
"Ye sure?" came Brendan's voice again, and Ste sighed in defeat.
"No, not really," he admitted, unlocking the door and sitting down again, this time on the floor.
Brendan walked in, shutting the door behind him and then joining Ste, cross-legged opposite him. There wasn't much else to say on the whole 'not being okay' front.
'"I...I was thinking we should both stay here tonight, that okay with ye?"
"Brendan, it's almost three o'clock in the morning. You've just been held hostage; and me and Cheryl have been trapped in a fridge. I can't say I were planning on wandering back to the flat at this hour," Ste replied with a half-teasing smile.
"Oh, that's alright then," he smiled weakly, too tired to bother fending off his obvious point. "Steven? I am sorry, ye know? For hurting ye again, and for what ye had to go through tonight."
"I know."
There wasn't much that could be said to that, so silence hung in the air until Ste had a sudden thought. "Is Cheryl okay?"
"Yeah."
"And your dad?"
Brendan merely nodded. "It's only the two of us awake now," he remarked plainly. And for once, it wasn't an implication of what they could be getting up to while alone.
Ste nodded back. "I don't know if I could sleep yet – I can't switch off."
"It's...been a long night."
Instead of responding, Ste made to stand up. Brendan followed his lead and they walked out of the bathroom together, footsteps treading softly down the stairs.
"Reckon Cheryl would mind if I used some of her hot chocolate?"
A fond smile formed on Brendan's lips as he gestured towards the kitchen as if to say 'go ahead'.
"You want one?" Ste turned to ask as he busied himself spooning chocolate powder into one of Cheryl's hot pink mugs.
"No thanks."
By the time he sat down with his drink, Ste's short burst of energy had run out. He slumped down on the sofa next to Brendan, took a sip and placed it down on the coffee table.
"Steven?"
"Mm?" He was starting to feel drowsy, despite his claims of not being able to switch off.
Brendan didn't seem to notice. "I was talking to Chez just now, and she mentioned something that...worried me."
Ste's head was now starting to droop. "Hm?"
"She said ye...ye wished I loved ye as much as ye loved me. But ye see, the thing is Steven...ye've got it all upside down."
"Upside down? What you on about now?" He mumbled almost incoherently.
"I love ye far more than you love me," Brendan stated firmly.
Ste let out a snort. Or a snore - Brendan wasn't entirely sure, to be honest.
Until he heard a few whispered words follow it in reply.
"That's what you think..."