Spectre

(A follow on from the story, Pride)

Life was good, they were happy, they had a place of their own, they were talking marriage, they were even talking children. Jackson was more than ready for that step, he wasn't so sure he was, he wasn't so sure he ever would be. He worried about what sort of a father he'd make, if he was made of the right sort of stuff. Jackson said he was, said Paddy had set him a fine example. Yeah Paddy had but what about Gordon Livesy? It was his blood that ran through his veins!

Jackson's business was thriving, and when Debbie had decided to sell her share in the garage and move away he'd borrowed money off his mum and Paddy and bought her out. He'd long since paid them both back, he and Cain were now full partners, their business thriving too.

With finances on a sure footing all round he and Jackson had then bought a piece of land on the outskirts of Emmerdale, and on that they had built their own home. Nothing big, nothing fancy, just a small cottage in keeping with the area, something warm, something cosy, something close to family and friends, something that was truly theirs.

He had a lot to be proud of and he was.

It was four and a half years now since he and Jackson had got together, they'd had their fallouts, their ups and downs, but the last couple of years had seen them settle down, and they were solid, unshakable, nothing could come between them. Jackson was his rock, his everything, he'd helped get him through so much, he had been the one to pick up the pieces after Chris Davies had... he still found it hard to think about that night. He'd been in the worst kind of mess and Jackson had come running. He'd been scared, hurting, shattered emotionally but Jackson had very gently put the pieces back together, healing him with a soul warming tenderness.

Chris had almost destroyed him back then, he couldn't let him cast even the faintest of shadows on his life now...

He'd put Davies to the back of his mind, had forgotten all about him for long spells of time. Still he'd always known he wouldn't be in prisoner forever, that he would be released one day. He'd believed that day to be months away, six at least but then the phone had rung, a familiar voice on the other end... David Smith his solicitor. It was David he had to thank for securing Chris' conviction; he'd fought hard to convince the jury of Chris' guilt. It was him who'd seen to the legal side of things when he'd bought into the garage, when they'd bought the land, he'd seen to all the red tape involved with the building of their home too. He'd thought he was ringing regarding a business matter but no. David had first asked how he and everyone were, and then had told him he had some news for him, to prepare himself for something he wasn't going to like. Even then it hadn't occurred to him that it might be about Chris. Davies being the furthest thing from his mind at that moment.

The news that Chris was being released from prison early had stunned him. The fact that in two weeks time he'd be a free man had rendered him speechless. David Smith having to ask several times if he was alright.

He'd snapped out of his daze and assured the older man that he was, thanking him for letting him know before ending the call. He'd been on his own at the garage, had brooded over the news, he wasn't sure how he felt about it. Not scared, just thrown, maybe just a little bit rattled. Davies had threatened him as he'd been led to the cells, had promised to come looking for him when he got out!

But later when Davies had appealed against his sentence, he'd apparently apologised for making those threats, saying he'd been angry at the time of making them, irate at the injustice done him. He'd lost his appeal, was told he had to serve the sentence handed to him. According to David Smith he'd been a model prisoner and that was why he was up for early release.

Maybe the years he'd been locked up had helped change him, maybe he'd come out a better man, regretting his actions... he couldn't see it somehow.

He'd desperately wanted to talk to Jackson about it, but with Jackson working thirty miles away he was going to have to wait until he got home. It wasn't a conversation you could have over the phone, and he didn't want Jackson worrying about him and he knew he would if he phoned him. Instead he'd taken an early lunch, made his way up to Paddy's, knowing he could offload some of his burden on him, and eager to hear the words of reassurance that would trip so readily off the older man's tongue.

He'd felt better after talking to him, just like he knew he would, he'd felt better still on sharing the news with Jackson. Like Paddy he was at first taken aback, but then he'd reasoned it out with him, reassured him, and made him believe that Davies posed no threat to their life now. He knew Davies would have to be stupid to do anything to risk ending up back inside; he truly believed he wouldn't want to jeopardize his new found freedom and so a week after he knew Davies had been released he was again at the back of his mind.

But then today, when he'd arrived at work, as he'd walked towards the garage doors, he'd spotted a holdall on the ground just in front of them. It looked familiar, at first he didn't know why then curiosity had him unzip it and look inside.

He'd realised with a jolt that the bag was his, that the contents were his too, it was the clothes and things he'd left at Chris' when he'd fled in fear from him that night! Chris had to have brought them here. Why? Something told him it hadn't been done with any good intention, that it was Chris letting him know he was back in circulation!

TBC