Ste awoken with a startle he heard rustling, first he thought he was imagining things but the smash of glass buried that thought. He shook Brendan, he wasn't waking up. Why wasn't he waking up?
''Brendun, wake up? Please i think someone's in the kitchen.''
Brendan breathed heavily and turned over, his back now facing Ste. He shook him again, harder now. He jabbed him, poked him, bit him. Brendan wouldn't wake up.
''Such a lazy shit.'' He mumbled under his breathe. He knew something that would wake him up. Ste placed delicate kisses softly on to Brendan's ivory white skin. Moving slowly up his neck, across his ear and on to his cheek. Brendan smiled and pulled Ste's lips to his. Ste smiled in to the kiss, his thoughts, his breath, his worries, the burglar all vanished for that split second. Brendan smiled again, and pulled away and settled back down in to his pillow, ready to go back to his slumber his was awoken from less than a minute ago. SMASH. Another loud smash from the kitchen made them jump, Brendan's eyes like a startled deer in the headlights of a car.
''That was what i was try to tell ya.'' Ste explained. ''Someone's in the kitchen, smashing stuff.''
''Mhm, i heard. Stay here.''
''I'll come with ya'' Ste replied eagerly.
''Just..just stay here, okay?'' Brendan had a feeling. Not a good one either. A feeling that it would be someone Brendan didn't want Ste to see. An old enemy so to speak. He swung himself out of bed, dropping each foot silently on to the wooden floor boards and pushing himself up using the bed for support. He was always so achy in the morning, i wonder why he laughed in his head. In his boxers and his big black jack daniels t-shirt, he crept out of the room.
''Brendan'' Ste whispered, the night air cold on his breath even inside, he was holding a baseball bat ''Brendan''
''What?'' Brendan whispered back, moving slowly back in to the room.
''Baseball bat?'' He asked, a wiry smile on his face. He knew he was safe with Brendan in the house.
''I got me fists'' Brendan smiled back, and left the room once again creeping towards the kitchen. Ste sat on the bed patiently as instructed but his feet were beginning to tap, he was getting nervous. Thinking about the kids in the next room. He got up. Picked up the baseball bat and walked slowly over to the kids bedroom, accidentally standing on the creaking floorboard and the noise from the kitchen became louder. He stuck his head round the door and stepped in. He heard Lucas' little snore and smiled. He walked over to Leah's bed but she wasn't in there. He lifted up the duvet in a panic but it was only her polar bear teddy Brendan had bought her last christmas. He hurried out the bedroom to Brendan.
''Brendan!'' He whispered loudly ''Brendan! Leah isn't in her bed. Where is she? Where the fuck is she?'' He was stressing, panicking.
''I think i know were she is!'' You could hear the smile in Brendan's voice before you could see it. Ste's eyes adjusting to the light, shcoked at the smile on his face.
''What are you sm-'' Brendan turned the lights on before he could finish his sentence. Leah was stood on the chair getting some biscuits out of the biscuit barrel. She looked guilty as charged, she bowed her head, looking down at the glasses she'd smashed trying to reach for her biscuits. Brendan walked over to her and picked her up off the chair and looked at Ste then Leah
''Looks like we've got out very own biscuit burglar, eh?'' He laughed. ''You scared me real bad Leah''
''Sorry i was just hungry'' She admitted.
''Don't you ever do that again.'' Ste said sternly ''You scared us.''
''Sorry'' She replied, her eyes shining in the moonlight that crept through the curtains and her hair falling out of its tousled plait. Brendan ran his other hand through his bed hair and smoothed his moustache down.
''Its okay.'' Brendan reached and got her a handful of biscuits and poured her a glass of cold milk. Placing her down on the kitchen work top and giving them to her. Ste carried her through to her room. Brendan could feel someones eyes staring at him, glaring. Boring in to him. He knew whose eye's they were, he also knew the devil himself wouldn't attack tonight not with the children in the house. So, he closed the curtains and backed out of the kitchen turning off the lights as he left. He joined Ste beside Leah's bed to read her her bed time story. Her favourite. Cinderella. Brendan read most of it because Leah and Ste loved his husky Irish accent.
Walker faded away into the Ivy and the rose bushes, he wasn't sure if Brendan saw him. His scarf pulled up to the ridge of his nose and his hood over his head, a blink and he was gone. Vanished in to the night.
Leah munched on her cookies and slurped her milk, nestling in to her fluffy pink pillow and clutching her polar bear. The sound of her Daddy Brendan's voice sent her to sleep.