You wake up to the sound of a loud thud against the wall of your bedroom. It takes a minute for you to register what it is that's happening. Never in the last eight years of living in this house had you actually heard your dad while he was doing the deed. This is the last thing you needed tonight.

You glance at your alarm clock on your bedside table and you curse under your breath when you realise that it's 3am. You can't afford to lose out on any sleep tonight, or even worse for that headache of yours to creep up again. You reach underneath your pillow, retrieve your iPod and pop your earphones on. You select the playlist you've reserved for revision and try to drown out the noises coming from the bedroom adjacent to yours.

Your direct your thoughts to the five different topics that threatened to appear in the History exam you have in the morning. Of course you've already been through them for what seems like a million times and if there's any subject you're confident on, it's this one. You've always been a good all-rounder, but History is where your passion lies.

The study of History is not a certain representation of the past but an interpretation of it. The uncertainty excites you and you find that you can never know enough to form an exact account of a truth, but you can damn well try to get as close as you can.

You close your eyes and will yourself to succumb to sleep and as if the Gods were on your side tonight, you do.

-s-

This time it's the alarm that wakes you and you're relieved. You want nothing more than to get this exam over and done with. It's the last one before you've got a whole two months off from school and you really can't wait. You swing on your school uniform, not caring whether your tie is straight or not. It's the last time you'll ever wear it and you're glad. While secondary school hasn't been at all terrible, you can't wait for the freedom that college will bring.

You realise that you won't be walking to school with Leah today because she's already had her last exam. You're saddened at the thought because it means that you've had your last walk to school together already and you wish you'd given it more thought at the time. You loved Leah. Despite you being the younger, less popular sibling, she'd always linked her arms through yours all the way to the school gates, obviously not caring for how 'uncool' she looked. You hadn't cared either because you'd been through a lot together and if there was anyone you could rely on, it was her.

You smile at the door opposite to the one you're holding open as you imagine yourself in 24 hours time sleeping in for the first time in months just like Leah was doing now on the other side of that door. You shake your head as you inwardly scold yourself for thinking that far ahead, but you're still smiling because you know that this exam will be a walk in the park.

Your smile fades when you reach the end of the spiraling stairs and you turn to see an unfamiliar man standing against the counter. You frown. Not this again. You thought your father was done with it all. You'd been much younger at the time, twelve you think, when you'd seen the last of his random one night stands creep their way out through the back door and thankfully out of your lives.

You stare at the large, built man standing in your eye-line and you realise that he's neither surprised by your presence nor is he making any attempt to hide or run out through the back door. Unusual, you think.

He's wearing your dad's robe and his leaning back against the counter with a steaming mug of tea cupped between both his hands. Bastard. He's standing there like he owns the place.

"You're not Collin", you snarl. Your anger should probably be aimed at your father but then again this man was partly the reason for your brief arrival to the land of the living at 3am in the morning when you'd needed all the sleep you could get. More annoyingly, you had heard those noises because of him, noises that you'll never ever think about ever again.

"Lucas", he says with a calm demeanour.

He knows your name. That's weird. But you don't have time for any of this. Your father's love life is your father's and if he's fucked it all up with Collin then that's his mistake. You pick up your bag and swing it over your neck and make your way out without acknowledging the man stood behind you. You glance over shoulder as you pull the door open. 'See you never', you think but don't voice.

-s-

"Lucas", you hear Ben, your best friend scream from the other end of the corridor. "Mate, we're having a few drinks at Ella's house. You game?"

You really wish you could go but that damn headache's back again and you want nothing more than to go home and sleep.

"Another day. My head's banging", you give him an apologetic smile.

"No worries. I'll be seeing you over the summer anyway. Give me a call if you're feeling any better!" he beams and turns in the opposite direction as you head out of the school gates.

You get home in ten minutes and you finally feel like you can relax. You whip your bag off, settle on the sofa and you close your eyes. You're sure no one will interrupt you here and you're glad because you're more than comfortable here. It is said that insomniacs sleep better when they're not in their own bedrooms.

You've never really been one to dwell on the past, your past especially, as ironic as it may sound, but you find yourself doing a mental checklist of the facts you should have put in your exam paper. You're pleased when you've ticked everything off. You kick your shoes off and settle them on the table and you're ready to fall asleep.

You jerk up when you hear the sound of descending footsteps from the stairs.

"Hey"

It's the man again. The one from the morning. He looks bigger now that he's actually dressed. He's wearing a black shirt of which the sleeves have bunched around the elbow and his grey trousers look like they've just come out of the tailor's shop. You hadn't noticed the moustache earlier. It should be funny but you think it suits the man. Why was he still here, again?

"You've grown", he speaks softly but you're sure that it's not his usual tone.

Wait, what? You're sure you've never seen this man before and if you had you were definitely too young to remember by the sounds of it. You're about to let a thousand and one questions spill out of your mouth but it's at that same moment that your father choses to spring through the front door.

"Lucas", he says with a great big grin on his face. "You've seen Brendan then?".

You don't think you've seen him this chirpy in ages.

Ugh. But your head is pounding again, the worst it's been in a while. You've got to get to sleep before it escalates. You run up the stairs choosing to ignore your father. You know he won't come after you. He knows that you can't tolerate anything when it gets this bad. You open your bedside cupboard and take your pills without bothering to get any water. You collapse in to bed and you close your eyes. You want to sleep. That's all you want. But you already know that it won't come tonight. Instead you listen to the humming of the telly downstairs and light chatter between Brendan and your dad. Brendan, you consider. Sounds familiar but you can't put your finger on it. Who the hell was he?

-s-

You hear the front door shut. It's midnight. You still hadn't slept but your headache has eased slightly. You wouldn't usually get out of bed now but your curiosity gets the better of you. There had obviously been some history between him and your dad and you needed to know what it was. You want to know who this Brendan guy was and why your father has just thrown away a two year relationship for him.

You find your father turning off the TV. He turns to you and smiles.

"You okay, little man?"

"You really need to stop calling me that" you sigh. "but, yes I'm alright for now".

You think about how you're going to approach the subject but you needn't worry as he cuts you from your thoughts.

"You don't remember him, do ya?" He sits back down on the sofa and signals for you to do the same.

"Nope", you says as you sit on the adjacent chair.

"He's Brendan Brady. The love of my life".

You tense up. What the fuck? You've barely heard of this guy and yet your father has him down as the love of his life.

You don't like it. You don't like how he can call him the love of his life when he's not been there at the hardest times of his life. You'd been there. Leah had been there. Doug had been there. Not him. Not Brendan Brady. It made you angry. Why did Brendan Brady get to waltz back in to his life when things were finally going well? If he had reciprocated this love, surely he would have been there when he needed him the most.

You realise you've not said a word for about a minute now and your father is looking at you with concern.

"What about Collin? I thought you loved him!" You realise that you've shown your anger and you know your father's a little taken back.

" I did. I do. It's just… I don't love him, I don't love anyone, I can't love anyone as much as him." He sighs. "I've tried. I've tried living without him. I tried to move on but it never felt anything like happiness. Not when I've had happiness before, with him."

"So, what happened before? Why did you break up?"

"That story's for another day. It's getting late and I need to be up early in the morning."

"Da-"

"Lucas, look at me. I'm okay. I'm more than okay, actually. I'm happy"

You look in to his eyes and you see it for yourself. He's happy. It doesn't make you trust this Brendan Brady though. He was going to have to earn that. You were going to find out everything. You think of it as a challenge. You were going to paint yourself a picture of their history and like a good historian, you were going to get as close to the truth as possible.

Reviews would be appreciated x