Brendan, Brendan. Ste shouted to him and ran, ran towards him, after getting so close he mysteriously vanished. Then he would turn around and Brendan would appear somewhere else. This time no matter how fast ste ran, he could never get to him. Its like he was on a running machine.
Ste awoke in a sweat. This was the third night in a row he had dreamed of him since he promised himself not to wait for him. You see, Brendan had broken out of prison and he was always expecting him to find him. He had no idea whether or not he was hurt because he hadn't found him, or scared, because he was a killer. More of a killer than he had realised.
He was so sick of these nightmares. What did they mean? Was he supposed to look for him, or was it a sign he was never going to see him again. Because even though he said he would give up waiting, he always hoped the knock at the door was him.
Ste went to the restaurant and acted normal. No one knew why he was working so hard, not even Tony. It just seemed normal. A normal day. But no matter how hard he worked he never forgot who he wished was hiding down a dark alley. He even decided to go home early, unlike days before when he would work late until dark, cleaning every part. He was not letting this get to him.
On his way home was decision time. Get away from this or stay and get through it. He decided to visit his kids. So after he packed a bag and said goodbye to everyone he got in his cab and let it drove off. Except he felt sick, like he had lost.
Watching the taxi drive off, his hood up, his face hidden, him hidden from everyone. He stood there like he did every night, watching Ste. He knew who he lived with, where he was now working, whether he was with anyone. He knew his kids weren't here, he knew he was single. That was an easy decision to make, if he went up to him. But he didn't know if he should ruin his life like that.
Brendan stayed there contemplating seeing him and making it even harder. But he never did. Not that he left or anything. He never could let Ste go. He made a decision to let him go, but he could never stay away. He felt sick inside when he came out the house with that bag, but also a relief. Maybe he was starting somewhere else new. Now he could walk away too and leave the country.