Chapter 4
A/N I would just like to thank everybody for the reviews, especially considering this is my first ever story. And also a big thank you to Jules; I took your comment into perspective and here I present you with the latest, and longest chapter! Enjoy and review/criticise if you so wish! Tash
As the blows to Ste's body continued, he distinctly had the fleeting thought of whether this was the end; if he was to be ended in his own hallway. 21 years of life, and a pretty eventful life that is, all to be ended by his spiteful step-dad exacting his…his what? Revenge? It couldn't be could it? Ste hadn't seen Terry in years, had had no reason to want to see his face again, yet here he was reliving his childhood all over again. It seems a bit of an anti-climax if this was to be the end; not only would 2 beautiful children be left without their Dad but after everything Ste had been through in his short life, even he would have expected to die in more exceptional circumstances. Ste curled his small body into a ball, trying not to show any signs of weakness to the figure laying punches and kicks into him by displaying any tears. Instead he just lay there and hoped, prayed for the attack to end, for someone to save him.
Xxxxx
As Brendan made his way through the village, his anger grew more and more with each step that bought him closer to the estate in which Stephen lived. He didn't know what it was about Stephen, did he like Brendan hurting him and having to keep him in line? Did he like Brendan controlling and manipulating him? Was he just a masochist at heart, loving the danger of the relationship? Was this what gave Stephen the thrill? But then Brendan thought of all the tears that Stephen had shed, tears shed because of him and his fists. One particular flashback made Brendan come to a stop at the skate-park, and sit down.
It had been a great night Brendan had concluded as he turned his head to the side and saw Stephen lying there, eyes half closed from a combination of exhaustion, satisfaction and desire. As Brendan rolled to his side and propped himself on an elbow, he simply stared at Stephen, scrutinizing him slightly. Then he did what seemed to come naturally to him when alone with Stephen; he reached out an arm and gently swept a few loose strands of hair away from Stephen's forehead, currently full with sweat and exertion. Stephen stirred slightly at Brendan's touch and opened one eye slowly, grinning at Brendan like the cat that had got the cream. His face was full of happiness and love, a look that made him appear as if this is the only place he ever wanted to be, right here, in this bed, in this room, with this man. Internally, Brendan struggled with this, struggled to get his head around the fact that Stephen could harbour such feelings for him, especially after what he had done. As Stephen went to open his mouth, Brendan stopped him by placing his index finger onto Stephen's lips. Stephen just smiled in acknowledgement and closed his eyes, the exhaustion finally taking its toll on him as he drifted off to sleep, a smile still plastered onto his face.
Brendan lay there for hours, part scrutinizing Stephen still and part loathing him for the feelings that he made Brendan feel. Eventually, Brendan also went to sleep, but it was a sleep plagued with awful nightmares from his childhood with those words ever present in his mind: "queer, pansy, girl". The next morning, Stephen woke up, wakening Brendan in the process, still wearing the same expression on his face from the night before. Brendan couldn't help but smile and as Stephen opened his mouth to speak, he wasn't stopped. The 3 words he uttered, they shattered Brendan to the core. Never had "I love you" affected him so much, not even when Vincent had spoken them before. Brendan couldn't stop himself, with his father's words fresh in his mind from the previous night's nightmares, he struck out, hitting at Stephen's still naked form. As he drew his fist back, his father's face loomed in his brain as he imagined the figure he was hitting to be his Dad. It wasn't until Stephen was yelling out in pain that Brendan stopped and looked at Stephen, still lying on the bed naked but this time wearing tears on his face and possibly a broken heart.
As the flashback ended, Brendan got up again and continued on his route to Stephen's house, unaware of what he would find when he got there…
