Don't Look Back – Chapter 4
-O-
DISCLAIMER: I am not connected to Emmerdale and its characters, which belong to ITV
-O-
Jackson studied Aaron's face carefully; he was looking for clues regarding Aaron's frame of mind, but it was always difficult to read him.
"What?" Aaron said, innocently, when he noticed that he was being scrutinised.
"I just wondered why you've been so quiet since you met Eden earlier. Did it not go well?"
Aaron was torn. He wanted to tell Jackson everything; the secret that he now shared with his brother was gnawing away at him and he felt that he needed to 'offload' on someone and his boyfriend seemed the obvious choice. On the other hand, he felt that he would be betraying a confidence if he told Jackson about Eden's troubled past.
"You were right!" Aaron began, "He WAS the stripper at that club!"
"I knew it!" Jackson sounded as if he had won a prize in a competition, "So I suppose you went off on one and threw him out!"
"No!" Aaron defended himself, "He's my brother! I wouldn't do that! Especially after all he's been through..." Aaron suddenly cut himself short.
"Go on..." Jackson was now intrigued and looked straight at Aaron.
"I don't know if I should tell you this," Aaron knew now that he would have to tell Jackson, otherwise his boyfriend would keep digging, "Eden had a rough time with his step-dad. The bastard raped him!"
Jackson was shocked; this was the last thing that he had expected Aaron to say. He sat in stunned silence for a few moments, then spoke, "Oh my God! The poor lad!"
"Jackson, don't tell anyone. He hasn't told my mum about it, I don't think he's told anyone before and I shouldn't have said anything."
"Listen, babe, you know it won't go any further; I won't tell a soul. But, shouldn't he report it to the police? It is a criminal offence after all."
"I think he blames himself, somehow."
"That's ridiculous!" Jackson was still digesting the information, "Though they do say that the victim often feels the guilt instead of the attacker. But, I still think he should tell the authorities."
"Well, that's up to him; but I'll support him, whatever. After all; he's my little bro!"
Jackson felt a warm glow inside; he could see how much Aaron had grown up and the way he was handling the situation filled him with pride. He could see that Aaron felt a rapport with his sibling. He pulled Aaron to him and kissed his forehead.
"What do I do, Jackson?" Aaron knew that his partner would help him with his dilemma.
"Well, I suppose you'll have to go along with his wishes. All you can do is stand by him, like you are doing. I'm so pleased you've come to terms with it all; finding a brother you never knew you had and bonding with him."
Aaron looked at Jackson with so much love in his eyes. Here was his tower of strength; his rock; his confidant. He kissed Jackson warmly on the lips.
"Let's get to bed, I'm tired!" Aaron said.
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Chas was so proud of her two sons. She had been so fearful of their initial reaction to one and other but now they seemed to be as thick as thieves. However, she did not know the secret that they shared between them!
Aaron cajoled Eden into telling Chas about his ordeal at the hands of his step-father. Eden agreed, as long as his big brother would accompany him, which Aaron was only too happy to do, he knew how his support would help Eden. The three of them sat in the back room of the Woolpack and Eden fidgeted nervously, perched next to Chas on the sofa. Chas knew that he had important news to relate, but he seemed to be hesitant and worried. He looked at Aaron, who nodded at him and then jerked his head towards Chas; to indicate that he should tell her everything.
Chas listened carefully to Eden's story and could see how upset he was. When he started to cry, she cried too and she scooped him into her arms, "Oh, my poor baby!" she wailed, "I thought you'd be safe when I gave you up for adoption! I should have been there to protect you; I'm so sorry!"
"It's not your fault!" Eden gulped, recovering from his tearful outburst, "I had a good childhood; it was only when Burt Daniels came along that things changed."
"You've got to tell the police!" Chas dried her eyes, "You're not alone now. I'll help you; and Aaron will help you too, won't you love?" Chas looked at her eldest son.
"Yeah, 'course I will!" Aaron replied.
"But I don't know if they'll take me seriously! I should have gone to them just after it happened; won't they want to know why I didn't report it before?" Eden was still hesitant about going to the authorities.
"They will probably ask all sorts of questions," Chas reasoned, "but the important thing is to try to get justice!"
"Yeah," Aaron chipped in, "and if we don't, the Dingle clan can sort him out!"
"Dingle Law?" Chas looked a bit uncertain, "I don't see that Zak, Cain and the rest will be of much help, they'll probably make matters worse!"
"I might agree, if I knew what you were talking about!" Eden looked perplexed.
"Never mind! We'll see what the police have to say first!" Chas was determined that Eden should do the right thing.
"I'm worried what the police will say if they find out where I work!" Eden said.
"Why? Where do you work?" Chas enquired.
"It's a dive; a club where men go to watch strippers."
Chas looked shocked, "Oh...and what do you do there?" But, before Eden could answer, realisation dawned in her mind.
"Now do you see why I'm afraid the police won't take me seriously?"
Chas immediately jumped to Eden's defence, "So, you're a stripper! So what? That doesn't give anyone the right to do what this Daniels character did to you!"
"I was afraid to tell you what I did for a living! I can't believe you're taking it so calmly!"
"Listen, love, you're my son!" Chas tried to put Eden's mind at rest, "I love you; and nothing you can ever do will change that. We've all done things we're not proud of! I'm no saint myself! One thing I can promise you, both of you," Chas glanced at Aaron, "is that I'm on your side, no matter what!"
Eden put his arms out to Chas, who hugged and kissed him fondly.
"Anyway," Chas added almost as an afterthought, "You needn't do that anymore! I need a strong pair of arms behind the bar! You've got a job here, if you want it."
Eden was really moved by his mother's concern, "You don't have to do that; offering me a job just so I can give up stripping for a living!"
"I'm not doing it because of that, although I'm sure you'd like to give that up, wouldn't you?"
Eden nodded.
"Well, there we are then, I really do need another pair of hands on deck; in fact, Diane was about to advertise the vacancy; but I can tell her I've filled it now...what do you say?"
"Yes, please!" Eden beamed, he could not believe his luck, "I don't know a lot about bar work, though!"
"Well, you can learn, can't you? I'm sure if I can do it, you can!" Chas grinned; she was looking forward to having another 'Dingle' on board!
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"Jackson?" Aaron said, as he stripped off, ready for bed.
"What, babe?" Jackson took in the stunning sight of his now naked boyfriend as he climbed into bed beside him.
"You know that Declan's house is empty?"
"What, Dale Head, you mean? The one I did all that work on and then he never moved in!"
"Yeah, that's the place. The last tenants have moved out now. What do you think about renting it?"
Jackson was surprised; they had never talked about this before, "What; you mean you and me...live together?"
"Don't sound so shocked! We live together now, don't we? Except Dale Head would be a place of our own!"
Jackson was still mulling it over, "Well, it makes sense I suppose, but I didn't know you wanted to be more 'formal' about our relationship!"
"Don't YOU?" Aaron looked unsure of himself.
Jackson smiled, "Yeah, of course I do!" He leaned in to kiss Aaron and his boyfriend kissed him back.
"Actually," Aaron said, "I do have another reason for asking."
"So, it's not because you want us to live happily ever after then?"
"I wouldn't say that! We belong together, you and me; always have done," Aaron drew a breath before continuing, "It's just that I was going to ask my mum if Eden could move in here. If we move out, he can have our room! You should see his bed-sit, Jackson, a tiny room with a bed and cooker, paper peeling off the walls; I wouldn't keep a dog in those conditions!"
"I didn't know you'd been to his place?"
"Yeah I have, but it's horrible! I want to get him out of there as soon as possible!"
Jackson looked at Aaron in astonishment. He was putting his younger brother first and he was so proud of Aaron at that moment he felt that he would burst! "Awww, that's so sweet!"
"There's no need to take the piss!" Aaron misread Jackson's remark and thought that he was being sarcastic.
Jackson was eager to prove that he was being sincere, "I'm not! I mean it! You're doing all you can to help your brother; and I'll support you all the way! It's a really good thing you're doing, Aaron."
"So, we'll move into Dale Head then?"
"Yeah, I can't wait!" Jackson grinned like a Cheshire cat!
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Eden still seemed reluctant to go to the police about Burt Daniels. Aaron could not understand his reluctance, but he himself had never been a big fan of the law, so he guessed that his brother shared a similar mistrust in them. Chas kept nagging Aaron to try to convince Eden to report the rape, but Eden seemed to be dragging his feet and Aaron didn't push it; it was, after all, up to Eden to sort it out.
The day soon came for Aaron and Jackson to move into Dale Head. It was small, but it was their first home together so it held a special place in their hearts. Eden helped them to cart all their belongings into their new abode. Jackson loved the fact that they seemed to get on well together and he admired the way Aaron, in particular, had dealt with the situation. At last, Aaron had grown up and taken responsibility and Jackson could not have been any more proud of his boyfriend.
During their exertions, Jackson wanted to make a cup of tea and realised that they did not have any milk. Aaron offered to go to the shop and buy some, so he left Jackson and Eden alone in the house. Jackson was in the kitchen when Eden appeared in the doorway; he was wearing tight shorts and a skimpy top and, as he stood silhouetted against the light behind him, Jackson could not help but make comparisons with Aaron. They had the same build, the same features; and Jackson, for a split-second, thought that it was his boyfriend standing there.
"Is there anything else I can help with?" Eden said, aware that Jackson was looking at him intently.
"Actually, could you give me a hand with this?" Jackson indicated the washing machine which was stood in the middle of the floor, "It's a two-man job to get it under the worktop."
"Yeah, sure," Eden said, helpfully.
The two of them manhandled the equipment into place; and as they straightened up, they were standing in close proximity to each other and their faces were only inches apart. Jackson smiled at Eden; he was only being friendly, but Eden took it as a signal and lunged forward to give Jackson a kiss on the lips...just as Aaron walked in!
