'I'm looking forward to this party, are you?' Anna asked Graeme conversationally whilst taking her final chews of lasagne. They had wanted a quick meal before getting themselves primed ready for the evening ahead. An evening with the Crawley's usually involved copious amounts of alcohol, social smoking and public declarations of love by Robert for his wife Cora. In truth, Anna had looked most forward to seeing John again as it had been a good seventeen hours since she had last seen him. Graeme had answered Anna's question with a raised and lasagne laden smile, nodding his head as he did so.

'Best start getting ready then, Anna,' Graeme had told her after finishing his last bite. Anna didn't know why but she took that comment to heart. Do I need lots of time to look nice, she thought, slightly downcast as she took the empty plates to the sink. Downing the remainder of her white wine, Anna made to go upstairs and told Gray,

'I best go up first then,'

He hadn't heard, busying himself with a refill and not offering one for Anna to take up with her. Figg meowed his disapproval.

…

'They should all be here soon, love,' Robert had called to Cora who was lighting candles and setting the table with napkins and nibbles. It was coming to 18:45 and they were expecting a good few people to be arriving rather soon.

'There's time for candles then, Robert,' Cora teasingly chastised her husband as he helped himself to a cheese twirl.

John had come in to the living room then and offered a hand to Cora, clocking that Robert had no intention of getting involved with accessorising the room. Cora nodded her no thanks and he made his way in to the kitchen to get his first of many drinks of the evening.

'Anyone else?' John asked as he got to the door.

'Beer, please, mate,' Robert replied with a mouth full of Mini Cheddars. He was certainly making his way through whatever he found to be edible. Cora swatted his hand away as Robert now made his way towards the mixed nuts.

'Will you stop?' Cora said with a pointed stare. He could only glare with a questioning, and innocent, look adorning his face. John could only chuckle as he walked to the fridge to get Robert and himself a beer. Cora had declined a drink, preferring instead to wait for the guests to arrive, and headed upstairs to get ready.

'You're looking smart, John. Out to impress?' Robert had asked him with a glint in his eye. John was dressed to the eyes in a navy buttoned shirt with faint grey stripes, black jeans and brown boots. With slick hair and a clean face, John looked quite the picture. Robert had not ignored the look his friend John and Anna had shared the other night when Robert had given him a job offer. It only felt right to tease him in the hope he would crack at the suggestion and reveal all. John was smarter than that and they both knew it.

'Ey?' John had said a bit taken aback as to what his friend could have meant. A hot streak shot through his body then thinking that his feelings for Anna were very much clear to others around him. 'I don't know what you mean,' he continued however unconvincingly. Robert only afforded him a sly smile when the bell rang.

'Ah!' Robert clapped, 'Report to your stations, everybody!' he laughed swinging the door open to a small group of men and women John did not recognise. Cora made her appearance then having slipped upstairs to change quickly. She was wearing a red ankle length dress that clung to her like a damp sheet. Like the lady of the house she was, Cora didn't hesitate in greeting them all with a glass of fizz. They all mingled then until the bell rang again and revealed a single man.

'Tom!' Robert had bellowed, seemingly squiffy already despite it being only just past seven.

'Rob, how're you doing?' Tom, a young Irish man, replied happily. So this must be the Tom that Robert and Gray talk about so much.

Tom. The man Gray said he had been with only the night before, John thought to himself and turned his face away from the Irish gentleman, repressing his thoughts of his brother and another...

'John! John! This is Tom Branson, the one I told you about! He's good friends with your brother, too,' Robert slurred. Cora looked on, cringing to the core, at her husband's increasingly dishevelled state. It wasn't even 20:00.

'How do you do?' John asked the younger man with an outstretched hand. He took it firmly.

Tom and John warmed to each other immediately, it seemed. Both had strong Irish hearts and similar interests, though John could not fathom why the pleasant fellow before him was a good friend of his brother's.

'Oh, he's a laugh!' Tom retorted laughing when John had asked him about his mutual, and consensual, relationship with his half brother. It reminded John of when he had asked Anna a similar question.

…..

'Gray! We're going to be late, come on!' Anna shouted up the stairs to her boyfriend who stood beyond somewhere. The house was clouded with scent, mostly Graeme's.

'Yeah, yeah, I'll be there now!' he shot back from the top of the stairs, adjusting his cufflinks as he prodded down the staircase, nudging Figg from the banister as he did so. Graeme, like John, was dressed for the occasion. Gray had chosen a white collared shirt, open at the top, with pale grey chino trousers with black pumps. Shuffling his hair in the mirror, Gray smiled at himself. Anna had to look away.

'Come on, then, doll,' Gray demanded. With a final farewell to Figg for the night, Anna and Graeme left for the night.

….

The taxi pulled up to Robert's house at 20:00 on the dot. Gray had already left the cab as Anna pulled out her purse to pay the fare.

'Have a good night,' the driver had told her as he gave her change from a ten.

'Thank you, I'm sure I will,' Anna replied sweetly leaving the car as she did so. Gray was still waiting at the door wondering what the delay was at letting them in. A few moments passed as Robert made a painful attempt at opening the door to whoever lay beyond it; his sense of coherency long gone.

'Step back, fella,' Tom had told Robert, gently pushing him aside and suggesting he find Cora which he did so, declaring his undying love for her as he went.

'Alright, Gray?' Tom had asked hugging Graeme as he walked in first. 'And Anna, you look quite the sight! And a good one at that,' Tom continued, very much enjoying the lady who stood before him. Graeme had not taken any notice and had left them both by the open door. Anna did indeed look the part. Clad in a knee length black and white piece, she was sure to turn heads. Though she only had one in mind tonight.

'Hi Tom,' she replied, kissing him on the cheek. She continued, 'Don't let this one get in such a state as he did last night,' Anna chastised Tom jokingly as they watched Gray walk in to the centre of the room in search of a drink.

'Sorry?' Tom replied confused, but Anna had already turned to walk away and hadn't heard a word.

Moving in to the now crowded lounge, Anna scanned the room, looking for him. It did not take long at all to spot the tall and dark figure. He was in the corner of the room in interested conversation with a man of a similar age. Flailing his arms excitedly, John had barely acknowledged Anna's hand upon his shoulder.

'Yea-, Anna!' John had gasped, awestruck by her; evidence of which was in his reaction. He could have keeled over and died right there for all he cared. John thought she looked incredible and he had not realised how much he missed her presence until he saw her now.

'Hello,' she giggled. It's worked, she thought as he drank her in. He hadn't time to reply as she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. John was getting gradually warmer. Gathering his thoughts, he finally spoke,

'Can I get you a drink?'

'I'd love one. What're you drinking?'

'Beer,' John replied rather embarrassed. Not quite a sophisticated choice, he chastised himself.

'Think I'll have wine,' Anna said, a seductive edge to her tone.

'As the lady wishes,' John flirted back as he made his way through the bodies to the kitchen.

….

Robert was well and truly dead to the world now as he sat on the couch with his head leaning against his arm. It had been a good party and it was getting late in to the night now. Verging on midnight, a few faces had disappeared, bidding a quiet farewell to everyone there. Cora was still in full swing though as if it was the beginning of the night and time hadn't passed at all.

John and Anna now stood close together, with Tom and Gray at their side, chatting amongst themselves.

'So, did you lads have a good one last night? You looked worse for wear this morning,' Anna chided Graeme lightly as he could only look on aware of where this was going. John could only do the same. All he could do was watch and wait. Wait for that moment that Anna's life shattered before her. He had had words with his brother earlier in the evening as Anna spoke to Cora in the kitchen and away from sight and sound.

….

'I know, Gray,' John had lightly taken his brother's wrist when they had a moment to themselves. Gray had purposefully ignored his brother for the majority of the night but there was no getting away from this one. 'I saw the messages on your phone last night and I know you were meeting a woman,'

Graeme had turned a sickly white then, knowing full well he had been rumbled. Not admitting to his brother that it was true, however, he attempted to divert him,

'You've got no proof!' he spat, 'and plus, why would Anna even believe you? You better not have fucking told her or I swear…'

'You swear, what? Your threats mean nothing to me, Graeme. I've had worse. But you'll pay attention to this one, you hear me? I will tell Anna if you don't. And you better believe I will.'

Graeme knew John was not one to bluff, genuinely frightened of his brother's words. John knew. It was only a matter of time before Anna did as well.

…

It had turned silent now. The air was growing ever heavier. This was it.

'Anna, love, shall we-,' Gray had tried to divert her away from this particular conversation. It fell on deaf ears. Tom broke the silence then, not knowing of the weight of his words until he said them,

'See, Anna, you said this before when you came in. I wasn't with Gray last

nigh-,'

There it was. The first blow. Tom's face had dropped at the realisation of his words. They had not escaped anyone else either.

'No, Anna, of course I wasn't with Tom', Gray tried to laugh off the situation though far from convincingly. Cora was now listening from across the room and Robert was coming around, too, from his drunken slumber. 'I was with Ben, remember?'

Anna's expression was painful as all of her worst feelings and fears washed over her in one go. She stumbled, trying to speak, but she got there eventually, however pained it was.

'Yo-, you, you said you were going out with Tom,' she looked up then at a panicked Graeme, glued to the spot and unable to escape. 'You did, I know you did,' Anna looked truly deluded now as if lunacy had taken her mind for its own. Not knowing what was true and what was a lie. The cogs were turning and grinding in her mind.

'Anna, no,' Gray said making Anna doubt herself even more as she stood there gormless. The attention was well and truly on them now; everyone had craned their necks to hear it unfold. Robert wasn't seeing double anymore.

'You did. You said you'd be out with Tom. But this morning…' Anna put a hand to her mouth then, coming to the realisation that her life was more of a lie than she had ever thought. 'This morning,' she continued, 'you said you were with Ben. You weren't with either of them, were you?'

Robert had sobered then almost in a heartbeat. Cora, too, was captivated and unable to look away at the scene before her. Tom had slipped from the group as not to play any more of a part in this particular disaster. I've done enough, he thought to himself.

Graeme had not answered Anna yet. His look had done that for him.

'Oh, my God,' Anna whispered, with a hand to her mouth and stomach as if readying herself to be sick. John looked on hopeless, cursing his brother but wanting nothing more than to wrap Anna up and take her away in his arms. He still felt guilty at not telling her when he had a chance.

'Anna, plea-,' Gray had tried to take her in to his hands but she turned away, scolded by his touch.

'I can't believe this,' she said, more to herself than to anyone else. 'Actually, no, I can believe this, Graeme,'

'Anna,' John had chipped in then in the hope of dispersing the crowd's attentions. Anna looked to him then and she noticed how guilty John's expression was. Did he know? Anna thought, feeling more sick than ever. Graeme looked to his brother then, too. Anna didn't hesitate now, tears streaking her made up face as she spoke,

'Did you know about this? Is this why you left in a hurry yesterday?'

Anna spoke to John directly, feeling as though she knew the answer anyway. Her eyes did not break from his as he nodded positively and admitted that that was the reason he had left so urgently.

'How did you know?' she continued, her heart breaking at every word.

John whispered, 'I saw Gray's phone and he had some… messages, and…,'

He had trailed off, unable to say anything more. To Anna, this was the ultimate betrayal. This was far worse than anything Graeme could have done to her. Graeme's deceit faded in to shadow at knowing John had not told her that Gray was cheating on her. Especially when he had had the chance only yesterday.

'I… I can't…,' Anna shouted out, tears racing down her face and on to her dress. She bolted then, up the stairs where no one could see her anguish.

'Anna!' both John and Graeme had shouted after to her but to no avail. She was gone from sight and they could only look at each other then. There was nothing else to be said.

Running to the bathroom, Anna rested her elbows on the basin and sobbed in to her hands. Nothing could have prepared her for this feeling. She knew that she and Graeme's relationship was not set to last but it was not that that got to her. It was John. John's choice not to tell her had pierced any hope she had to one day make him hers. Though they had only known each other for such a short period of time, to Anna, John Bates had never been a stranger. Taking a look through watery eyes in to her bag for a tissue, she felt a soft leather cover beneath her fingertips. It was John's glasses case. She had meant to give it back to him tonight but now, she wished to never set eyes on him again.