Hello everyone! Here's the next chapter, I really hope you enjoy. Please let me know your thoughts as always, thanks, Kayxxx :)
I'll always be a Knight – Chapter ten
"I can't believe he just swooped in and took them away like that" Ethan huffed as he wondered around the kitchen looking in the cupboards.
"I know" Cal replied as he sat at the table thinking back over everything.
"And the fact he's back to normal just like that, have you ever heard of a person being discharged from a palliative care ward? Because I haven't!" Ethan spoke out amazed.
"I know, trust it to be him" Cal shook his head.
"I feel like something bad is going to happen, I've got a feeling in the pit of my stomach and it's usually right" Ethan told him as he continued to look through the cupboards, he pulled out a whisk and a bowl.
"Should we have stopped him?" Cal asked in dread.
"We couldn't have stopped him" Ethan shrugged.
"I just keep thinking about Peter's little face" Cal sighed as he looked up at Ethan confused, "what are you looking for?" he asked.
"Eggs" Ethan told him as he continued to look.
"They're in the fridge" Cal told him.
"Oh yeah" Ethan replied as he went to the fridge and pulled out two eggs.
"Why?" Cal asked confused.
"Because we forgot Maddie's birthday, I'll make her a cake and take it round later, I don't want her hating me- us" He corrected himself as he got to work.
"You're baking a cake?" Cal asked with a smirk.
"Got any better ideas?" Ethan asked.
"Get her a card and throw a twenty pound note in there, sorted" Cal shrugged.
"Well...we can do that too" Ethan replied, Cal looked at him confused, "Those kids deserve to be made a fuss of, I doubt she'll have a good day today, her own dad only got her a card...remember when we were little and we'd come down to a living room overflowing with presents on our birthdays?" Ethan smiled as he reminisced.
"Yeah and it was all mum" Cal told him bluntly.
"Well I know that now" Ethan replied, "She'd always buy a present for the kid whose birthday it wasn't too so they didn't feel left out" He smiled and Cal did too, "she was amazing" Ethan announced sadly, Cal nodded in agreement.
"You know, a part of me is jealous of little Peter, his Dad just accepts him, he lets him wear football kits, God remember the fuss he'd make if I ever wore a football kit?!" Cal shook his head, "Why didn't he let me be a kid?" he mumbled.
"Well you turned out pretty well so who cares" Ethan told him.
"Did I?" Cal muttered to himself.
Suddenly Ethan's phone started to ring, he pulled it out and looked at the caller ID, "It's Dad" He stated confused.
"Hello?" He answered it.
"Ethan!" Maddie's voice called desperately down the phone.
"Maddie, what's wrong?" Ethan spoke shooting a concerned glance at Cal who stood up and watched him warily.
"It's Daddy, he's on the floor and he won't wake up" She cried, "I don't know what to do I think he's dead" she continued.
"Right Maddie you need to put the phone down and call an ambulance right away okay? We're on our way" Ethan told her determinately as he grabbed the car keys and he and Cal hurried out of the apartment.
"Ethan I'm scared" she whimpered.
"We'll be there soon okay? Just try and stay calm for me" Ethan told her and she put the phone down.
They'll pulled up outside their father's house, Ethan got out before his brother had even stopped the car. The first thing they noticed was that they'd beat the ambulance. "I thought he would've moved out of this place by now" Cal spoke amazed to find out their father still lived in their childhood home.
"Maddie!" Ethan shouted as he frantically banged on the front door, he and Cal looked through the window; they could make out their father's figure lying on the floor.
"Cal..." Ethan spoke in dread.
Maddie opened the door and the pair of them rushed inside, Ethan kneeled down beside his father and examined him. Cal looked around the living room amazed, everything was just how he remembered, all his childhood memories flashed through his brain in seconds. He looked over to the mantelpiece to find there was a picture of him and Ethan when they were children, he picked it up and wiped the dust off it; it obviously hadn't been looked at in years. He smiled sadly as he thought back. He was soon snapped out of his thoughts when Maddie tapped him on the back.
"I'm scared Cal" She whimpered.
"Hey, don't be alright?" Cal a smiled sympathetically as he placed the photo frame back down and focused on comforting Maddie, "What happened?" he asked her.
"I don't know, I was upstairs and then I heard a bang and came down and he was just lying there" Maddie explained as she sobbed.
"I bet this wasn't how you planned your birthday going eh?" Cal asked as he hugged her.
Maddie shook her head, "I'd rather have spent it with you not knowing and Daddy still being in hospital" She cried, "I'm sorry for being so horrible to you Ethan" She called over but he was too busy trying to find a pulse on their father.
"It's okay" Cal reassured her as he watched Ethan seeing if he needed any help.
"Dad can you hear me?" Ethan shouted, "Its Ethan Dad, if you can hear me squeeze my hand" He placed his hand in his father's limp hand but he shook his head and shot a glance at Cal.
"Is he dead?" Maddie cried, "He's dead isn't he!" she panicked as she clung onto Cal.
"Maddie sweetie, you need to calm down or you'll have a panic attack" Cal told her calmly as he kneeled down before her, "deep breaths okay?" He smiled reassuringly.
"Um, Cal why don't you and Maddie wait outside for the ambulance?" Ethan suggested as he readied himself to start chest compressions.
"No! I'm staying here, is he dead?" Maddie asked desperately.
The pressure was getting to Ethan, "Ugh I can't find a pulse!" he spat out frantically as he felt his father's neck for a pulse once more before he began any CPR, he looked up at Cal helplessly and the older man noticed tears building in his eyes, Ethan was getting too worked up. Seeing Ethan panicking caused Maddie to panic even more.
"Let me have a look eh?" Cal suggested as he kneeled down beside their lifeless father and Ethan. Ethan nodded and shakily stood himself up. Cal placed two fingers on his father's neck, just below his jaw line and closed his eyes to focus, "...he's got a pulse but it's very weak" He told Ethan and Maddie who let out a sigh of relief.
"Paramedics!" Iain's voice called from the door as they made their way in, "Ethan, Cal?" he spoke confused.
"It's our Dad" Ethan explained everything to Iain and Jez as Cal stood up and looked at Maddie who watched everything hauntingly.
Suddenly realisation over powered Cal; someone was missing, "Maddie, where's Peter?" He asked.
"He ran away, we were going to go bowling for my birthday but he said he wanted to be with you and Ethan so he ran away. He's been gone for ages, all the neighbours are out looking for him, Daddy called the police but they won't do anything until he's been missing for a day" Maddie told him.
"What?!" Cal spat out, "He's out there alone?" He asked and Maddie nodded.
"Who's out where alone?" Ethan asked as he stepped back and allowed Iain and Jez to do their jobs.
"Peter's gone" Cal told him desperately.
"What?" Ethan snapped, "how long has he been gone Maddie?" He asked her.
"Like two hours" Maddie told him.
"Has he ever done this before?" Ethan asked.
"Nope, never. He's not allowed out on his own" she replied, "He wanted to go back to your apartment" she told them.
"Well if he were heading there two hours ago surely he would've made it by now?" Ethan spoke as he thought.
"Maybe he got lost" Maddie suggested.
Cal ran his hands through his hair as he shook his head, "we have to find him" he announced determinately.
"Cal..." Ethan began awkwardly, "I'm going to stay here with dad" he told him.
"Me too" Maddie took hold of Ethan's hand.
"You've got to be kidding me?! Our five year old brother has gone missing and you're staying here with him?!" Cal snapped.
"I don't want him to wake up alone..." Ethan told him sheepishly.
"Alone?" Cal scoffed; "he deserves to be alone" he spoke through gritted teeth.
"That's not true Caleb..." Ethan sighed.
"This little boy thinks nobody likes or cares about him are you really going to prove him right by not helping look for him?" Cal shouted, "Maddie, why don't you come with me eh? Don't you care about Peter?" He spoke more calmly trying to persuade her.
"Daddy needs me" she replied.
"Peter needs you! The more people looking for him the better chance we'll have of finding him! He could be lying dead in a gutter somewhere by now" Cal shouted.
"Caleb!" Ethan snapped as he hugged Maddie, "pay no attention to him Maddie" he told her as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Fine I'll find him on my own, I've got a feeling I know where he might be anyway, I'll tell him his family don't give two damns about him while I'm at it" Cal spoke firmly as he forced out a smile and rushed out.