Hello! Thank you for the reviews, I'm happy to hear you're all still enjoying the story. I'm going to be delving into Ethan's past a little more in the next chapter or two. I had a little fun in the last chapter as well, as I looked at Connie in a bit more detail and added a bit of jonnie. I won't be writing anymore about her personal life/feelings though. I just thought i'd be interesting to include a little it of of the side of Connie we never see. As always, I hope you enjoy!
"I guess you could say it started when I was 7." Ethan began after clearing his throat.
"My mum remarried after by real dad died, that's who's name I have, Hardy. Cal never got on with our real dad for he was quiet and enjoyed things like chess and history. Cal always wanted a father who would play football with him and and take him to the pub before he was barely old enough but he never got that and so he was always a little grumpy towards him. So my dad died, when I was six, in a fire and within a year my mum had remarried a abusive, aggressive man that was the exact father figure Cal had always hoped for. I was terrified of him and he hated me because I was nerdy and the opposite to Cal."
Ethan shuffled his feet and continued to stare down at them as he carried on with his story that was bringing back so many memories.
"So..So. He loved Cal because Cal looked up to him. Mum was hardly home because she stayed at work for as long as she could without raising suspicion that she too was hiding from her new husband. Before she married him he acted like the nicest, sweetest person to her but once the deed was done he turned into a monster. I could hear mum crying at night as he shouted. I don't know if Cal could hear them arguing but he certainly knew about our mums occasional bruises or red cheek from a surprise slap. He knew I got beaten and abused to but he never stood up for me out of fear however, he'd sit with me afterwards when our step dad had gone off to the pub and would let me cry into his shoulder." Ethan continued to stare at his shoes as his face flushed red and his eyes welled with tears.
"Three years later he was arrested as my mum finally spoke up about it to the police and so we were free of the 'punishments' and bulling. Mum and I used to sit together and cry about it and Cal at the age of 13 was a typical teen and shut himself in his room nearly 24/7. We were a broken family. I was only 10 and yet i'd suffered depression, grief, abuse. When I turned 11 it was time for the dreaded secondary school. Having glasses, being small and weak and being classed as a nerd made me stand out to the bullies and my past scars made it worse. By the time I was 13 I had been a punching bag for 2 years and had had enough. Then mum fell ill with cancer and with no other family to turn to, Cal and I were taken into care. We moved schools and things improved. I thought everything had gone until October when everything began going downhill again."
Ethan looked up with watery eyes at the therapist sat in front of him.
"Ethan, I promise you. Things will be okay." She said with kind eyes. She looked painfully like Sally and Ethan couldn't bare to look at her for too long. He nodded slowly and averted his eyes back to his shoes. It was no use promising things would get better. Life has ups and downs, that's just the way it is and a promise can't control the way things will happen, or wether they're good or bad.
Cal pulled the letter out his jacket pocket that he'd shoved in there on christmas day. He was waiting outside the therapist's office waiting for Ethan and he knew that even if Ethan told her everything he would feel better for doing so but wouldn't get much help on how get out of this hole he'd fallen into. Nearly all his life Ethan had felt abandoned and down but nobody really helped. He just had to keep on fighting like he always did.
Cal reinspected the letter, concentrating on his blood group. Something just didn't add up.