Chastity sat sipping her coffee. Across the brim of her cup, she stared at Paddy. It wasn't deliberate, but they were drinking in unison. Paddy had been astonished when she'd explained how drunk Aaron was the previous evening. Unexpectedly, he'd not heard it through the rumour mill yet and it was her grim pleasure to fill him in.

"I thought he couldn't drink."

Chastity had plonked herself down on the chair across the table from Paddy. He wore a puzzled expression and readjusted his glasses. Chastity shrugged. "Me too, apparently he wasn't so bothered if he was sick." Paddy looked unexpectedly anxious. "Why do you think he got like that?" She'd not really let herself wonder. Last night had been pretty stressful and downright odd. Zak and Cain hadn't even bothered to get him upstairs. They'd just left him on the couch, pulled down the blanket covering the back of the chair and instructed him to go to sleep. It worked for a couple of hours. Each time Chastity went through the back, Aaron would be snoozing gently. He woke up later and lay there talking rubbish to her. The alcohol slightly wore off after a time, which meant he no longer resembled a heap of clothing in a washing basket. Instead, he'd wandered around, bumping into furniture and laughing like an idiot. He'd stumbled up to his bedroom at some point and then crashed around in the living room again at about five a.m. She had to admit that it worried her and made her feel quite guilty. "I don't know why," she answered thoughtfully. "Aaron said that his current medication was making him sick anyway, so he might as well have a drink. I guess his lack of alcohol over the years explains how he'd gotten into such a state." Really, it all made perfect sense to her and she mulled it over, allowing the explanation to settle comfortably in her brain. Paddy sat frowning and absently wiped at his mouth. She recognised this as a concerned gesture. There was something on his mind. Chas could tell by the way he kept drifting for a moment, the internal dialogue running horizontally through his mind. "What are you thinking?" she asked. She trusted Paddy's judgment over her own when it came to Aaron, even though she usually ignored him. He softly licked his bottom lip and shifted in his seat, his grey shirt crinkled in the folds of his stomach. His words were hesitant. "Do you think it's weird for them both to see each other?"

"Who?"

"Aaron and Jackson."

Chastity felt her hackles rise, she was instantly on edge. She didn't want to hear their names in the same sentence and she certainly didn't want any connection made between Aaron drinking and Jackson. "Maybe, but… you know…" Paddy raised an eyebrow, his expression kind and apprehensive. It was the same as when he explained to his customer that their beloved pet needed to be put down. "You know…?"

She shrugged. "Yeah… you know… life goes on."

"Chas…" He was easing into a gentle explanation. She didn't want to hear it and quickly put her hand out to silence him. "His drinking has nothing to do with Jackson."

"What if they've had an argument?"

"Why would they?"

"What if it was about them getting back together?"

"That's not going to happen." The ground shifted beneath her feet. She didn't know what Paddy thought he knew, but it was wrong. She knew what Dean and Aaron had. Aaron's behaviour last night proved that.

"Chas…" She didn't even want to contemplate Paddy's question. She wanted it ground up in a dustbin truck and left to rot at the bottom of a landfill. "Aaron loves Dean." She squared her jaw, settling into defence mode. It was pretty clear from Paddy's expression that this wasn't idle speculation. "What if he loves Jackson more?"

"He doesn't."

Paddy rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Even you suspected this was Aaron's reason for coming home."

"I was wrong."

"Have you ever actually asked him and been prepared to really listen?" She didn't need to. She had all the hard evidence she required, a jury wouldn't come up with a contradictory verdict. She jumped up from her chair wanting to put some distance between their words. "I don't need to ask him. I heard everything he said last night."

"What? When he was drunk?"

"What difference does that make?" Paddy leant forward in his seat, his hands gently squeezed between his thighs. He was imploring her to listen. "It makes all the difference."

"Look!" She rubbed at her forehead, trying to relieve the whirling headache gathering speed. "All I know is that last night, when Aaron was drunk, he tried to climb into a taxi to see his boyfriend who lives on the other side of the world. Not the ex-boyfriend who lives on the other side of the street."

"All right." She watched Paddy look away for a second, his thoughts playing something through. He sniffed loudly and met her eyes. "You want to know what I know?" She wasn't sure that she did. "No."

"Last week, Aaron turns up out of the blue after we discover that Jackson messaged him. We find a photo of Jackson in Aaron's luggage. Aaron keeps disappearing and we both know he's spending time with Jackson, and…" He paused and then reluctantly continued. "Adam told me that he didn't think Aaron was climbing back on the plane." Chas closed her eyes, she couldn't handle this. "I also went to see Jackson yesterday. He'd been crying all day. He wouldn't say, but I knew it was because something had happened between him and Aaron." He pushed up his glasses. "Then finally, this morning, you tell me that Aaron unexpectedly decided to get wasted, and suddenly, desperately wanted to run away back to Dubai." Why was Paddy fighting their corner? Chastity knew how worried Paddy had been about Aaron's return. What was it with the change of heart? "You can't possibly be telling me that you would be happy with the two of them getting back together?" She saw it in Paddy's eyes. She read his uneasiness. He didn't want this anymore than she did. "It doesn't matter what I want. This is about Aaron, and what he wants." She didn't say anything. What could she say? Nausea welled up inside her gut. She didn't want to believe that her son was so stupid to throw away everything he had. She wouldn't let him. Tension coiled around her frame, tears filled her eyes and she stared vacantly at the wall behind his head. "Paddy, I know that you care and you want what's best for him. So please let me deal with this." Paddy exhaled, utterly frustrated. "Deal with what, you've got to let them get on with this." But she wasn't hearing him. She was remembering her son's heartache and pain. She was recalling him falling apart. She was imagining what his next suicide attempt might look like. Her eyes blinked slowly. "I'll sort this."