Chapter Sixty-Two

Night had fallen on the entire country and thus the darkness was paramount. Leanna had fallen asleep in the bed after a bit of tossing and turning. Though she was awoken by the sounds of heavy footsteps on the landing. Ethan couldn't sleep tonight (his sleeping tablets having run out). He could only sleep with them ever since Maya's death for his original victim has died and so has his control. Kelly being the only person left under his control but he couldn't invite her back round to the house while he had guests. She was twenty but a forty-five year old man dating a twenty year old girl? No, that wouldn't look good; even he knew that. The girl just listened to him pacing around for what seemed like twenty minutes, he briefly stopped outside the door before retreating to the room next door. She heard him switching on the light and shutting the door. He was in his 'snooker room' and she could hear the faint sounds of a radio now playing. Ethan was currently being driven insane by his own demons. The sounds of the radio only getting louder, making Leanna tut as she checked the time; it was around 3am! Rather carelessly, the girl got out of bed and walked towards the room hoping to tell him to turn it off. She had no idea what a bad mood the creature was in tonight as she opened the door...

"Can you turn it down?" Leanna asked him as she stood half-asleep in the doorway.

This made him look towards her. Shaking his head being his only response, no; he didn't want to turn it down. So he just ignored her presence, pacing around the room. Sitting at the far end of the room by this point. Leanna just scoffed as she muttered..."Why is everyone so lame in this family?"

Turning up her volume again, she just shouted at him...

"Thanks for not helping me sleep!"

Slamming his door shut and retreating back to the spare bedroom in a huff. Her father Liam was lucky he was downstairs, he could hardly hear the radio upstairs. Though the man was having his own problems and it wasn't just the fact the couch was hard. No, Rosa kept waking up and getting confused to who was lying across from her on said couch. As she kept calling out every few hours...

"Who's there?"

"Just me, Liam" Liam answered for the fourth time that night.

"Ah...Stupid place to sleep"

"Yeah I know" Liam muttered under his breath.

It was a stupid place to sleep as he could hardly get any. Though he would have to lump it until he found another place near his surgery. Talking of which, he had to be there in around four hours. He was hoping to maybe catch another two hours of kip though he didn't count on it, the faint sound of the radio finally catching his ear. Back upstairs, Leanna had put on her earphones and was playing some whale sounds but it wasn't helping.

...

Things at the farmhouse were slightly calmer. Henrietta had managed to fall asleep with her head resting on Cain's chest. He was still awake, wondering how he was going to get out of this one with a clear conscience. Though he knew he only had himself to blame, he went after her thinking she would be easy. He wasn't wrong there but he was wrong in thinking getting rid would be just as easy. Of cause she was depressed, anyone in her shoes would be; he felt rather stupid now. Though he found himself twirling his finger around her curly hair regardless, men seemed to like doing that to her she found. Like they never seen a perm before. With a slight pause, the man untangled himself from her.

"What's wrong now?" Henrietta mumbled.

"Nothing, I'm just going to the bathroom...Seriously Ettie, you need to stop acting like every move I make is serious"

"Cain?"

"What?"

"Don't treat me like I'm some dumb young floozy...Kim did say something to you, didn't she? Because you don't just ignore me one day and then treat me like nothing happened the next day on a whim"

"What could she have said?"

"Cain!"

"Alright then...She said she found you with a bunch of pills and that you were going to take them but that has nothing to do with my mood" Cain insisted.

Though of cause it had everything to do with his mood. It was his sole reason for carrying this fling on. Without it, there was nothing. Henrietta seemed to know this as she just gave a nod. There was no point in this anymore, was there? The man was only with her out of sympathy and quite frankly, she didn't want it.

"Cain, I'm not going to kill myself or anything like that, so don't worry. If you want me to go, just say" Henrietta assured him, giving him the easy way out.

With a slight pause, Cain just gritted his teeth; she was giving him a way out. Feeling like this might be his only chance, the man just nodded back.

"Well if you're sure then you know where the door is. I did enjoy talking to you, I hope you know I wasn't just using you for sex" Cain finally answered.

"It's okay, you don't owe me a thing"

"Take care though, yeah? Don't go doing anything stupid, okay?"

"Okay"

"I will give you a lift back home, I'm not having you wandering back on your own at this time. Come on" Cain urged, giving the woman a gentle tap on the shoulder.

...

The following day and things seemed to be back to normal. Liam has left to go to work by the time Leanna woke up. He had no qualms about leaving her alone in the house, Ethan wasn't a threat as far as he was concerned. So she came down the stairs fully dressed to find Ethan in the living room, her father at work and that she knew. Ethan was in her bad books currently for last night's actions. He woke her up and she could barely sleep for the rest of the night because of his stupid radio.

"Morning" Ethan simply called as he seen the sixteen year old in the doorway.

"Don't morning me, you kept me up all night with your stupid radio. I asked you to turn it down and you didn't, how selfish can you be" Leanna complained.

"Sorry...I was just in a bad mood, it won't happen again"

"Too right it won't because next time, I will be telling daddy and that's a promise"

He raised an eyebrow slightly at this. Turning his attention back to his great-grandmother Rosa, passing her some warm porridge. The woman could still eat on her own thankfully, so she wasn't totally invalid however she was near to being bedridden. He didn't expect her to have long left. Leanna sitting down on the couch by this point, her father's pillow and blanket placed at the side.

"What made you and your daddy stay here?" Ethan asked.

"It wasn't my choice...Daddy made the decision, we're only here for a bit until he finds us a new place"

"Right, does erm...Does Aunt Henrietta know?"

"I don't know, we haven't seen her since the funeral. Why didn't you go anyway? I thought you and Maya were close, she use to always talk about you when she was with my dad"

"Well me and Auntie don't get on very well, I didn't want to cause a fuss by coming. I wanted to come so badly though...I know she was a bit on the wrong side but she was always like a little sister to me"

That was the story he kept up all his life. She was like a little sister to him he always claimed, everyone believed him. Even his own mother (who was currently somewhere abroad like always).

"Is that why you were up last night? Because you were thinking about things?" Leanna questioned.

"Yeah, I suppose it was...Anyway, enough about the past"

...

TBC