Right so I know I only updated last night (so much for being less OCD with the ol' updates) but I'm buggering off to New York tomorrow morning until Sunday night so I figured I'd leave you with this until I return :) Try not to be too traumatized by it! :D and as always reviews are welcome. And as a gift for all her recent creative input, this chapter is especially for Pishta Hamster who as of today has hopefully sealed her fate as a bachelor. Hope it all went well. ;)
Steve climbed the small set of steps up to the three storey townhouse, keeping Ben's hand locked in his as the toddler stumbled up the pebbled walkway one step at a time. Realising that it could take forever for them to actually get there, Steve bent down and picked him up, ignoring his unimpressed squeal as he approached the door, frowning when he realised it was half open.
He'd been called into work at the last minute this morning and knowing that Shannon still didn't have a job, thought she might appreciate the unscheduled time with Ben.
Pushing the door lightly, it swung open revealing the long hallway which led to the open plan kitchen, boxes marked as 'shoes' 'cutlery' and 'books' scattered about the hall.
"Shannon?" he called, not wanting to intrude on something. "Shan?"
Stepping into the hallway, he dropped Ben to the floor and sat him down.
"Stay 'ere for a second, mate," he rubbed his sons cheek and stood up straight, cautiously treading down the hallway until he came to the one door which was open.
Peering into what he guessed had to be the living room, he saw Shannon's bare foot peeking out from behind the sofa, the smashed glass littering the floor along with various papers sending a shiver down his spine.
Oh shit, what the hell has she done?
Making his way quickly over to the sofa, he prepared to call out her name when suddenly his mouth went dry, his throat contracting sickeningly as he stared at what he could honestly say was high up on the list of his worst nightmares.
Pete was half lying down on the floor, his back against the foot of the sofa, his arm draped over Shannon's waist as she slept with her head on his chest, one of her legs tangled with his.
Steve wanted to scream, he wanted to wake them up and beat the living shit out of Pete, he wanted to scream at Shannon, but he didn't.
Instead he took a deep, shuddering breath and turned on his heel, walking as quickly yet as quietly as he could back to the hallway, picking up Ben and storming back down the pathway, slamming the door behind him as he went.
"Mama," Ben gurgled, pointing to the house.
"No mate," Steve shook his head, ignoring the sting of tears in his eyes as he lifted the infant into his car seat and fastened his seat belt. "Not today,"
Climbing in behind the wheel, he stared the engine and took off much faster than he should have given he had Ben in the car.
Turning the corner to head back over Chelsea bridge, a tear slipped down his cheek and he slammed his hand against the wheel angrily, trying to suppress the sobs which were building up in his throat.
Shannon and Pete.
God, it was sick. How the hell had that even happened? How long had it been going on?
The questions plagued him as he sped home, determined to push the image of them lying together out of his brain but he couldn't. all he could do was pull his car over to the side of the road and rest his forehead against the steering wheel as he cried.
Shannon woke with a start as the distinct sound of the front door slamming echoed through the empty house. Squinting at the bright sunlight which was pouring in from the half open curtains, she jumped slightly when she realised the floor was moving underneath her…only it wasn't the floor...
"Oh God," she groaned, looking up and seeing that she was actually lying half on top of Pete. Trying not to be too grossed out, she pushed herself up and stumbled over to the window, the sunlight penetrating her eyes and triggering the ghastly hangover which until that moment had been lying dormant.
"Oh fuck," she cried, seeing Steve's car pull away from the curb at surprising speed before disappearing down the road. "No, no, no, no, no!"
"Ugh, fuckin' 'ell," Pete grumbled from behind her. "Where am I?"
"Get up!" Shannon shouted, turning to face him and kicking his foot hard. "You stupid son of a bitch!"
"Oi!" he winced, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "What the fuck are you shouting at me for? I've only just woken up."
"Steve was here," she told him, clasping her hands under her chin.
"When?" Pete yawned, rubbing the back of his neck and grimacing at the empty liquor bottles surrounding him.
"Just now," she snapped. "Pete, you left the fucking door open last night and he walked in,"
"So?" he raised an eyebrow. "Is he still 'ere 'cos I could use a lift home,"
"Jesus Christ!" Shannon shouted in exasperation. "How the hell does Allie put up with you?"
Ignoring his look of confusion, she crouched in front of him and grabbed his shoulders hard.
"Your brother just walked in and saw us asleep, surrounded by empty bottles of vodka and whiskey," she stared at him hard. "Your arm was around my waist and I had my head on your chest, so do you see what I'm fucking getting at?!"
To her horror, the young man in front of her actually started laughing, pushing her hands off of his shoulders and attempting to stand up.
"No offence love," Pete smirked. "But there's no way Steve would think anything like that; he knows full well that I'd never go for you like that," he laughed, stretching his arms. "Pissy, over dramatic and uptight ain't exactly my type,"
"Well apparently, he did think it," she shot back indigantly. "Because he just stormed out of here with Ben and drove off down the road at about 100 miles an hour so how about you quit being an obnoxious little prick for ten seconds and we figure out a way to fix this?"
"Fix what?" Pete rolled his eyes. "For fuck sake, we were pissed and we fell asleep,"
"Yeah, on top of each other!" she screamed. "Imagine walking in and finding Allie like that with Matt, are you honestly going to stand there and tell me that as much as you trust her, you wouldn't assumed the worst?"
The thought made Pete's stomach twist in fury; he'd pictured it enough times when Matt had been going through his 'I-love-Allie' phase, it haunted his dreams. If he ever had walked in on it for real, he had no doubt in his mind that he'd been doing time for murder right now.
"Fuck," he mumbled, rubbing his forehead. "So what'd we do?"
"We go after him," she nodded, pulling on her jacket and searching the room for her trainers. "Its not like we don't have to talk to him anyway, remember?"
She pointed to the airplane tickets on the coffee table and suddenly everything about last night, along with his hangover, came rushing back to Pete.
"Fine," he muttered, snagging them and shoving them into his pocket. "But if he fucking punches me…"
"He thinks you're cheating on your wife and shagging his ex-wife, Pete," Shannon shrugged. "So if he does punch you, you shut up and take it,"
"Jesus Christ," he muttered, following her out of the door and giving her a gentle shove down the path. "If you're always this bossy then its no wonder he divorced you,"
"Yeah, well," she shot him a scathing look. "I'll remind you of that little comment on the day that Allie gets tired of you and starts sleeping with my little brother,"
Pete stopped walking and glared at her.
"Alright, now that was just plain fucking uncalled for," he told her before climbing into the car and fastening his seatbelt. "So what'd we do when we get there?" he raised an eyebrow. "Chances are he won't even let us in the house,"
"Well he has to," Shannon told him, pulling away from the curb and speeding towards the bridge. "Because we're not leaving until he does."
"I know," Allie sighed down the phone. "I know he's probably fine but can you just call me if you here from him? Ok, thanks Ike."
Sliding her mobile shut, Allie chewed on her lip nervously and tried not to cry; she'd called all the boys, she'd called Benjamin, she'd even called Pete's mum and nothing. No one had seen him since yesterday.
"You know he's passed out in the P.E shed at his school again, don't you?" Lara smiled, trying to ease the tension in her friends face. "Remember last time when he was missing for a night and Benjamin found him asleep in the football net?"
"I told him to piss off," Allie whispered, shaking her head. "He begged me to open the bedroom door and I wouldn't. I just wanted him gone and now if anything happens to him…"
"Hey," Lara got up from the sofa and crossed over to the large window seat Allie was sat in, staring out at the driveway and waiting for Pete to stumble through the gate like he always did. "Nothing's happened to him,"
"But he always calls me," She shook her head, her eyes stinging from the tears building up behind them. "Even if he's angry, the least he'd do would be to send me a text to let me know he's ok…"
Suddenly, her phone rang and she jumped, almost knocking Lara to the floor as she scrambled about for it, sliding it open and half shouting down the receiver.
"Pete?"
"Allie, its Steve,"
She sighed heavily, trying to hide her disappointment as she shook her head at Lara who was staring at her expectantly.
"Hey Steve," she rubbed her temple tiredly. "Is everything ok?"
"Can you come over here?" he asked her, his voice low and unfeeling.
"What? Right now?" Allie frowned.
"It's urgent," he told her.
"Um…ok, I just I can't stay long because I'm still trying to get hold of Pe-…" she trailed off, frowning and staring at the phone. "He hung up on me,"
"Did he sound ok?" Lara asked her. "Was Pete with him?"
"I don't think so," she shook her head causing loose strands of soft honey coloured hair to fall into her eyes. "He didn't mention anything…he actually sounded really cagey."
"Are you ok?" the red head asked, taking her hand. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, its ok," Allie smiled gratefully at her. "But uh, would you mind maybe looking after Poppy for me for an hour?"
"No," Lara smiled broadly, turning to the bassinette in which the tiny little girl was wiggling around restlessly. "What'd you say to a bath and a SpongeBob marathon, Popsicle?"
The baby gurgled in response, staring at the two women with her blue eyes wide.
"You're my hero," Allie told Lara, kissing her forehead before standing up and shoving her feet into her ballet pumps, tightening the belt on the white Prada shirtdress she was wearing over her skinny jeans.
"I'll be back soon, sweetie." she whispered, leaning over the crib and kissing Poppy's forehead, smiling when the baby grabbed hold of her hair and stared at her.
The air outside carried a chill with it despite the sunshine which was scattered about the courtyard as it filtered through the large willow trees. Trying to avoid focusing on the sickening feeling in her stomach, Allie climbed into her car and placed her phone on the passenger seat, making sure it was on loud so that if anyone should ring she would hear it straight away.
Pulling out of the driveway onto the street, she sped up a little as she neared Kensington Gardens; Steve's house was only a five minute drive from here but it seemed to be dragging on forever.
Every time she heard a siren, saw a car accident or a police man her hands would tighten on the wheel wondering if any of it had to do with Pete.
"Don't be such a fucking idiot," she spat at herself. "He's fine,"
The words seemed to echo in the car, creating a prison of her own hopes around her. She could try and push all the bad thoughts and worries out of her head, but they would still be there, lying, waiting for the phone to ring and confirm any of them.
All she needed was to see Pete, to hold him and tell him she was sorry; then everything would be ok. She was sure of it.
"Steve!" Shannon shouted, pounding her palm against the glass door. "Steve, please just open up!"
Throwing a glance over her shoulder at Pete, she frowned seeing him crawling along the pathway.
"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded.
"Steve used to leave a key out here for me when I was pissed," he told her, lifting another plant pot and cursing under his breath. "I dunno what he did with it but its gotta be out 'ere somewhere,"
Sighing, Shannon went back to banging on the door and shouting.
"Steve, come on!" she cried. "This is ridiculous, just let me explain,"
"Oh fuck!"
Shannon snapped around to face Pete who was still on the floor, her eyes wide with hope.
"What? Did you find the spare key?" she asked in a hurry.
"Nah," he stood up, shaking his head. "But I did find a nest of them cheesy bob things," he shuddered. "I fucking 'ate bugs,"
Rolling her eyes, she slammed her hand against the door again, much weaker this time, her resolve weakening.
"Steve, please," she begged quietly. "Just open the God damn door,"
"Move," Pete told her, pushing her away from the door and staring into the hallway through the glass. "Bruv, come on yeah? This is fuckin' daft, open the door and just let me explain, yeah?"
Silence greeted them and Shannon snorted behind his back.
"Great job," she snapped. "You're so much better at this than I am,"
Shaking his head, Pete took a step back and yanked his jacket sleeve down to cover his fist.
"Whoa, wait," Shannon grabbed hold of his arm. "What the hell are you doing?"
"He won't let us in," Pete shrugged. "So we'll just let ourselves in,"
"You can't break the door," she shouted. "Are you crazy?"
"Fuckin' 'ell, do you wanna get in or not?" he frowned at her as she went quiet. "Yeah, I thought as much, so just quit your fuckin' yappin' and let me do this,"
Taking a deep breath, he brought his arm back and aimed it at the glass, preparing to slam it forward when suddenly the door opened of its own accord and a hand shot out, grabbing him by the collar and flinging him roughly against the wall.
"You sick little cunt," Steve growled, holding him by the throat.
"Bruv, you've got it wrong," Pete hissed, struggling against the older man in vain. "It's not what it-…"
He was cut short when Steve slammed his fist into Pete's jaw, making the younger man shout out in agony when the action made him bite down hard on his tongue, the taste of copper filling his mouth.
"First off, don't call me 'bruv'," Steve hissed, pulling his head back up to face him. "Second off, you don't fucking speak until I tell you to, alright?"
"Steve, stop it!" Shannon cried. "This isn't helping,"
"And you," he turned to face her, his eyes wild and dangerous enough to make her take a step back. "You can shut the fuck up 'n all. You come round 'ere crying over the fact that I'm with someone else and the 'ole while you're fucking my brother?"
"Steve, don't be such a fuckin' twat," Pete hissed. "Nothin' 'appened, alright? Why the fuck would I shag 'er?"
"Because that's what you do, ain't it, Petey?" Steve leered at him. "You fuck up and you hurt people, that's all you were ever fucking good for,"
"I went to see 'er to tell 'er to stay away from Allie," Pete used all the strength he had in him to shove his brother backwards, his hands instantly going to his throat to soothe the aching muscles. "We were both a bit pissed and we ended up crashing out on the floor, that's it."
"You actually expect me to believe that?" Steve laughed. "How fuckin' dumb do you reckon I am?"
"Given you're accusing me of screwing your ex-wife I'm gonna say very," Pete snorted. "Mate, 'ave you actually thought about what you're accusing us of? You honestly reckon that I'd risk losing my wife and daughter for that?"
He pointed to Shannon who despite her fury couldn't help being a little offended.
"Hey," she frowned at him.
"Just get out," Steve pointed at the door. "I don't wanna see either of you ever again, you get me?"
"Bruv, you're bein' a right fuckin' mug," Pete told him. "If you shut your mouth for ten seconds and let me explain…"
"Explain what?" Steve practically screamed. "You slept with my wife, what the fuck is there left to explain?"
"What?"
Pete froze, his heart sinking the whole way down to his stomach and then back up, pumping ice through his veins as it went. Forcing himself to turn around, he met Allie's eyes and shuddered at the grief, the utter agony he could see lurking in the emerald depths. Her hands were shaking as she brought her fingers up to her lips, pressing them there as tears filled her eyes. He saw the familiar glow in them burn out, replaced with a deadness that made his stomach ache.
"Oh my God," she whispered again.
"Allie…" Pete started, his heart breaking when she shook her head and turned, running back out of the front door.
"Shit," he hissed, not wasting a second before he took off after her.
The front door slammed and Shannon gulped nervously, realising that her and Steve were now completely alone. Her eyes drifted down to his fist, noticing that he was stretching his fingers which he had obviously damaged when he hit Pete.
"Are you ok?" she pratically whispered, moving closer to him, stopping only when he turned his cold blue eyes on her.
"Don't you dare fucking talk to me," he hissed at her. "Get out of this house, now."
"Steve, nothing happened," she shook her head, yet more tears streaming down her face. "You have to listen to me, ok? I know it looked bad but this is me and Pete you're talking about…just stop and think for a second how ridiculous that is."
"I don't 'ave to think about it," Steve snapped at her. "I've still got the image of you two in my 'ead!"
"We were drinking and we fell asleep!" she shouted, her patience finally snapping. "Pete had had a fight with Allie and I was pissed off because you dropped my stuff off. D'you know the reason Pete came to see me?" she stared at him. "He came to tell me to go back to Boston because he didn't want me near Allie." She laughed and shook her head. "Does that sound like a pick up line to you?"
"Right, so he just turns up out of nowhere and you two decided to start bein' friends, yeah?" Steve spat at her. "I don't believe you,"
"For God's sake, we didn't sleep together!" She screamed. "He's your brother, Steve. There's not enough vodka in the world to make me go down that road! And no, ok maybe inviting him in and getting drunk wasn't the best idea but I just needed someone to…"
"To what?" Steve glared at her. "To fuck around with to get back at me? Is that what this is, Shan? Some weird revenge trip for me being with Gemma? You thought you'd fuck my brother to get back at me?"
"Oh my God!" she screamed, gripping her head in frustration. "I didn't have sex with Pete!"
She grimaced slightly, having never bargained that she would ever have to say those words.
"You may not trust me right now, ok? You may not even like me," Shannon stared at him determinedly. "But you do know me and you know that I would never do anything like this."
Steve stared at her, his jaw set, his fist still clenched at his side; he wasn't saying anything but Shannon could see in his eyes that he was starting to relent slightly.
"Yeah, well at one time I honestly thought you'd never leave me, either," he shot at her. "So maybe I don't know you as well as I thought I did,"
He moved to walk away from her but she reached out, grabbing his arm and sending shivers through his body. It was the first physical contact he'd had with her since she left and as much as he wanted to pretend it wasn't affecting him, it was.
"Wait," Shannon begged. "I know that you're angry right now, but I need to talk to you,"
"We're done here," Steve forced himself to snarl at her, yanking his hand out of hers. "Go home, you can have Ben tomorrow, I'll find someone else to look after him today,"
"What? Someone like Gemma?" she snorted.
"Don't fucking go there with me," he warned her darkly. "Not after what's just happened, you don't even know her,"
"No, I don't," she conceded. "But neither do you apparently."
"What?" Steve frowned, not understanding her.
Not bothering to answer him, Shannon reached into her coat pocket and wrapped her fingers around the plane tickets she and Pete had found. Just as she moved to pull them out, the stairs creaked and Gemma appeared, her hair dishevelled from sleep, wearing only one of Steve t-shirts.
"Baby, what's going on?" She mumbled, stifling a yawn as she eyed the fallen vase in the hallway. Her hazel eyes darkened considerably when she spotted Shannon who quickly shoved the tickets back into her pocket. She couldn't do this with her here and it's not like she could go anywhere without her ticket anyway.
"What's she doing here?" she asked, staring at Steve with an arched eyebrow.
"Nothing," Shannon shrugged. "I'm going,"
Turning on her heel, she just about caught the look of disgust on the blonde's face when Steve rushed after her, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her around to face him just as she reached the front door.
"What were you gonna say?" he asked her urgently. "What was that about?"
Shannon met his eyes and forced herself not to start screaming, to lunge at the smug looking bitch on the stairs and tell Steve everything.
"Nothing," she told him with a watery smile. "Its like you said, we're done here."
Not giving him the chance to say anything else, she yanked the door open and stepped back out onto the pavement, frowning when she noted that both Pete and Allie had disappeared. Her stomach tensed with guilt as she recalled the utter devastation on the young blonde's face and she hoped that wherever they were, they'd somehow managed to work it out. Stopping beside her Jeep, she stared open mouthed at the front of it which had been smashed to pieces. muutering under her breath, she decided to leave it there and catch the train back to Lambeth.
Making her way down the street, she didn't need to turn around to know that Steve was still watching her from the doorway, his bright blue eyes boring into the back of her head as he fought the angels and demons inside himself, debating whether or not to run after her.
Pulling the airplane tickets out of her pocket, she stared at them, swallowing hard as the weight of the paper seemed to grow so great that she felt like she would drop them but she couldn't. They were her only shot at gaining her family back. They were all she had left.
Dun, dun, DUN! :D So its all gone a bit pear shaped...the next chapter shows what happens after Pete chased Allie out of the house but like I said, you'll have to wait till Sunday to get a look at it. ;) Go on, leave me a review as a going away present and make me smile. xx