Chapter Eleven: Point Of No Return

Stephen took the walk back to his father's flat. It was pushing 2am by the time he reached it. Hardly a soul about besides the odd drunk or night worker. He knew the flat door would be closed and it would be too risky going in the front. So he went in the back, fumbling with the lock and regretting his ill-informed attempt. He gave a brief look around and found nobody as expected. He gave the door a few heavy kicks but he wasn't strong enough. He had to wait and hope for somebody to come in. It was a Friday night, perhaps a drunken group of friends might return or somebody from a night shift. He must have stood waiting in the dark for ages, long enough for him to consider going back to Audrey's with nothing having been done. Until two men and their girlfriends approached, drunk as lords and fumbling with their keys while giggling. Stephen came out from the dark with his head down as he watched the flat door open and quickly stepped in once the last member of the foursome entered. They were too drunk to notice him as he entered from behind, watching until they all entered the stairwell and staggered up the stairs. He briefly looked towards the now closed door. He breathed in before going up the stairs with his head still down. His father's flat door firmly locked, the drunken foursome now firmly in one of the flats. He began to kick the door down with much more force than the other one. Besides this one wasn't as strong as the backdoor and he managed to get in with a couple of kicks and pushes. He quickly got inside and leaned the broken door against the frame. Not hearing the odd few awake talking among themselves about...

"Somebody moving furniture around at this time of night!"

He nervously went towards the bedroom in which his father lay. He was now awake and attempting to move quickly. Stephen could hear him rattling inside and it honestly made him feel awful. Not awful enough though as he slammed the door open, hoping to scare him so he wouldn't have to do anything. Though this wasn't enough as Geoff remained standing by his bed. He could see just a tall figure and he guessed it was his son.

"Stephen" Geoff muttered. Holding onto the bed frame as a reminder of how old he is.

Without much thought and with no plan no he was there. Stephen removed his coat and rushed towards him. Geoff making one quick yell before feeling the coat wrap around his head. Stephen pushed him down onto the bed, the coat wrapped around his head which stropped him breathing. Geoff was struggling a little bit as he tried to remove the coat from around his head but his age meant he was soon out of energy. His hand briefly touched Stephen's hand before his hands and arms dropped down entirely. Stephen kept the coat on for a few moments after this as he didn't even register that he wasn't moving. He finally let go, removed himself and his jacket from the elderly man. Stephen's breathing got heavier and he soon let out a yell of his own. Not wanting to be around what he did any longer, he just ended up trashing the room to make it look like a burglary gone wrong. He wrapped his jacket up and held it. Rushing towards the other three small rooms and trashing them too, including knocking an old picture frame of an elderly couple onto the floor (who he assumed to be the grandparents he never met). He rushed out in panic and down the stairs, slamming open the front door and running away from the scene. His head firmly down.

...

It was 3am or a little bit afterwards by the time Stephen reached Audrey's again. He got out his keys from his jacket pocket and unlocked the door. Not knowing his mother hadn't slept since she heard him last time. He barely noticed the dim light of a lamp in his mother's living room. Audrey listened and didn't know what to think as she heard her son throw up outside the front door. She then heard him return inside, march into the kitchen and start washing his hands. He got no blood or marks but he may as well have for all the scrubbing he was doing. His jacket laid on the ground. Audrey's footsteps made him turn around in shock...

"Mom. Please help me...I've done it again" Stephen uttered without much thought.

"What?" Audrey asked with disbelief.

He turned back around as he let out a cry to himself. Banging his hand on the kitchen worktop. He heard Audrey lock the front door before switching on the hall light. Seeing her son almost crumble in front of her and she had no idea why, there was nothing to see. She picked up his jacket and swung it around the stair bannister. Making her way to the kitchen and switching that light on too, it almost made him flinch. He wasn't composed like Richard Hillman. Though that wasn't on Audrey's mind yet.

"I made a mess out of everything. Again" Stephen responded in a shaky tone of voice.

"No. Don't be silly...I know you're going through a lot. Though you aren't on your own. Me and Nick support you. Gail and Sarah will come round after a while, I promise"

"It's not money. It's gone beyond money. I'm going back to bed" Stephen uttered.

Barely able to look her in the eye after what he did. Though he did stop as he felt Audrey's hand on his arm. He felt her arms wrap around him and he let her as he held back onto her. Thinking this may be his last time, thinking the police would know straight away. He didn't seem to want to let go but he knew he had to as he pulled himself away. Audrey was deeply concerned however as he's never really done this before, she hardly got a hug out of him these last sixty odd years. He then made his way upstairs and shut himself in his bedroom. Audrey breathing in as she began turning the lights back off. Retreating upstairs for another nap herself before the later morning came. She briefly stopped outside Stephen's door and could hear the faint sounds of him crying. Though she didn't bother to enquire further and would do so in the morning.

...

"He left early on purpose I think. Don't think he wanted to face me again. I'm worried about him" Audrey told Nick in the late morning the following day.

As he drove over to pick her up and the two of them were sat in 'Viaduct Bistro'. Gail, Sarah and David still didn't want to know. So she was left with just her eldest grandson to confide in properly. Nick had tried on her behalf but they weren't having it. Mainly because David would remind them of their previous mistake in letting their guards down. Sarah couldn't get what she seen out of her head either, he's been angry before but not like that.

"Money troubles can get you in some dark places. I've been there, haven't I? I don't know what's going on with him but I will try and talk to him for you. I use to really respect him when I worked for him in Canada. He gave me a chance when I was young and stupid so I owe him" Nick assured her.

"He's done so much for this family. He gave you and Sarah jobs when you had next to nothing. He's paid for so much already, most people would have ran away from us years ago but he stayed. He was even willing to have us live with him in Canada when Sarah was pregnant with Bethany but now they just turned their backs on him like the selfish lot they are"

"I know. Bethany got so much from him too...He didn't judge any of us"

"Now he needs help and none of them are willing to do so. It was just a car, Nick. Gail stole my last great love meanwhile"

"Lewis Archer?"

"Yes. The car thing meanwhile is the only selfish thing Stephen had ever done in his life. He really thought that he was going to pay Elaine back with the profits from Sarah and Michael's business. But oh no, the drama queen has kicked him out of the business and left him jobless" Audrey further complained.

Nick briefly looking over as Gail herself walked over. Ready to do some cleaning as she sometimes did for him. Audrey giving her a dirty look as she watched her daughter remove her coat and act like she wasn't in the room. She just gave a smile to Nick and acted like her mam wasn't sitting there. This was getting silly now but they were silly sometimes. Audrey tried to ignore her back as she turned back towards Nick.

"Sack her" Audrey hissed quietly at Nick.

"No. I told you. I'm on your side but we aren't going to reunite if we all just sack each other" Nick quietly replied.

"She was perfectly fine with shacking up with a guy who robbed her house but forgiving her own brother? A step too far" Audrey spoke a bit louder.

Gail overheard this as she turned back around quickly. She slowly walked up as she hissed to her mother..."Maybe if Michael pushed Sarah, I might have reacted the same way"

"Pushed her? It was barely a tap...Not like it matters. David pushed you down the stairs and you forgave him. But oh no, Stephen gives Sarah-Lou a tiny little push and it's the end of the world"

"It's not just about that and you know it! He lied to her for weeks about the business. And he really scared her, if they were alone and not in the office. Sarah is convinced he would have done more"

"That girl is scared of her own shadow"

"I'm not discussing this. You protect your own and I will protect mine. Some grandmother you are by the way"

"I am a good grandmother to the grandchildren who don't treat my son like something they trod on!" Audrey shouted at her.

Nick coming out from behind the bar as he tried to call a truce. Trying to remain impartial. He was sick of the family drama and he secretly thought Sarah had overreacted too.

"Can we not do this? Can we just get along?" Nick asked with exasperation as he tried to get in between them.

"Sorry Nick but I'm not dropping this. If she wants to protect the lying snake of the family. She's welcome to" Gail responded.

Gasping as she felt her mother slap her around the face.

"The only snake is you right now" Audrey hissed before making her way out the Bistro.

...

Stephen tried to be as normal as possible. Though he was notably dishevelled and making no effort. His jeans have been replaced by a pair of jogging bottoms and he looked even more informal than usual. He went to Elaine's for the Saturday lunch date as he promised. She looked almost disappointed as she opened the door to find him wearing the casual clothes with unbrushed hair and red eyes. She had actually dressed up for once and set up a nice dinner. So she was expecting him to make effort back but he hadn't. She could sense something wasn't right as she let him enter.

"I erm...I made us lunch. I didn't know if you were coming when you didn't call" Elaine admitted.

"I said I would so I did" Stephen responded quickly.

She watched him sit on the nicely done table. He ignored the candles and the glasses. He just drank from the wine bottle like a vagrant before pouring it into the glass after he realized he wasn't acting normal. Elaine sat on the opposite side as she watched him pour and drink.

"What's the matter?" Elaine asked in a sad tone of voice.

"Nothing. I just came for lunch" Stephen replied half-way through pouring another glass.

"I thought this was a date"

"And it is" Stephen said. Acting as if she was the one acting odd here.

Elaine however couldn't feel less romantic. She hates to even think it but even Geoff Metcalfe made more efforts for their dates. This was not the Stephen she knew or expected either. He would never have came in just jogging bottoms and a jumper months ago. He would have at least attempted to dress smart and act nice but not today. Not lately.

"I'll go and bring out the starter" Elaine muttered as she got up.

She kept expecting him to say sorry or explain why he was acting this way. Though he was either drinking or silently shaking. Elaine brought out the starter anyway to try and break the ice. Not even a thank you but he did look a million years away. Stephen wasn't hungry or interested in at all. What he did last night had made him lose his appetite. Elaine however didn't know that and thought he was just being funny on purpose.

"Have I done something wrong?" Elaine questioned in confusion.

"No"

"Then why are you acting like this? If you didn't want to come then I would rather you have just said. Is it Gabrielle? Or what it is?"

"Don't ask me too many questions. I wish people would stop asking me questions. I don't want to answer them"

"But how else am I to understand? Please Stephen, I really want to help" Elaine spoke softly as she grabbed onto his hand.

Though this made him pull back just as quickly. He then looked down on the food which was just a bit of tomato soup and bread. He picked up his spoon and attempted to make a start. Yet the idea made him want to throw up as he put his spoon back down. Opting for another long pour and a drink as he tried to go through the motions.

"Are you not hungry?" Elaine asked after a few moments.

"No. Sorry"

"Okay. Well we don't have to eat but we could put on a DVD or something? Anything you want"

"No. I just need to get out of here. I erm...I will get you back the money once the interest rates come in" Stephen responded emotionlessly.

It was like he forgot who he was talking to. Elaine was very upset on the inside but she didn't want to force him to stay. She just felt like all her effort had gone to waste, everything. She felt invisible despite her wearing a nice dress and wearing a necklace (helped by Faye as promised). Though Elaine wasn't going to give up as she thought he was just acting like this because of Gabrielle. She saw signs that simply weren't there.

"Okay. I don't know what's wrong but you can talk to me. I know it's difficult to move on sometimes" Elaine uttered.

"Right"

Elaine walked over towards to the door with him. Watching as he opened it and left just as suddenly as he arrived.

...

TBC