The Cockney Canuck - 77. Chapter 77 Stir Crazy

Alex’s bedroom was unlike any other teenager’s room that I had been in. There were no games console, TV, or computers. No books, posters or even a window to look out of. It really did feel like a prison cell and I was soon bored senseless. I had long since given up banging on the door and past the stage of rummaging through his limited wardrobe. I had tried on all my new clothes and even some of his, and then at some point, I must have fallen asleep.

When I woke up, the light had been switched off so he must have come in without me knowing. I couldn’t hear the television or any other noise from the house and there was no light at the bottom of the door, so I assumed that it was late, maybe the middle of the night. When I switched the light on there was a bottle of water, an orange drink, and a wrapped store bought sandwich on the table, which I polished off within a few minutes. Under the table was an orange bucket, which I hadn’t noticed before.

‘Are you kidding me, is this supposed to be my toilet’?

I peed in it anyway before stripping down to my underwear and switching off the light. I didn’t like his bed, it sagged in the middle and I would have preferred it if he had changed the sheets after his escapade that morning with Jenny, but there was nowhere else to sleep and nothing else to do.

It was only my second night away from home but I was already badly missing my comfortable bed and all the little luxuries that I had taken for granted. My computer, my music, and Amy. I was still haunted by the memory of her crying as I ran out of the house and I wondered how she was. Her birthday would be soon but there was no way that I was going to be able to see her.

I had been so wrapped up in my fear and anger for Don that I hadn’t really considered how I would feel about leaving the others or even Sue for that matter. I had only recently started to allow her to get close to me and it was the same with Nicola. Even Daniel had edged his ways back into my good books after admitting in his texts that he was worried about me. I believed him, I had never known him to lie to anyone about anything.

‘I would be able to see Nicola and Daniel at school though…or maybe not’.

That was the moment that I realised that despite everything that I had said about never going back there, I would inevitably have to return. I still had two years left at high school and if I didn’t show up, then I would be throwing all my hard work away. All that time spent catching up, everything would have been for nothing.

It meant that at some point, I would have to face Don again and judging by the way things were going at Alex’s house it would probably be sooner rather than later.

Maybe I should have been scared. I was, after all, locked in Alex’s bedroom. A well-known bully who lived with his alcoholic father and drug dealing brother. Most of the kids I knew, would rather cross the road than pass him in the street, yet here I was, supposedly at his mercy. On paper, it sounded grim but I wasn’t scared and I knew why.

I always believed that Alex liked me a little more than he was prepared to admit, even to himself and for that reason he would never deliberately hurt me. Earlier he had taken it a step further by showing that he was also prepared to defend me, even against the likes of Jake. Admittedly, he didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter after his brother told Jake that I was Alex’s friend, but he still stood up to him and put himself in the firing line, which I would never have done.

Despite his claims that we were friends, however, he wasn’t treating me like one of his buddies, he was treating me like I was his boyfriend or girlfriend. I could see it; it was so obvious, I just wondered whether he could too. He liked to be the dominant partner in a relationship; it was how he had treated Jenny before allowing her to walk away and now he was treating me the same way. The problem for me was, I actually enjoyed it, even though I had no intentions of ever becoming his boyfriend.

I was driving myself crazy lying there trying to find solutions to problems that I didn’t even understand and wasn’t sure even existed. I needed to unwind and take my mind off it for a while and physical exercise was the best way that I knew.

* * * * *

I was hot and sweaty and my arm was beginning to ache but I was almost there when I heard the key turning in the door. I panicked, cursing my luck as I quickly pulled up my briefs and rolled onto my side so that I was facing away from the door as it opened. When the light came on, I was curled in a ball with my hands over my crotch, but my red face and heavy breathing had given me away.

“What were you doing?” said Alex and he started to laugh. “You were jerking off, weren’t you?”

“No!”

“Don’t lie. Ha, I caught you jerking off.” He thought it was hilarious and it was pointless trying to deny it; he had pretty much caught me red handed playing with the only toy that he couldn’t confiscate.

“Well, what do you expect?” I said. “There’s nothing else for me to do.” He was still laughing as he sat down on the side of the bed.

“I guess Nathan normally takes care of that for you, right?” he said and I lifted my head. “I have to admit, he’s kinda cute, but he looks like a girl.”

“Stay away from Nathan,” I said, glaring at him.

He put his hands up to proclaim his innocence. “Hey, I don’t even know the guy,” he said in a joking fashion before becoming slightly more serious. “Why the fuck would I be interested in him anyway, you’re the queer boy around here.”

“Shutup Alex, you’re not fooling me.”

“Are you calling me a fag?”

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. “Alex, what the fuck, it’s me you’re talking to…there’s no one else here, don’t you remember. Oh, never mind.” I sat up shaking my head. “I know that we’re not allowed to talk about it.”

“I don’t mind,” he said, his tone was less aggressive and his shoulders had dropped. “We can talk about it if you want.”

“I don’t wanna talk about it Alex, but it’s stupid trying to pretend that it didn’t happen or that you didn’t enjoy it because I know that you did.” I got off the bed and started to look for my clothes, but he just sat there staring at the wall.

“I’m scared,” he said after a long pause.

“What are you scared of Alex, are you frightened of what that might mean?”

“Wasn’t you?”

I sat back down on the bed. If I was hearing this correctly then Alex was admitting to me that he was gay and scared, two things that only someone with a death wish would ever have accused him of being.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of you know,” I said. “I mean, if you like boys as well then it doesn’t really matter.”

“To you, it doesn’t because you’re a fag.” I stood up and grabbed my t-shirt from the floor. It was hard work talking to him when he was like that.

“To a lot of people it doesn’t,” I said.

He laughed. “You don’t know anything.”

“I know more than you about it,” I said. “I used to think that it would be the end of the world if anyone found out about me, but now almost everyone knows.”

“Yeah,” he said, “and how’s that working out for you?” He turned his head to me and smiled but he had made a pretty good point. Maybe I wasn’t the best example to use and I had to admit that as far as Alex was concerned there would probably never be a good time for him to come out, it would have been wrong to pretend otherwise.

“Does Brad know?” I asked and his smile vanished as he stared at me almost as if he expected me to know the answer. I had no idea what that look meant and I didn’t really want to know either, but the dark cloud that seemed to appear out of nowhere soon drifted away as the conversation moved on.

“I’m not after your boyfriend…so you don’t have to worry,” he mumbled as I dragged my new t-shirt over my head. It was bright orange and it reminded me of Nathan. “He’s not my type.” I watched him as he sat on the other side of the bed looking away from me.

‘Am I your type’?

I think I already knew the answer to that but as much as I wanted to help him come to terms with his troubled sexuality, I wasn’t prepared to do anything more than talk about it. I wanted to make that clear but I couldn’t find the right words.

“Why did Jenny walk out yesterday?” I asked.

“Because she’s a fucking whore.” It didn’t really answer my question but I think I understood what he was trying to say.

He turned to watch me as I stepped into my jeans, pulled them up, and fastened them. They were a perfect fit and I was pleased with my selection. “I love Levi’s,” I said smiling.

“You look nice,” he said. “Cute even.” He leant across the bed and leered at me.

‘I guess that answers all of my questions’.

I swallowed hard and changed the subject. “So am I free to go, or are you going to lock me in again, because that’s kidnapping you know?”

“You can go if you want,” he said. “But I was gonna make you some breakfast.” His face picked up when he said that and he smiled. I looked at him suspiciously wondering if he may be schizophrenic, but my stomach was calling the shots, and I was curious to see Alex cook.

“I can’t believe you actually cooked this…yourself?” I said as he handed me a plate filled with eggs, bacon, sausages and beans.

“Yeah, it sucks doesn’t it? It’s Monday…cooks day off.” His poor attempt at an English accent brought the faintest of smiles from me as I tucked into my first English breakfast in Canada. We never had cooked breakfasts at home because they were unhealthy and Sue was a nurse as well as our cook.

“I’ll do the dishes for you if you want?” I said as I watched him scoop the final forkful of beans into his mouth. I thought that it was the least that I could do, but he found it funny.

“Fuck off,” he said which I assumed to mean no. “You’re a guest here.” I felt more like a prisoner than a guest, but I could see that he was making an effort to be nice to me, so in return, I decided to do my best not to antagonise him.

“Can I have my phone back please?”

“No.”

It wasn’t going to be easy.

“Why not?”

“Because the cops can ask your phone company to trace your signal by locking into your GPS, they know your number right?”

I laughed. “Do you really think that they’re gonna do something like that just to find someone who’s run away? I haven’t committed any crime.”

“It depends on how serious your uncle is about finding you and how much influence he has in this town.” His eyes suggested what I already knew.

‘He would get them to do it for sure’.

“So I can’t make any calls?”

He handed me the phone. “Not from here,” he said. “Don’t even switch it on. I mean it, my brother mentioned it too. He doesn’t want the cops coming around here. You can call your boyfriend from my phone if you want?”

I wasn’t convinced that what he was saying was entirely accurate, maybe his brother was just panicking, but I didn’t want to risk getting them into trouble, so I agreed to keep it switched off.

“So what’s it like in England?” he said out of the blue. “I mean, is it the same as over here, like, but more people eh.”

I had no idea what he was trying to say, but I remembered my little promise and tried to provide him with a constructive answer to a question that didn’t make any sense.

“London is very busy,” I said. “It’s a bit different from here but not much. I mean people live in the same way and have the same stuff and watch the same movies and eat the same food and wear the same clothes.”

“Yeah, I get it,” he said. “I guess it would’ve been easier for you in London though, right. I mean being gay and everything?”

“Easier than where, Cobourg?”

“Yeah.”

“I suppose. Well, yeah, it would have been because there are a lot more people and therefore more gay people. I think there are only three gay guys in the whole of Cobourg,” I said and laughed as I looked at him.

‘Maybe four’.

“Yeah, I know. It’s just here that sucks right. I mean Cobourg…it’s so fucking old and nobody’s allowed to be different. It must be hard for you guys.”

I chewed my lip as I worked over his words in my head. “Not really,” I said but I was certain that he wasn’t just talking about Nathan and me. “Well, there was the incident on the stairs but I’m not sure if that was an anti-gay thing or not.”

“It was,” he said curtly and I stared at him.

“Well, anyway. I’ll be more careful in future,” I said.

“Don’t worry dude, I’ll look after you at school. That will never happen again, I swear.” He may have meant well but it wasn’t what I wanted to hear and I couldn’t even force a smile. I was about to change the subject again when a knock on the door did it for me.

“Go downstairs,” he whispered and don’t make a noise, so I followed half of his instructions and kept quiet, but stood at the top of the stairs to listen as he opened the door.

The moment that I heard Don’s voice I felt a chill run through my body. He spoke quietly and I could barely hear what he was saying, but I heard Alex telling him that he hadn’t seen me since my accident. “If I hear anything I’ll let you know though,” he said. “You’re his grandfather, right?”

“His uncle,” Don corrected him quite loudly as I struggled not to laugh.

‘You fucker, Alex’.

“Is that it?” said Alex.

“Err…yes,” I heard Don mumbling. “Do you want to take my card; it has my number on it?”

“Not really,” said Alex. “He won’t come here.” Then I heard the door shut and ran downstairs giggling.

‘Go there Alex! I could kiss you for that…but I’m not going to’.

When he came downstairs though, I had to hug him. “Did you just shut the door in his face?”

“He was getting on my nerves dude, sorry. Now, do you mind, only this looks a little gay to me.”

“Oh, sorry,” I said as I let him go and stood back, but I got the feeling that he liked it.

The way that he handled Don that morning, dismissing him as if he were no more than a minor irritant, made some amends for my overnight incarceration and with nowhere else to go, I agreed to stay another night, providing we could swap beds.

“That’s cool,” he said. “As long as you don’t mind being handcuffed.” He was joking and we both laughed, but as weird as it may seem, I probably wouldn’t have minded at all. It freaked me out a little and kept me awake that night, although I was more concerned about myself than Alex.

I was also thinking about Don. As much as I enjoyed hearing Alex making fun of him, and as crazy as it may seem, I also felt a little sorry for him. He sounded like a broken man, quiet and humble, and in stark contrast to the brash, self-confident figure who would usually dominate any conversation. He would have found Alex’s address in the note pad by the phone, where I had written it down for Sue before my sleepover, but I hadn’t expected him to come knocking on a Monday morning when he would usually be at work.

* * * * *

Tuesday was my fourth day on the run and I became a minor celebrity when my name was read out at the end of the local news that evening, it was accompanied by a recent photograph that Nathan had taken of me on his phone. It was the first time that I had seen myself on TV but it was creepy when the presenter described me as a missing teenager. I didn’t see myself as missing; it wasn’t as if I had been abducted, I ran away of my own accord.

Alex picked up on it too and it made him nervous. “Shit man, if they find you here we could be in a whole lot of shit. I mean, they could try and do us for kidnapping or something.” It was the first time that I had seen him wavering since I turned up on his doorstep and I suppose he had a right to be nervous, although I didn’t buy into the kidnapping scenario.

Later, when Brad came home, the stakes were raised even higher when he told us that Don was offering a reward for information that would lead to my safe return. He had heard it on a local radio station.

“Two thousand dollars,” he said licking his lips. Alex had an evil glint in his eye and a smile that looked wider than his face, but I was gobsmacked.

‘Is that all he thinks I’m worth. Two thousand measly dollars, the tight-fisted bastard’!

“That’s a lot of money, man,” said Brad who seemed if anything to think that I was over-valued. The pair of them looked like vultures circling above me and I thought for a minute that they were going to start fighting each other for the chance to grab the bounty.

I wasn’t impressed. “If the money means that much to you guys, then I’ll let you hand me in and I’m sure that Don will be happy to pay you,” I said pulling my saddest face.

“What tonight?” said Brad.

“Are you sure buddy?” added Alex. “You would do that?”

They looked as if they had just won the lottery as my attempt to win a little sympathy backfired in spectacular fashion and I stormed off into the bedroom to sulk. I should have known that Don would have a few tricks left up his sleeve and I wondered what was next.

‘Bloodhounds to sniff me out or maybe the fucking Mounties to hunt me down’.

I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had managed to hassle a few of his American friends to get me on the top of the FBI’s most wanted list.

“One thing’s for sure,” Alex said later. “You can’t go out of the house anymore. You already stand out with that stupid accent of yours, now everyone’s gonna be looking for you.” He was absolutely right of course; it was bad enough keeping them at bay and they were supposed to be on my side.

It must have come into our heads at the same time because we gave each other the same wide-eyed look and shouted in unison.

“JAKE!”

“BRAD,” yelled Alex. “You gotta talk to Jake man.” He went upstairs to pass his concerns on to his brother and I joined them in the kitchen as they attempted to baton down the hatches.

“Who else knows that you’re here?” Brad asked me as he picked up his phone.

“Nobody,” I said. “I haven’t told anyone.”

“Are you sure?” asked Alex.

“Positive,” I replied. “I haven’t even been able to call anyone.” It was true, not even Nathan had heard from me. I couldn’t call him even on Alex’s phone because I didn’t know his number off the top of my head and I was too scared to switch on my phone to retrieve it even for a minute, just in case, the police were able to pick up my location.

I think that Brad managed to talk to Jake and persuade him not to cash me in for the reward but it was no surprise to hear that Jenny wasn’t picking up when Alex tried to call her.

My presence in their house was starting to take its toll and I got the impression that Brad was no longer comfortable with me being there. I could hear them talking upstairs the following morning as I lie in bed and I decided that it was time for me to make other plans.

I had managed to stay away for nearly five days, but living in their basement was becoming unbearable. I was stir crazy and needed a change of environment and some fresh air.

“I guess that I’ve made my point,” I said to Alex. “And I don’t wanna get you into trouble.” It was telling that even Alex wasn’t prepared to make a case for me staying but he did persuade me to stay for one more night.

“Brad’s out tonight,” he said, “And I’ve got a date with a girl.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Well, I won't be able to go if you’re not here.”

I laughed. “You want me to babysit Luke?”

“If you don’t mind, I can’t rely on my dad to come home and even if he does he’s not gonna be, well…you know.”

“It’s okay Alex, I don’t mind.” It was the very least that I could do to pay him back for the trouble that I had put him through.

“Just put him to bed at nine and he’ll be fine,” he said, and that’s exactly what I did. Luke though, wasn’t as well behaved for me as he was for his brothers and it was ten-thirty when he finally calmed down and allowed me to leave.

It had been raining all day and the night was hot and humid as I crept downstairs to the basement where it was a little cooler but still uncomfortable. Alex had a fan in his room which I borrowed before pulling out the sofa bed and stripping down to my briefs and t-shirt to watch television.

I wasn’t expecting Alex to be home early, if at all, so it was a surprise to hear him walking around upstairs at a little after eleven.

“I hope you’re watching the baseball down there, buddy.” He seemed to be in a jovial mood considering he was back so early. I sat up and switched it to the Blue Jays channel as he strolled downstairs. They were losing on the west coast against the Dodgers but Alex was happy and he was bearing gifts. The Dairy Queen. It was my favourite and he handed me a strawberry milkshake. “Here, I know you like these.”

I jumped up excitedly. “DQ. Yeah! Thanks, Alex, I love these…you’re the best.”

He laughed. “I know I am. Geez, I’ve never known anyone to get that excited over a milkshake before.” He was lucky I had only stopped myself from hugging him at the last second.

“These are nice though,” I said and I moved over to let him sit down on the bed in front of the fan.

“There’s a cheeseburger and some fries there as well,” he said and he tore open the paper bag and placed them in the middle between us. “I thought you might be hungry.”

“I was, thanks, I’ll pay you for them,” I asked.

“Don’t insult me,” he said. “You can take it out of the two grand your old man’s gonna give us.” He laughed as I stared at him. “Only joking dude. Was you really watching this crap?” I shook my head as I bit into the cheeseburger. “You don’t have to watch baseball; what were you watching?”

“Gay porn.”

“You really shouldn’t say that with your mouthful,” he said and laughed as I nearly choked. “What were you really watching?”

“The price is right.”

“Loser,” he said. “We’re watching the baseball.”

“So what happened with your date; why are you back so early?”

“I got fed up, she was boring. So I thought I’d come back here and hang out with my buddy instead.”

“That’s really cool Alex, so what time is he getting here?” I laughed before he slugged me on the arm. “Ouch!”

“I see you stole my fan,” he said.

“I didn’t expect you home so early. Did she stand you up or something?”

“Fuck you, girls don’t stand me up,” he said.

“Okay, did he stand you up then,” I said and then I shut my eyes and flinched as I prepared myself for the inevitable punch. When it didn’t happen, I opened one eye cautiously but he was laughing.

“I’m not gonna hit you,” he said, “because that’s what you want.”

“It is?”

“Uh huh. You like it when I hit you.”

“I do?”

“Uh huh. It turns you on.”

“Pain doesn’t turn me on, Alex.”

“Maybe not the actual pain,” he said, “but you do like me telling you what to do.” He smiled at me smugly and took a bite into his burger.

I didn’t know what to say about that, other than denying it and trying to laugh it off, which I did without much success. Alex wasn’t stupid and I always had the feeling that he could read me quite well, in the same way as I was able to read him.

I turned to look at him as I sucked on my milkshake. He was into the game, cursing as another player was struck out.

‘Maybe he came back to watch the game’?

It seemed unlikely that he would leave his date to come home and watch the Blue Jays lose again, but it seemed even less likely that he would do it in order to hang out with me.

“What’s up dude?” he said and I turned away when he noticed me watching him.

“Nothing…it’s okay.”

He shook his head. “You’re such a jerk,” he said. “You know that?”

“Yes.”

“You do?”

“That’s what you keep telling me, Alex.”

He laughed and threw a chip at me which bounced off my face. “You’re not supposed to agree.”

“If I don’t then you’ll just hit me or something.”

“I told you, I’m not gonna hit you, dude,” he said. “Here have another fry.” When the second one hit me, I frowned at him but refrained from retaliating, believing it was a trap. I thought that he was trying to provoke me as a way of initiating some kind of physical contact. We would wrestle; he would pin me down and before I know it I’m sucking his dick. That was one of his tricks but I knew that if that was his goal then he would stop at nothing.

‘At least he’s not offering me drugs this time’.

I thought that it would be a good idea to remind him that I had a boyfriend. “So I was thinking that maybe I should call Nathan, you know my boyfriend, in the morning and go to his place,” I said. “His parents will probably call my aunt and uncle to let them know I’m there and I guess they’ll come and get me. I won't tell anyone that I was here.”

“If that’s what you want, dude. I’m gonna kind of miss you being around, even though you are a total asshole.”

“Thanks,” I said. It was probably the nicest thing that he had ever said to me.

“You know I like you don’t you?” he said and I swallowed hard.

“Yeah, of course,” I said, “we’re mates.” It made him laugh but I knew what he was trying to say.

“I like you in other ways too,” he said and I could see him watching me. “You know what I’m talking about, right?” I would have had to have been totally stupid not to realise what his intentions were at that point, but he underlined his words by reaching over and resting his hand on my stomach.

I needed to nip it in the bud before he got himself too worked up and before he could work any of his magic on me. I knew how persuasive he could be when he put on the charm. I grabbed his wrist and moved his hand back to his side without looking at him.

“That’s not a good idea Alex,” I said firmly. “I don’t want that, okay?”

“C’mon man, it’s just a little fun. I know you like me too…and it’s not like I’m gonna tell anyone.” Then he moved his hand back only this time a little further down, touching the waistband of my briefs.

“No, Alex. I don’t wanna do this.”

He pulled his hand back and propped himself up on his elbow to study my face. “What’s wrong dude, I know you’re gay.”

“Does that mean that I have to…oh whatever,” I said. “For a kid with so much experience, you still have a lot to learn.”

“I’m sorry Robbie, but I don’t know any other gay people,” he said.

‘Thanks, Alex, you’re a real charmer’.

“Is that the only reason why you wanna do stuff with me because I’m the only gay boy that you know?”

“That’s not the only reason. I think that you’re cute as well. C’mon, I won't hurt you. We don’t have to do what we did before…you’ll have fun, I promise.”

I got up and sat on the edge of the bed. He was too close and I needed to put some space between us and clear my head. I had been preparing myself for this since the day that I arrived, but it still wasn’t easy.

“There are others out there,” I said. “Better looking guys than me.”

“Yeah, and how am I supposed to find them?”

“You found me!”

“I’m not going through all that again; besides, you were obviously queer.”

“WHAT?”

“Well not really obvious, but I was able to guess, wasn’t I?”

“Alex, I know that it doesn’t mean anything to you and no one will ever know or whatever…and it’s not like I don’t find you attractive or that I’m not tempted to do stuff with you…but...I can’t. I can’t because I don’t wanna cheat on Nathan.”

He looked at me as if I was mad. “He’s not gonna know.”

“BUT I FUCKING WILL ALEX. DON’T YOU GET IT?” I got up and ran to the bathroom before he could lash out at me, but he remained calm and didn’t say a word. When I returned he was still on top of my bed and not looking like he was about to move anytime soon.

“Alex, I wanna go to bed now,” I asked quietly and sat down.

“Are you sure that you don’t want me to keep you company?”

“I’m sure.”

“You won't say anything about this?”

“Of course not, I would never tell anyone.”

“Because if my old man, or my brother, or any of my friends found out about me, my life would be over,” he said but he kept his eyes fixed on the television and a distant game which was now little more than ambient noise. For once he looked completely detached from the sport that he loved. “I’m sorry man. I’m pretty fucked up.”

“No Alex. You’re just gay. You’re not fucked up…well, you might be fucked up in other ways. I mean you’re only fifteen and you’re drinking like an adult and doing drugs, which are probably killing you. You have to look after your brother because your dad can’t stay sober and you go around hitting people all the time, even those who you like. So yeah, you are fucked up, big time!”

“Thanks, buddy.”

“Don’t mention it. That’s what friends are for. But your sexuality isn’t the problem Alex. It’s all the other things that I just mentioned that are fucking you up. The things that your friends and family think are cool. I know why you’re worried, mate, but what you’re worrying most about, is the one thing that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Thank you, Professor Robbie,” he said and he clapped me. “That was very profound.” I didn’t expect him to like what I was telling him, especially as I couldn’t offer any solutions.

“I’m sorry Alex, but I don’t know what else to say.”

“Geez,” he said. “All I ever did to you was beat you up.” It made me laugh and I choked on the last of my milkshake. It went down the wrong way, sending me into a coughing fit, and Alex had to slap me on the back.

“Thanks.”

“That’s okay dude, you gotta learn to swallow,” he said. Then he kissed me on the cheek and followed it up with a cheeky lopsided grin that had me blushing. “You know where I am if you change your mind.” He really knew how to flirt and that smile got me every time, if he had of used it earlier, it may have been a different story. I like to think not, but it was a close call.

When he stood up and sidled off to the bedroom he was sporting a family size tent at the front of his pants and I was suddenly grateful that it was only the milkshake that I was choking on; it could have been a lot worse.

It was a relief to see him go and I switched off the television and collapsed across the lumpy sofa bed. He had forgotten his fan and now it was the only thing interrupting the silence. It was blowing directly onto my feet; the cold air through my toes was a nice sensation and something to concentrate my thoughts on while I fought to keep him out of my head. It was a proud moment for me; I had survived a full on Alex charm offensive and that wasn’t an easy thing to do.

‘I can’t believe that he actually kissed me’.

* * * * *

I was woken by a loud and repetitive banging coming from upstairs. It startled me as I sat up in bed, confused and frightened. Then I saw Alex running out of the bedroom in his boxer shorts. He charged up the stairs taking two at a time and I instinctively jumped out of bed and followed him.

My heart was pounding in my chest as I ran upstairs. It was still dark up there and I could hear people shouting. I panicked, tripped on the last stair and stumbled into the kitchen, landing on my knees. I was blinded by a flashlight. Then, in the shadows, I saw a man with his arms outstretched aiming a gun at me.