Josh colllected the mail from the mailbox and took it through to the kitchen, sifting through it as always before Liam grabbed the stack from him irritably.
"Can you hurry up with that?" he snapped. Josh looked at him stunned.
"Sorry, Dad. I was just seeing if there was anything for me. I sent off for some of the colllege brochures and thought they might be here today." Liam scowled though, as if he hadn't heard him and shoved one of the envelopes in his pocket.
"I'll be late in tonight. Need you to watch the kids," he said and Josh nodded.
"Of course." He paused, giving his father a slightly anxious look. "Is everything ok?"
"Just peachy," Liam replied, before stomping out of the kitchen with a glare on his face that made Josh shiver from the tips of his toes to the hairs on the top of his head. He'd noticed the last couple of weeks that his father was constantly on edge, every time the phone rang or the door went. Now he was panicking about the mail. It didn't bode well and he found himself wishing Alyssa hadn't started work so early, that she'd been home to see what happened as she would have known what to say, how to ask their dad if everything was ok. Despite their setback when Liam returned a few months previously, Alyssa was still the apple of her daddy's eye and could often get more honesty from him than the rest of them could. But Alyssa had headed in early for a breakfast meeting with Ross and Linus, who were meeting someone from another company they were hoping to buy out as she had agreed to minute it for them. It was a huge opportunity for her and the biggest job she'd been given to do thus far and she was excited for it. The meeting would give her a real flavour for how these things went down and the experience alone would be worth a lot. Josh was happy for her but in this moment wished she had been home.
He got his brother and sister ready for school and preschool on autopilot then walked them to both before heading to his own lessons. He was distracted most of the day though, struggling to keep his focus and was only too glad when the final bell of the day rang. Lucy caught up with him as he set off for home.
"Hey, Josh! Wait up," she called. He stopped and smiled at her sheepishly, having barely seen her that day. Slipping her arm through his, Lucy looked up at him curiously. "Is everything ok?" Josh sighed and shook his head. "You want to talk about it?l"
"I can't really. I need to colllect Mattie and Maeva."
"I'll come with you. I can let Gran know I'm collecting Posey at the same time then maybe we could take the three of them to the park?"
Josh smiled, relieved at the suggestion which would give him time to talk to his girlfriend and keep the kids out of the house where he was certain the tension would be rolling around the walls. Half an hour later he sat beside Lucy on the park bench as they watched the kids on the play equipment.
"It's Dad," he said. "He's real tense again, worried every time the phone or the doorbell goes and this morning had a fit about me sorting the mail. Said I should be handing it straight to him, made it sound like I was trying to catch him out. And he's started staying out late again, like before." He swallowed miserably.
"What does Alyssa say?" Lucy asked sympathetically. Josh shrugged.
"She hasn't noticed. She's in later herself a lot of the time and thinks he's already in bed. I don't want to say anything to her because she's so happy at the moment, so relaxed and I'd hate to take that away from her. I don't want her to have another breakdown, Lucy."
Lucy nodded; she could understand that, but at the same time if what Josh feared would happen did then Alyssa would at least need the chance to stop Liam doing something stupid.
YOU ARE READING
Night Dancer
FanfictionThank you to Lolok1243 for the inspiration. Night Dancers; the girls who come out in the shadows to perform. Skilled dancers, beautiful, a fantasy brought to life, untouchable. Everyone of them has a story and he is about to collide headfirst into h...