Oblivion

6

It had been a long, upsetting day for Kyle. Dan was yet to come round. Because of the amount of blood he'd lost, there were fears of permanent brain damage because of lack of oxygen to his already damaged body. The next twenty four hours were critical once again. He drove home in silence. For the last week the radio had been reporting Dans story with updates on his condition. The famous missing band member, found after four years. Kyle knew what the radio would have to say about today's events.

He paused before he opened the door to his home and took a deep breath. He took just a moment to compose himself before calling out.

'Honey, I'm home.' He put down the car keys on the small table by the door, kicked off his shoes and shed his coat before hanging it on the banister. He heard a reply come from upstairs and then the patter of feet in the room above. Kyle suddenly realised the state of his clothes but it was too late, as two tiny, happy faces appeared at the top of the stairs.

'Daddy!' They called.

'Alright champs?' He smiled. He felt his worries lift as he looked at the messy faces of his two young boys. It must've been spaghetti night. 'Wheres your Mummy?'

'In the bedroom. She said she's had enough.' The eldest shrugged. He flashed his dad a cheeky grin before running off, leaving the youngest sat down on the top step, arms outstretched for a hug. Kyle needed to get out of these clothes before the children noticed. He kissed his sons blond head as he passed and promised to be back in a second.

He found his wife lying on the bed, face down, fully clothed.

'Alright babe?' He called. She grumbled. 'Tough day?' She grumbled once more before hauling herself up. Her demeanour changed instantly when she saw her husbands blood stained clothes.

'Are you ok?' She rushed over to him to check him for cuts. He shook his head.

'He tried to kill himself.' He said softly. She caressed his face, kissing his cheek and holding him close.

'Is he ok?'

'They don't know.' He shrugged. 'I couldn't be there any longer. I had to get out...I'm sorry I'm so late. I'll put the boys to bed for you-'

'No no, don't worry, I'll sort them. You go get a shower and changed.'

'No, I need to sort them. I need to.' He repeated. She didn't protest. All he wanted was to hold his sons in his arms and never let go. The past week had been exhausting, upsetting, soul destroying.

He'd always imagined finding Dan and everything be ok. But it was far from it. He'd imagined for four years that Dan was out there, waiting to be found. Not lying in some dirty alleyway, rotting away, wanting to end his own life. Not for a moment had Kyle thought he didn't want to be found and saved.

He wasn't the Dan he'd met ten years ago. The shy, funny, adorable young man with an amazing talent for music and the voice of an angel. From the day they first met, the two men had instantly clicked. Though a small age gap between them, Kyle felt he'd found a real life companion. It made working long hours and exhausting travelling so much easier. Kyle missed him so badly. He missed being able to pick up the phone at two in the morning and just chat to Dan. When Kyle and his then girlfriend Eve, had found out they were to be parents, the first person he rang wasn't his parents, it was Dan. He had been over joyed for Kyle and possibly more excited than him too. But he'd never met his child. He'd gone missing just weeks before Mikey arrived.

That's what had made Kyle so determined to find him. He would never have willingly left, knowing he was about to become an 'uncle'. For months, Kyle had been sure that Dan had been abducted, murdered and dumped somewhere. He could not understand how his friend would just not let them know he was alive and safe. It was just before Mikey's first birthday that a letter arrived.

Kyle, having showered, searched through the drawers for a new top, came across the thick folder he'd kept hidden from Eve. It contained every article and clipping that had been in the press about his disappearance. All new evidence and possible sightings, the last CCTV images. But it had never come to anything. And the letter, folded in half, but badly torn from being read too many times.

'I am safe.' Was all it read. Dan must've seen the press conference Kyle, Will and Woody had held. They'd begged him to get in touch. For Kyle the letter only intensified his hunt. He was alive. He was out there, somewhere, and he would find him.

'Can we read The Tiger Who Came For Tea, daddy?' Mikey asked sweetly from behind Kyle.

'Of course. Come on then, let's get to bed before Mummy explodes.'

That night he cuddled his children a little bit tighter and lingered in the door way a little bit longer.