Suddenly x-Turnadette-x

Chapter Thirty four

TW: descriptions of violence/injury

Shelagh had always been a fairly light sleeper, while her husband was quite the opposite. He often snored through the night as Shelagh tossed and turned beside him. She would usually give up on sleep and sit at the dining room table with a cup of tea, planning things out or preparing Patrick's lunches - much to his appreciation.
However in the middle of a cold autumn night they would all be glad of her unrest.

Loud knocking against the door startled Shelagh out of her writing. She glanced around quickly, somewhat hoping her husband would've been woken by the noise and come to investigate along her side, unfortunately no such luck.
The pounding continued, echoing through the house. She decided if it continued any longer the children would soon be awoken and would be rather reluctant to go back to sleep. Shelagh rose from her seat and hurried to answer the insistent hammering.

The door swung open to reveal two young boys, one of which was her son.
Blood poured from Tim's nose like a waterfall and the other boy - Alex, she presumed, didn't look much better.
His eye was bruised something frightful and his skin was grazed with glass and small pieces of gravel buried into his flesh. Shelagh could barely react before Timothy fell through the doorway and into her arms, whimpering quietly.

"Timothy-" She gasped, struggling to process the situation fully under the literal weight of it all. Alex didn't speak, just looked on through the floods of tears silently streaking down his face.

She managed to help her much taller son into the front room and lay him on the sofa, as Alex limped behind them, collapsing onto a chair nearby. Shelagh brushed her fingers through Timothy's messy hair, trying to decide what to do first.

"Mum- I'm sorry-" Tim coughed through broken sobs.
As he spoke the blood from his top lip dropped into his mouth, Shelagh shook her head, trying to keep her own tears away.

"It's okay, I've got you now, you're safe." She hushed, leaning down to kiss his head. Normally he would reject actions such as this but in that moment it was the most comforting thing in the world.
She reached into her nightgown pocket and retrieved a handkerchief which she dabbed against Timothy's lip carefully.

"Alex- mum, Alex got it worse- help him" Tim struggled. In all the panic she'd almost forgotten he was there.

"Oh-! Alex, dear I'm sorry, let me see..." She gasped, turning to the young boy who was sprawled across the armchair, barely keeping his eyes open.

"Alex can you hear me?" She asked a little louder, pressing her hand to his cold cheek.

He let out a quiet murmur and she sighed a breath of relief. She hurried to find Patrick's bag and returned, picking the painful stones and shards of glass from Alex's skin with tweezers and cleaning the area well.

Once the two were cleaned up
and had both been given painkillers for their agonizing headaches Shelagh entered the room with three cups of tea, handing one to each of them and sitting down with her own.
There was silence for a few moments, accompanied by the faint ticking of the clock on the mantle piece.

"It was my fault Mrs Turner." Alex spluttered, startling Timothy almost as much as it did Shelagh.
Tim shook his head, ignoring the ringing in his ears as he sat forward in his seat.

"He didn't make me do anything, it's not his fault" He said, scrunching his eyes shut in an attempt to stop the vibrating sensation that rattled around in his eye sockets.
There was silence for a few moments, both boys quite terrified of what Shelagh would say, but neither one with enough energy to argue their side of the story.

"There is no one to blame here except the people who did this to you." She said finally, watching Timothy's shoulders relax and Alex let out a sigh he didn't quite realise he was holding in.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Shelagh asked gently. She was already sure she knew, but she wished she was wrong.
Tim took a sip of his tea and cleared his throat quietly, preparing himself to recount the tale.

"I snuck out to meet Alex, just for a walk by the pier but... We got careless. We thought the darkness would protect us but it only made it easier for them to-" He stopped. Shelagh had heard enough to confirm her theory.
She tried to think of something to say, a way to make him feel safe but nothing felt right to say. She took his hand and held it tightly, it was all she could do.
She turned to Alex who had remained mostly quiet the whole time.

"Alex, when you've finished your tea I shall wake my husband, he'll drive you home, okay?" She said, using the same voice she did with her patients - delicate, soft, caring.
The young boy shook his head.

"No- No Mrs Turner, I wouldn't want you to bother the Doctor, he must need his sleep. I can walk home just fine, thank you for everything." He said.

"Absolutely not, Patrick won't mind at all, and besides it wouldn't be safe to walk alone after what they did. They could come back for round two and well, we can't have that happen dear." Shelagh answered firmly. Alex decided argument would be a lost cause so he sunk into his chair, hoping Tim would persuade her.

"Mum, don't tell Dad..." Timothy asked quietly, after yet more silence.
Shelagh gave a questioning look.

"He didn't do well when he found out about it all, I just think it'd be better if he didn't know about this." He explained. Shelagh pursed her lips, lying to Patrick didn't sit right with her, but she saw where the boys were coming from.

More silence...

"Okay." She decided.

"Okay, we won't tell him, but I can't let Alex go on his own it just isn't safe." She sighed, puzzling over the best cause of action.

"He could stay here?" Tim offered, Shelagh had to refrain from recoiling at the thought of them together for the night.
She thought for a moment.

"That could work. Although, Timothy I'm afraid you'll have to stay in your sisters room for the night. Alex can take yours, does that sound alright?" She sighed, Tim nodded immediately and Alex followed suit, it was better than nothing.

"Patrick will sleep in long enough for Alex to sneak away, will your parents mind?" She said, turning to the young boy who shook his head.

"No, I'll say I stayed with a friend - they won't ask questions" He answered quickly, Shelagh nodded, satisfied.

The three finished their drinks in near silence and took to bed, though Shelagh found it even harder to sleep than usual that night.