Aloveen Rising

15. Unfamiliar Territory

Ethan felt a little weird walking home on his own after spending so much time with his friends, everything seemed unfamiliar and unfriendly, cars looked out of place and he had the most painful earache. It hurt so much he could hear a whining sound so he gently hit his ear a few times and the noise faded a little, he waited for a minute to check if it was going to come back but it didn't get louder so he kept walking.

He opened the gates to his driveway and stopped dead in his tracks, there were black vans and cars all over the lawn and up the driveway and as he thought about it, he recalled seeing some on the walk back. Still conscious of the gun in his bag, he moved up the driveway trying to look as normal as possible. When he made it to the front door he reached out to knock, realising his mistake he laughed and opened it quietly instead. The moment he stepped inside the uneasy feeling doubled and he crept to the kitchen but then he stopped, he could hear his father's voice. Relaxing he walked through the house to Max's office and knocked,

"Come in," Max called,

Ethan shrugged and opened the door, Max's eyes widened when he saw who it was and he quickly shut his laptop, "What are you doing?" Max asked, "I thought you were camping"

Ethan frowned "I thought you were away with work and I-" He stopped, there were banging noises coming from upstairs,

Max's face hardened, 'Yes and work brought me back here, I see you still haven't learnt not to question me" he growled,

Ethan bit his lip as more noise was made upstairs, "So work has something to do with all the vehicles out the front and the noise upstairs,"

Max glared at him, "Yes, It's none of your business so don't get in their way. They actually have important stuff to do."

Ethan bit back his urge to say whatever and instead asked if Max would be staying long,

"This is my house and I'll stay as long as I want!" Max snarled,

Ethan held up his hands defensively "I'm going" he said tiredly and shut the door behind him.

He sighed and dragged himself up the stairs hoping that he didn't run into any of his father's colleagues but at the same time the urge to finally find out what his father did battled for control. He gripped the guardrail and shook his head, that would make Max even angrier and Ethan didn't want to set him off, instead, he hurried to his room and shut the door with a loud click. He dropped his bags on the floor, put his phone on charge and went to have a shower. Luckily he didn't have much to do when it came to his bags, the twins and Jake had insisted they take some of the equipment and clean it so Ethan hadn't had much to carry. He smiled gratefully at the thought and twisted the hot water tap, water blasted out of the showerhead and quickly turned hot. Ethan removed his clothes as steam began to fill the bathroom then stepped under the spray of water. The heat stripped away the dirt and grime and he could feel his muscles relaxing, he lifted his head and let the water pour over his face. He sighed as his phone started ringing, he turned the water off and quickly towelled himself down before answering the phone,

"Hello, Ethan speaking," he said trying to sound cheerful,

"Mr Ethan Metshap is that correct?" a familiar voice asked,

Ethan frowned, he knew the voice but he couldn't think of who it was, "Who is this?"

"It's Blake, the nurse who was with you upon discharge from the hospital, I just had some questions for you if that's ok"