I'll Never Say Goodbye

Chapter 8

Sqaishey's POV

I fall to the ground, crying. The world is spinning.

Stampy was so close. I didn't even tell him where I actually was...

I feel an arm holding me. My mother is there, and I sob into her arm, not caring that the everyone is probably staring at me.

I don't understand! Nothing matters anymore to me! Stampy is the only thing that I need in life, and my own father is taking him away from me!

"Mum..." Is the only thing I manage to say before burying myself back into her arms and start sobbing again.

She stands me up, and looks at me.

"Beth, Stampy will find you. I will make sure of it."

I give her a hug.

"Come on then, your father will be home from the pub in half an hour." My mother says.

To say we made it back in the nick of time is an understatement.

My mother and I rush upstairs, hearing the front door unlock and swing open.

"Get in." My mother whispers. I rush into my bedroom while my mother locks the door. I hear thumping steps coming closer.

"Move." I hear my father slur, and I know immediately he's drunk.

"I need to talk to you, Mark." I hear my mother say.

"Later." My father says.

"Now." I hear my mother say bravely.

I feel like screaming out; "No! Don't!"

Instead, I'm frozen to the spot, my mouth unable to move.

"Get out of my way, Natalie."

"No."

I hear screaming and thudding outside the door. Tears form in my eyes. My mother hasn't been beaten up for a long time. Why does my mother feel so strongly about me finding Stampy?

There are so many questions, and I don't have any answers.

After a few minutes, the screaming stops.

And my father unlocks the door.

I catch a glimpse of my mother lying on the floor. I panic. Is she dead?

"She's unconscious." My father says.

I stare at him.

"I'm checking you're still here."

"Well, I am. So you can go now."

He glares at me, but seems to have nothing left to say, so he walks out.

I grab my mother before he locks the door, but straight away realise it's a bad idea.

Now we are both locked in here.

My father will probably come for my mother, once he calms down, but she's bleeding so bad that I don't know whether she'll be alive then.

A few minutes later, my mother opens her eyes.

"Are you ok?" I quickly say.

"I will be. All I need is a bandage for my head and I'll survive. There's a first aid kit in the cupboard.

I had seen that when I was checking, but it had no food or water, so I counted it as nothing.

I grab the small box, check it for bandages, then bandage my mothers head.

She then starts to get up, but lies straight back down.

"You're too injured to get up." I say.

But she needs to get to the bed.

What seems like hours later, my mother is on the bed.

We took it one crawl at a time, and five minutes after she had gotten on the bed, she fell asleep.

And I laid next to her, something feeling familiar, but I couldn't work out what it was.

And soon, we both had drifted off to sleep.

Stampy's POV

Andrew and I walk through the cool streets, the morning fog dampening our skin. We'd been walking for about ten minutes, trying find a taxi. Apparently, he remembers where he and his sister lived. Luckily it wasn't far from here.

After about five more minutes, we come across a taxi parked on the side of the road. Andrew waves at it and it drives up to meet us. He speaks to the driver for a minute, giving what I assume is his address, and opens the back door. Assuming that everything's done, I walk around the taxi and open the other.

"The ride's going to take about half an hour, so get settled in," the taxi driver says to us. Andrew nods and turns to me as the car starts to move.

"I'm sorry about this. You hardly know me and I'm dragging you away from your life to go and visit my dying sister."

"It's fine, I wasn't doing anything anyway. I always love meeting people," I reply to him, looking away. We sit in awkward silence for a while before I speak up.

"So, when did you start watching my videos?"

"Beth was about 13, and I was about 18. She loved you." Andrews voice cracks, but I hardly notice. Beth was Sqaishey's name. Is it possible that this man is Sqaishey's brother? I shake my head. I'm sure there are plenty of Beths around. Plus, Sqaishey never mentioned having a brother.

I just nod in reply to Andrew, not knowing what else to say. Eventually, he breaks the silence.

"Thank you. Thank you for coming with me," Andrew says. He swallows. "I've been looking for you for years, you know. I still can't believe it's you." I smile.

"It's definitely me. And no problem."

We sit the rest of the journey in silence, but this times it's not awkward. It's almost pleasant.

About ten minutes later, we come to a stop outside a supermarket. I look at Andrew questionably.

"It's a bit out of the way. I thought it would be easier," he says to me as if he read my mind. I nod again, and hand over half the money due to the driver. We step out of the car and look around.

"This way, I think," Andrew says to me. "I haven't been here for ages." He sets off in a random direction. The uncertainty in his voice worries me, but I ignore it and follow him.

Five minutes later, we come to a stop in the middle of nowhere. To my right is a small, run down building. I glance at Andrew and start. He's staring at the ruins in shock and despair.

"It's gone. My house is gone!"

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