Adrenaline Pumping

Chapter 4: "Intruder"

The last kids finally left, and the usual silence was restored. The house itself wasn't even that big, but it still felt almost like a mansion to Patrick, compared to his neat little flat in the city centre. 

He went to the kitchen to have a glass of wine, but was disappointed on seeing that there was none. Even though he quickly suspected why, he decided not to mention it. Water was going to have to be the alternative.

Elaine appeared by the doorway just as he finished.

"That's Maya in bed." she affirmed. 

"Right. Umm yeah, I might head to bed myself soon."

He set the glass down and proceeded to leave, but as he walked past his sister, she stopped him, and said:

"You did well."

"Hm?"

"Today, with the kids. Good job. Thanks, Pat."

He shrugged. "Umm, sure, no problem. Besides, I had a little fun myself."

"Oh? Good for you, then. What did you think of Jake...?"

She then gave him a concerned look, and Patrick nodded gently.

"Not bad." he said. "I think he genuinely loved it. There were a couple of moments when I would see him... how to say it? Not looking good. But apart from that, from what I saw, he's holding up. He's a strong boy El, I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Great, that's really great."

"What about you?"

Maybe a bit too fast. The question caught his sister a little off guard, but she answered:

"Fine. Yes, fine..."

She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself, instead of Patrick. He gently squeezed her arm, and then saw that her lower lip was beginning to tremble. She looked away, but couldn't quite conceal the tears. The squeeze then turned into a hug, and so they silently stayed like that for almost a minute. 

Elaine then finally let go, and their bodies separated.

"Anyway, we must get to bed." she sighed, sniffing at intervals.

"Right you are. 'Night."

"Goodnight."

Patrick made his way to the stairs, but just as he started to climb the first steps, he saw that he wasn't alone. 

The seven-year-old boy was looking down on him from the top. He was in a sitting position, hugging his knees against his chest, motionless. He wore blue pajamas decorated and covered in tiny footballs.  His little face looked sad but distant, his eyes almost dead-like as he stared at Patrick. 

Elaine's brother was caught slightly off guard, but he reacted quickly. 

"Hey, birthday boy." he managed.

Jake didn't answer, his beautiful blue eyes still gazing.

Patrick tried again, realizing this was going to be hard. He sat down on the step beside his nephew. "So, seven years old, huh? That's a great age, you know. It means you're a big boy now."

Still no answer.

"I did many things when I was seven. I uhh, learned to swim, I played basketball with my friends, I went camping for the first time with my-"

He stopped himself just in time, as he was about to say something that would have ruined the one-way conversation completely.

"Yeah, anyway." Patrick closed the topic briefly, immediately cursing himself for being so pathetic. "Well-"