Chapter Text
'Oh god!... Where am I?... Where do I go... I don't know where to go... ' a man says out loud, standing on the side of the road, with a small bag with his belongings and his hands on his head, looking around, surrounded by green fields and no signs of civilization, in the middle of nowhere.
In the Woolpack, sitting at the kitchen table, holding a cup of tea, Chas waits for Paddy to arrive, nervous and sad, when there is a knock on the door that leads to the back room.
'Come in,' Chas says, looking up from her cup towards the door.
'Hiya, you said you wanted to have a word?' Paddy asks.
'Yeah, do you want a tea?' Chas asks, starting to get up from her chair.
'Don't worry I'll make it, so are you going to tell me what this is about?' Paddy asks as he takes a cup out of the cupboard.
'Paddy what are we going to do?, I can't take it anymore. He is always so angry and if he carries on like this the village is going to kick him out, or what if, and it hasn't happened before, but what if he becomes physically aggressive towards someone, then what will happen?,... I don't know what to do, but I, we need to do something. This has been going on for too long.'
'Yeah, it has, but what can we do, cause every time I've tried talking to Aaron, he either just sits there, like he's not even there or he just walks out. He won't tell me why he is angry all the time and actually one of the few times I ever see him really calm is when he is with Leo and that is when he even visits, or any other child for that matter. But you are right, this needs to change, he's been like this for how long now... close to what, two years. That was the last time I remember him being happy, really happy, then it just changed. It's like he went to bed happy and woke up angry. So what do you even expect to do, because we have tried so many times and just makes him more angry. But one thing I do believe is that he will never become physically aggressive with anyone, that's not who he is. ' Paddy says, then taking a sip of his tea after sitting opposite Chas.
'I don't know, Paddy but there must be something we can do... do you know if he's seeing anyone? Has he even ever had a boyfriend?, He is young... I don't understand... Please tell me something about what's going on in his life, how is he doing at work, do you even know what that is or.... does he have any friends, does he go out clubbing or to bars... just tell me anything because even though he sleeps here sometimes, it's like he's never here.'
'I wouldn't know Chas, if he is he won't tell me. He doesn't talk to anyone in the village that I'm aware of. He does his work, which I don't know what that is and when he is done, I think he works out.'
'He works out?, How do you mean?' Chas asks with a frown.
'Oh, I thought you knew, he has made one of the spare rooms in The Mill into a gym.'
'Really?, and you saw this gym? But wait, The Mill? You know that I've never been inside, none of the family have. I don't even know why he bought it, it's such a big house for just one person. I mean, who at 20 has the money to buy a house like that or how actually, and his business, I have no idea how he started that either, I don't even know what he does. He has never told me how he got hold of that kind of money and I have been too afraid to ask.' says Chas, looking at her tea.
'Yeah, I don't know either. I did ask him once, which was not a good thing to do, he slammed the cup on the table and walked out slamming the door behind him, and he slammed it so hard I thought he had broken the door, that was about a year ago now. But anyway, the gym, I went to see how he was doing one day and when he answered the door he seemed less angry, even though he was all sweaty and he saw how I was looking at him, so he showed me his gym. It's got everything you'd find in a gym and it seems to calm him a little, I think.'
'That explains all the muscles, just as along as he doesn't hurt himself by all that working out... Have you ever seen him angry, well more angry than normal with anyone in the village?, maybe someone did something?' Chas asks trying to find the cause of her son's anger.
'There was one person he couldn't stand, at least that I can remember, Jack Sugden, I even remember once I caught a glimpse of Aaron looking a him as if he wanted to kill him right there, but in the end all he did was leave. I followed him to make sure he was ok, and to ask him about it, but I found him working on that car he has been slowly restoring, and he didn't have an ounce of anger on his face, he was even humming to whatever music was playing. When I saw how calm he was, I didn't want to make him angry by asking some dumb question so I left.'
'But Paddy, I didn't like the man either, but Jack has been dead for over a year now, and nothing has changed.... I don't know, but when he comes home again, I going to talk to him, can I count on you, please?' Chas looks at Paddy, knowing he will say yes, but she just needs the assurance.
'Yes, you don't even need to ask. You know I love that boy and I'll do anything for him.' Paddy looks at his watch, 'Oh god I need to go... are you going to be ok?'
'Yeah, I'll be fine.' Chas replies with an unconvincing smile.
'Ok, just give me a call when he comes home.'
Paddy leaves Chas sitting in the same place, but now holding and empty cup in her hands, thinking about the most important person in her life and not having a clue of what is going on and what to do. Then she remembers what Paddy said about Jack Sugden, the man gave her the creeps, but what if he did something to Aaron and she never saw it... She decides that she can't ask that, Aaron will go crazy if she does... but what then.... how will she be able to help him.
Aaron opens the door of his car, throws in his bag with the documents that have just been signed, in what he considers to have been, the most boring fucking meeting ever, until the next one comes along, where he thinks the exact same thing. He then takes off his jacket, removes his tie and throws it into the back of the car.
He sits in his car and remembers when he started his business. He was so happy, especially because he was 20 years old, starting a new adventure in his life with support and encouragement from the man he was so in love with, that he still loves. Everything in place to for their bright future, then suddenly, all that brightness crumbling into darkness and then disappearing. It may have been out of love and unselfishness, he knows it was, but there was also fear, horrific fear and raging anger. Anger that he has also felt for nearly two years, anger towards the man who loved him so much that had to let him go out of fear for him, anger towards his family as they were the reason, he was asked to stay because he would be lost without them, anger towards the person that was the reason that all of it happened in the first place. Anger, that's all he feels everyday, most of the time.
He starts to drive out of Leeds,with the music full blast in his car, back home to The Mill, needing to work out some of his frustration with the weights in his gym.
As he is turns down the road that will take him to Hotten and then to Emmerdale, he sees in a distance a person standing on the side of the road, that seems to have his hands on his head. As he approaches he lowers the music and slows the cars down, just in case the person decides to jump infront of car.
The closer he gets the more details he can make out. The person's body language seems to indicate that the person is distress, he can also tell that the person is a man, tall man, with really short hair, maybe buzz cut. He is wearing regular jeans and a white t-shirt. He can't see the face as they are hidden by the arms.
'Should I stop... what if he's dangerous or what if maybe he's just lost, but why out here in the middle of nowhere... If I was lost I'd want someone to help...' Aaron says out loud. He decides to stop the car, but the man is still facing away, oblivious that someone is there in a car.
Aaron climbs out of his car and he closes the door with some force to get the man's attention, the man turns around at the sound to see what it is. The man removes his hands from his head and looks at Aaron surprised.
'Please can you help me, I'm lost. I don't know where I am or where to go...' the man says as he starts walking towards Aaron.