Forgotten

BOBS POV.

I nodded slowly and he broke the eye contact and looked right at the floor.

"Josh, it's OK, they'll catch whoever did it," I said, hopefully calming him down a little. I shifted over to the sofa where he was sat and sat next to him.

"I know who did it," he spat.

"You can't make accusations like that against anybody."

"But I know who did it, he used to hit her all the time. When I was seven he threatened her with a knife and when I was twelve he held a gun to her fucking head. I know it was him!"

Shit. This kid is totally fucked up. But then again, who wouldn't be? The kind of things he has had to grow up with...

"Well, if it counts for anything, I believe you." He looked up, some of his anger fading.

"Really?"

"Yes. Obviously I believe you, we just need to prove it was him."

"I... I..." he started crying and I felt like shit. I shouldn't have told him.

"I'm sorry," I said, just sat there really awkwardly.

"It's O-OK," he said, getting to his feet slowly and walking from the room.

"Josh? Are you gonna be alright?" I asked after him.

"I'm fine," he said.

"Night," he walked up the stairs.

"Night," I called after him.

I sat around for about another half an hour before finally deciding I was tired and retreating to bed. I stripped down to my boxers before remembering about the kids and pulling on some black pajama pants and an old misfits T shirt. I was asleep seconds after my head hit the pillow.

*****

"Daddy?" came a soft little voice. I opened my eyes slowly and could see a small form in the doorway.

"Mmmm yes sweetie?" I asked, still half asleep.

"I hadded a bad dream," she said.

"Awww, come here, what was it about?" I asked as she bounded over and climbed into my bed with me. She must have been up for a while because she was really cold and instantly cuddled into me under the blankets. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around her. Damn this is awkward.

"It was about... I can't remember it now!" she said with a small giggle.

"Aww well it's OK, you can stay here if you want."

"I think Josh had one too. He was awake and he looks sick," she said and I was suddenly fully awake.

"Where is he sweetie?"

"In his room, but he was in the hallway."

"Stay here, I'll be right back," she let go of me and I clambered out of bed and walked out of the room and down the hall to Josh's room.

I knocked on it softly and heard nothing.

"Josh?" I asked, knocking on it again. The house was completely dark and silent and I knew Robbie wasn't in the best of moods with me anyway, I didn't want to wake him.

I opened the door hesitantly. His bed was empty and I panicked, flicking on the light and looking around the room.

"What the hell are you doing down there?" I asked, seeing him curled up on the floor in a corner, his head on his knees and his arms crossed in front of his legs.

"Would you just fuck off."

"Josh what's going on?"

"Leave me alone," he looked up at me. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he hadn't slept one minute of the hours he had been in bed.

"Go back to bed, you can't sit on the floor all night come on," he didn't move at all, his eyes stayed locked on me stood just inside his room.

"What's wrong?"

"Your face, piss off."

"Robbie?"

"No. This is me. This is whatever me is."

"Go back to bed."

"No."

"Get back in the bed Josh, you'll get cold."

"Why don't you make me?"

I sighed and walked over and easily picked him up and dumped him on the bed. He gave me a filthy look and quickly pulled the blanket over himself. Not quick enough kid.

"Show me your arms."

"W-what?"

"Show me your arms. I'm not stupid Josh."

"Theres nothing on my arms. Go back to bed Bob."

I pulled his arms our from under the blankets and no matter how hard he struggled I eventually had them in sight. I turned them over so I could see his wrists.

"Josh!" I pulled him out of bed by his arms and dragged him back along to the bathroom.

I dug around in the cupboard under the sink and pulled out a first aid box that was in there for some reason. I dug out a roll of bandage, antiseptic cream stuff and gauze to put over the cuts.

"You remember what I told you about this?" I asked as I washed all the blood off his arm under the cold tap.

He ignored me and stared expressionlessly at the wall.

"You remember what I told you about doing this shit?" I demanded. He looked at me begrudgingly.

"I had a dream OK. I'm sick of it. I want out," he said fiercely. Those words scared me more then anything you could have imagined.

"No, you don't, tell me about your dream. All of it, don't skip on the detail, you need to get it out of your system, you have to talk about it or this will happen again."

He was pretty cut up and on both sides. There was a lot of blood but it wasn't bleeding anymore so I just cleaned it and bandaged it up the best I could.

"Tell me about it," I said and he sighed and sat down on the edge of the bath tub.

"Well, it was just what happened in the house, I lived it again."

"You haven't told me what happened in that house. You haven't told me anything. If this is going to work, we both need to be honest and open with each other."

"Well you start by being honest with me, tell me something, truthful."

"What do you want to know?" I said, giving in. He thought for a moment.

"Why don't you have a girlfriend?" Shit. The only question I can't answer for my own sake.

"Because, when I'm away on tour all the time, I can't keep a relationship going."

"Lies," he said, looking at me accusingly.

"It's not a lie!"

"Yes it is. The others can, why can't you? What's wrong with you?"

"There's nothing wrong with me! I get plenty of girls! Like I said, I just can't keep a relationship going with the tour. The others all met their girls before all the touring and they spend every spare minute with them."

Lies. I'm lying to my son, lying to myself.

"Alright. I'll tell you, maybe it would be better off if somebody knew," he said, running his hands through his hair and taking a deep breath.

He spoke. He told me everything, every sick little detail of what that pathetic, perverted man did to him. His voice cracked, he cried, I cried, he was hardly even understandable at one point but I got it all and I was completely shocked.

"Josh, I'm s-so s-sorry I f-fucked up," I said through my tears. I hadn't even bothered trying to hide them, this was hurting him to tell me, to re-live it and it was hurting me just as much to hear it.

"It's n-not y-your f-fault," he said and then let out a kind of half sob.

"Yes. It is. I should have b-been there for you! I shouldn't have l-let this h-happen."

"C-can I finish?"

"If you can."

"Well, after I got out of the bathroom, I ran downstairs to see if I could find anything but the knife drawer has a l-lock on it. I grabbed this big saucepan and knocked him in the head with it b-but h-he t-tried t-to... he t-tried to..." he broke down into full scale howling and I grabbed him in a hug.

"Shhh, don't worry, your never going to see him again," I said comfortingly I hoped.

"He t-tried to g-get Robbie t-too b-but I h-hit him and h-he fell and t-then I p-passed out," he sobbed into my shoulder.

"Shhh, It's OK. Come on, you need some sleep. Do you feel any better telling somebody?"

"K-kind of," he broke away from the embrace and stood up. He swayed on his feet a little and winced.

"Painkillers worn off," he said softly.

"I'll go get you some more, go to bed I'll be right back," he nodded and walked down the hall to his bedroom whilst I went the opposite way to go downstairs and find some painkillers for him.

I found some ibuprofens in the kitchen cupboard that thankfully weren't expired. I grabbed a glass of water too and went back upstairs. I found Josh curled into a ball in his bed. Staring at his window with a terrified look on his face.

"What is it?" I asked and he jumped up and hid behind me.

"He's out t-there," he said. I sighed and put down the water and box of tablets on the bedside table.

"There's nothing th-" the front door knocked and Josh leaped back into his bed and hid himself under the covers.

"Right this is fucking ridiculous," I said, walking from the room and down to the front door. I took a deep breath and opened it, wondering who the hell was knocking this time of the night.

It was him. It was Darren. Exactly as Josh had described him.

"My gosh, your boy looks a lot like you," he said, smiling slightly. Without another thought I lunged at him, punching every part I could reach with every ounce of strength in my body. He fell back and I fell on top of him, pounding on him with my fists.

He hit me back with even more force then I was hitting him with and I was pretty surprised. He was completely drunk off his mind, I could smell it, he reeked of booze and smoke and god knows what else.

He hit me right in the face and I was stunned for a moment. He jumped up and ran in the house, I hadn't shut the door. I scrambled to my feet and sprinted after him, slightly dizzy from the knock to my head.

He was halfway up the stairs when I caught him, tackling him and falling down the rest of the stairs, hitting every step on the way down and him landing on top of me.

Yeah smooth move Bob.

One twin had appeared on the top landing and was watching everything unfold beneath him with wide, fearful eyes.

Once I had got to my feet I grabbed Darren by the hair, finally getting the upper hand and I pulled him up into a standing position forcefully. My hand was shaking and my knuckles were white I was pulling his hair so hard.

"If you ever, ever come anywhere near my kids again, I'll fucking kill you. You understand me?" I spat. He laughed and I slammed his head into the wall as hard as I could, pure hatred coursing through my body. He elbowed me in the stomach but I didn't even react. I had to stop this fucker for my kids sakes. I smashed his head into the wall again with a sickening thud and a crunch, blood spurted from his nose.

"You understand me now?" I forced his head to nod.

"Good." I punched him in the face as hard as I could and let him fall to the floor, unconscious at my feet.

"Dad!" came a voice from upstairs, the twin that had bee watching scrambled down the stairs and pulled me into a huge hug.

"Are you alright?" he asked me frantically, stepping back and looking at me.

"Yeah, fine," I said, looking down at the man at my feet. I kicked him as hard as I could.

"You're not fine, you're bleeding!" said the twin, pulling me into the kitchen. My hand was throbbing from where I had punched Darren so hard and my nose was really hurting and bleeding everywhere.

He wrapped my hand in a cold wet cloth and I stopped my nose bleeding with a tissue.

"I need to..." I forgot what I needed to do and sat back down.

"I'll go and get Josh," said Robbie, leaving the room. He was very white and pretty shaken.

I got up and walked back out into the hallway. I had made quite a mess of Darren, he wasn't moving and was bleeding badly. I kicked and rolled him outside the house and down the driveway to the sidewalk, leaving him there to eventually wake up and find his way home or get taken away by the cops if any drove past.

I walked back into the house and found Josh and Robbie in the hallway.

"Are you alright?" demanded Josh the second I was through the door. I nodded and shut the door, locked it and put the security chain on it and all the other security lock things to make sure he wasn't getting back in anyway he tried.

I walked around the house, stumbling occasionally as I felt pretty lightheaded from all the punches I took. I locked all the windows and shut any curtains that weren't shut. The twins followed me everywhere, making sure I was OK.

I started to get the biggest headache and finally limped upstairs with them following me. Cassie was right where I left her but she had fallen asleep thankfully, crashed out in my bed. I climbed back into the bed and she clung to me instantly.

"Night guys," I said to the twins who were stood in the doorway looking at me expectantly.

"C..can y-you... I'm scared," admitted Josh.

"Me too!" said Robbie.

I sighed and the both leaped into the bed with me and Cassie. This made me pretty thankful I had a big double bed. I couldn't help but notice Josh was trembling and I felt so sorry for him.

Josh was on my right, Cassie on my left and Robbie squashed in next to her. I lay awake for a long time, they all dropped off one by one but I just couldn't get to sleep.

The weight of everything seemed to be crashing down on me. I would be looking after these kids until they were all eighteen. This had all happened within the first two weeks. I don't know how much more of this I can take.

Eventually, as the first, weak rays of early morning sunlight were just beginning to show through my bedroom curtains, I fell asleep, curled up with the kids.