Saved By The Firefighter
Chapter 128

Davey's point of view.

We pull up outside our house, as Kathline gathers Andy into her arms. The lad is a star today, such a well-behaved boy, and I could not be prouder. I motioned to Twinkle to come inside the house, as he stood looking lost. "Andy, you have been such a good boy today, buddy. You can watch two films before bed as a treat, but you must go upstairs now to watch the first....deal?" I asked him, wanting him out of the way whilst I gave Twinkle the news. f**k, I mean how do I do this? I am not the most diplomatic of people, normally we would have all selected Josie to break the news, but for obvious reasons, that is not possible at the moment.

"Thank you, Dad." Andy grins up at me as if I hung the moon and the stars.

"Okay, your mam will take you up, I am just going to grab uncle Twinkle a drink." I informed my little buddy, pride filling my chest once more.

I turned to Twinkle, who looked forlorn as he glanced around him, taking in the large hallway.

"Nice place Davey." he tells me.

"Cheers, it is all Kathline's work." I told him, then I see him let out a sad sigh, probably thinking about his wife and her affair he knows she is having.

Hell the poor fucker thinks he has issues now, he doesn't know what is coming to bite him on the arse.

I led him into the living room not sure how to go about this, hell I am out of my depth here, and I know it.

"Want a quick drink?" I asked, but before he could answer, I go to the dining room dresser and opened the door that contained the spirits, pouring him a double shot of whiskey. He is going to need it. Hell I need a shot just to tell him, so pour myself a glass as well. I walk over as Twinkle frowns at me.

"What is going on Davey?" He perceptively asks me as I hand him the glass, then motioned for him to sit down.

"There is no easy way to tell you this, so I am just going to get to the point." I tell him.

Twinkle looks at me, his head slightly tilted to one side as he waits.

"Josie was arrested after leaving the pub. She and Anders went to the cemetery to say a final goodbye to Wayne. When she was there, she saw your wife." I told him.

Twinkle stiffens in his seat, staring at me.

"Your wife was confessing to the flowers, or Wayne. Apologising for him dying instead of you." I tell him, then paused, waiting for the penny to drop.

"Guess I know she really hates me now." Twinkle lets out a sigh, and sips his scotch.

"There is more," I continue.

Twinkle stiffens once more and looks at me. f**k, I feel like a right a*****e, having to tell him, but he needs to know what s**t show is coming his way.

"She admitted to setting the fires, with her lover, to attempt to kill you." I say, then take a sip of my whiskey, feeling the refreshing burn of the liquid on my throat, allowing it to take the edge off this horrific day.

"What!" Twinkle asks in shock.

"Yeah, Josie, well, from what I can gather, beat the crap out of her. The lover turned up, and said that it was always a risk, that you would survive." I continued to tell him.

Twinkle's eyes filled with tears. f**k, I don't want to deal with a crying anyone, let alone a man who I work with.

"Who is he?" Twinkle asks, his face now red with rage.

"Ander's criminal father." I tell him, taking another gulp of my whiskey, to steady my own nerves about the situation we all replace ourselves in.

"What, the drug dealing, money lending, low life scum who beat your sister?" Twinkle asks, shocked, shaking his head in utter dismay.

"The one and only," I growl in anger.

Twinkle grips at his glass so hard I worry it will smash in his hand, or that he will through it across the room. Neither happens, he simply downs the amber coloured liquid, without flinching, then sets the glass on one of the side tables.

"So they orchestrated all of this, just to get rid of me! Sorry, I don't buy it. Well, I do about Edith, she hates me enough to agree to anything. But him, why would he do that just for her? From what you have all said about the man, he doesn't understand what it is to love anyone, turning his back on his own family, putting a hit out on his own son who tried to get out of his grip. There has to be more." Twinkle growls out.

"We just don't know. But, Kathline said, the coppers will probably want to search your home for evidence. I did not want you alone when that happened, so I brought you here. We will go together when the time comes. You are not facing this alone, mate." I tell him, because no matter what, he really isn't alone in this, and he has to know that it is not his fault.

Kathline walks into the living room, and glances between me and Twinkle.

"I have told him." I simply say to her, no further explanation is necessary. "Twinkle, it is not your fault. We are all here for you." She softly tells him. "Will I have to be at the house when they search?" Twinkle asks Kathline.

"No, not if they have a warrant. However, they will then force entry, and you are responsible for the damage. My advice would be to go, let them in, and to do their search with you there. I can come with you if you like. Remember your wife is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. We just don't know what is really happening at this point," Kathline tells him.

I bite my tongue, as I swallow the words 'innocent my arse' before I shout them. s**t, I need to keep a tight reign on my mouth right now. It will just make things worse for Twinkle.

"No thank you Kathline. You have your little lad to sort out. Hell, she nearly killed him as well." Twinkle exclaims, slumping onto the sofa, his shoulders hunched. The man looks like he is dying inside, and for once in my life, I am at a loss about what to do or say. "You are not doing this alone, Twinkle. I will come with you." I tell him, determined that he should not be alone at the moment.

"Her sister is at the house." Twinkle sighs.

"Do you think she knows?" Kathline asks. Twinkle shrugs.

"Not sure, but it doesn't matter if she does or doesn't, she can get her 'I am better than you' arse out of my f*****g house." Twinkle shouts, finally getting angry.

"I mean, the house is in my name only. I bought it before I even met Edith, so they can all f**k off." He continues to rant, his voice getting louder with each cyclable.

"I should have told her and her family to get the f**k out a long time ago, I am a f*****g i***t. They got that right, good old Billy, takes all the s**t lying down, and is a weak-assed man. Forced to sleep on the sofa in his own f*****g house, and never say's a word. f*****g hell, I am a f*****g mug, and now poor Wayne has paid the price because I didn't have a back bone when it came to that woman." Twinkle self-deprecates.

"No, don't you dare take the blame for this. You did your best to save your marriage. It is on HER, and no fucker else. Do you hear me? This is HER, not YOU." I sternly tell him.

"But why would she insist I give up work, if she wanted me to die in a fire...I don't understand." Twinkle suddenly shouts.

I shrug my shoulders, because I never gave that a thought. But who knows what things have gone on inside the sick twisted mind of that woman.

"We don't know anything yet, Twinkle. It may yet be a massive misunderstanding," Kathline tells him.

"I highly doubt that. Josie wouldn't hurt a fly, if she has beaten her up, then there is no misunderstanding." Twinkle sighs.

I have to admit, I am pleased he is not taking the lifeline Kathline is throwing him, because the last thing he needs, or any of us for that matter, is to give the woman a free pass.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I take it out, looking to see Big Ben is calling.

"It's Ben, he is at the police station waiting for news on Josie." I tell both Twinkle and Kathline.

"Ben, what's happening?" I ask him.

"Josie is out, released without charge, a simple case of self defence. She has given her statement about Twinkles 'Mrs' and Anders' father; they are going to be questioned now. We are heading over to the mothers. Well, Whip-me's, but she may as well live there. Headache is on his way over, if you guys want to come as well. Jason told Josie he would let us know if they needed to search Twinkle's place, and give him a chance to go with them." Ben tells me.

's**t, okay, I will let him know, and drop you a text if we are going to go to the Boss's house." I him tell him before cutting the call.

"Josie has been released without charge. It was self-defence, apparently. They are all heading to the boss's house. Headache is on his way over. Jason said he would be in touch with us if they need to search your place. We are invited. Do you want to go?" I ask Twinkle, then wonder if Kathline was okay with me heading over, and leaving her with Andy.

"Yeah, if you don't mind, I need to talk to Josie." Twinkle nods his head at me.

I look at Kathline, who simply nods her head.

"I will give Cal a call, see if he would mind Andy having a sleep over at his tonight. He has a few days off before he starts his first shift with you guys." Kathline sighs, then takes her own phone and appears into the kitchen to call Lucy's brother. "f**k, man, I am sorry to cause you all so much hassle." Twinkle sighs.

"Na mate, you are not. We all want to know what the f**k went down." I shrug.

Kathline walks back into the living room.

"Sorted, I will tell Andy the good news, he loves sleeping over with Kristie and Dante." She tells us, then heads into the hallway to get my little all ready for his sleep over.

I pick up my phone and dropped Ben a text letting him know we would be there shortly.

Andy squeals with excitement at going to Cal's, so I guess he is okay with sleeping out tonight. Kathline walks downstairs with him, his little backpack containing his clothes and a couple of his toys on his back.

"Dad, I am going to stay at Uncle Cal's house. Will you look after Mam for me?" He asks me seriously.

"My pleasure, young man. I will take care of Mammy." I tell him with reverence, resisting the urge to chuckle at his little face.

"Come on Twinkle, let's get him dropped off, and head over to Whip-me's." Kathline smiles, as we all head to the car. Twinkle looks like he had lost a tenner and found a pound, his shoulders hunched forwards, as he stares straight ahead, as if his world has, fallen apart. I guess in a way it has, not just his, but everyone's. Things are definitely never going to be the same again.