Aiden got up and stood by me. I watched as both of his hands touched his head; his fingers rifled through his hair in a stressful motion.
"Hey..." I said trying to get his attention. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah... I think so... I'm just in shock... I can't believe it really." He said as he rubbed his eyes. I thought I saw some tears, so I looked away because I didn't want to embarrass him.
"What happened Aiden?" I asked.
"Em... well... it all happened so quickly."
"Why did Shirley react the way she did? Did you do something to her? Tell me Aiden!" I shouted.
I tried to keep calm, but I felt he was keeping something from me. The thought got me riled up.
I knew I had gotten Aiden's attention with the sound of my voice. He, suddenly, stared at me so seriously that I thought he was going to pass out.
"Didn't Lydia tell you?" He asked me.
I turned to look at Lydia as she stood near Shirley's distraught figure laying on the bed. She turned to look at me. She seemed upset.
"Tim, I'm sorry... I was going to tell you right away, but I didn't think it was that important at the time... I... honestly, I didn't get around to talking to you about it, because this happened straight afterwards." She said appearing guilty but firm.
"You know you have to tell me anything that goes on in here Lydia! Even you should have told Aiden that! So... start now, before I lose my rag!" I said feeling stressed all of a sudden.
"Okay Tim... well... the thing is... Shirley knew me from my old school days." I heard Aiden explain as I quickly sprung around to look at him. "She didn't recognise me at first, but I knew who she was that night in the dark... I recognised her voice and then... when I saw her outline and her hair... well... I just knew it was her. I'm sorry I didn't say anything until now... maybe if I had... well... this could have been stopped." Aiden stressed as he collapsed to the floor.
"So who was she to you? Was she a friend? An enemy? Wait... I think I can guess that bit." I said sarcastically. "So you are telling me that this could have been avoided if you had just come and told me?" I felt anger boil up inside me and it overwhelmed me at the thought of not being consulted about something so important as this.
"Well... I'm not sure about that.... You see... back in the old days when I knew her, she thought I was a bully to her, but I wasn't... I just hung around with the bullies back then, but I didn't do any of that... I actually felt sorry for her... I wasn't that kind of kid anyway. I was only a teenager!" Aiden screamed.
"From what I can see, it seems like she has now discovered who you are and she is now out to get you! Don't you think?" I said agitatedly.
"Tim... why are you being so annoying all of sudden?" I heard Lydia's inquisitive voice behind me.
"I'm sorry." I wasn't really apologising, but saying it made me feel better. "But all of this could have been avoided if Aiden had spoken up in the first place and what about you Lydia... you should have told me straight away!" I said beginning to explode.
"Tim! What's gotten into you? Why are you being so unreasonable?" She yelled.
"Because... this... here..." I waved my arms around trying to express my fury. "This... could have been avoided... and... I'm furious that this has happened inside this home where it's supposed to be safe for us! Can't you understand that? Because... you should by now!" I screamed hysterically.
I couldn't control my anger. I knew why, but I didn't want to talk about that to anyone. It would upset Lydia.
"I see... I didn't realise you felt so strongly about our safety. I'm sorry Tim." She said sadly to me.
"You should be! Now... clear this up Aiden! I don't want anyone, especially, the kids seeing this body in here... do you understand! Just get rid of it now! I'm going outside to calm down! Don't follow me Lydia! I want to be alone!" I yelled and stormed out of the room leaving Aiden and Lydia alone with Shirley.
I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to drink something quickly. I could feel a panic rise up inside of me so vile. I thought I should have a swig of whisky to relieve it. My drinking was normal these days, so I didn't know why I felt like I still needed it in times of stress. I knew it was the fact that I hadn't seen a biter in a while, but seeing one again had brought me back to reality. I couldn't escape from this life anymore I thought, as I entered the barn and found a bottle of whisky that I had hidden in a barrel. I took a swig from the bottle and instantly felt relieved.
I had to stop. I couldn't keep running to a bottle every time something went wrong. I'd been stable for a long time, but it was the thought of what might be coming that had riled me up. It was the strangers that had ruined things for us. It suddenly made me realise just how tough it was going to get in this world. Now, Shirley would wake up in an angry outrage against Aiden, but I fumed at the thought of her trying to start something up. If she tried anything, I would just have to kill her!
The thought had come
