Chapter Text
His mum had encouraged him to apply. The advert nudged across the breakfast table with a hopeful smile as he chewed slowly on his toast. The smile said ‘stay, give this a chance, come back to me’. But Aaron wasn’t sure there was anything left of him to return.
Still, there he was, standing outside Home Farm in the pouring rain. Hoping his rust bucket of a car wouldn’t let in too much water whilst he sleep walked through the interview. The door flew open and an apologetic young woman ushered him inside. “So sorry! Takes a while to get to the door, place is massive. Rubbish weather or what?”
Aaron just about managed a smile and a nod.
“Do you mind if we do it in the kitchen, I haven’t stopped this morning”.
“Yeah, course, whatever.”
“I’m Victoria by the way”.
She led him through the house. The place dripped with luxury, but it was muted somehow. The blinds were all down, curtains closed. A few lamps here and there kept the place from complete darkness and the only sound was the insistent drumming of the rain against countless windows. The place felt like it was on pause. Holding it’s breath for something. He wasn’t sure he wanted to find out what.
“Want one?” she smiled as she made herself a sandwich at the kitchen island.
“Oh, no, fine thanks” Aaron smiled back, desperate for this to be over. He just wanted to tell his mum that he’d tried, and then go back to exasperating his uncle with his erratic approach to working at the garage.
“So”, she said between bites, “My brother got shot”.
Aaron tried to keep shock off his face, he was supposed to be a professional after all, but this had suddenly gotten a lot more interesting than expected.
“But I guess you already heard? Small village and that”.
“No, I hadn’t”.
“Well, that’s why we need someone, well, he needs someone.”
“Is he okay?”
“Getting there”. There was a sadness behind her kind brown eyes, but she pressed on. “He should be up and about soon, but he’s, well, he hasn’t really been himself since.”
“Right”. Aaron nodded, trying to remember when he last felt like himself, and realised he’d couldn’t put a pin in it.
“I thought it might help to have someone in the house, you know, for peace of mind.”
She glanced over his CV as she munched.
“Says you’ve got a licence from the SIA, is that like the CIA?”
Aaron couldn’t help a chuckle as she grinned.
“No, that’s the Security Industry Authority. Did it after I got home.”
“From Iraq?”
Aaron shifted in his chair and tried not to look uncomfortable.
“Two tours. Four years in all”.
“Wow”.
“Yeah.
“Must’ve been tough”.
“Just glad to be home now.” He made the face he was used to making. It said ‘I’m fine, don’t worry, don’t push any further.’
It worked. “When can you start?” she asked.
He wasn’t sure why he said yes, but the next day he was chucking an overnight bag onto a guest bed and giving his bank details and national insurance number to Victoria. The job was pretty straight forward: patrol the grounds and the house, monitor the cctv, vet anyone trying to gain access who didn’t have a prior appointment. Victoria had been living in whilst her brother recovered, but now Aaron was there she was going home to her husband. They had a place in the village and he would have known them from his mum’s pub if he’d spent any time in the bar lately.
“The nurse will be in and out, but you’ve got her details”, she explained brightly as she brought her luggage into the hall.
“I’ll be back tomorrow to check on him.”
She made a move towards the door, and Aaron felt suddenly very alone and very responsible.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to him, your brother?”
She stopped, considering.
“Thing is, he kind of doesn’t want you here. Thinks he’s fine on his own”.
Aaron wasn’t sure he liked the sound of this.
“Okay.”
“He’s on bed rest, so he couldn’t really argue.”
“But he knows I’m here right?”
“Course, he’s just not that happy about it. Robert can be a bit, well, might just be best to stay out of his way, unless he needs you.”
“Fine. I can do that.”
“Ring me if anything happens.”
The door slammed behind her, and silence descended. Now it was just him, the enormous empty house, and somewhere upstairs, the mysterious Robert Sugden.
He started outside first. The grounds were vast and impressive, but his training taught him that they also made the house vulnerable. He drove the entire perimeter in the Landrover Victoria had given him the keys to, carefully making a note of anywhere the fences and walls needed repair. When he returned and parked up he couldn’t help admiring the collection of sport cars in the garage. Seeing the wealth so shamelessly on display he started to form a pretty clear impression of Robert. A dick, basically. An arrogant show off. Perhaps that’s why he got shot, he thought to himself with a half laugh. Even so, he had a hard time dragging himself away from the garage, to make a start on checking the house.
He worked his way around the outside, making sure every door and window was secure. Half way round he walked away backwards, trying to gauge any concealed spots an intruder might capitalise on. Something moved in the corner of his eye and he instantly looked up to meet it. In an upstairs window a curtain flinched abruptly. Someone had been watching. Well, Robert obviously. It unnerved him a bit, but he couldn’t blame Robert for being curious. He wouldn’t have wanted a complete stranger in his house either, especially if he wasn’t well. He carried on with his inspection, ignoring the urge to look up when he sensed the curtains moving again after a few minutes had passed.
He woke with a start. Heart pounding. For a few tense seconds he had no idea where he was. His chest was tight as the familiar grip of panic clenched around his throat. Then it dawned on him. A guest room. A big house. A new job. Nothing to be afraid of. He dared to breathe again, but a shout shattered the silence. And then another. He couldn’t make out any words, but it was a man’s voice and it was full of terror. He was instantly up and out of bed. He hurried through the darkness and almost flew up the stairs.
“Help… no… help me…”, it was coming from Robert’s bedroom.
Aaron paused for a moment outside the door, second guessing himself all of a sudden. He knew he shouldn’t go in, that there was little chance this was anything more than a nightmare, but he had been employed to look after the guy, and he had just been shot, and if something was happening and he ignored it…Another muffled cry of distress came from behind the door and he finally decided he had no choice but to carefully open it. The large, white room was softly illuminated by a dim nightlight. In the centre of it was an enormous king size bed, and on it, lay Robert, naked apart from a crumpled white sheet resting dangerously low across his pubic bone. There was a large dressing across the centre of his chest and he was covered with a sheen of sweat that made his messy blonde hair stick to his head at his hairline. He was sleeping fitfully, moaning and kicking out beneath the sheet. Aaron swallowed and tried to drag his eyes away, but he was transfixed for a moment, studying his features. He hadn’t seen a half naked man for a very long time, and certainly not one who looked like this. Not one this beautiful. His heart beat faster and he suddenly felt like an intruder himself, somewhere far too intimate, far too close for comfort. He backed away as he attempted to make his exit, but connected clumsily with the door frame, making a low thud. Robert stirred suddenly and his eyes flew open. Wide eyed Aaron found himself staring straight back at him for a moment before Robert’s face clouded with confusion which then rapidly morphed into outrage.
“What the fuck are you doing?” he demanded.