Finn's P.O.V
As the police car pulled up the street and stopped outside my house, the engine was switched off and the lights, which had just been illuminating the street, had dimmed significantly.
Glancing outside of the back window, I could see that the light in my living room was on, cementing the information that someone was still awake. Great...this is all I needed!
"Out you get now, Mr. Sharkey," PC Hadley told me, watching me remove my seatbelt. "I've got to go and visit Mr. Stack." He added, starting up the engine of the vehicle again.
Thanking the police officers for the ride home, I stepped out of the car onto the pavement, shutting the door behind me. Seconds after the door had been closed, the car sped away, not in a position to hang around.
I stood at the bottom of the steps for a while, debating whether or not to message someone to ask if I can stay at theirs, but when I looked up at the darkening sky above me, I realised it was probably too late.
Sighing, I trudged up the steps towards my house, rummaging through my satchel in search for my keys. Feeling my fingers retrieve them, I inserted them into the lock, loosening the door from the frame. Pushing it open, I tried closing it as quietly as possible but I knew I'd failed in doing so when I heard my dad shout my name:
"Finn!"
Judging by his tone of voice, I could already tell he was angry. Anger was a well-known emotion of my dad's and when he was in this kind of mood, you wouldn't dare defy him. At the sound of him calling my name, I walked into the open-plan living and kitchen area, where I saw him sat on the sofa drinking a glass of wine and watching something on the television.
To be honest, I was rather shocked to see him doing something 'normal' for a change because majority of the time, his life revolves around work. When he set eyes on me, he took another swig of the liquid in his glass before he placed it down on the coffee table located in the centre of the room.
"Where have you been exactly?" He asked, a sense of irritation already apparent in his features.
"I've been at Lindsay's house." I replied, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Don't lie to me!" He yelled, making me close the fridge door and look back at him again.
"It's the truth!" I exclaimed, walking over to the seating area of the living/kitchen area. "If I was going to lie, I'd have made it a bit more interesting than that!"
"Why did the police drop you home?" He questioned, downing yet some more wine from his glass, the volume inside it decreasing and I knew he'd been secretly watching through the window.
"Mr. Byrne's car got vandalised at school today and he asked me to keep Lindsay company whilst he spoke to the police." I answered but remembering how stubborn my dad was, he probably wouldn't believe me anyway. "And before you ask me who Lindsay is, she's my girlfriend and Mr. Byrne's daughter."
"That still doesn't explain why the police dropped you home!" He fumed. "You've clearly done something wrong. There's always trouble when you're around." He spat, his words like venom.
"How would you know that?" I quizzed rhetorically. "You're never around!" I screamed back, quickly realising that I shouldn't have.
"That's right...throw it back in my face! You know the reason why me and your Mum work hard is to give you everything you've ever wanted or needed!" He roared, his face becoming redder as the anger raised within him.
"All I have ever wanted is a proper relationship with my parents but you are always working! So forgive me if I seek comfort and support elsewhere." I confessed, realising that I hadn't been this honest with my dad in a long time.
"Don't you dare sit there and read me the good parent act!" He warned, his fists clenching in furiousness. "You'll thank me and your mother one day." He pointed out, making me laugh sarcastically.
"Thank you for what?! For never being there for me when I needed you most?" I questioned. "You don't listen to a word I say to you. All that yours and Mum's life revolves around is work, work and work. I was, and always will be an inconvenience to you." I announced, not being able to hide the truth anymore.
Looking up at my dad, who was now stood in shock at the fact that I stood up to him, the thought of having different parents came flooding back to the front of my mind. Sometimes, I do wish that was the case. I wanted parents who actually wanted to spend time with me, not ones who work so hard that they forget the real reason I was put on this Earth in the first place.
"You know that isn't true son!" My dad cried but part of me wasn't convinced that the sudden change in mood was genuine.
"When will you ever take into consideration my true feelings?! You and Mum have never really cared about me. Ever since I was young, all I have ever known is spending most of my time in the care of someone else." I declared, my voice breaking at the end of my sentence. "You know, I used to look at everyone else's family and wish I had that. Their parents picking them up from school and going on family holidays but that was always just an empty dream. So excuse me if I'm a bit twisted now." I replied, wiping away a few tears that had managed to escape from my eyes.
For the second time in the space of a few minutes, I watched his facial expression change again, this time from shocked to mortified because I'd stood up to him. Admitting how I truly felt was very liberating and made me feel a whole lot better. However, when I saw him stand up from the sofa and walk over to me, I felt how angry his was, as his body towered over me. It was if he trying to intimidate me.
"So, you are blaming me and your mother for the way you have turned out?" He asked intensely, his eyes burning into me. "Have a word with yourself Finn!" He bellowed, making me stand up so we were now squaring off with each other, our eyes piercing into each others.
"No, it's both of you who need to have words with yourselves! When are you ever going to face up to the fact that you have been crap parents?" I yelled in question. "Anyway, I'm sick of this conversation. I'm going to my room." I stated, turning in the direction of the staircase but I knew my dad clearly wasn't finished with this argument as he grabbed me roughly by the arm.
Turning to face him, he was now in a fit of rage, his face bright red and a scowl was etched across it. In that moment, I knew that I'd touched a nerve and a bad one at that.
"You aren't going anywhere until I declare this conversation is over." He warned. "Come on then, if we are being honest here, tell me exactly how you feel about myself and your mother?" He asked, making me laugh sarcastically because he still didn't understand.
"Are you deaf or something? Have you not listened to anything I've just said?" I quizzed, thinking that he was either deranged or lost his hearing.
That one sentence angered him more, feeling his grip tighten around me, making me wince a little. I stared deeper into his eyes and I could see a fire burning, ready to erupt inside him with any given moment.
"Just admit it Finn! You wish you had better parents!" He thundered, breathing heavy due to the rising anger contained within him.
"Fine! I do wish I had better parents." I announced. "Ones that actually love me and want to take care of me..." I continued, not even bothering to gauge his reaction. "Now get off!" I shouted, trying my hardest to break free of the grasp he had upon me.
Before I had a chance to defend myself, I felt him tug on my shirt as his fist connected with my nose. Clutching my nose, I felt the red liquid trickling down my hand, droplets staining my shirt and some falling to the floor. After a few seconds, I managed to look up at my dad, who was stood looking extremely remorseful for what he just did to me.
"Finn, I am so sorry..." Was all he could say before I stormed out the room and ran upstairs. "Finn! Finn!" I heard him shout behind me but I ignored it, stepping inside of the bathroom.
Slamming the door shut and locking it behind me, I switched on the light, the brightness triggering me a little. Stepping over to the sink, I rinsed the blood off my hands before I took a look in the mirror, taking in the amount of damage inflicted on my nose as a result of my dad's anger. It was covered in dried blood and had swelled up a considerable amount and I knew that in the morning, it would be covered in a bruise.
Opening the medicine cabinet, I took out a flannel, dampening it and dabbing it across my nose, wincing at the pain it was creating throughout the remainder of my body. Once I'd finished cleaning up the mess on my face, I disposed of the used flannel in the bin because I didn't want my mother to find out about what had happened, even though she'd probably have taken my dad's side anyway.
I don't know how I am ever going to face him again, not after what he's done anyway. Maybe it is worth me looking for my own place to live, or seeing if Lindsay wants to move in with me. Question is...how will we be able to afford it?
Lindsay's P.O.V
I'm currently sat around the dinner table, eating pizza with my dad but all I can think about is finding out about what the police said. I mean, surely now that they are out of sight, he can disclose any information that they'd provided him with.
"Dad?" I questioned, elongating the singular word that my question consisted of.
"Yes darling." He answered, taking a bite out of his slice of pizza.
"What exactly did the police say to you?" Was my next question to him and he didn't hesitate in letting out a deep sigh.
"Not this again Lindsay! I've had enough of talking about Kyle bloody Stack for one day." He groaned, slamming his slice of pizza back down onto his plate.
"I thought we agreed no more secrets." I sarcastically remarked, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Look, the police are dealing with it now. Let's just leave them to do their jobs." He replied, beginning to tidy away the table because it was obvious that we had both finished eating.
"But don't you think I deserve to know? I mean, there must be a reason why they spoke to Finn as well." I pestered, still strongly believing that I had a right to know what was going on.
"Listen, nothing is going to happen to Finn. They just needed him to make a statement because he was the one who warned me about Kyle in the first place." He reassured but I wasn't convinced that's the only reason the police talked to Finn.
Standing up from my seat, I walked over to the sink where my dad was standing, his hands submerged in water as he was washing the dishes.
"But I heard him shouting at the police. He must have been accused of doing something!" I cried, not wanting Finn to get into trouble for something that he genuinely had no part in.
Hearing him sigh, he removed the washing up gloves he was currently wearing before wiping his forehead against his forearm.
"Darling, I know you care about Finn but I can only tell you what the police officers have told me. I haven't an idea about what the police spoke to him about and neither have you. For all we know, it could have been one big misunderstanding." He told me, reiterating the facts more clearly.
"But you aren't even telling me about what you said to the police! I deserve to know that at least, don't you think?" I quizzed, resulting in yet another loud sigh from my dad.
"Sit down." He simply instructed, me following his order and sitting down on one of the stools near the breakfast bar.
He took a seat opposite me, the pair of us turning to face each other.
"Lindsay, I don't want you becoming involved in anything to do with this whole Kyle situation. I've already decided that, even if the police do find Kyle guilty, I'm not going to press charges." He confessed, rendering me speechless.
I mulled over his previous statement for a moment. Is this some kind of joke or something? He can't be serious about this.
"This is a joke right?" I questioned, chuckling a little because I found this whole scenario unbelievable.
"No." He simply responded, making me rub my hands over my face in frustration towards him.
"So you are going to let him get away with it?! Don't you think you deserve justice for everything he has done to you?!" I yelled in question, not understanding how this situation has taken this much of an unexpected turn.
"The boy is 17 Lindsay...he has got his whole life ahead of him and I'm not prepared to take that away from him. I used to be his age once and caused trouble, but I want Kyle to figure out for himself what he can do to change his life around." He started to say. "Plus, if I did decide to press charges, it would mean both me and Finn having to appear in court to give evidence and throwing a court case amongst everything going on at the moment. It just isn't worth it." He admitted, leaving me gobsmacked.
"So, because of all of that, you are just going to let him get away with it?!" I asked, still needing some clarification on all of this. "Y'know, I always had you down as a softie but never this soft!" I yelled, still finding this situation too hard to believe.
"He will still face some form of punishment! I'm going to push as much as I can to see if I can get him permanently excluded from Waterloo Road and he will be receiving a bill to pay for the damage done to my car, but putting him through a court case? I just don't think it's worth it." My dad declared, however, I was slowly getting fed up of listening to his crap.
"Yeah well...I don't think his punishment is severe enough!" I spat. "You're an idiot for letting him walk away with just a slap on the wrist." I commented before leaving the room.
Running upstairs, I entered my room, forcefully slamming the door shut behind me. I laid down on the bed and let out the scream I had been containing for longer than I thought. At the revelation that my dad is just going to let Kyle walk away with a small punishment has really pissed me off.
I'm hoping I can change his mind about taking this whole thing to court, even if it means him and Finn having to provide evidence. Although, Kyle is very cunning and he isn't going to give himself away that easily. I guess it's time to leave it for the police to deal with.
Michael's P.O.V
After an extremely long and tiring day, I think it's best for me to just turn myself into bed for the night. I've already upset Lindsay and I cannot be dealing with anymore drama today.
Making sure everything was turned off or locked up, I hauled my sluggish body up the stairs and retired into my bedroom. Walking into the en-suite, I brushed my teeth and washed my face before I changed into an old white t-shirt and some pyjama trousers and climbed into bed.
I'm sure Lindsay will soon realise why I am not going to let Kyle get to me, once she's cleared her mind of all the negative thoughts she has about him. Kyle needs help from a professional because he obviously has issues, deep ones at that, and I am not prepared to make him any worse.
I've always wanted to help Kyle, not make him worse and I won't stop until I physically run out of things to do. I'm hoping I won't need to permanently exclude him from my school, but part of me is convinced it's the only way I'll be able to get through to him.