1. Tartan Blanket


    Date: 9/9/2016, Categories: Cheating, Author: marlowe, Rating: 6, Source: LushStories

    sweeping away doubt. He choked back a lump in his throat. They spoke in conspiratorial whispers. “Who was it?” he asked. “I’ve no idea,” she replied, hunching her shoulders. “It couldn’t have been Malcolm. If it was he would be beating the shit out of both of us.” A nod of agreement, his eyes vacant and his throat dry, the hairs standing up on the back of his neck, his words mumbled in a nervous stammer. “Christ. I hope... I hope it was my sister Eve and not my mother or father.” With a smile on her face that would probably still be there the next day, they shared a kiss and in the blink of an eye Eileen was gone. The tension at the breakfast table was unbearable. There didn’t appear to be any suspicious signs coming from his mother or father and Eve was her usual buoyant self, talking too fast, laughing too loud as she fluttered around the kitchen, absorbing all the energy inside the room. The suspense of not knowing who was at the living room door had left him with a cold sweat and a feeling of nausea. It didn’t seem to bother Eileen. She carried on a deep conversation with his mother, smiling and talking as if nothing had happened. His mother’s voice broke his anxiety. “You need something to eat before you go,” she said, an unexpected smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “Yes,” his father chirped in. “You need to keep your strength up,” he winked. ‘Christ,’ he thought. ‘Do they both know, or is it just his paranoid mind playing with innocent words . It was a surprise ...
    to everyone when Frank walked into the house reading a newspaper and sporting a black eye. And there was another surprise when he announced that he intended to come along for the ride to Bishop Auckland. “You been in trouble again?” his father asked, pointing a finger at his bruised eye. “Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Frank replied, without looking up from his newspaper. With the build of a middleweight boxer Frank Brand was no stranger to the occasional brawl. By the time he was twenty he was streetwise and mature well-beyond his years. But at times he was impulsive and if he was ever pushed into a corner he could be reckless and violent. And because of his contempt for authority and discipline it surprised everyone when Frank announced that he was joining the Army. Eddie and Malcolm carried the stale smell of cigarettes and alcohol to the car. Frank carried his black eye and newspaper. Mark carried Eileen’s small case and a look of disappointment. Eileen carried her smile and the cleaned-of-all-mischief tartan blanket. Any thoughts he might have had about a repeat performance in the back seat of the car were quickly eroded when Frank sat in the front passenger seat and Malcolm ended up in the back with him and Eileen. Under a claustrophobic cloud of cigarette smoke and the smell of stale alcohol and perspiration, Eddie turned the key in the ignition and after a couple of spluttered protests from the engine and a familiar curse from the driver, the engine roared into life. They ...
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