Note: this chapter contains brief mention of toxic relationships.

• • •

"Hello?" Levi calls, as he enters the front door of the house. "George?"

"In the living room," George's voice calls back.

Levi removes his coat and scarf, carefully draping them on the coat stand by the doorway before making a beeline for the living room, where his husband is sat on the sofa waiting for him. "Hey, George."

"Hello, darling," George responds, a welcoming smile settling across his lips. "How did the visit with Mack go?"

"There's a lot to talk about," Levi answers, almost breathless just thinking about all he has to say. "And you might not believe it when I tell you."

"Try me," George challenges, with little emphasis in his tone aside from curiosity. He pats the space on the sofa next to him, inviting Levi to come and sit.

"Okay." Levi obliges, taking a seat. "So, I asked Mack a few things. Of course, the first question I had, was whether he'd ever done this to anybody else before. He said I was the only person he'd threatened with any kind of weapon."

"And you believed that bullshit?" George raises one brow, unconvinced.

"He had no reason to lie to me," Levi argues. "He literally has nothing to lose. He's a very lonely, isolated man, George."

"And you know that for a fact?" George retorts. "What about his family? Friends? He must have somebody. You can't feel sorry for him after what he did, surely?"

"I don't," Levi assures him. "I'm not defending him. Not even slightly. I'm just telling you what he said. And I do believe it. He told me a lot about his past."

"So, let's hear it then." George leans back onto the cushions of the sofa, almost amused hearing about Mackenzie's allegedly tragic life.

"He said that he knew he was gay his entire life, or near enough. But his family was extremely homophobic, so he had to hide it," Levi explains. "That's why he ended up with Stephanie. And then his wife — the one he had kids with."

"That doesn't answer why he abused Steph — nor does it answer why he tried to kill you," George reminds him.

"He told me he regretted all the abuse he gave to his partners in the past. He said that everything he controlled about Steph was to try and shape her into the ideal woman, or something like that — he said it was to try and force himself to be straight. Which obviously is impossible."

"What the fuck?" George murmurs, disappointed that such vile treatment towards his ex-turned-friend could be justified with such an awful reason. "That's not an excuse to ruin somebody's entire life."

"Of course not," Levi agrees. "And at some point, obviously we'll have to tell Steph all this too. But anyway — the main part of all this ... "

"Go on," George encourages.

"So, as I said, his family was homophobic. He had two siblings — an older sister, and a younger brother. But his entire family disowned him way back when. He said he'd been rejected his entire life ... but once his family cut him off, he could be more open about his sexuality. So, he started looking for meaningless flings with guys. If anybody rejected his advances, he took it personal." Levi sighs, unsure whether to feel pity for Mackenzie, or deep hatred. "Obviously I was one of those guys. Or so I thought. The reason why I was so different, and was actually threatened with a knife ... was because apparently, he wanted more with me than just a one-night stand. And he said he'd never felt that before."

"Right," George says flatly. "But that doesn't exactly excuse what he did to you, does it?"

"No, it doesn't," Levi answers. "But it's an explanation for why, I guess. He was just rejected and hated, his entire life, and it broke him."

"Is that all he said, then?" George asks. "Or is there even more to this story?"

"There's a pretty big part that I haven't told you," Levi explains. "This is the part that shocked me. But when he mentioned it, I didn't follow-up with any questions or anything. I didn't want him to know about it. But basically, his younger brother ... his name was Stuart. And Stuart was arrested in nineteen-eighty-six at the age of sixteen for committing a hate crime with his friends. A homophobic attack in Reading. Does that ring any bells?"

To this news, George widens his eyes. "His younger brother was one of the bastards who attacked us?"

"Yep." Levi chuckles, as a means of coping with the memory of such a traumatic situation. "Do you remember when we spoke to Marcus about it all, and he told us that one of the guys was beaten up in their cell, and killed?"

"Was it Mack's brother?" George presses; even he is genuinely shocked by what he is hearing.

"The very same." Levi rests his arm along the back of the sofa, drumming his fingers against the faux leather. "Mack's family disowned him after Stuart died. He reckons they must have figured out he was gay. That, and they found out how he was treating his wife at the time. They said he was unstable; he was unsafe. As for his kids ... they both cut him off when they were old enough to realise he wasn't a nice man."

"At least they had some sense, then," George quips.

"Of course, there's every chance he could be lying about everything," Levi says. "But the story is so elaborate, it almost seems believable."

"Well, we could always find out," George suggests. "How about calling Marcus?"

"I suppose we could." Levi pulls his phone from his jeans pocket, unlocking it and clicking into the contacts application.

Once he has found Marcus' name, he presses the 'call' button, and waits. He places the phone on speaker, so that George can listen in on the conversation.

After a few rings, Marcus picks up. "Hello?"

"Oh, hi, Marcus. Um, I just wanted to quickly talk to you about something. Is Esme around?"

"No — she's playing upstairs with her friend from school. What's up?"

"Okay, well, it's just a quick one really," Levi prefaces. "I know it seems random, but what was the name of the guy who was in your friendship group — the one you were part of when we got attacked — um, the guy who got killed in prison?"

"Uh ... I think it was Stuart Alwick. Why?"

Levi clasps one hand over his mouth, in synchronisation with George widening his eyes once again. They exchange glances of surprise, at the clarification that Mackenzie was being truthful.

"It's him," Levi whispers.

"Has something happened?" Marcus questions.

"I went to visit the guy who tried to kill me, in prison today," Levi tells him. "He told me he had a younger brother called Stuart who took part in a homophobic attack back in the eighties. His name is Mackenzie Alwick."

"Oh shit," Marcus gasps, taken aback by this. "What a small world we live in. Yeah — I recognise the name, now you've said it. I used to see that guy when I went over to Stuart's house as a teenager. Fucking hell."

"Well, thanks for clearing that up for us," George chimes in. "We'll leave you to it. Hope Esme has fun with her friend."

Marcus gives a gentle snicker. "Cheers, mate. Life has been so much more peaceful since that bitch was arrested."

"I can imagine," Levi intercepts. "Glad we could be of service."

The three men share in light laughter, before George decides to close the phone conversation off for good. "Well, we'll see you on the school playground then, mate."

"Okay. See you."

"Buh-bye." Levi concludes the call, before hanging up. "Right. I think we should call Steph — see if she's free to come over. We should probably give her that closure. She's probably had questions about him and their relationship her entire life."

"I agree." George's expression mellows a touch, for he knows it'll be a difficult conversation to have. After all, he saw firsthand just how much Mackenzie truly traumatised her as a young adult.

• • •

"Thank you for coming over," George smiles to Stephanie, as she enters the house. He leans in to give her a hug. "I know it's a fair way from London, to get here."

"Well, you told me it was important," Stephanie responds, pressing her lips to George's cheek for a kiss in greeting. "How have you been? You've been in therapy, haven't you?"

"Yes, yeah," George replies, taking her coat from her politely. "It seems to be doing a decent job so far — which can never be a bad thing, I suppose."

"That's so wonderful to hear," Stephanie beams, taking a moment to glance at her ex-partner. "I'm so glad things are looking up for you. You deserve it, George."

"Thank you." George nods, appreciative of her kind words. "Anyway, we should take you to the living room. There's two children in there who are very excited to see Auntie Steph."

"Bless them." She follows after George, as the pair head into the living room where Gemma and Kieran are sitting with Levi. At the sight, she opens her arms up in invitation for the kids to give her cuddles. "Hiya, guys!"

"Steph!" they both squeal in unison, as they rush over to her to squeeze her.

"I've missed you guys." She kneels down to their height, to make it easier for them to bombard her with affection.

"Anyway, kids," Levi cuts in. "We need to just have a quick chat with Auntie Steph about adult things. So, would you be a good boy and a good girl and go upstairs and play together? You can have the iPad if you share nicely."

Without answering verbally, Gemma zooms over to the coffee table, where the tablet lays waiting to be used. She grabs it, running to the staircase, with Kieran following after her. They bicker playfully as they head up the steps, bringing the three adults much amusement.

"They're so sweet," Stephanie compliments. "Such a credit to you both."

"Thank you," George answers graciously. "But anyway ... we should really talk to you about this."

"What is it?" She grants herself permission to take a seat on one of the sofas, anticipating the information from her dear friends.

"So ... I went to visit Mack in prison today," Levi begins to explain. He hesitates for a moment, to think how to word his story, but then finally elaborates. "I felt it was necessary to get answers from him about everything. About what he did to me; about his past etcetera. So, of course, I asked him about your relationship with him."

"Oh." Stephanie displays a slightly uncomfortable demeanour, as she is unsure on how to react to this. She rests her hands on her knees, sitting bolt upright due to restlessness. "And what did he say?"

"He told me he regretted how he treated you," Levi assures her. "Admittedly, I had to remind him who you were. But once he remembered, he wouldn't stop reminiscing on how "gorgeous" you were. Stuff like that. And ... he said the reason he controlled you so much was, well—"

"—Because he's a narcissistic prick who has nothing better to do, than to ruin young, vulnerable women's lives?" Stephanie snipes, not so much aimed at Levi; but rather, at her own anger towards Mackenzie. "Because he's a self-absorbed, manipulative, arrogant piece of shit?"

"I mean, that could be a good explanation," Levi acknowledges. "But that's not what he said. Of course, he said that he was wrong. He said a lot to suggest his guilt over it. But he told me that the reason he controlled you so much — the clothes you wore; the food you ate; the curfews at night — was because he wanted to try and mould you into the ideal woman for him. He wanted to try and force himself to be straight — which, as I've said to George already — is impossible. He knew he was gay even back then. But he couldn't come out because his family was extremely homophobic."

George's eyes flit from his husband, to Stephanie; he is aware that this is probably a daunting conversation for her to be having, even if this series of events occurred decades ago. "It's a lot to take in, Steph. And we're only telling you what he said. We don't think it's an excuse at all, for what he did to you."

"It's most certainly not an excuse," Stephanie utters, seemingly still trying to gather her thoughts on the situation. "And I can't forgive him for what he did. Have I been able to move on? For the most part, yes. But it doesn't mean I can forgive him."

"And that's totally fine," Levi comforts her. "Nobody expects you to forgive him for how he treated you. You were a kid. Seventeen years old. He was twenty-two and he knew better."

"Exactly." She nods, knowing full-well that her feelings on the matter are completely valid. "And I'm glad he's locked up for now. He got away with so much bullshit for far too long. He got what he deserved. He made me feel isolated and alone. Now he gets to see how it feels. And for the next decade, he will be isolated and alone."

"He's hurt so many people," George adds. "But I suppose we can't even fully blame him. No wonder he was off the rails, with how his family treated him. Doesn't excuse the decisions he made as an adult, though."

"True," Levi murmurs. "Messed-up parents create messed-up kids. It takes a lot of strength to break the cycle. I guess he let them beat him."

"Do you feel any kind of closure for what we've told you, Steph?" George asks her. "Well, I wouldn't say "closure" is the right word. But you know what I mean."

"I suppose," she sighs. "It's given me a mediocre answer as to why he treated me how he did ... even if it doesn't excuse any of it."

• • •

Chapter thirty-four! Not long until the end now. xx