Earn My Trust

Chapter 15 - Funfair Fiasco

Ethan carefully pulled on his wig and gently applied the glue to the netting to hold it in place.
He was feeling stupid whenever he put this on now. Not because of dad's joke the day before, but because Hannah now knew who he was!
Sadly, whilst he didn't have to hide from her anymore, there was still the public.
He was actually been enjoying being out of the wealthy lifestyle for a change. It was refreshing being back among the... normal people for once, instead of being surrounded by celebrities and other rich folk.
He wasn't being given any special treatment because of who he was, and he was able to blend into the background easily.
"How's it going?" Hannah asked, coming into the bathroom.
"Pretty much done." He said, making sure the wig was glued down properly and he hadn't missed anything with his nose and ears.
"Bea has now invited Lisa and Martin along, by the way." She said, coming close and admiring the look of her old lover. "I thought it'd be a good idea."
Ethan grinned. "That's a brilliant idea! It'll be like old times for Martin and I. Can't wait to crash into his bumper car and send him flying!"
"I don't think you're allowed to actually bump in those anymore..." she pondered aloud.
"Aww, what?! Why?!"
"I think there must have been too many lawsuits. Last year, dad had to follow the rest of them, going round and round."
"Well, that's a shit!" He grumbled, picking up the scalp he had for the wig and turning to face her. "I was looking forward to that."
"How long have you known Martin, exactly?" She asked curiously.
"Since we went to college. We studied business and maths together."
She smiled. "That's the same for Lisa and I! She's always been there for me."
"What time have we agreed? I was hoping to pop into a shop and get a new jacket."
"We have to go down a small high street on the way. The plan is to meet at four, it's only two now. Are you OK with walking?" She was worried someone might recognise him, even if she hadn't when she first found out he was really Ethan.
To her, Robin and Ethan now blended together, and she struggled to notice the prosthetics anymore.
"It'll be fine. This is a fail safe." He assured her. "Let's leave now then. I have a picky taste with clothes."
They left the bathroom together, and Bea was mesmerised watching The Little Mermaid.
"Bea, are you ready to go?" She asked, picking up her hand bag.
"Yeah! Funfair!" Bea bounced off the sofa and ran to the door.
"Shops first. Ethan needs a new coat." Hannah explained while Ethan picked up his phone and wallet, and she turned off the TV.
"Ok." The little girl put on her shoes.
"Do they take card at funfairs yet?" Ethan asked, following Hannah to the front door.
"They didn't last year. We best get cash out while on the high street." She said, checking she had everything.
"Rides are still a pound a go, right?"
She stared at him. "Jesus, it was a long time ago you last went, wasn't it? No, they do a token system now. Most rides are six tokens now."
"How much are the tokens?" He pushed as they all filed into the hallway, locking the door behind them.
She arched an eyebrow at him. "Are you being careful about money?" She slurred teasingly.
He laughed. "No, I don't want to be left short while there. I'll get hundred and fifty. That'll be enough, right?"
"That's too much!" She cried. "Get fifty. That'll be enough."
He nodded and took her hand in one of his while taking Bea's hand in the other.
Luckily, Ethan found a new black leather jacket in the third shop they went in. They matched his black jeans and black top and, as Bea pointed out, made him look even more like a spy.
His look complete, they got money out for the funfair - Ethan got a hundred just in case - and made their way there to meet the others.
"It's great!" Lisa exclaimed as she was admiring mums new wheelchair. "Although he could have gone for a flashier model."
"He tried, but Hannah said no." Martin said, defending his friend.
Dad stood with his arms folded and glared at Martin. "Why are you both here anyway?"
"Why can't we be here? It's a free country." Lisa snapped.
"I didn't mean it like that. I meant, why did he have to come with you?" He corrected her.
Lisa frowned, looking at Martin and then back at dad. "Bea invited the both of us." She explained. "Besides, Hannah thought it'd be a good idea in case Ethan got recognised."
Martin nodded once. "That's right. I know the protocol if things go haywire."
Mum rolled her eyes at her husband. "Well, let's hope it goes smoothly. They're here!"
Bea was running towards them with Hannah and Ethan, disguised as Robin, following closely behind, holding hands.
"Auntie Lisa!" Bea cried, leaping into her arms.
"Buzzy Bea!" She laughed. "I missed you!"
Martin looked over Ethan's dress code for the day. "Did I miss a memo? Were we going back to our emo phase?"
Ethan laughed. "I like it! I look like a proper spy now, don't I, Bea?"
She nodded and looked around at everyone. "Watch out for bad people with their phones out!"
The adults looked around and saw everyone pretty much had their phones out, but none of them were paying them any attention.
"Alright, let's get started." Ethan announced excitedly.
He felt like a teenager again and couldn't wait to get on some rides!
Two hours later, the family had been on the carousel, the ferris wheel, the ghost train, the fun house, and the hall of mirrors.
They had stopped off at one of the burger vans where Ethan had secretly bought everyone their food so Hannah wouldn't moan at him. As far as she was aware, her dad had treated her to the burger. He had also bought one of pretty much everything from the sweet stand. Candy floss, giant lollies, giant marshmallow snakes, the lot. Bea looked like she'd died and gone to heaven!
There was still the kids roller coaster, the waltzers, chair-o-planes, and twister left to go on.
Poor mum hadn't been able to go on anything, but dad had dutifully stayed by her side and took photos of them all to save the memory.
"Where next,  Princess?" Ethan asked eagerly.
He was having the most fun, taking full advantage of being incognito and enjoying himself as much as he could.
"I want to go on that one!" She pointed at the waltzers.
"Alright!" Ethan and Martin high fived at her choice.
Hannah looked reluctant. "I don't think I'd be able to handle that after that burger. That was the biggest quarter pounder I've ever had!"
"I thought you wanted a half pounder?" Ethan blanched.
"No, I told dad a quarter pounder. You ordered..." she trailed off, realising she'd been tricked. "Ethan!"
"Oh, come on. It's one night! Let me spoil you just for one night, and I'll take my punishment and go back to being good tomorrow." He winked at her.
"Fine. It's not like I'll be getting any more anyway." She shrugged. "I'll stay with mum for this ride."
Dad thought for a moment. "I'll go on with Ethan and Bea. Might as well enjoy one ride, right?"
Ethan grinned at him. "Now to decide how we sit. Do we sit three men and the little lady on the edge?"
"Uh, excuse me?!" Lisa drawled. "I'm going on it too! I'm sitting with Martin."
"Fine. Graham? How do you think we should sit?"
"One on either side of her!" Dad grumbled back. "I'm not risking hurting my granddaughter!"
"She'll be fine. It just makes the ride spin faster. She won't go flying out."
"Make jokes like that again, and you bloody will be!"
"Just sit either side of her and enjoy yourselves!" Mum tried to soothe the situation. "And get us a good selfie while you're on there."
"Come on, Barney Rubble." Dad perked his head at the ride and took Beas' hand.
"HOLY SHIT! YOU DO LOOK LIKE BARNEY RUBBLE!" Martin shouted before laughing his head off.
Once Martin had calmed down enough to get on the ride, Ethan, dad, and Bea sat in one car, with Lisa and Martin sitting in the one next to them.
"Hold on tight, now, buzzy Bea." Dad smiled warmly at his granddaughter from her left.
"Have you been on this before, Bea?" Ethan asked her from her right.
She shook her head with nervous anticipation.
"You just go round and round like on the carousel, but your car spins round and round really, really fast. You'll get dizzy, but you'll be fine."
The ride started slowly, and Bea giggled like crazy as they started to spin faster.
"This is fun!" She cried, gripping the bar tightly.
"It really is, isn't it?!" Ethan shouted back as the spinning started to get even faster.
Within minutes, the three of them were spinning so fast that it felt out of control. They were being forced into the back of their seats, their heads all pinned back against the headrests.
Outside, waiting on the grass, Hannah and Mum were watching the ride spinning faster and faster.
"I hope Bea's alright." Hannah murmured to her mum.
"I'm sure she's loving it! I can't tell what car they're in anymore, though." Mum giggled. "Can you -"
She stopped abruptly when something flew out from the side of the ride, looking like a flying animal.
"Was that a cat?!" Mum asked frantically.
Hannah, however, froze in dread. That hadn't been what she thought it was. Had it?!
The men were laughing, but Bea was now starting to have second thoughts.
"Ethan!" She squealed worriedly. "I don't like it!"
Ethan heard her and forced his head to lean forward against the g force when he felt a ripping on his forehead.
"Oh fuck!"
Dad noticed Ethan move out of the corner of his eye and looked round in enough time to see his wig go flying off and disappear out of view.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" He roared with laughter.
Ethan stared in horror at Bea, who was staring straight back, open-mouthed in shock.
"Your nose!" She cried, and Ethan lifted his hand to feel his nose beginning to peel off too.
The ride was no longer fun for him. He now dreaded when it finished, and he'd have to get off the ride as Ethan Sanders.
Dad was too busy howling with laughter to realise the severity of the situation, and Ethan could only sit back, his head back against the head rest, and wish the earth would swallow him whole.
"What was it?!"
"Where did it fly off to?"
"I hope the poor thing was alright."
Spectators of the ride were thinking the same thing Mum had thought. They thought Ethan's wig had been some kind of animal that had been flung off the ride.
Hannah didn't know whether to laugh, cry, go and find the wig, or be prepared to be bombarded once they got off the ride. She had whispered to mum what it had been, and she was also torn with what to do, trying to look around for an idea.
She spotted the Port-a-loos next to the ride and pointed them out to Hannah.
"As soon as they get off, get him behind those!" She said, starting to move closer in her wheelchair.
The ride finally started to slow and dad was still laughing. It hadn't helped that Ethan's nose was now barely hanging on anymore.
The ride finally stopped and Ethan begrudgingly pulled off the remainder of the nose and ear cuffs. He leaned towards dad furiously.
"Graham, this is serious!" He hissed frantically. "Hannah and Bea are going to be seen with me! I can't let that happen!"
Dad sobered up immediately as the gravity of the situation hit.
"Right!" He nodded once to say he understood. "What do we do?"
"Get Bea off, and tell Martin to come here! Go to Lisa, Hannah and Mum and get the fuck out of here!"
Dad nodded, and pulled Bea up by her hand, lifting the bar and stumbling off the ride.
Ethan stayed where he was, his eyes closed as he mentally prepared himself.
Martin quickly made his way over and took a look for himself.
"Oh fuck!" He gasped, helping Ethan out of the car. "Alright. We got this OK?"
Dad and Lisa made their way off the ride and located Hannah and Mum beside the port-a-loos.
"Mummy! Ethan's hair -"
"We know, buzzy bea." Hannah said worriedly. "We saw it fly off the ride."
"We will all find the funny side of this one day," Lisa said calmly, looking back at the ride for Ethan and Martin. "But right now, what are we going to do?"
"We need to get him behind here. We might be able to locate the wig and he can put it back on." Mum gnawed at her lip as she let Bea get on her lap.
"Won't work." Dad shook his head. "His nose..." he started to laugh again as the images came back to him. "His nose... haha... sorry, his nose is gone too, hehe."
"Oh, no!" Hannah gasped just as a screaming was heard coming from the ride.
Ethan and Martin emerged from the ride and already, a group of young girls had run up to him, flirting and asking for his autograph.
More and more people started noticing and they pulled out their phones to take videos. Some people approached him for selfies with him, with one man wanting Ethan to pose with his daughters while he got a photo.
Ethan was trapped, but he didn't seem phased in the slightest. He was smiling, waving at people, kindly making small talk while he signed autographs.
Martin stayed as close as he could, beside him, while on the phone to someone, a serious look on his face.
Ethan was used to all this attention. He played along with the crowd, giving them what they wanted, and tried to remain as calm as he could. Inside, however, he was worried about Hannah and Bea.
"Oh my god, Ethan!" A girl barely eighteen shrieked. "Can I get a selfie?"
"Course you can." He grinned and put his arm around her, grinning at the phone, until she had taken it.
She lowered her phone, and he finally caught a glimpse of Hannah, standing with her family, staring at him with a torn look.
"Go!" He mouthed at them before turning to another girl who wanted him to autograph a receipt.
Hannah felt hopeless as she watched him being bombarded from all different angles.
"Come on, kid." Dad said gently, putting an arm across her shoulders and starting to pull her away. "Let's go."
They slowly turned away from the crowd surrounding Ethan that just didn't seem to stop growing and made their way back in the direction of home.
"I feel so bad!" Lisa mumbled. "Isn't there something we can do?"
Hannah shook her head sadly and looked at Bea sitting on mums lap and watching Ethan get further away.
They were just reaching the exit of the fair when several black cars pulled up and out poured a group of about eight men in black clothing, running into the fair towards Ethan.
The family watched them go, tempted to wait to see how the situation was handled when a voice from behind them made Hannah's blood turn to ice.
"Hannah? Is that you?"
She slowly turned and came face to face with the last man she'd ever want to see...
Jake!

****************************

"It's alright, sir." A bodyguard finally appeared and started to disperse the crowd.
"Thank you, everyone!" Ethan waved at the crowd but was more saying thanks to the guards than at them.
"That was close." Martin stepped in beside him, and the men were led towards the exit by two guards, with another two guards behind them.
As they started to move, more people who hadn't yet realised Ethan was here began to take notice. A few rushed forward, shouting and begging for a picture with him, but the guards were here now, so their chances were lost.
They were approaching the exit when they saw two men brawling beside the exit.
"What the fuck is going on?!" Martin wondered worriedly.
Ethan shrugged back until a shout made both men panic!
"DAD! STOP! LISA HELP ME!"
Ethan and Martin immediately ran towards the fight, ignoring the body guards trying to stop them going and couldn't believe what they saw.
Dad was straddling a guy and punching the living daylights out of him. Mum had Bea sitting with her on her wheelchair and holding her protectively, hiding her face from the feud. Hannah was being held back by Lisa as she tried to get in and stop the men fighting.
Ethan tried to run towards them but was being held back by the body guards.
"Let me get to her!" He shouted at them frantically. "Hannah!"
Hannah didn't hear him. She was busy screaming herself. She had seen something that scared her more.
The police had arrived.
The police pulled dad off the man and arrested him, dad resisting while they did so.
The man, Ethan saw, had been beaten pretty badly. He had cuts across his face, his eye was swollen and purple, and his his lip was bust. He seemed delirious as the police tried to talk to him.
Hannah started crying, clutching at Lisa in desperation and anguish.
Seeing her crying, Ethan broke through the guards and ran to her.
"Hannah!" He breathed, taking over from Lisa and holding her closely. "It's OK. It's alright."
Hannah couldn't say anything, just scream into his shoulder.
Martin checked Lisa over and asked her what had happened.
"The guy on the floor is Jake..." she said numbly, still getting over what had happened. "Hannah's ex. He called Bea her bastard child, and dad just lost it."
Martins eyes widened and looked back at the man he now knew was Jake. He noticed he had the same badge on as their security guards.
"Shit!" He hissed guiltily.
Jake was here because he was part of the company they used for security!
He looked over to where Ethan was comforting a hysterical Hannah and bit his lip.
"Lees, we have a huge problem! He works for the company we use for security! He's here because of what happened to Ethan!"
Lisa gaped at him. "That's not good! You didn't know, though. We didn't know either."
"I have to tell Ethan." He said, going to make his way over, but Lisa grabbed him.
"Not right now. Hannah needs him."
Ethan held Hannah and let her get it all out. He glanced at mum and mouthed. "Is Bea OK?"
She nodded and held the girl closer.
He looked at dad being led to a police car. Dad looked quite triumphant, as he took a good look at his handy work before he caught Ethan watching him. He cast him a rueful smile that silently told Ethan to look after his wife, daughter, and granddaughter while he was gone.
Ethan made the snap decision to move mum, Hannah, and Bea to his three bedroom flat back in London so he could look after them all. It had wheelchair access, a swimming pool Bea would love. He just needed to convince Hannah first.
He had already decided to pay whatever was needed to get dad out of jail. He just needed to know what had provoked him to suddenly attack someone like that.
He pulled back slightly so he could look at Hannah.
"Baby, listen to me..." he started, but Hannah was distraught.
"It was him! He... he called her a bastard!" She sobbed.
Ethans' heart slammed in his chest. "Who called who a bastard?"
"J-Jake!" She wailed and pointed at the man being attended to by the ambulance. "He c-called Bea a bastard and sh-she heard him."
Ethan saw red!
"Martin! Get the men to take us back to London, now!" He shouted above the commotion. "We're taking mum, Bea, Hannah, and Lisa with us!"