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saw the deep bath in its centre. That was plenty big enough for Aiden to lie down in and hide. Bloody idiot he was. She should have been used to him and his mind-numbing pranks by now. After all she had had years of them. He was always doing childish things at home. Lisa had lost count of the amount of times he’d untwisted the salt pot lid and watched with glee as the contents poured onto her tea. He would be doubled over with laughter as she scraped the majority off her food. Not funny. Another one of his maddening tricks was to prop the books in her cupboard right on the edge of the shelves and wait for the inevitable thud thud thud as they all toppled to the floor when she opened the door. Again, so not funny. Well, maybe just a bit, but only when she had gotten over her fury.
    This was different though. He knew she hated being here because he hated it just as much. Maybe this was his way of lightening the mood and could she really be angry with him for trying to do that? She walked quickly over to the bath, wanting his stupid games to end because this wasn’t the time and certainly not the place for them, and peered over the rim. There were water marks below the taps from where the water had been left to drip. On the side of the bath was a rather large spider that seemed to watch Lisa closely, as if waiting for her to make her move. If there was one thing she couldn’t stand it was spiders and creepy-crawlies. But there was no Aiden. Cringing, she turned on the tap with much effort and with a loud squeak and a series of chugging noises that were so powerful they made the bath vibrate, it finally let out a few spurts of murky water after giving one last clunk for good measure. The water looked like it had been sat in the pipes for years; it was laden with bits of rust and it gave off a foul smell of decay. Not wanting to put her hand under it in case she caught some awful disease she stood and watched, hoping it would run clear. After a moment or two she got her wish and the water began to look normal and the smell disappeared in a whirlpool down the dark plughole with the diseased water. She looked around for something to fill but could see nothing so she cupped her hand under the stream and let it run on her warm, clammy skin, cold and wet. When her palm was full she quickly and with a slight flick of her wrist chucked the water onto the fat spider. The first lot of water did nothing to remove it from its vantage point so she did it again and it fell to the bottom of the bath. She swore she heard a tiny thud from the huge creatures’ grotesque body landing on the enamel. Filling her palm with as much water as it would take she threw it on the spider again and again, each time washing it nearer and nearer to the plughole. When it was close enough she turned the tap on more and let it drench the spider and send it tumbling into the black abyss. Just to make sure it was gone Lisa left the tap running for a few seconds. Happy that she had gotten rid of it she turned off the tap tightly. As she was doing so she saw something in the corner of her eye and turned towards it. There was nothing there. Frowning she turned to the bathroom door and saw Aiden stood on the other side of the door, peering round the door-frame, gingerly waiting for her to come out.              
    “For God’s sake Aiden, what you playing at?!” she demanded angrily.
    “What’re you on about?” he responded defensively, taken aback by her sudden attack.
    “You and your stupid games. I’m not in the mood and you shouldn’t be either. I swear Aiden; you can be such a fucking dickhead sometimes!” Without realizing it the tears had started to flow. Aiden had scared her more than she cared to admit.
    “Jesus Lis, calm down! I dunno what you mean. What games? I’ve been right here. I haven’t done anything!”
    “You’re a liar!” she screamed, almost hysterical in her fright.
    “I’m not lying! What am I supposed to have