Unlucky

[Taniya_K]

Aw thanks! I just got this done, so it hasn't been read over properly. I will do so later, but I wanted you guys to get it first!

How many of you want Aden to show up? I know I do....

Chapter 21:

“Up at last, I see.” Drew commented as she walked into the kitchen about 30 minutes later. Throwing him a dirty look, she made her way over to where the coffee was. “Over here.” He said when Belle saw that the pot was empty. Turning, she saw a steaming cup on the table where Drew was eating breakfast.

“Thanks.” She said as she took a sip before cringing. “This isn’t coffee.” She grumbled.

“Amanda said no caffeine for you while you’re on your medication. So I’m guessing that rules out coffee.”

“Your elimination skills astound me.” Belle said dryly as she continued to sip her drink.

“So…” Drew began as he took another bite out of his toast. Belle raised an eyebrow when he didn’t carry on. “Who were you talking to this morning?” he asked coolly.

“That’s none of your business.” Belle replied in the same tone.

“C’mon. I’m just trying to make polite conversation.” He tried.

“You want polite conversation? Ok, um… how about your breakfast looks good. Can I have it?”

“No!” Drew said protectively, pulling is plate closer to him. “But seriously, who was it?”

“Like I said-”

“But seeing as you’re living in my house, it is my business.”

“You’re house?” Belle scoffed. “I didn’t know you owned this place.”

“Look, I’m just trying to get to know you better.” Drew said.

“Know me better? What? I’m a stranger, now am I?”

“Course not, sis.” Belle groaned as he smirked at her reaction. “And as your brother-”

“Oh, God.” She murmured as she stood up and hopped to the sink.

“- I think I deserve to know who you’re sneaking into your bedroom.” he carried on.

“I was on the phone.” She finally told him.

“To who?”

“Someone.”

“A ‘he’ someone?”

“Could have been.” She shrugged, heading out of the kitchen.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, getting up and following her into the living room.

“It’s a ‘could have been’.”

“I don’t believe you.” Drew stated.

“What’s to believe? I didn’t tell you anything.”

“I think you had someone in your room.”

“Who was in your room?” Ryan asked as he came bouncing down the stairs.

“No-one.” Belle snapped before Drew could get a word in.

“She snuck someone into her room, didn’t you sis?” he said anyway, keeping his eyes on Belle all the time.

“No, I didn’t, and stop calling me that!”

“Calling you what? ‘Sis’?” he asked dumbly.

“Yes, that!”

“Why?”

“Cos I’m not your sister.” She hissed at him, gathering her purse and checking what was in it. Amanda had said that they would leave at 10, and it was 9:50 right then.

“Well, technically, and legally, you are.”

“No, I’m not.” Belle replied simple.

“I don’t know if you understand the laws of this country, but as my dad’s married to your mum, I am very legally your brother.” Drew said in a slow manner, causing Belle to throw him a dirty look.

“Step-brother. We share no blood.” Belle informed him before adding very quietly, “Thank God.”

“You’re still my sister, though, sis. Anyway, we weren’t talking about this.” Drew said suddenly making her groan.

“Mum, can we go yet?” She yelled up the stairs. “Drew’s annoying me! And I’m so on the verge of strangling him!”

Just then, Peter came down the stairs, a smirk very similar to the one that Drew had earlier, on his face.

“She’s coming.” He went chuckling into the kitchen, taking Drew with him, leaving a very confused Belle behind.

----

Almost 3 hours later, Belle and Amanda sat outside of a café, waiting for Drew to come back from wherever he had gone to. The girls had gone shopping, and as fun as it was to annoying Belle, Drew had almost immediately arranged with Amanda to meet up at 1pm outside this particular café.

“...don’t know where he’s got to...” Amanda was huffing. Belle had drifted off into space a while ago, not listening to a word her mother said as they drank. She now scoped out the place where they were sat, after going through everyone who was sitting around them.

The place was quite decent. This particular street was lined with stores and designer outlets for about a mile each way. Or so it felt like to her. There were many streets coming off of the main one. The closet one that she could see was almost opposite them, and she could see more stores down there, along with a salon, law firm and a jewellery store.

Belle’s gaze drifted to the people who were walking on the streets. Intuition was a funny thing, she learnt, as many people turned to look in her direction when they felt eyes on her.

Her eyes fell on one individual. They were too far away and many people weaved in and out in front of him, but she had to do a double take when her gaze had grazed him first. As he neared the corner to turn on the street that she was sitting at, Belle saw that her figure was in the company of an attractive blonde.

At the corner, she saw them pause, probably getting ready to head in different directions. He laughed at something that she the blonde said and she smiled too. Belle didn’t know when she had become such an expert in profiling, but as they talked, she got the feeling that the blonde was being hesitant as she left. Almost as if they hadn’t finished things.

She watched as she walked down the street in the opposite direction to him. Taking out her phone, she was deaf to Amanda’s words, asking her what she was thinking about. Pressing 2 on her speed dial, she waited for the ringing, watching as her figure in the crowds pulled his mobile out to see who it was.

“Hey, beautiful!” she got as a reply.

“Aden... why are you in the city?”

---

I hoped you all...uh... enjoyed it!

I will update asap...

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

So many of you caught on with where I was going with Aden... I guess I'm not that good of a suspense writer lol!

Anyway, this is a longer chapter just to keep you guys happy...

Chapter 22:

Belle saw him quickly throwing a look over his shoulder as soon as he had absorbed her words. Something inside of her raged, knowing, somehow, that he wasn’t looking for her but for the blonde girl.

“What-?” he faltered. “How-?”

“How do I know?” she asked. “I can see you.” Belle stated simply. Aden stopped walking, his eyes now searching for her.

“Can you now…?” he laughed lightly. For the first time in a long while, him laughing didn’t make her want to replicate it.

“The café.” Belle informed him. She watched as he scanned the crowds of people outside and by the building on the opposite side of the street before finally seeing the girl he was looking for. Her face was set as she gave him a slight wave and Aden’s light mood started to dissolve.

“Ok, I’ll be there in a minute.” he said before hanging up and watched her do the same. As he waited for the lights to change so that he could cross, Aden saw Belle and Amanda having a brief conversation, no doubt about him. Sighing, he made it to the other side slowly, using the time to think about what he should tell Belle.

When Belle saw him approach their side of the street, she lifted her legs off the chair she was resting them on and gathered up her bag and crutches.

“Where are you going, darling?” Amanda asked her, perplexed.

“I need to talk to Aden.” Belle replied as she stood up.

“He can come here.” She pointed out to her daughter.

“I know.” Belle nodded but still didn’t sit down. “I’ll be right back, ok?”

“Alright.” Amanda answered back cautiously, watching after her as she made her way over to her boyfriend.

Belle walked right up to him, meeting him about 2 stores away from the café where her mother sat. For some reason, there was less of a crowd here.

“Hi.” He said as she looked at him, unimpressed.

“I thought you had footy today.”

“Yeah, I did. I mean, I still do.” Aden said, unconvincingly.

“Then why are you here?”

“We had a break, and I just needed to come to the city.” He explained.

“Why didn’t you tell me this morning?” Belle asked.

“It was a spur of the moment kind of thing.” Aden shrugged.

“‘Spur of the moment’. Right.” Belle repeated with doubt.

“And you don’t believe me.” He sighed, looking off in the distance.

“Do you blame me?” Belle snapped. “You have been coming to the city for about a week now. Well, that’s all that I know of. And now you turn up without-”

“Wait, what do you mean ‘that’s all that you know of’?” Aden interrupted, his eyes now set on hers.

“I dunno, why don’t you tell me?”

“Belle, I haven’t been coming to the city before last week. Trust me a little, would you?” he now retorted.

“I do. I do. I’m sorry.” Belle sighed, removing her left arm from her crutches to rub her temple, trying to think clearly. “Are you going to tell me why you’re here?”

“I came to see you.” Aden smiled brightly as an arm reached out to touch her waist.

“Aden…” she said warningly as his smile died down a bit, knowing that she wouldn’t believe that entirely. “Who was the blonde?”

“You saw that?” he asked, genuinely surprised.

“I saw that.” She confirmed as Aden’s eyes drifted once again.

“If I asked you to leave it alone, would you?” he tried.

“Aden, you can’t keep on using my trust like this. You need to tell me some things sometimes.” Belle told him.

“I’m not.” He assured her. “She’s just… helping me with something.”

“What kind of something?” her eyes narrowed as she wondered whether it was better to know or not.

“A surprise kind of something?” Aden said in a questioning kind of tone, hoping she would take it and leave it alone.

“How long until I find out what this ‘surprise’ is?” Belle queried.

“About… a day or 2.” Aden thought about it.

“Is it a good surprise or a bad one?”

“A good one. Well, it is for me. You on the other hand…” Aden trailed off, but a smirk on his face showed that he teased.

“It’s not funny.” She mumbled.

“No, it’s not.” He tried to wipe the smile off of his face now, but he wasn’t succeeding.

“Should I be worried about Blondie?” Aden got what she was trying to say in an instant. He reached out to push her hair back off of her face, a gentle smile gracing his face now.

“Would I cheat on you?”

“I wouldn’t put it past you.” Belle joked.

“Thanks.” Aden said in a faux hurt tone as she giggled gently. “Seriously, though…”

“I know you wouldn’t. I mean, I am the best thing that’s ever happened to you, right?”

“Hmm… course. How could I ever forget?” Belle smiled as he got closer to her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders to pull her into an embrace she gladly went into.

“So where’re you going now?” she asked, pulling away a bit so that she could look at his face.

“I’ve got to get back to the footy.” He sighed. For the first time, Belle saw what he was wearing. Jeans and a t-shirt. It wasn’t footy clothes, that was for sure.

“How long was the break?”

“An hour.” He frowned as he realised that he had been gone way over an hour.

“You didn’t get back onto the team only to be chucked off, you know?”

“I know, but it was an emergency.”

“So you can take time off your footy for this, but when I ask you do come and see me…?” she mocked him.

“Asking me twice and being all nice about this doesn’t change the fact that your step-dad’s a cop, babe. Not to mention that getting here would be a challenge.” Aden stated.

“You can always borrow my car.” She told him as he smiled guiltily. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just good to hear you say that.” As he spoke, he removed an arm from around her and pulled out her keys from his pocket.

“You brought my car.” Belle said. “No, you stole my car.”

“I didn’t steal it! See, I’ve got the keys.” Aden told her as she rolled her eyes.

“Just because you have the keys doesn’t mean that you didn’t steal it!”

“I asked Irene, if that helps.” He defended himself.

“And she said you could take it?” Belle asked, doubtful.

“Yeah.” Aden said, pausing before adding, “If you said I could too. Which you just did.”

Belle just looked at him for a moment before sighing and rolling her eyes once again.

“Just so you know, none of this makes up for your tattered reputation.” She joked as he laughed.

“Duly noted.” Aden placed the keys back into his pocket and used his free hand to stroke her cheek before leaning in to give her a kiss, which she responded to almost immediately. “I should go.” He told her as they parted.

“Yeah...” she whispered, trying to get her breathing back to normal.

“If we weren’t in such a public place...” Aden left the sentence unfinished, but Belle got what he was saying. Smiling, she jerked her head towards the road to her left.

“How about we go somewhere private then?” she said hopefully. She could feel his hands slip away from her, moving from her shoulders to her lower back where he rubbed comforting circles.

“As much as I would love to, something tells me your mum would notice.” He looked over her head towards the café, where he now saw someone else sitting opposite Amanda, who was blocked room view by the canopy. “As would he.”

Belle noticed his tone change to become a bit rough, causing her to throw a look over her shoulder to see what he saw. Unsurprisingly, Drew had made it to the café and chose the most perfect seat to spy on them.

“Even more reason to go.” She groaned as Drew smiled mischievously at her.

“I thought you said things were ok with you two?” Aden now looked back at his girlfriend as she turned back to him.

“Yeah, they’re ok. He’s just... annoying.”

“How so?”

“He keeps calling me ‘sis’.” She grimaced, showing Aden exactly how much she hated it.

“Want me to do something about it?” he asked her as if it was the simple reaction. Belle almost said ‘yes’ before she actually thought about the repercussions that it might cause. Right then, her and Drew got on, and she was pretty sure that that wasn’t going to change soon.

“Nah, I can handle him.”

“Well, in case you change your mind...”

“Good to know.” She laughed.

“Uh-oh.” Aden said suddenly as his gaze went from her to over her shoulder and back to her.

“What?”

“Your mum’s coming over. Think I can escape in time?” Aden asked, only half joking.

“Yes, but you’re not going to make me face her on my own right now.” Belle replied sweetly as he removed his arms from her waist to allow her to move as Amanda joined them.

“Afternoon, Aden.” She greeted him.

“Hey, Ms. Vale.” Aden replied, remembering the time when she taught at their high school.

“Call me Amanda. It’s nice to meet you. Again. Are you staying for the rest of the day?”

“Uh... no. I’ve got to get back to Summer Bay. Got footy in about an hour.” Aden half lied. Belle smirked at his attempt to sound like ‘good’ guy.

“Oh.” She said, genuinely surprised. “Well, how about you join us for dinner tonight? I would like to get to know my daughter’s boyfriend a bit better.”

“Mum...” Belle warned.

“I would love to, but I’m working tonight.” Aden told them. He saw Belle throw him a look out of the corner of his eye.

“Alright then. Maybe another time then.”

“Yeah, sure.” He said, almost confused at this friendliness. “Um... I’ve got to get going.”

“Of course.” Amanda said before turning to Belle. “I’ll just be...” she pointed over her shoulder to where Drew still sat at the café table.

“I’ll just be in a sec.” Belle assured her as she walked off. “Well, you sure handled that well.” She said as she turned to face Aden.

“Hmm... I would like to think so.”

“Just promise me one thing though.” She said, biting her bottom lip.

“What’s that?”

“Please don’t agree to have a mealwith her. Or a coffee for that matter. Leave all that to me.”

“Ok... but why?” he asked at her strange demand.

“It’s a long story.”

---

I know it was pretty much basic... but more of Aden's secret is revealed in the next chapter...

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Yeah, I'm just flying back home. Though I'll be coming back to the UK in a week, so I don't know what the point of it is, except to see my parents lol. But that will mean less time to watch H&A! Grr....

Anyways, I know I said more about Aden's secret in this chapter, but that's getting pushed to the next one. This story is getting longer and longer!

Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 23:

“I’m just saying.” Drew hissed at her. “He’s not the kind of guy you want to get involved with.”

The two of them were in the kitchen, washing up from dinner as Amanda and Peter had just popped out to get some desert. Ryan sat in the front room, playing on the games console.

Ever since Belle had rejoined Amanda and Drew at the café, she hadn’t been able to get away from him verbalising his thoughts about Aden. Although Amanda had told him to stop pretty quickly, now that they were alone, he had started up again.

“I don’t care what you think, Drew.” She hissed back at him. They were trying to keep it low so that Ryan didn’t overhear.

“Aden’s a bully, and everyone knows it, Taylor.” He had gone back to calling her that now that he was being serious and found another way to annoy her, though it was unintentional.

“No, everyone knew that. He’s changed.”

“No-one changes that much that quickly.”

“Well, then I guess Aden’s unique.” She retorted as she dried another plate with more force than necessary.

“If you rub it any harder, you’re going to create a dent in it.” Drew commented. Although he was trying to lighten the mood, she was already pissed off.

“So what? First you criticise my choice in guys, and now my domestic skills? Anything else you want to add?”

“I was trying to make a joke.”

“You obviously failed.” Belle said dryly. Drew sighed heavily. “What?”

“Why him?”

“Because.”

“Great reason. Now I’m convinced.”

“Screw you. I don’t need to explain myself to you.” Belle picked up the final bowl and dried it as fast as she could just as the front door opened. Putting the cutlery away, she turned to see her mother walk in with bags of ice-cream.

“You guys didn’t have to do all that.” She told them.

“It’s no problem.” Drew replied as he looked at Belle. She faked a smile for the sake of Amanda.

“Yeah, course not.” She ran a hand through her hair before grabbing her crutches. “If it’s all done here, then I might just go to bed.”

“What? It’s only 10 o’clock, darling.” Amanda commented.

“I know. I’m just tired. Today’s taken a lot out of me.” Belle half-lied. In all honesty, she needed to talk to someone other than Drew.

“Have you taken your medication?” Amanda asked, knowing that it would make her drowsy.

“Uh… not yet. I’ll do so later.”

“Ok. Night.” She said, watching her daughter walk out of the room. As soon as she had, Amanda turned her eyes on the other person in the kitchen.

“What?” Drew asked when he felt eyes on him.

“Didn’t I tell you to leave Belle alone?”

“I didn’t do anything!” he defended himself.

“So you weren’t harassing her about Aden?” Amanda asked, the tone of her voice suggesting that she already knew the answer.

“I wasn’t harassing-”

“Yes, you were. Why don’t you just give her the benefit of the doubt here?”

“Cos I know what Aden Jefferies is like.” He answered back. “And so do you.”

“Belle says he’s changed. I’ll take her word for it.”

“Right. Cos Belle’s judgements are always so perfect.” Drew scoffed. Amanda eyed him carefully as he took the ice cream out of the bags and started to put them away.

“What’s really going on?” she asked him.

“What do you mean?”

“You being so... protective all of a sudden.” Drew raised an eyebrow to show that he didn’t understand what she meant entirely. “Are you sure it’s not something else?”

“Like what?”

“Maybe you’re jealous?”

“I am not jealous!” Drew snorted, an amused undertone to his words.

“I’m not saying that you’re jealous of Aden, as such. But maybe because Belle’s moved on.” Amanda clarified.

Drew stood by the freezer, shaking his head as his shoulders shook from laughter.

“Amanda, seriously. I’m not jealous. You were right. She’s like a sister now. Maybe that’s where this has all come from.”

“Alright, then.”

---

“So that’s a no then?” Belle smirked even though he wouldn’t be able to see it.

“Sorry, babe. But I’ve got to get up early for the footy. You know how it is.” Aden replied as he sighed dramatically.

“Oh well. Maybe tomorrow then?” she tried.

“Ah... we’ll have to see.”

“Maybe I could sneak out...” Belle murmured, leaning back on her bed so rest against the headboard.

“Uh, yeah. You do that.” he laughed.

“What? Don’t you think I could?”

“Sure you could. If you want to get caught, that is.”

“Hey! I wouldn’t get caught.”

“Alright, let’s say, for argument’s sake, that you got out of the house. Where would you go?”

“Well, I was going to say to come and see you, but your lack of belief in me isn’t helping.”

“Uh huh. And let’s just say that you did want to come and see me. How would you get here?”

“What do you mean how? How do you think?”

“Sweetheart, I’d hate to be the one to break it to you, but if you look at your left foot, you’ll see it’s brok- fractured.”

“So?”

“So, I’m assuming that you took that into account while planning this break out, right?” Aden asked, amused.

“Well... no, I didn’t think about that.”

“So, basically, you’ll sneak out of the house, if you even manage to do that with a leg like that. Not to mention the noise that the crutches make is another matter in its own. And then you’ll be stuck outside your house with no methods of transportation. Great plan.”

“Which is why you should come here.”

“How do I avoid your step-dad exactly? Or your mother, actually?”

“You’re scared of my mum?”

“Hell, yeah. She’s got some ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ routine going on with me.” Aden confessed, making Belle laugh out loud.

“I think she might actually surprise you. She defends you against Drew, you know?”

“Good to know.”

“And avoiding Peter can’t be so hard. You’ve just got to be extremely quiet. But you’re used to that, what with all the sneaking in you do back at home. Irene’s never noticed.”

“Somehow, I don’t think bypassing Irene is the same as a fully trained cop, who happens to be your father. Kind of. They tend to frown upon teenage boys sneaking into their daughter’s bedrooms in the middle of the night.”

“Oh? Had experience, have we?”

“I live with Roman and Nicole.” Aden said matter-of-factly.

“Point taken.”

“Alright. I need to complete this paper before Monday, and I don’t think I’m going to get it done if we continue talking.”

“Why? Am I convincing you to come visit me?” Belle teased.

“No, cos I’ll fall asleep.” he replied.

“Gee, thanks. I’ll let you get back to your work then. God knows it’s more important than me.”

“Nah, nothing’s more important than you. But... this does come a close second.”

“Good to know. Ok, I’ll let you off. Don’t want you to repeat a third time.”

Saying their ‘goodbyes’, Belle listened to the dial tone as Aden hung up. Sighing, she glanced at the wallpaper of her phone. It was a photo that she had taken a while back of the two of them in her room. It was so carefree and casual, but it was absolutely cute, with Aden kissing her cheek, smiling, as she laughed into the camera. It made her smile just looking at.

A picture holds a thousand words, she thought.

---

I hope you all liked it. If not, then blame the pressurised cabin!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Heya! It's too early over here, but I can't sleep. So I wrote this because I'm crazy.

Hope you enjoy.

Chapter24:

A rapping of knuckles on her door brought her back to reality. She waited, silently, to see if it was important or not.

“I know you’re awake.” Drew called out. Sighing, she crawled off her bed and unlocked her door. She didn’t open it fully, instead standing by the door jamb to eye him suspiciously.

“What do you want?”

“I come in peace.” He told her. Belle’s eyebrows shot up into her fringe, surprised to see a gentle smile on his face.

“I don’t trust you.”

“I brought a peace offering.” He showed her the huge bar of chocolate from behind his back. Belle looked at it before looking at him. Exhaling deeply, she moved away from the door, leaving it open for him to come in as she hopped to her bed.

Drew walked in carefully, throwing the food onto the bed. He had learnt long ago that the only way to get out of trouble with Belle and keep her happy was to give her chocolate. Fortunately, it worked with Amanda too.

“I’m going to keep the door open. Just in case…” he murmured.

“In case of what?” Belle asked.

“You decide to yell. Or hit me. Makes an easy getaway, you see.” Drew joked as she glared.

“Don’t give me something to yell about then.”

Drew nodded and sat on the edge of her bed, by her feet. He stared at her cast, not sure what to say. For the first time all weekend, he noticed the little notes and messages that people had written on it. He also noticed what Aden written on it.

“Possessive, much?” he asked, rhetorically, a slight smile in his voice.

“Why are you here?” Belle asked.

“I came to… apologize.” The last word came out quieter than the rest of the sentence. Belle got the feeling that one of their parents had sent him up, but watching him squirm was much better than to ask.

“Go on then.”

“Well, ok. I’m… uh… I’m sorry.” Drew said, stuttering a bit.

“…For what?” she queried, crossing her arms.

“For… you know.” He replied, shrugging.

“I do?” Belle asked, pretending to be totally ignorant of the situation. Drew stared at her for moment before sighing.

“Fine, you win. I’m sorry for attacking you about… him.”

“‘Him’? He does have a name, you know.” Belle told him.

“Alright, already!” He snapped. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?”

“Nope. Now say it.” Belle finally smiled, opening her packet of chocolate while she was at it.

“I’m sorry for what I said to you about Aden. Aden... Jeffries.” Drew sighed once again. “Seriously, Belle, any other guy! You could choose from any guy in the whole world, and you chose him!”

“And you’ve outstayed your welcome. Bye, now.” She said dryly, not bothering to look at him as she broke off a piece of chocolate.

“Just tell me why.”

“Cos! Look, I can’t explain why I love him, I just do. Either accept it or you can go to hell.” Belle replied, a polite tone to her words though they were anything but.

Drew sat stunned for a bit, pretending to be more interested in Annie’s drawing on her foot than what she had just said. He hadn’t thought that they had been long together for long, let alone for her to admit that she loves him. But if there was one thing that he knew about Belle was that she didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve. If she was in love with this guy, maybe he had changed.

But he wasn’t going to take her word for it. Not until he saw it with his own eyes.

“How long have you two been together?” he finally asked. Hearing the foil of the chocolate wrapper stop being ripped, he looked up to see Belle’s shocked face. “What?”

“Are you pretending to be interested in my life?” she asked, a slightly teasing.

“I’m not pretending. We’re family now. Which means that I’m stuck with you-”

“And I’m stuck with you.” Belle added.

“Yeah. I mean, we get on pretty well, don’t we? I should get to know some of these things.”

“Hmm... don’t you think it’s a bit creepy?”

“Why?”

“Because it’s us.” Belle pointed out.

“Ah, c’mon, sis. As your elder brother, I think I should know some of this stuff.” He commented as she laughed, breaking off some chocolate to eat.

“Just over 4 months. Anything else?”

“Uh... do you have a marker? I need to sign this.” Drew asked. She shook her head as she ate more chocolate. Nodding, he jumped off the bed and left her room, leaving a confused Belle behind. It was a minute or so before he came back again.

“What was that about?” He held out a red marker as if it were a trophy before sitting right at the end of the bed by her left foot.

“So... is he a good boyfriend?” Drew asked while trying to position himself and her leg so that he could write on it.

“I’m so not answering that.” Belle laughed as Drew got off the bed and sat on the floor so that he was eye-level with her toes. “What are you doing?”

“Signing your cast.” His voice was slightly distracted and Belle started to wonder what he was writing. But he had chosen the bottom of her cast, the one place she couldn’t see. “Does he treat you good?”

Belle stayed quiet for a moment. She could feel the pressure of the pen on the sole of her foot as she bit another piece of chocolate off the now small bar.

“If by ‘good’ you mean ‘does he know that my mother is off limits?’, then yeah, he does.”

“I guess I deserved that.” Drew muttered as he stood up. “Done.”

“What’s it say?” Drew smirked. Belle knew that he had no intention of letting her know that. It was why he wrote it at the bottom of her foot.

“I’ll tell you if I get some of that.” He pointed to the chocolate by her side.

“No way.”

“Tough.”

The two of them stared at each other for a second before their eyes drifted to the door where someone else’s presence had caught their attention.

“Drew...?” Amanda didn’t need to finish off her sentence.

“Just brought her some food for the medication.” He smiled at Belle before walking out of the door. “Night, sis.” He called after her.

---

I know I'm lacking in the Adelle area... so I'll make it up to you soon. I promise!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Alright, so I was asked to update and I couldn't not, so here it is.

I promised you more about Aden's surprise for Belle... so here's some stuff...

Chpater 25:

“What was that about?” she asked her daughter.

“Him annoying me.”

“I told him to leave you alone about Aden.” Amanda said as she entered the threshold of her room, closing the door behind her.

“Oh, not about Aden. Well, not anymore. He actually apologized about that.” Belle told her.

“Drew? Apologizing? Can’t remember the last time he did that out of free will.” She commented.

“I thought you or Peter sent him.” Belle said, perplexed.

“No...” Amanda laughed. “We learnt long ago that there are some things that he needs to sort out himself. Especially when he didn’t ask for any help.”

“I see.”

“So is everything ok with you two now?” Amanda asked as she sat on the edge of Belle’s bed.

“Yeah, I think so. I dunno” she paused, taking another piece of chocolate and offering one to her mum, who took it. “What is ‘ok’ with us two?”

“Well, getting along is usually a good sign. You two seem to do that well.” She answered.

“Yeah...” Belle’s tone was distracted.

“What is it?” Amanda queried as she detected her attitude.

“Nothing.” She said quickly.

“You and Drew are getting on, right?” the older woman asked carefully.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s just... amazing how different it feels.” Belle confessed.

“What’s different?” Amanda shuffled on the bed so that she was more comfortable.

“Everything.”

“Ok, you’ve lost me.” Amanda said as Belle smiled.

“Before I came here, I was so prepared to call it off just to avoid seeing Drew.” She said, not looking her in the eye.

“Hmm... we figured that you hadn’t come to see us because of that.” Amanda told her.

“Yeah, I just thought it was going to be hard. I mean, we didn’t exactly end it perfectly, you know?”

“So what changed?”

Belle shrugged, biting on the last piece of chocolate that she had left. Smoothing out the foil wrapper, she gave it more attention as she thought. At first, she couldn’t understand it either. She didn’t know what had changed. Just yesterday, she was ready to hate Drew. Every time she had thought about him and about this weekend, the only thing she felt was anger and hatred. Sometimes she didn’t feel anything at all.

“It’s just confusing.” Belle concluded as she explained her thoughts to her mother.

“It was always going to be. But at least now you two know where you stand.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” She sighed once again.

“Drew... he was a mess after he came back from Summer Bay the last time. But he did the typical guy thing and tried to hide it. He talked to Peter about it, I think. After two years, I guess it would be hard...” Amanda trailed off, shaking her head. “What I’m trying to say is that, if you have any feelings for Drew, I would underst-”

“Feelings? What? No!” Belle exclaimed.

“Oh, I just thought...”

“No! Mum!” Belle shook her head. “We’re way past that.”

“When you said that it was confusing, I assumed that that’s what you meant.” Amanda explained herself, slightly embarrassed at her assumptions.

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Belle said, almost timidly.

“Well, are you going to tell me what you meant? Or am I going to have to mind read?” she joked to lighten the mood.

“It’s just that...” Belle paused, not quite knowing how to complete and verbalise her train of thoughts. She hadn’t ever spoken to anyone about this, and now she had the chance to, it felt ridiculous. “I love Aden, I really do. But it’s seems so... different to what it was like... before.”

“‘Before’, as in with Drew.” When Belle nodded, Amanda smiled slightly.

“It’s stupid.” She murmured.

“No, no it’s not. But, darling, you didn’t expect it to be the same, did you?” At Belle’s shrug, she carried on. “Look, first loves are hard to forget. But they’re never made to last. You try so hard to make it all good, overlooking the bad and just try to go on. That’s why, when you fall in love again, it’s different. You know that you have to take the bad things along with the good. And if you can do that, and still make it work, then it’s more than you did with the first one. It’s all about experience, love.”

“Wow. You’re getting wise, mum.” Belle joked.

“I have been in love a couple of times.” She pointed out. They sat in silence for a beat before Amanda spotted the time. “Ok, you should get some sleep. We’ve got a fun-filled day tomorrow.”

“Yeah? Such as…” Belle asked.

“Such as things that you’ll find out tomorrow. But I’ll tell you one thing, we’re getting these re-done.” Amanda pinched her toes lightly, pointing out her painted nails. “I know that you have a bad leg, but that doesn’t stop you from asking for help to do these.” She ribbed as Belle half-smirked.

“Actually, I didn’t paint them.”

“Uh huh. Then who did?” Amanda asked, doubtfully as she stood up.

“Aden.”

“Well, that explains a lot.” She laughed as she leant over to press a kiss against her daughter’s forehead. “At least you’ve got him wrapped around your littlie finger.”

“Of course.”

“Night, sweetheart. Don’t forget your pills.” Belle nodded obediently, reaching to for the bottle as Amanda turned to leave.

“Hey, Mum.”

“Mmm...?”

“What did Drew write on my foot?” Belle asked. Amanda peered at the end of her foot.

“‘Get well soon, sis.’” She read after a pause.

“Huh! Of course...”

---

Sunday went pretty fast, which was a good thing in Belle’s opinion. Although she received no surprise visit from Aden, Drew had decidedly left that topic alone.

She and Amanda mostly spent it as a girly day out, doing everything from pedicures to shopping to haircuts, although Belle did draw the line when Amanda suggested she changed her hair colour. There was no way she was going blonde.

It must have been around 7pm when they came home, where the boys were supposedly preparing dinner. This to them meant a barbeque.

“I thought I said to make dinner.” Belle heard her mother say amusingly as she entered the back porch where the barbeque was set up.

“We are.” Peter replied.

“Our style.” Ryan added, laughing.

“I hope you remembered that Belle’s vegetarian.” Amanda pointed out when she saw the burgers and sausages piled up.

“What do you take us for, Amanda?” Drew scoffed. “Of course we remembered. There’s some salad there for her.”

“I’m a veggie, not a rabbit.” Belle finally spoke up from behind him as everyone laughed.

Most of that evening went the same way. They spent most of it outside, joking and teasing until it became too cold and moving inside for dessert. Although Belle passed on the ice-cream, she couldn’t help but feel cold as she sat on the couch as Ryan chose a movie to watch.

---

Belle woke up at 8 the following day, as planned beforehand. Groaning, she sat up and yawned. They had all gone to bed at 11 last night, but Belle hadn’t been able to fall asleep until about 3.

After taking a shower, she packed up the last of her stuff, managing to place it all neatly into two bags instead of the one that she had brought with her. She left them in her room as she hobbled down the stairs.

“... I don’t mind, Amanda.” Drew was insisting as she sat on the table with the laptop open in front of her.

“Don’t mind what?” Belle asked as she sat down.

“Morning, darling. Would you like some breakfast?” Amanda asked her.

“She never eats breakfast, mum.” Ryan informed her. She raised an eyebrow in her direction before letting it slide and turning her attention back to Drew.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! I’ve got nothing planned, and I’m up anyway.”

“Ok then. Belle, Drew’s going to drop you back off home instead of me.” She told her.

“What? Why?” Belle moaned.

“Because I’ve got to go fill in for a teacher at Ryan’s school. I wouldn’t normally, but they need a drama teacher, and I did say that I would do it if the opportunity ever occurred.” Amanda apologized.

“That’s ok. But you don’t have to drop me off, Drew. Irene could always come and pick me up. Or Aden. I know that he’s free right now.”

“And so am I.” Drew pointed out.

“But really-”

“Look, I’m going to be stuck at home instead. You would be doing me a favour.” He said as Amanda got up to get Ryan ready for school.

“Trust me, that’s not what I mean.”

“Ah, I see. You’re scared that that boyfriend of yours isn’t going to approve.” Drew smirked.

“Actually, I’m more worried about being seen with you.” Belle mocked, pulling the laptop closer to her so that she could check something.

“You’re a real laugh.”

“I know.” She smiled as she logged onto the website. “Seriously, though. You don’t have to drop me off. I can just call Aden and he’d be here within the hour.”

“By the time he gets here, you could be there already. And then you can spend the rest of the day with lover boy. Ok?”

“Alright. Just... please don’t call him that ever again.” Belle pretended to shuddered as he peered around the edge of the screen.

“What’re you doing?”

“Just checking my bank stuff. They must have called when I was in a shower.”

“What for?”

“I don’t know.” She told him slowly as Amanda walked back into the kitchen.

“Belle, Ryan and I have got to get going in about 15 minutes...” Amanda trailed off when she noticed that her daughter wasn’t paying attention to her, but rather staring confusedly at the computer screen. “What’s wrong?”

“My bank stuff. Someone’s put money into it. A lot of money.”

“How much ‘a lot’?” Drew asked.

“$5000.” Belle told him, still in shock. Both Amanda and Drew moved to get a better look at the screen, only to see exactly what she had said. “It was transferred in this morning.”

“Someone must have done it yesterday or on Saturday for it to have gone through this early.” Drew commented.

“Yeah, but who?” Belle asked them although she knew they were both as clueless as she.

“Here, click on the transfer details. Maybe it will shed some light.” Amanda pointed out to a little blue button at the bottom of the page on which she then clicked on.

This brought up another page which detailed the transaction in more detail. Belle skimmed most of it until she scrolled down, where a summary of the action was shown, along with the very familiar account number of whose money it had came out of.

“That’s Aden’s account.” Belle gasped. Was this the surprise he was talking about? she thought to herself. If it was, then he had succeeded. She was surprised.

“Why is he transferring you money, darling?”

“I dunno. But what I don’t get is how he got the money in the first place...” Belle mused.

“I think the better question is,” Drew said as he moved to sit back down again. “Why do you know your boyfriend’s bank details?”

---

So what's Aden's secret?!

Adelleness is coming up in barrel fulls soon.... but it's not all gonna be good!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Sorry for the delay, but I did warn you that I wouldn't be able to update yesterday!

Here's the next chappie. I'm sorry. I just thought I'd say it now.

Chapter 26:

”Hello, and welcome to the voicemail for-.” Belle didn’t need to hear the rest of the sentence. Over the last 30 minutes, she must have heard it about 10 times already, permanently inserting the words into her head, whether she liked it or not.

“Still not picking up?” Drew asked as Belle growled once again. They had left the city not long ago, and were now on the way back to Summer Bay.

“What gave it away?” Belle replied sarcastically as she typed out another text. She knew that Aden would be getting these, as his phone was on. He just wasn’t picking up.

“You know that if someone doesn’t answer your calls, or reply to your texts, they’re trying to give you message.” Drew said matter-of-factly.

“He’s not ignoring me.” Belle snapped.

“Uh… he kinda is.” He stated.

“Dammit.” She hissed when she tried to ring once again after sending the text, only to be redirected to the voicemail.

Drew couldn’t help but laugh at the look of sheer frustration on Belle’s face. Her determination to get to the bottom of Aden’s sudden appearance of money was stressing her out.

“Look, you’re going to see him in a bit. Why don’t you just wait until then?”

“Because.” She told him as he rolled his eyes.

“You need to think of some new comebacks, sis. That one’s getting old pretty quickly.” He retorted as she childishly huffed.

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that?”

“You say a lot of things.” He commented coolly.

“And I mean most of them.”

“Most, not all.” Drew pointed out. “You know you like it.”

“Then why do I keep telling you to stop calling me that?” she asked with fake sincerity.

“C’mon, you adore it. It makes you feel part of the family!” Drew said enthusiastically. Belle couldn’t help but laugh at his words. In some twisted way, it was true.

“I don’t need an annoying nickname to feel part of the family.” She joked when the laughter had died down.

“You’ll get used to it.” he informed her as she nodded, not realising what he had said while she yawned.

“Sorry.” Belle apologized.

“No problem. But how can you still be tired?”

“I didn’t fall asleep until about 3.”

“Ah… I knew I heard voices and footsteps coming from your room!” Belle pulled a face at him which showed that she didn’t appreciate his comment.

“First of all, there were no voices or footsteps. And secondly, your room is on the other side of the house! There was no way you could have heard.”

“So you admit that there was something to hear?” Drew had ignored the rest of the sentence and decided to attack her on the one thing that he was interested in.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said?” Belle replied.

“Yes, and you said that there would be no way for me to hear what was happening in your room. Which is wrong, cos I can.”

“Well, you obviously can’t because there was nothing to hear last night.” She told him.

“A little defensive, aren’t you?” Drew commented as he saw the annoyance on her face. It actually made him feel bad for a second before realising that she would get over it.

“Eyes on the road, Drew.”

Drew did as she said, knowing that she had no intention in explaining herself to him. Especially her last comment about no-one being in her room last night. He knew that it was just a slip of her tongue, but he would have enjoyed ribbing her for it.

They both sat in silence, the radio on pretty low, for the rest of the drive. There wasn’t long left and the last thing he wanted to do was **** Belle off as they got home. Drew didn’t really fancy getting into anything with Aden, which he was sure would happen, considering how protective he found that he was.

When they approached the main road that led up to Summer Bay, Drew turned to Belle, only to see that she had fallen asleep. Deciding to leave her until they got about 2 minutes out, he turned back to the road.

Finally, as he drove along slowly around the inner town bends in the road, Drew chose to wake her up.

“We’re here!” he said loudly, hoping to scare her out of her sleep. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. “C’mon, sis. Time to get up!” Drew said in a light, sing-song voice as he reached out to shake her arm. “Belle?”

He resorted to her proper name now, his amused tone dying down as he got slightly worried when she didn’t awake from his jostling. It was known that Belle was a deep sleeper at times, but there was no way that his shaking wouldn’t have woken her up.

“Hey! Belle!” Drew had slowed the car right down now on the deserted road, but made sure that they hadn’t completely stopped. Shaking her a bit harder, panic started to set deep within him.

With a trembling hand, he pinched her arm, knowing that if she woke up, Belle would most probably hurt him. But she didn’t.

“Oh, no.” Drew gasped as he realised that she wasn’t going to wake up. He reached out once again, this time checking her neck for a pulse. Without realising it, he let out the breath he had been holding when he found one, although slightly weak.

It took only a moment for Drew to register what he needed to do. So, as quick as he could, he turned the car around, heading towards to hospital instead of the beach house.

As he pushed the car faster, there was only one thought running through his head.

Amanda’s going to kill me.

---

I know, I know. No Adelle, sorry. But the next chapter will be Adelleness full.

Hope you all enjoyed it!

Lemme know what you think!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Ok guys, thanks for your patience [or not so much as in MissOlivia22's case]. I hope this is worth the wait. I honestly don't think it is, but you guys can be the one to judge that.

Chapter 27:

Aden sat silently. There was nothing to say anyway. Nothing he could say. Instead, he sat, his elbows resting on her bed and her left hand in between both of his. He pressed occasional kisses her palm, her wrist or her hand when he became lost in thought.

Apart from him and Belle being in there, Irene was the only other person who came into the room at intervals. She wouldn’t stay for long. She had taken it upon herself to call Amanda and to send Geoff and Annie home when they had heard and made a surprise appearance at the hospital.

The room was pretty silent. The only things that he could hear were the buzzing of the equipment and the gentle beeps of the heart monitor letting him know that she was still there with him.

Sighing, Aden mentally shook his head. Just looking at her, she seemed as if she was sleeping. If it wasn’t for the mask on her face or the paleness of her face, maybe he would have been able to convince himself so.

It could have been worse, Aden kept telling himself. She’s going to be fine.. He repeated these words over and over again, trying to erase Roman’s voice when he had told him about Belle being in hospital just under two hours ago. They had been at home; Roman getting ready for work and him just sorting some stuff out before school. When he had heard the phone ring, he never thought that it could have been Irene telling them what had happened. One thing was for sure; Aden was glad that Roman had been there to give him a lift to the hospital.

*Flashback*

They had made it there in less than 5 minutes, and that was with Roman driving as safely as he could. Pulling the car into a parking space, Aden was out of the car before he could say anything to stop him.

Aden was at the reception when Roman made it in, asking if they knew where Belle Taylor was. Before the receptionist could even get started on looking up the enquiry, Aden had laid eyes on the person who had brought her here.

“Where is she?” he asked, voice raised, as he hurriedly made his way over.

“Aden.” Roman had said warningly, but none of it registered. The only thing that he could see was the person who was supposed to have been bringing his girlfriend home that morning. Instead, he brought her to the hospital.

Rationally, the look of guilt and anxiousness on Drew’s face should have pointed out the fact that he felt it was his own fault that she was here. But Aden wasn’t thinking rationally.

“If anything happens to her…” Aden hissed angrily, pointing a finger at him threateningly so that there was no doubt as to who he was talking to. He left the sentence unfinished. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was going to say.

“Aden.” Irene called out as she rounded the corner with Rachel. Almost immediately, all of their attentions were focused on the women.

“What’s wrong? Where is she?” he asked as soon as he saw them.

“She’s ok. She’s just resting now.” Irene informed him, knowing that he wouldn’t care about anything else until he heard that.

“Do you know what happened?” Drew spoke up for the first time. Aden gave him a quick glance, not surprised to see that the emotions that were on his face a minute ago was now gone.

“We can’t be certain right now, but it’s most likely that it was just exhaustion taking her over.”

“Exhaustion?” Aden asked, slightly confused. “As in, tiredness?”

“Well, yes and no. Exhaustion is caused by many factors. Tiredness is the main cause, but the cause of that…” Rachel trailed off, emphasising how many different possibilities there were. “We won’t know for sure until she wakes up and can tell us herself. But my guess is Belle not adjusting properly to her new situation.”

All four of them could guess the ‘situation’ to be her breaking her leg.

“So what can you do until she wakes up?” Roman asked, knowing it was what everyone else was thinking.

“We’ve just got to wait. The exhaustion caused her to pass out. If she had been standing up, she would have fallen. Her body’s trying to fix itself, and we must let it do that first.” Rachel explained in her gentle manner.

“Can we see her?” Aden asked, his subconscious forcing the pronoun ‘we’ to overtake the word ‘I’ as it came to his tongue. Rachel nodded and led them to the room she was in.

*End Flashback*

Aden snapped out of his memories as he heard the fast clips of heels outside the room.

“Irene! Where is she? Is she ok?” Amanda’s voice shrilled, getting louder as she got nearer. Aden wasn’t able to hear the response, but he was sure that she told her exactly what she had told him.

“… with her.” He managed to catch from Irene as they approached the open door.

“Where’s Drew?” Amanda asked.

“Uh… he was here a minute ago.” Irene told her. “Ah, there he comes.”

Over the sounds inside the room, Aden could hear a third pair of footsteps stop.

“Amanda…” Drew began, not knowing what else to say. Aden guessed that the look on her face would have put him off. He had seen Amanda pissed off before, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.

“One thing, Drew. I asked you to do one thing!” Amanda snapped. “I didn’t even ask. You volunteered!” Aden heard her add on. Try as he might, he couldn’t help but keep the smile off his face as she yelled at him. It helped with the pent up anger inside of him that made him want to lash out at Drew himself.

Becoming so involved at looking at the reason why he hadn’t hit Drew yet, Aden was surprised when he saw movement on the other side of the bed. For a second, he thought it was Belle herself before the presence of another person in the room became obvious to him.

“Has she woken up?” Amanda asked him. He didn’t bother looking up at her as he shook her head. “Any other changes?”

“No.” he replied, his voice slightly raspy due to the emotions he was keeping inside of him.

“When is she supposed to wake up?” Amanda queried after a minute of watching her.

“I dunno.”

“Hasn’t it been too long for her to have been passed out?” Amanda asked, a strong tone concern and demand coating her words.

“I don’t know.” Aden repeated, his words clipped. Amanda restrained herself from asking anymore questions, knowing the kind of answers she was going to get weren’t going to help her at all. Instead, she brushed her daughter’s hair off her forehead and placed a kiss there before going to look for Rachel, leaving Aden there to ponder over her words.

“Hasn’t it been too long for her to have been passed out?” her words had been. The more Aden thought about it, the more it unnerved him. It was now just over 2 hours since she had succumbed to exhaustion.

Something’s not right.

---

Right, so uh... I hoped you liked it.

Please leave a comment!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

I know I said within an hour, but ther was nothing else to do, so I finished it off early.

Chapter 28:

“We can’t do anything until she wakes up.” Rachel repeated. They were all outside Belle’s room now. By the time Aden had come to his realisation, Amanda had already found the doctor and had thrown the question to her without any hesitation.

“But she’s not waking up!” Amanda repeated.

“Amanda.” Irene reprimanded as Amanda shot her a look.

“I don’t care if I’m being disruptive.” She replied. “There’s something wrong with my daughter, and you’re telling me that we just have to wait?”

“Rachel, Amanda’s right.” Irene agreed. “It’s now been 2 and a half hours. There’s got to be something you can do.”

“If there was, I would do it.” Rachel told the four anxious people. Roman had gone back to the Diner a while back. “We’ve ran a blood test and everything else that we could do won’t come back until after she wakes up.”

“If she wakes up.” Drew murmured just loud enough for the 5 of them to hear. He saw Aden shoot him a dirty look and Drew held his stare for as long as he could.

“What we need to know, before we start to prescribe her anything or give her any other kind of treatment, is what was happening before. Now, Drew said that Belle told him that she hadn’t slept much the night before and was pretty short-tempered just before she passed out. What was the last thing she ate?” Rachel recapped for them.

“Uh… dinner last night.” Amanda told her.

“Dinner?” Irene asked, her eyebrows shooting up.

“Yeah, she didn’t eat any breakfast.”

“She claims that the medication puts her off food.” Drew added. He saw Aden’s jaw tighten at his words and he wondered what effect they had on him.

“Well, her medication is supposed to be taken with or after food. When did she take them last?”

“Last night.” Amanda answered, slightly unsure.

“Did you see her take them?”

“Well, no. She kept them with her in her room, so I assumed that she took them when she went to bed.”

“You ‘assumed’?!” Irene exclaimed.

“It’s not like I was going to keep tabs on her all the time.” She defended herself.

“Yeah, well, it seems like that bright idea landed her in hospital, didn’t it?”

“We don’t know what the main onset for this is, Irene.” Rachel told her, trying to keep them from arguing right there and then. Aden kept quiet, angry with not only Amanda and Drew, but with himself too. It was the only thing that was keeping him from yelling at them along with Irene.

“What does this mean?” Amanda asked.

“Did she have any other symptoms? Such as headaches, the shivers or a fever?” Rachel asked them, not entirely ignoring Amanda.

They all thought about it before Drew said ‘no’ at the same time as Amanda said ‘yes’. Everyone looked at her as she stared into space, still thinking.

“She was cold last night. I just thought it was because we came inside after spending hours outside. And she was complaining of her back and neck aching while we were shopping.”

“And you didn’t stop to think for one moment that that wasn’t right?” Irene attacked her.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Belle isn’t one to accept help easily. She said that it was probably because of all the moving around.” Amanda retorted. Irene opened her mouth to respond, but Aden beat her to it.

“Do you know what’s wrong?” he asked Rachel as she walked past them into Belle’s room.

“I think it could be sudden withdrawal.” She told them as she continued to read her charts and going over some other things.

“Withdrawal? How’s that possible?” Irene asked from where she stood by Belle’s feet.

“The medication she was on is pretty strong. They help control the pain and stop any infection from occurring, and helps promote healing. If you just stop taking them, you’re not giving your body any warning and it has to adjust quickly.” Rachel saw that they didn’t really care for all the medical garbage, so she shortened it for them. “When Belle stopped taking her medication, her body tried to make up for everything it did. Unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of power and our bodies can’t handle, and this is the result for it.”

“Will she be ok?” Amanda asked fearfully.

“I’m going to give her a low dose to start off with. It should help boost her body’s attempts, and hopefully, she should wake up soon and then we can carry on.”

Rachel left them alone in the room after she pushed through the medication via Belle’s IV line. Aden had taken his place by her left side once again, while Drew and Amanda stood on the other side. They were all quiet for a bit until he heard Amanda say something to Drew under her breath.

Aden couldn’t make it out properly, but from the look on her face and from Drew’s response, he guessed that she was apologizing for yelling at him earlier and making a rash judgment.

A muscle in Aden’s jaw tightened when he heard that. Amanda might have been so forgiving, but he wasn’t.

---

Aden sat, once again, quietly by Belle’s side. The others had gone to get some food, but he wasn’t hungry. Irene had told him that she would sit with her while he went to get something, but at that moment, Geoff and Annie had turned up once again. They were now all at the Diner grabbing some lunch.

Being alone in that room made him think more than he wanted to. But he would rather be alone that be with Drew, who hadn’t wanted to leave either. It was only when Amanda had reminded him that he had to call his school to let them know that he wasn’t going to make it in later that he had given in.

Drew, he thought angrily. Amanda wasn’t mad at him anymore. And Irene didn’t seem to blame him at all. But Aden sure was. He was supposed to be looking after her.

But the more he thought about it, the less that line rang true to him. Drew had done his best to look after her. Drew knew more about her than he did. Drew even drove her to the hospital and felt guilty for what happened, although it wasn’t his fault at all.

No, Aden was more angry at himself. He was her boyfriend. He was supposed to know more about her than anyone else. He should have made sure that she took her medication every night, and that she was eating properly.

Thinking back, Aden could remember last Wednesday when she had slept for most of the day. That whole day, he couldn’t remember one thing that she had eaten except for the bar of chocolate she had asked for.

Sighing, he tried to push the thoughts from his head. However, being alone in a room didn’t offer many distractions. Grabbing Belle’s hand with both of his once again, he leant on the bed, focusing on the machine that kept track of her pulse. It was steady and repetitive, enough to take his mind off things.

Aden had matched his breathing to hers, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that he noticed the slight, minuscule change to it. His head snapped up almost immediately as he felt the pressure of her hand squeezing his.

“Belle?” Aden called out gently, standing up lean over her. “Can you hear me?”

Belle’s eyes started to flutter a bit, reminding Aden of the way she would pretend to sleep for those extra minutes in the mornings. He softly reached out a hand and brushed the hair out of her eyes as they slowly opened.

“Hey, beautiful.” He smiled, sitting back onto the edge off her bed to give her some space.

Aden watched as she got her bearings, trying to figure out where she was and why she was there.

She tried to say something, but her dry throat stopped her. Lifting her free hand with all her might, she took off the mask and placed it on the pillow next to her. Letting out a painful sigh, she rubbed her throat; a clear sign to Aden.

“Lemme get you some water.” He murmured as he poured her a cup before helping her drink some of it. Just before he sat down again, he pressed the call button by her side.

“What happened?” she asked roughly as she tried to sit up.

“You should lie down.” Aden replied, a gently hand on her shoulder nudging her down.

“Why-?”

“You passed out.” He told her. A slight look of recognition fell on her face, although the confusion was still there.

“You wouldn’t pick up.” Belle remembered, her tone distracted as she tried to recall what else happened.

Aden was about to answer, but was saved by a nurse who came to see what the emergency was. After seeing that Belle was up and fine, she told them she would page Dr. Armstrong and call Irene, like she was instructed too.

“You need to rest.” Aden said, running a hand through her hair. He saw a small smile grace her lips and he reciprocated it.

“What’s wrong with me?” she asked as Aden moved back onto the chair. Belle rolled onto her side as good as she could with a cast on her leg. She reached out a hand for him and he took it, intertwining their fingers.

“Exhaustion.”

“‘Exhaustion’?” Belle repeated, her eyebrows scrunching up. “How-?”

“Don’t worry about that right now.” Aden replied, grazing the knuckles of his other hand across her cheek.

“Just tell me.” Belle demanded.

“You’re crazy, do you know that?” Aden laughed, finding it amusing that she was being so stubborn even after all this.

“Only about you.” She replied, smiling cheekily.

“That was really corny, babe.”

“Leave me alone, I’m in hospital.” She joked.

“Alright, alright.” Aden said, just as Rachel walked in. “Now you’re in big trouble, love.”

---

Ok, so it dragged on a bit, but now that Belle's awake........

Please leave a comment!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

Thank you all for your beautiful comments! I'm glad that you guys are still enjoying this fic!

Anyways, here are some answers, and some more questions!

Chapter 29:

So, what happened to your hand? Belle asked. Aden looked down to his bandaged right wrist and scraped up knuckles, a wry smile on his face.

Footy injury. He replied.

Is that so? Her doubt was obvious. It was clear what a hand like that looked like to her. What does that other person look like?

Uh why dont you ask him yourself? Aden nodded towards the door as Geoff walked in with Nicole and Annie.

Oh. Belle said when she saw that Geoff didnt look any different than before. Footy, you say?

He stepped on my hand. Aden cleared up.

I did not. Geoff defended himself before turning to Belle. Dont listen to him.

Both Belle and Aden rolled their eyes at his words.

How are you feeling? Annie asked. This was the first time that she had seen either of them, after waking up for the first time about 5 hours ago.

Belle was more herself now; Rachels prognosis proving right. Although she had been asleep for the past 2 hours, and was still hooked onto the IV, no-one would have been able to guess that there was anything wrong with her if they hadnt known.

Yeah, Im feeling good. Better, at least. she told her younger sister of sorts, adding a smile to seem more convincing.

Good. Irene told us what happened Annie trailed off.

Ah, I thought she might have. Belle wringed her hands together. How mad was she?

Mad? She wasnt mad. Geoff insisted but Belle knew better. The look that Irene had had on her face after she had woken up and seen her for the first time. It was one of concern, of course, with a hint of anger. Although neither Amanda nor Irene had told her off for landing herself in this situation, she knew they were probably saving it until later when she was slightly better.

Of course, that hadnt stopped Rachel from warning her not to do anything this stupid again or Aden from reprimanding her. Somehow, his soft tone and loving words just made her feel worse and guiltier than when she saw anyone else.

Do you know when youll be leaving here? Nicole asked.

Rachel said most likely tomorrow. They just want to keep me in for overnight observation.

Hey, Nicole broke the silence they had fallen into, ask Geoff about the footy tournament. Her tone was light and it intrigued Belle, especially when both Annie and Aden grinned while Geoff began to look uncomfortable.

Oh, yeah? Geoff? What happened at the tournament? Belle did as she was told.

Nothing. Geoff replied quickly.

Somehow, I doubt that. Belle scoffed as everyone else laughed.

He got into a fight. Nicole supplied. It was kind of cool.

Geoff blushed at her words and Belle was sure that it was because of Nicole calling him cool rather than the fighting.

Really? Violence, Geoff? I would never have thought you have it in you. I mean, over a stupid football game. she teased.

Its not stupid. Aden claimed at the same time as Geoff said:

It wasnt about the game.

What was it about then? Belle asked. She could tell by the way Annie and Nicoles stances changed that they didnt know the reason for this actions either.

Nothing important. Geoff told her, a shrug accompanying his words to make them sound more casual than they were.

Belle would have believed him, or at least have left it alone, if she hadnt seen him and Aden share a quick look between then, as if the were making sure that what they were saying was ok.

What was that all about? she enquired, eyeing the two guys. They both look at her, confused.

What do you mean?

That look. Youre hiding something. Now Annie and Nicole were really interested. They, obviously, hadnt seen the look.

Youre seeing things, babe. Aden jokes, gently stroking her fingers with his thumb. Belle shot him a reproachful look before letting it go.

---

I have to go. I promised Jai Id meet him at the Den. Annie told them 30 minutes later. They were all just sitting around chatting, keeping Belle company.

I need to get to work, too. Aden added. Ill come with you.

Yeah, we should go too. Geoff said. You need to rest. Belle nodded as both Annie and Geoff gave her a brief hug before leaving the room with Nicole, allowing her to have a couple of minutes with Aden.

Do you want me to stay? he asked her when she looked at him, gently twisting a lock of her hair.

No, thats ok. Youve been here all day.

You sure? Aden offered for one last time.

Im sure! Anyway, Mum and Drew said that they would come see me before they head back to the city.

Alright. Let me know if you need anything, ok?

I promise. Belle said in a mock-serious way, making him laugh.

Aden gently ran his fingers over her cheek before leaning in for kiss, which she responded to almost instantly.

I should go Aden whispered once they parted. Annies probably waiting.

Yeah, ok. You still need to clear something up for me. She reminded him as he smirked.

I will, I will. He placed one final kiss on her lips. Love you. He whispered.

Love you, too. Belle replied as he smiled and turned to leave. She watched as he reached the door before stopping and stepping back into the room. Aden?

Aden didnt say anything as he crossed his arms and allowed Drew to walk in. He watched as he rounded Belles bed before leaving, knowing that she would have a lot of questions that he didnt feel like answering.

What was that about? Belle asked Drew as he stood at the end of her bed.

Nothing.

Ok, people have got to stop telling me nothing. She retorted, rolling her eyes in frustration.

We just have an agreement. Drew told her.

What kind of agreement? Belle was interested.

Well, we havent written it down or anything, but I think its just to stay out of each others way. He explained.

Oh. Belle sounded genuinely shocked. Well, thats good.

Dont sound too surprised.

I just didnt think you could be so mature about it. Belle told him.

Hey, Im mature! Drew defended himself. Its your boyfriend you should question. With all the threats and accusations, Im surprised he hasnt been thrown in jail yet.

Drew Belle warned.

Im just speaking my mind.

Yeah, well, no-one wants to hear it. So back off.

Geez, and to think a few hours back, we were worried you wouldnt wake up. Drew commented as Belle gave him a dirty look.

Wheres Amanda?

Shes-

- right here! Amanda finished Drews sentence. Belle saw a huge bag with her mother, and knew that it could only mean one thing. She went shopping. For her.

Oh, great!

---

Belle sighed as she settled down onto her own bed for the first time in days. Irene had just dropped her home, and was now puttering around in the kitchen, making her some lunch.

After Amanda and Drew had left last night, Irene had been there when Rachel told her she would be able to go home the following afternoon if she stuck to the doctors advice this time. Assuring both elder ladies that she would do everything, and she meant everything, she was told to do, Rachel was happy to let her go.

She hadnt seen Aden since he had left the hospital the day before. Once he had finished work, it would have been too late to visit her. So they both had to settle for texts until she fell asleep due to the medication and her fatigue of the days adventures.

Are you sure youll be ok here alone? Irene asked as she handing Belle a plate with toast on it with a mug of hot chocolate.

Ill be fine, Irene.

Hmm Irene murmured, eyeing her carefully. Maybe I should just stay at home.

Irene! I can look after myself. Belle told her as she took a bite out of her toast.

Huh! A fat lot of good that did last time. She commented, throwing her hands in the air as Belle sighed once again.

Ive learnt from my mistakes. Look. Belle shook out two pills from the bottle and drowned them with her drink. There. She croaked as her throat burned. She hadnt been wise enough to check if it was drinkable or not.

Alright then, girly. But if you need anything, you will call, you hear me? Irene warned her. Belle nodded before smiling innocently, causing the red headed woman to exhale deeply. Ok, well Geoff and Annie will be home in about 2 hours. So until then, youve got the whole place to yourself.

Great. Belle replied. I think Ill just sleep.

---

At 8pm that night, Belle was still cooped up in her room. She had been out to have dinner, but after that it was straight to her room. It was almost as if she had been grounded rather than just released from hospital.

A knocking on her window took Belles attention away from her laptop where she had been editing and sorting out some pictures.

You couldve used the door, you know? Belle laughed as Aden climbed in.

Wheres the fun in that? he replied, throwing himself down onto her bed. How you feeling?

Fine. Just as I was the last time you asked. She paused to add emphasis. 20 minutes ago. Belle rolled her eyes.

If youd rather I didnt care Aden teased.

Im kidding. Its nice to have attention. Even if it is annoying.

Im sure it is.

So what brings you here? Belle asked as she started to save all of her open windows.

Cant I visit my beautiful girlfriend for no reason? Aden grinned as she smiled at his words.

Of course you can. But you know what I realised? Belle replied as she set her laptop aside and sat up straighter.

Whats that? Aden copied her posture, sitting up straight opposite her.

I never got anything from you while I was in hospital. Mum bought me all of that stuff, she waved her hand to the side where bags of clothes and other accessories were placed, and Irene got me flowers

I was supposed to bring you something? he asked, faking confusion.

You never got me anything when I broke my leg either. She pointed out.

I drove you to the hospital, you know. Aden told her.

Ok, so Ill let you have that.

What do you want for this time then? he asked.

Oh, Im sure you could come up with something. Belle said innocently, knowing exactly what he would have in mind. However, there is one thing she added before he cold even move.

Yeah? You sure it isnt what Im thinking? Aden asked, his voice low as his hand began to climb up her leg. Belle laughed, grabbing his hand with her own.

Im sure. She couldnt help but giggle when she saw the exasperation on his face. Tell me about the money.

What money?

The money you put into my account. How did you get so much? All sense of fooling around was gone now and seriousness replaced it.

Its a long story.

Im not going anywhere. Belle looked at him as she sighed, pulling his hand out of hers and leaning back onto his elbows. How does that blonde girl fit into it?

Her names Rebecca. Shes a lawyer. Aden informed her, not looking at her.

A lawyer? he nodded and looked at her. Aden, have you done something wrong?

---

Ah, so now we're getting to it!

How did Aden get the money? And did he get it the wrong way?!

Hope you enjoyed it!

xoxo

[Taniya_K]

And here we are! The explanation to all of Aden's weird behavoiur! I hope you enjoy it.

This is dedicated to bexxx123 [because she's in here once again =P] and xknomex [who got me to update so quickly].

Chapter 30:

What? No!! Why would you think that for? Aden exclaimed.

A lawyer? Not to mention that hand of yours. Belle informed him.

I explained this! Adens voice rose as he held up his hand. A frown appeared on his face and Belle couldnt remember the last time she saw that look.

Ok! Belle replied, her voice matching his. Sorry, I just had to ask. I didnt mean anything by it.

Im not that person anymore. His tone was softer now.

I know. Belle insisted, her words passionate to prove just how much she believed him. I heard about the pact you and Drew made.

Pact? Aden asked, confused.

Yeah, you know, about staying out of each others way.

Would you rather I beat him up? Aden queried. He got a dirty look in response, knowing that his words werent appreciated.

So, why did you need a lawyer? Belle changed the subject back to what they were talking about.

To sort some business out. he replied.

Stop being vague, Aden. Belle reprimanded. Where did you get the money?

I sold the house, ok? he snapped. I sold it, and thats where the money came from.

You sold it? Belle asked, totally astonished. But how? When?

It was finalised on Saturday. Thats why I came to the city. Aden sighed before getting up to pace around her bed. Belles eyes followed his every step.

But you only put it on the market 2 weeks ago.

The buyer was eager for it. he told her as he repeated his path and was now fiddling with some stuff on her desk.

When did they make an offer? she asked him, wondering why he was edgy.

Last Tuesday.

Belle thought back to the past week, and suddenly everything clicked.

The call she remembered, voicing her thoughts.

was from the realtor. Aden completed for her. He was now at her door, picking up the many frames with pictures of them just to look at them without really taking them in.

You could have said something. Belle told him.

Then it wouldnt have been a surprise, would it? he threw her a warm smile and Belle could now tell that his movements was only due to pent up energy.

So, who bought it? she asked, curious who would want to buy the place so quickly.

Some American couple. he said, locking and unlocking her door several times before leaving it locked.

They bought a house? Belle knew how expensive houses could be in the area of Adens place, and Summer Bay wasnt a thriving area for jobseekers from other countries.

Yeah, they had up and left their place in Aden struggled to remember where they had actually came from as he wandered over to the window. Anyway, they had sold everything and just flew out here. Saw the old place, loved it and bought it.

What has the lawyer got to do with all this?

She has a name, you know? Aden laughed as he looked over to her. Belle wasnt amused. Well, they wanted the house as soon as they could, so the realtor said getting a lawyer to check things over and read everything through be good, and that it might push it through quicker. Plus, the house was still in Dads name, so I had to get that signed over to me.

So she went to see your dad? Belle asked, almost hopeful that the answer would be yes, but knowing deep down that it would be no. That was confirmed as he shook his head. Aden-

Dont say it. I know it was stupid, but it was quick and painless. He joked as he pulled the window shut and locked that too.

When was this?

Last Wednesday. That day when you told me about your weekend.

Yeah, I remember. Belle sighed. I wish you had told me.

Why? There wasnt much you could do with a leg like that. Aden laughed as he crouched down by her side of the bed, resting his chin on his arms as he folded them on the bed.

Funny. she rebuked. You didnt need to go to see your dad on you on, you know.

Meh, he shrugged gently. wouldnt have made a difference.

Im guessing he signed it? Belle moved the subject on.

Yup, without hesitation. Said I deserved it or something. I dont know, I wasnt paying much attention. he replied non-chalantly.

How was he?

He looked fine. Docs on the inside are looking after him, I guess. Belle got the feeling that he didnt want to speak about his dad anymore.

So this couple They sold everything back home? she asked him.

Everything. They only had a couple of suitcases and their money. Their load of money. Aden said, a slight smirk on his face as Belle shuffled to lie down so she could face him properly. Its why the lawyer pushed the deal through so quickly.

Hmm? Why? Belle asked, perplexed.

They kind of offered more than the asking price.

More? Why?

Cos they need a place to stay. It was everything they wanted. Aden explained. It was in a quiet area, and the fact that we had just painted the whole place, got everything new put in. Plus it was furnished and I got someone to sort the garden out. They wanted it all.

Dont forget my photos. Belle teased. After they had redone the whole place, Aden had suggested that some wall art would make it look better. So Belle had offered some of her work, seeing as it would save on the money he was already running low on.

Ah, yeah, your photos. They loved them. he told her, running a hand through her hair.

Really, now?

Yeah, even asked where they were from. Aden smiled as he leaned in for a delicate, short but sweet, kiss.

What did you tell them? she whispered when he pulled back.

That they were a private collection.

Hey!

What? Doesnt that make you sound more professional?

Not if they dont know who I am. Belle rolled her eyes at him as he laughed.

Well, if it helps, I think it might have clinched the deal. Aden winked at her as she reached out a hand to shove him gently on his shoulder.

So how much did you get for it then? Belle finally asked the question that was bugging her.

Quite a bit, actually.

You going to tell me how much exactly?

Nah Aden laughed as she scowled at him.

Aden she warned him. Dont mess with me. I just got out of hospital today.

You sure you wanna know?

Course. Belle nodded.

Well, the final amount that I got, after all the expenses, is just over $250,000.

---

Even more reason to wanna date Aden now, don't you think?!

How will Belle react to that?

xoxo