Just In Time... But Was It Worth It?

[monkeysmoke]

aww i love how you've made Belle in this fic. Sort of standing on the fence. i mean she is loyal to aden but she can still see both sides. Its good!

I also like how you haven't made Liz a villain, that you show her side too, it feels realistic

please update

[wrongturntaken]

Thanks for all your comments!!!

Chapter 20.

Aden had been walking along the beach for five minutes before he realised it wasn’t helping to cure this new form of pain that was constricting his chest. He couldn’t take his mind off his mother and was trying hopelessly to figure out what her presence meant and what he wanted. But no matter how hard he thought, he just couldn’t come to a conclusion that felt right. He sat himself down on the sand and brought his knees up to his chest as he looked out at the ocean, particularly calm today as the sun was shining and there was little wind.

He noticed the ring on his finger and took it off, he couldn’t take his eyes from it and realised that now it just seemed like another worthless bit of jewellery as he felt a silent tear trickling down his face.

“Aden?” a young, timid voice asked from above.

He shaded his eyes from the sun with his hand and looked up at the figure looking nervously down at him.

“What do you want Annie?” he asked her, relatively harshly, thinking of the last time they had spoken as he quickly wiped the tear from his face.

“Are you okay?” she asked him sincerely.

“Wonderful,” he answered her sarcastically, going back to staring at the ring he was now fiddling with in his fingers.

Annie looked confused, “Do you mind if I sit down?”

Aden finally looked at her again, “I thought I was… ‘wrong’, or at least that’s how you put it.”

“Aden, I’m sorry,” Annie said guiltily. “I didn’t understand what you were telling me, I couldn’t comprehend it. Please can I sit down?”

Aden sighed, “Go for it.”

Annie sat down and the two sat in silence for a couple of minutes, Aden wasn’t sure why Annie had even chosen to sit next to him. It’s not like they were friends. Annie wasn’t sure either, she had seen Aden from a distance on the beach and he looked upset. She knew she had had to apologise to him anyway, so now just seemed like the good opportunity. She was sure the silence between them would have been awkward, but it wasn’t. Aden eventually broke it.

“Your Mum is dead, right?” he asked her bluntly.

Annie felt that was a little insensitive but decided to let it slide as she herself had been very insensitive when it came to Aden. “Yes."

“Do you ever wish she wasn’t?”

“All the time,” Annie answered him, wondering why he had brought this up. “Don’t you wish your mother was alive sometimes?” she asked him, knowing from Belle that Aden had lost his mother at a young age too.

Aden furrowed his brow at her and contemplated the question, “Yeah, I guess I did,” he realised.

“Did?” Annie questioned.

Aden looked out to the sea, “You see this ring,” Aden showed her it. “It belonged to my mother and it used to mean something to me, but now…”

“…now?”

“It’s just a representation of my life… a continuous circle of lies,” he told her, finishing the statement angrily.

“Why?” Annie sighed, confused at Aden’s response to her questions.

“…because she’s alive,” Aden told her sadly.

“Wow, Aden,” Annie breathed happily, “Aren’t you excited?”

Aden scoffed, “You don’t get it do you?”

“Get what?” Annie asked shaking her head.

“Never mind,” Aden sighed, standing up thinking that this conversation wasn’t helping him as much as the walk wasn’t.

Annie grabbed onto his hand from where she was sat, “Please tell me,” she begged. She wanted to be able to help him as she could see the pain he was in and felt she owed him her help.

Aden used their connection to pull her up, he gave her a slight smile, “Let’s walk.”

Annie smiled and proceeded to walk next to him as they made their way further up the beach, heading away from the diner.

Aden sighed again, “Everything that happened to me, Annie. It was because she had died,” Aden told Annie wondering if she could comprehend the feelings he was actually talking about. She had seemed so young when he had told her the truth and yet now she was behaving as though an adult. “…and now she comes back into my life and I don’t know if I’m supposed to love her or hate her or blame her or what.”

“Aden… don’t think about what you’re supposed to feel, what do you feel?”

Aden shook his head and shrugging his shoulders whilst telling her exasperatedly, “I don’t know, Annie.”

“Aden, stop,” Annie commanded and he did as he was told, looking at her oddly. “Close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Just do it,” she said softly and he complied obediently. ‘Now listen to the sea.” He could hear the waves crashing gently against the sure. “Drown out all your other thoughts and just listen to that one noise… now take a deep breath.” Aden did. “How do you feel about everything now?” she asked him softly after a minute or so.

Aden let the sound of the waves wash over him and tried to drown out all the information that was overloading his thoughts, all the facts, all the memories that had clouded his feelings before. His eyes jolted open and he looked at Annie and she noticed that he looked scared.

“So…?” she asked him gently.

Aden shook his head, “I can’t feel that way,” he told her, a lump forming in his throat.

Annie looked at him, “Why not?”

“…because it doesn’t make sense.”

“Aden,” Annie said softly placing a hand on his arm supportively, “…what did you feel?”

He glanced down at her hand on his arm and then back at her, he hesitated before he was able to get the words out, “I felt…” he started, “…happy.”

Annie smiled at him, “Isn’t that a good thing?”

Aden shook his head, “After everything that she did… how can I be happy that she’s here?”

“Aden, did she know what happened to you?”

He shook his head in response and said quietly, “No.”

“You can’t change the past, Aden. No matter how awful it was, the way you feel now won’t change what happened.”

Aden looked at her, willing himself to believe her, a part of him thought she made sense.

“…but you can change the future,” she told him. “…if you’re willing to.”

“I guess you’re right,” Aden said unsurely, showing her a grateful smile and thinking of the two sisters he had just discovered he had and that he would actually like to get to know them, they would have to be better than his brothers. It would be nice to have another chance at having a family and one that wasn’t so screwed up. “Shall we head back to the diner?” Aden asked her feeling that he had finally cleared his head enough to know what he wanted.

Annie nodded, “Yeah, I was meant to meet Irene there ten minutes ago,” she told him timidly.

Aden sighed, “Great, Annie. Now you’re going to get me in trouble for making you late and making Irene worry,” he added placing his arm around her shoulder and pulling her into him in a brotherly way, taking back the position of the ‘older one’ that Annie had somehow managed to claim for the last several minutes they had been talking.

Please comment!

[LAURZY!]

That was a really really good update!

Loved it all, cant single my fave bit out

Cant wait to read more, love this fic

[Deborah]

Aww Annie to the rescue. That was great, loved it!

Wonder if Aden is going to meet his sisters & what they will be like if he does!

[xknomex]

Well done Annie!!

I loved that chapter, the Annie Aden interaction was brilliant. How he wanted to be the elder one at the end.

Update soon

xx

[Taniya_K]

AOL at the Annie/Aden relationship. I love their brother-sister dynamics, though it's basic.

Loved that ending where he was turning into the 'older one' and taking it from Annie. So sweet!

More soon please!

xoxo

[Lise]

That was brillant!

Annie is a miracle worker, never thought I see the day!

[Inactive User]

Great chapter. Loved the conversation between Aden and Annie. So lovely and sweet. Annie is brilliant in this fanfiction. Update soon-more please!!

[adelle]

Great Chapter!! Loved the Annie/Aden interaction, I really like how you've written Annie here! Brilliant writing

Update soon

[HAA Girl 08]

Annie and Aden! Cute! Update soon !!