Can Time Really Heal?

[wrongturntaken]

Okay, so this chapter took a completely different direction to what i had actually planned but i kind of like the way it turned out.

Thanks for all your comments!

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 20.

A month had passed since Aden and Belle had decided to be 'exclusive friends' and they were still managing to control their feelings. They'd go out to a movie or for a drink and just hang out with the occasional glance of longing or casual touching of hands that showed the sparks still emanating quite clearly between them. Belle was just waiting for Aden to say that they didn't need to wait any more and he was waiting for her to say the same but in the end they both knew it would have to be mutual timing for their relationship to work.

Aden had finally started his exams which he had been revising for ridiculously hard, Belle had been helping him whenever she could, as she had sat them before. He had taken time off work but it was a Saturday when Roman had asked him to cover for him as he had to go shopping with Nicole during the day. Aden, figuring it was okay to skip out on revision for one of the weekend days, said yes, mentally adding that it was a good excuse to spend time with Belle as she was rostered on that week.

It was nearly 4 O'clock and near the end of their shift which had been particularly busy, even with the four of them, Irene and Colleen being the other two workers that day.

Irene was on her break and had decided to take a walk along the beach to get some fresh air as she had put it. Belle was out the front dealing with the customers which left Aden and Colleen in the kitchen preparing the food.

"New order," Colleen said, slipping Aden another piece of paper.

"…kay," Aden sighed tiredly.

"…you alright?" Colleen asked sweetly and Aden was shocked that she had shown an interest in him.

"Yeah, I guess," he answered her unsurely.

"…you having a fight with Belle?"

Aden turned around, "Why would you say that?"

"It's just, you haven't said a word to each other all day, except when you had to, I was just wondering if there was something wrong between the two of you?" she asked; seemingly kind.

Ah, Aden thought, she wanted gossip, now that made more sense.

"No, we're not having a fight. We're friends," Aden told her with false confidence. Belle had been giving him the cold shoulder all day, and he hadn't the faintest clue why.

"Friends!" Colleen exclaimed, laughing. "Friends don't look at each other the way you two have been looking at each other when you think the other one's not looking," she said complicatedly.

"What do you mean?" Aden asked her, narrowing his eyes, slightly weary of the fact that Colleen had obviously been watching him.

"Didn't you see her on her break?"

Aden shook his head.

"She didn't even go outside, she just sat at one of the tables and didn't stop watching you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Colleen answered him as the smile vanished from her face. "She didn't look happy though, she looked pretty sad."

"Oh," Aden said, wondering what was up with Belle as she walked into the kitchen.

"Colleen, can you go out there for a bit?" she asked tiredly with a hand on her hip as she passed a pen and notepad to Colleen who left them, glancing at each of the young adults before she did.

Aden looked at Belle and sighed, "What's going on?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on, you've been acting weird all day," Aden answered.

Belle suddenly looked rather angry, "Fine, you want to know what's going on. I'm tired," she told him simply. "I'm sick and tired of this," she added thrusting her hands up in the air gesturing to the pair of them. "This 'exclusive friends' thing," she exclaimed using her hands to demonstrate the inverted commas, "It's ridiculous!"

"I thought you were okay with it," Aden said; confused.

"It's been a month, Aden. A month. Maybe I'm tired of waiting."

"What's brought this on?" Aden asked her.

Belle didn't answer him, but looked at her feet.

"Belle?" Aden pushed.

"Someone asked me out to dinner yesterday," Belle told him, shrugging her shoulders.

Aden was taken aback, "What did you say?" he asked stupidly.

Belle looked at him as though he were an idiot, "What do you think I said, No, of course! Because of this stupid thing we've got going on."

Aden hesitated, "Did you want to say yes?" he asked, preparing himself for the worst.

"No," Belle said firmly. "But I wanted to say that it was because I had a boyfriend who I loved, which isn't true, is it?"

"Belle, come on, we've been through this, we both agreed it was for the best," Aden said, not really having a clue if he actually believed what he was saying.

Belle didn't answer him.

"How about we go for a drink at the surf club tonight?" Aden asked her, trying to change the subject.

"…as a date?" Belle asked, never believing it for a second as she raised her eyebrows at him.

He stayed silent and looked at her guiltily.

"Fine," she answered him abruptly. "My shifts over, I'll see you there at eight," she told him as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Wait, I'll walk home with you," Aden said hopefully. "I finish now too."

"It's fine, Aden. I can walk home by myself," she told him determinedly.

"I know, I just thought you might like the company."

Belle gave him the briefest of smiles, "I just want to be on my own for a bit."

"Oh," Aden said, slightly hurt. "Okay then, I guess I'll see you later."

*

Belle walked into the surf club, feeling quite superior. She had a plan and she was determined it was going to work. She had put on a gorgeous black strapless dress that flowed just to her knees, and she was wearing gold heels to match. She was wearing half her hair up and to the side as she let the rest loose in gentle waves. She looked incredible and she knew it. She had gotten their five minutes early, she knew Aden would be a few minutes late, he always was, which gave her time to pick her prey. So it wasn't going to be fair on them, but at this point she didn't care, it was only five minutes of their time she'd be wasting.

She spotted a good looking guy in his early twenties sitting at the bar.

"Can I sit here?" she asked him kindly.

He was stirring his beer with a straw in a rather a depressed way but looked up as she talked to him. His mouth opened in awe.

"Do you mind?" Belle questioned further.

"Uh, yeah sure," the man said, not able to believe his luck, this woman was absolutely gorgeous.

Belle smiled at him.

"Can I get you a drink?" the man asked, now determined to impress her.

Belle smiled and rested her hand on his arm, making him even more nervous, "Beer please?" she said sweetly.

So she dressed to kill and drank beer, this was his kind of woman, "I'm Dave," he introduced himself.

"Daisy," Belle answered holding out her hand, starting to think this was pretty fun. "Nice to meet you," she said as Dave shook it. "So what do you do Dave?"

"I'm a construction worker," he answered, "You?"

"I work in accounting for a business firm, I'm just here to deal with some business with some smaller companies in the area," Belle told him confidently.

"Oh," Dave said, feeling impressed and adding smart to the mental list he'd made of this magnificent woman. "Yeah, I've just started here, I don't know the area very well yet but I heard this was a good place."

"Yeah, I heard that too," Belle told him as she smiled and leant up to reach over him to grab a straw from behind the counter. She pretended to nearly lose her footing as she came back and put her hand on his arm again, for support. It was at this point that she turned to the door to see an extremely angry looking Aden.

"Oh no," Belle sighed, "It's my husband."

"Husband?" Dave said; sounding scared now, "…but you're not wearing a ring."

"Please don't get involved in my personal life," she said sternly to Dave and he suddenly looked scared of her new tone.

"Who's this guy?" Aden said approaching her.

"Dave," he answered nervously, holding out his hand for Aden to shake. Aden didn't.

"Look, Tom, why can't you ever trust me? I told you I was going on a business trip! Why do you always have to think there's something sinister going on with me? You don't have to follow me every where I go!"

Aden looked completely perplexed.

"Daisy," Dave started, "Maybe I should go."

"Daisy?" Aden questioned, looking at Belle funnily.

"No, Dave," Belle stated looking directly at Aden as she spoke. "You stay," she said running her hand over his shoulders, "I'll go. My husband and I need to have words outside. Come on Tom," she commanded as she and Aden left the surf club and Aden looked back at the dumbfounded Dave, that Belle had left at the bar.

When they were outside Aden turned to her, "What the hell was that about?"

"Tell me how you felt when you first walked into that bar and saw me with him," Belle commanded.

"What?" Aden exclaimed.

"Tell me how you felt," she repeated.

Aden stayed silent, just looking at her in disbelief.

"Go on!" she pushed loudly. "Tell me how you felt!"

Aden stayed silent still and swallowed. He couldn't understand why he couldn't just tell her. Would it change things? Why was he so determined to fight this? Was it still to protect her? Or was it him who was scared? Scared of hurting her again, like he'd done the last time.

"Tell me how you felt!" she repeated again, volume rising, looking at him for a response.

"Tell me how you felt!" she screamed at him, pushing him, trying to get him to answer. He didn't move, she wasn't a strong enough force for that so he let her push. His determinedly blank expression never wavering. "Tell me how you felt!" again she pushed him and felt tears claim her eyes full of anger and he watched her as he fought against his own emotions. "Tell me how you felt!" even louder this time as she felt like she was about to fall apart at any second as she watched as Aden's blank and stony expression finally broke as he grabbed her upper arms to hold her in her place.

"Jealous! Okay, I was jealous!" he yelled back at her before cupping both her cheeks with his hands quickly and crashing his lips against hers. He felt her fall into him as her hands came round to hold onto his elbows. She felt Aden's shoulders relax as he continued to brush his soft lips against hers, every so often slipping his tongue in as she felt his hand moving around so that her neck fitted into the groove between his index finger and thumb. She felt that thumb stroke her cheek as he used his other hand to brush her hair gently from her face. She had closed her eyes but felt his body so close to hers that it was as though she had created a picture through sound, scent and touch, something more truthful in those senses than sight, as she felt his presence become a part of her.

He finally pulled away from her and the two were left looking into one another's eyes, neither daring to smile.

"Does this mean…?" Belle started.

"I think it does," Aden answered her as this time he tilted his head to the left and moved in closer to her, he felt their noses touch and he brushed his lips against hers once, "God, I've missed you," he breathed and kissed her once again before she pulled herself away slightly and rested her forehead against his.

"Me too," she answered with tears of happiness in her eyes as she ran her hand down the side of Aden's face and looked at the traces of tears he hadn't let fall.

At that moment, Aden felt a droplet of water hit his face, "Great it's raining he said, pulling further away from Belle, "We should move."

Belle pulled him back towards her, "I don't want to move," she told him, shaking her head as she reached up and took his lips with her own as he bent down for her and they continued to kiss in that spot, oblivious to the rain that had now started to pour down around them.

So finally after twenty chapters! lol. Let me know if you like the way they got back together at the end!

Next chapter:

A date? But are either of them ready for what's to follow?

[wrongturntaken]

Thanks for all the comments! I don't particularly like this chapter much and i was going to have some more on it but i decided that i wanted the last chapter to be more significant. So yes this is the penultimate chapter... although there is an epilogue after that... and then the sequel...

Some of this is a bit forward so sorry for any offence caused...

P.s. I don't really know anything about surfing...

Enjoy!

Chapter 21.

“Maybe we should think about going home,” Aden suggested as he broke apart from Belle who he now realised was getting soaked. “Come on, let’s get inside for a minute,” he said kindly as he took her hand and led her into the warmth of the surf club.

“Whose home are we talking about?” Belle said suggestively, surprised at her own forwardness.

Aden looked uneasy, “Actually, I have studying to do so I’ll walk you to yours, first.”

“Studying?” Belle said with raised eyebrows, “Then how come five minutes ago, you had time to have a drink with me? Why don’t you just do it tomorrow?” she begged.

“Because I have a date tomorrow,” Aden told her simply.

“What?” Belle said, slight worry in her voice.

“With you,” Aden said forwardly and Belle laughed at her own stupidity.

“Okay, so what does this date entail?” she said; smirking and running her hand up and down his chest.

“How about dinner at ‘The Sans’?” Aden suggested.

Belle paused her hand movements, “…because that’s original!” she said sarcastically.

“Well you think of something then!” Aden exclaimed.

”No. You’re the guy, you think of a date that’s not straight out of the 1950s,” Belle told him firmly.

“Fine,” Aden said, looking at her as he thought for a minute. He smiled as an idea came to him, “Okay, meet me here at 10 tomorrow morning.”

Belle narrowed her eyes and drawled out an, “Okay.”

“Now, I really ought to walk you home.”

*

“What are we doing here, Aden. I… we come here all the time?” Belle exclaimed; annoyed at how Aden had yet to explain what their date was going to include other than the fact that she had to be in a bikini and they were at the beach.

“Exactly!” Aden exclaimed happily.

“What?” Belle answered him, raising her eyebrows at his response.

“You come here all the time and yet I’ve never seen you surf,” Aden told her simply.

“So we’re going surfing?” Belle asked.

“You said to do something original, so I’m going to teach you how to surf! Plus, it’s an excuse to see me shirtless,” Aden told her cheekily, still smiling as he grabbed hold of his board, tucked it under one arm and grabbed her hand with his other hand. “Come on.”

Belle felt herself being tugged away, and had to smile, he certainly had thought of something original, even if it was pretty silly.

“Okay, so lie flat on your front on the board,” Aden told her, holding the board still as Belle laid there.

“I’m already doing that, Aden,” she exclaimed and he laughed at how annoyed she had become. “Now what?”

“Wait until you see a wave coming, paddle like mad, and then it’s all about timing… quick here’s one now,” Aden informed her, stepping out of the way.

Belle did as Aden had instructed and then jumped up to stand expertly on the surf board. She rode the wave like she had done many times, before coming off of it and making her way back towards Aden who was looking as though he felt like a fool. “You know how to surf,” he stated simply.

Belle shrugged, “Just cos you haven’t seen me, doesn’t mean I don’t. I have lived here for two years,” she laughed.

“Then why did you let me go on like that?” he whined at her.

“…because it was sweet. And like you said… a good excuse to see you shirtless.”

He smiled and stepped closer to her in the waist high water they were in, “You don’t need an excuse to see me shirtless, Belle,” he said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he leant in to kiss her.

“Well, on to part two I guess,” he said, giving her a charming smile.

“There’s a part two?” Belle said as Aden let go of her hand and she began to follow him out of the water.

It was at this point that she saw the rug on the beach with a small hamper on it and she sighed, “Aden, I hate picnics on the beach, you get sand in your food and insects everywhere.”

Aden looked at her; unfazed by her comment, “I know. This isn’t a picnic; this is sunbathing, with a few pre lunch snacks,” he explained.

“What kind of pre-lunch snacks?” Belle asked him as they reached the blanket. He opened the hamper in response. “Strawberries?”

“In chocolate!”

Belle laughed, “You know me so well,” she joked; thinking of what strawberries actually were, as she sat down opposite where he had.

“Want one?” Aden asked her, picking one up by the stem and holding it close to her mouth.

She smiled and opened her mouth in response as he placed it in her mouth and she bit it leaving only the stem in his hand. He threw it away and looked at her as she ate it.

“Aren’t you going to have one?” she asked him, as she swallowed.

Aden looked at her and moved closer so that their faces were an inch apart, “Belle,” he said slowly. “There’s more than one way to taste strawberries,” he told her as he crashed his lips against hers and immediately let his tongue dance around with hers.

Belle was taken aback, Aden had never been like this before but she found it so exciting and exhilarating that she didn’t want him to stop. She placed a hand on his bare chest and lowered him down so that he was on his back before climbing on top of him. He removed his tongue and began to kiss her the way he usually did. Tenderly and caring, the way that let Belle knew, every ounce of feeling he had, was being transferred via his kiss.

They continued to kiss like that for a while before they heard a cough from above them. “Guys, I’m glad that you seem to be back together but I’d have rather not have heard it from several people complaining about indecent public behaviour at the beach,” Jack said in his police uniform, looking at them sternly.

“Oh, sorry Jack,” Belle said straight away, sitting up, and, only just remembering they were actually in a really public place.

“It’s okay, just don’t do it again, yeah?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, of course,” Belle said before he left and Aden burst out laughing. “Aden, it’s not funny! Who would have called the cops?” she exclaimed.

“Uh, Belle, look around, who wouldn’t have called the cops?” Aden answered her question.

Belle did and suddenly took in the tens of families that were on the beach, it was a hot weekend day after all.

“Great,” Belle sighed, feeling embarrassed.

“Belle, don’t worry,” Aden said stroking her arm with his hand and looking at her lovingly. “Anyway, I think it’s about time for part three.”

“Part three?” Belle exclaimed. “How many parts are this to this date?”

Aden shrugged, “I haven’t decided yet.”

Belle laughed.

“Right,” Aden said, standing up and holding out his hand for her to take. “Let’s go back to yours.”

“Mine?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve made sure we have the house to ourselves,” Aden reassured her.

Belle smiled and took his hand, allowing her to pull him up. They put their clothes on over their, now dry, swim stuff and Aden cleared up the blanket and hamper before they made their way to the beach house.

*

“Okay, so what are we meant to do here?” Belle said as she came into the kitchen with Aden trailing behind.

“What do you think… lunch!” he told her gesturing to the table that he had Irene had agreed to make up for him earlier.

Belle looked at the nicely sliced sandwiches and other food that appeared to be presented so professionally on the table.

“I’m starving… thank you,” she added turning around to give Aden a kiss in gratitude.

“You’re welcome,” he told her as he pulled out a seat for her to sit down on before taking his own. “So how’s the counselling going?” he asked her concernedly.

Belle gave him a weak smile, “Well, it definitely helps with how I feel about everything and not feeling scared all the time,” she told him earnestly.

“I know what you mean,” Aden said nodding gently, “I never realised how much I needed it until I started thinking about how I used to feel, and how I feel now.”

Belle looked at him and placed her hand over his on the table, “I’m really proud of you,” she told him.

Aden smiled at her and entwined his fingers with hers as they rested on the table. “I’m really proud of you too.”

Belle smiled at him before she broke their hands apart, “I’m just going to go to the bathroom.”

“Sure,” Aden replied.

Aden watched her go and sighed, this was his window of opportunity, so he took it. He made his way towards Belle’s bedroom, hoping that she wouldn’t hear him outside the bathroom door, and managed to enter Belle’s room unnoticed. His thoughts had been right so he did what he went there to do and then made his way back to the table, waiting for Belle to return.

Please comment!

Next chapter:

What did Aden do in Belle's room?

[wrongturntaken]

Thanks for your comments! So yes this is the last chapter, but as i said there is an epilogue which i might put up later today as it's already written...

I hope you aren't disappointed with what Aden actually did, and i hope you all like the last chapter, sorry for it's shortness though!

WARNING: Scenes of a sexual nature.

Chapter 22.

"That was lovely, Aden, thank you," Belle said as the contents of her plate had vanished.

"You're welcome," Aden told her as they both reached in for a quick kiss. "Okay, so next and last part..."

"There's another part?" Belle asked.

"Well," Aden looked a bit uneasy. "It's not exactly a part… more of a… a step I guess," he tried to explain himself.

"…a step? What do you mean?" Belle asked him, unsure where this was going.

Aden sighed, "Just come with me," he said holding out his hand.

She took it without hesitation, "Okay."

Aden led her out of the kitchen door and round to stand outside her window.

"What are we doing here, Aden?" Belle asked him, her tone suddenly deadly serious.

"We're going to go through the window," Aden told her gently.

"I don't want to," Belle said. "…besides it's locked, I always keep it locked," she told him adamantly and Aden could see that there was slight anger bubbling behind her eyes.

"No it's not," Aden said, shaking his head.

Belle looked at him for a moment, "You unlocked my window! What gives you the right to do that?" she exclaimed angrily at him.

"I'm sorry, I just thought that…"

"…thought what? What exactly is crawling through a window going to help with?" she shouted at him.

"Why are you getting so angry?" Aden yelled back. "It's obviously scaring you, so going through this window will be like facing your fears," he told her more quietly as he saw her features soften.

"What if I can't?" she asked him quietly, referring more to facing her fears than the actual act of going through the window.

"I'm right here, doing it with you," he told her supportively, holding out his hand for her to take.

Belle sighed, "Okay," she told him after a few moments thought.

"I'll go first and then I can help you through, okay?" Aden asked her softly as his thumb stroked her cheek.

Belle nodded.

Aden did as he said he would and held out his hand once again for Belle to take when he was in her room. She did so tentatively and clambered clumsily through the hole in her room, catching her foot on the sill and falling straight into Aden's awaiting arms.

She looked up at him from where she was now lying in midair with her feet on the floor and his arm around her shoulders, stopping her from falling. He smiled proudly at her as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into her. Aden hadn't been expecting it and his legs gave way underneath the weight of her and the sudden movement. He managed to push her onto the bed before she would fall to the floor and jumped that way himself ending up on top of her, although he managed to do it carefully, so he wasn't putting any pressure on her.

The position they had fallen into meant that their faces were just centimetres away from one another and they were swept into the silence that had already claimed the room, unable to speak now, for their feelings were too loud for sound.

Belle let out a tentative breath full of nerves and Aden tried to move his mouth to form words but found that he couldn't. Belle swallowed in hesitation before her hands crept to the bottom of Aden's T-shirt and she began to pull it off very slowly, he never broke eye contact with her as she did it, except to remove his head from the piece of clothing. Aden used his strong muscles to manoeuvre him and Belle to a better position on the bed, so they wouldn't fall off either side at any moment. Belle let him, helping him by shifting her body slightly when he wasn't able to do it. Aden looked at her and swallowed nervously, he moved his hands to the bottom of her T-shirt like she had done to him, never stopping looking directly at her eyes, but when he paused; she gave him the slightest of nods, knowing what he was thinking, seeing the worry in his eyes… was she ready?

He was reassured by the longing look in her eyes, and lifted the T-shirt over the top of her head to reveal her underwear, he ran his fingers lightly over her stomach, making her tense up as he knew she was sensitive there and for the first time the movement made her takes her eyes away from his as she pursed her lips, trying not to give in to the laughter of the pain of how ticklish she was. It was at that moment that Aden lowered himself so that she could feel the heat radiating off of both of their bodies and he caught her lips with a kiss. She hadn't been expecting it as her eyes had been closed but she melted into it. Her hand came to rest on his neck; bringing him in closer to her as her other hand ran up and down his chest that was obscured slightly by the closeness of their bodies. His hand now stroked the side of her face until he used it to trace down the side of her body, this time, giving her no option to laugh as he continued to kiss her tenderly. Both now had their eyes closed as their breathing synchronised and as Aden's chest lowered closer to her, her body reached up to his, never being able to get close enough to each other.

Aden removed his lips from hers and began to kiss her jaw, then trailed his kisses down… her neck… through her breasts… down to her stomach as he approached her waist. He looked at her again and she could see all the love in the world shining through his eyes at her. She nodded again and smiled slightly this time… after some more touching moments; Aden and Belle made love for the first time in months, yet to them it was like they had been given the chance to have their first time all over again. Because this time, they knew how much they loved each other, and how special this moment was… and how they would never be so foolish to let it slip away again.

I hope you liked it! Please comment!

I think the window thing was a little weird, but i had it in my head... lol and i know the ending was a little sappy... okay, well a lot sappy!

[wrongturntaken]

So this is the epilogue, i considered writing it as a oneshot but i liked it at the end of this story so here it is...

The sequel might not be up for a week or so as i have an essay due in and the story is quite complicated and lets say... different... but i'm really excited about it so i may cave in and start writing earlier! lol.

Thanks for everyone's comments,, they mean a lot!

Thanks for reading!

Epilogue

Aden stood on the edge of the water looking out at the vast expanse of the ocean and remembered what he had lost to it so many years ago as he did every year on this day at this exact moment.

Belle saw Aden with a look of mourning on his face as she approached his dark figure standing in the rain.

“What are you doing out here, Aden? You’re getting soaked!” Belle asked worriedly.

“It’s 4 O’clock,” Aden answered simply looking at her as he answered but then quickly turning his head back to the sea.

“What?” Belle asked him softly.

“4 O’clock,” Aden repeated, “…was the time my mother died… …on this day… …ten years ago.”

Belle’s lips became unglued as she tried to think what to say and found no words escaping her. Aden had never talked about his mother before and it surprised her now. “How… how did she die?” she eventually broached the subject cautiously.

Aden didn’t look at her as he began to recount the story, “We went up the coast for a holiday,” he explained; suddenly smiling at the memory. “It was Mum, Dad, my brothers; Sean and Justin and me. That was the last time we were ever a proper family,” he added as his smile faded. “We decided to spend a day on the beach and dad was helping me and my brothers build sandcastles whilst my mum went for a swim.” He took a breath and didn’t continue talking for another few moments. Belle could see water running down his cheeks that she knew wasn’t rain. “She was a strong swimmer,” he started again. “…but she went out pretty far that day, Dad always tried to keep an eye on her so he always knew where she was in the water... That’s how I know how much he loved her,” Aden finally looked at Belle to break away from the main story. “After the funeral, he never spoke of her again,” he looked back at the ocean. “Anyway… that day I remember Dad got distracted from playing with us. He looked really worried and eventually I realised that he couldn’t see Mum. He swam out in to the sea as fast as he could and my brothers called the lifeguards over. But…” Aden let out a sad sigh. “She was dead before they got her back to shore.”

Belle placed a hand on Aden’s upper arm trying to comfort him anyway she could, “…they couldn’t revive her?”

Aden shook his head, “Dad had to go under the water pretty deep to find her but she was too far out, it was just too long. …time of death… …4 o’clock… …exactly.”

“I’m so sorry, Aden,” Belle said as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Ever since then, I’ve thought that that was the day my life ended,” Aden said; this time turning to look at Belle directly; holding her gaze as she gripped his arm tighter to let him know she wasn’t going anywhere. “…but the day I realised I was in love with you, was the day I knew my life had started again…”

Belle let a little clogged up gasp pass from her mouth and a small smile grace her features.

“I come out here every year at this time just to remember… the worst thing that could have happened to me... probably brings back the best memories,” Aden told her sadly. “I couldn’t go near the water for months after that but then after my Grandfather moved in, he used to take us to the beach and when I didn’t go near the water… he said that I had to get past it. I was scared of what he would do if I didn’t do what he wanted and I eventually realised that there was no point in having a fear of the water… because there were much worse things to fear.”

Belle didn’t know what she was supposed to say; how was she supposed to comfort him? It seemed to her that he had never told anyone this much about the events of his life before and she knew that it was part of the healing process for him to finally tell someone… and for it to be someone he loved made it easier, to finally be able to share the pain… to ease it.

“I turned in to such a monster because of him,” Aden said with controlled anger in his breath, “…and I lost you because of that,” Aden said sadly. “…and it was all so… pointless, now I’ve realised that what I did was wrong, I made the wrong decisions but in some ways that makes it harder,” he looked at her deeply. “…knowing that I lost you to a fictional feeling of anger for a character that never even existed.”

“Aden,” she said tearfully but not letting the tears she was so nearly shedding; fall. “You have me now. I just want you to know… …I love you… every version of you. Whether you are being sweet, kind and loyal, whether you’re in pain, even when you are completely crazy…”

Aden laughed, “Don’t bother choosing your words carefully, Belle,” he said sarcastically.

Belle ignored his comment, “…the point is… it is all of you that I love.”

“…how can you still want me, Belle?” Aden asked her looking at her sadly and guiltily.

Belle paused for a moment and then took a step closer to him, “…because of this,” she said placing her flat palm above his heart, “because of what you’re feeling right now,” she added.”…you love me, don’t you?”

Aden looked at her intensely, his eyes dancing around in hers, and breathed his answer slowly, “Yes.”

“Then you could never be a monster,” she told him as she reached up to kiss him and he leant down to meet her as their lips clashed in a wave of compassion. Aden’s arms wrapped around Belle’s body as they continued to kiss and for the first time he realised she was shivering.

“You’re cold,” he said to her concernedly when they broke apart.

“I was,” she said to him; smiling as she pulled back to answer and then moved in to hold him round his middle and bury herself into him, “…but I’m warm right here.”

Aden smiled, “…even so, I think we ought to head back into the dry.”

Belle shrugged, “If you say so… …all I know… …is that I’m happy right here.”

Thanks you to everyone who commented throughout this story! It really means a lot that you do and you are all such inspiration to write! I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as i've enjoyed writing it, and if you want to tell me what you're favourite chapter/part was then that'd be great. Any constructive criticism too as i want my writing to be the best and most enjoyable it can be!

Questions answered in the sequel:

What does the future hold for Aden and Belle?

Jobs?

Family?

Troubled teens?

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