Everyone's Got Problems

[LAURZY!]

Lisa's mum is awful! glad she's ok

oooo whats gonna happen now with Tess and Tyler?!?

Great update, it wasn rubbish at all!! your updates never are!

[xknomex]

oooo Tess is in trouble!!!

Poor Lisa having a mum like that and how dare she act like that to Aden!!!!

once again a BRILLIANT update

Update soon

xxx

[Jody]

I can't wait for that big chapter.

I feel so bad for Lisa. Her mother is horrible. Loved Adens reaction to her putting her hand on his collar.

As for Tess. Looking forward to seeing what happens there now that Aden knows.

I liked this chapter. It wasn't rubbish.

Please update when you can.

[Taniya_K]

Firstly - that was not rubbish at all! None of your updates ever are. And secondly - I cannot wait for that big chapter now...

As for the chapter - I loved Lisa's mum with Aden. His response was just... aol, kinda. But she's a really awkward mother to Lisa.

The ending - lol! Tess has been caught out! I cannot wait to find out what happens now! I'm guessing she's gonna be in for it!

Update soon please!

xoxo

[Lise]

There's was nothing rubbish about that update, at all!

Lisa's Mum is awful. I loved Aden's reaction to her flirting.

Tess is going to be in trouble now!

[Zetti]

Ooooh Tess is in trouble

Aww Aden's reaction to the flirting

[wrongturntaken]

Ive nearly managed to update everyday for three days in a row!

Thank you so much for all the comments! I've yet again sidelined the story in this chapter but I can feel the first climactic event coming within the next couple of chapters! lol

There's a mention of a real organisation in this chapter so i hope that's not a breech of some thing... sorry if it is!

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 13.

"So do you want to explain this to me?" Aden asked Tess sternly in the kitchen, crossing his arms as he did so.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Tess answered him sincerely.

"I didn't ask for an apology, I asked for an explanation."

Tess sighed, "I'd been really horrible to Tyler and wanted to apologise," she started. "...so I followed him when he left. I was drunk and being stupid. I thought it was a good idea at the time..."

As she tried to tell the story, Tyler came in to the kitchen suddenly, "It was my fault, Aden. Please don't punish her."

Aden looked at Tyler and his expression softened, "Look, I'm not going to do anything until I know exactly what happened. I'm just upset that you didn't tell me the truth," he turned back to Tess as he spoke who was now wearing a guilty expression. "So?"

"Well, I waited until he was in his house for a bit and then I climbed in through his window," Tess said shyly; suddenly realising how ridiculous it sounded.

Aden unfolded his arms and Tess could see that he was visibly holding back a laugh, "So you were drunk and you climbed through Tyler's window?" he questioned her lightly now. “…and now you two are together?”

She nodded and he burst out laughing.

"What?" she exclaimed as she let out a few loose laughs herself at the reaction of her father.

"Ah, nothing, Tess," he sighed light-heartedly. "You just take after me... a lot."

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"I'll tell you someday," he answered her. "Anyway, you were saying...?" he adopted his strict father pose again, although this time a little less firmly.

"Well, I was going to call you but my phone ran out of battery and Tyler didn't have any credit and his main phone had been cut off..."

"She wanted to walk home but I said that she couldn't do that and so she should just stay until morning," Tyler interrupted. "I thought it would be too dangerous for her to walk home on her own and I don't have a car so..." he trailed off unsurely.

"Thank you, Tyler," Aden said honestly with the briefest of smiles. "Can I talk to Tess alone for a minute?"

Tyler nodded and left the room to tend to his mother who he had convinced to take a seat at one of the tables rather than following him into the kitchen.

"Sorry Tess, but I have to ask this," Aden started.

"No, I didn't sleep with him," Tess answered before he could ask. "He spent most of the time holding my hair back whilst I threw up."

"Okay," Aden accepted readily, and adorning a small smile added jokingly, "Tyler's a lucky guy!"

Tess laughed, relaxing a little now that Aden didn't seem to be flying off the handle, "Are you going to tell Mum about this?" she asked meekly.

He looked at her patronisingly for a second, "Yes Tess. Of course I am."

"Are you going to ground me again?"

"I don't know... Let's just finish work," he looked at his watch. "We have to start closing up anyway. You can show Tyler what to do."

*

Whilst Tess and Aden had been talking in the kitchen, Tyler had walked out to find his Mother had moved to sit at the table opposite Lisa.

"Hey Mum, what are you two talking about?" he asked hesitantly.

"Ah, just girl stuff," she answered and Tyler continued to look worried.

Lisa noticed his expression, "Your Mum was just saying how proud of you she was for getting your self a job here."

"She was?" he asked and Lisa heard the shock in his voice. Must be a good day, he thought.

His Mum smiled, "Of course. I'm just going to go to the ladies," she excused herself leaving Tyler and Lisa alone. He sat down opposite her.

"Your Mum's not all there is she?" Lisa asked abruptly.

"What?" he was surprised at Lisa’s directness, although he didn’t know why. The small amount of speech that had occurred between them and what he’d heard when she spoke to others was the same way.

"Well it's just that she kept referring to you as Keith," Lisa said timidly as Tyler's eyes widened.

"What else did she say?" he asked suddenly.

Lisa shook her head, "Nothing, but she didn't bother correcting me when I used your name. Who's Keith anyway?"

"He was my Dad," Tyler answered simply and immediately tried to change the subject. "Are you alright?" he asked. "You know, after earlier?"

Lisa smiled weakly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just me being stupid. Or at least that's what my mother seems to think," she added sadly.

"I saw her earlier. Does she always act like that?" Tyler questioned.

"Pretty much. I've gotten used to it now though. Does yours?"

Tyler shrugged, "I guess. I don't remember her being any other way."

A small silence rested between them, "…doesn't mean it doesn't hurt though, does it?" Lisa said sadly after a moment, more to herself than to Tyler as she looked at the table.

"No, it doesn't," Tyler answered in the same tone.

"Anyway," Lisa placed a sudden smile on her face, "You and Tess!" she exclaimed excitedly and then as quickly as the smile had appeared, it vanished to be replaced with an extremely threatening look, "I'm sorry, but it's my duty as her best friend to say this... if you hurt her I swear to God you will never be able to have children."

Tyler laughed, albeit lightly, as he couldn't tell if she was being absolutely serious, "I won't hurt her Lisa," he said confidently.

"Good," Lisa replied shortly. "...and shouldn't you be getting back to work?" she added as she noticed Aden heading towards them.

Tyler sighed, "Yeah, but look, if you ever want to talk. I'm here, it might help," he said politely, his smile wavering.

"Thanks," Lisa told him sincerely.

Aden walked close next to him and paused before saying gently in a low voice, "Maybe you should have said that to a mirror."

*

"So you excited, Mark?" Belle smiled at him as he entered the kitchen geared for the footy match on Saturday.

"Yeah," he said excitedly. "It'll be great to have you there. Although I'm surprised your letting Tess go," he added jokingly.

Belle shook her head and rolled her eyes, "We agreed. Clean slates for all." He laughed slightly and Belle smiled, "Your Dad's really looking forward to it."

Mark's smile faltered, "I'm trying to not get my hopes up too much."

"Mark..."

"Sorry Mum, but he's let me down so many times in this area, do you really blame me for being cautious?" he explained.

"No, I guess not," Belle sighed. "...but you will understand why when he's ready to tell you."

"You and Dad are always saying that to us, Mum," Mark said. "It's always 'we'll explain later' or 'it's too hard to tell you yet'. What exactly happened when you were younger that you can't seem to talk about?" he asked the question conversationally yet Belle could hear the hint of hopeful seriousness that brushed lightly over the top of his words.

"Sorry, Mark," she implied the answer. "Anyway, let's go."

"Where's Dad?" he asked.

"At the Drop In centre," she answered and Mark gave her a pointed look. "He has an appointment this morning but he'll make it," she told him firmly before yelling up the stairs, "Tess! Hurry up we're leaving!"

*

"Okay, that's great, thank you," Aden put the phone down as he sat on top of the reception like desk facing the entrance. They tried not to refer to it as reception because the whole place was meant to be as informal and friendly as possible, although it performed all the important functions that a reception is supposed to. The friendly and welcoming atmosphere also meant that no one dressed particularly smartly and everyone, even those in admin type jobs, had some type of listening skills training. The Drop In centre had grown in staff as its importance became more noticeable in the community. The growing number of teenagers, kids and young adults rolled in for help with every kind of problem; from domestic, physical or psychological abuse to personal mental issues. No matter how small the problem was, Aden made sure they could help, even if the problem was perhaps brought to the wrong people.

When he and Belle had first started the Drop In centre, there had been three counsellors, including himself and two others who had agreed to volunteer outside their normal therapist session hours that they worked at the hospital. Now, there were five paid counsellors and several volunteers, some of whom had been on the other side and had decided they wanted to help others the way they had been helped. The now bigger expanse of staff meant that at least two people could be there every night, as was needed for those young people who felt they could not go home, so spent the night on the Drop In centre's beds. The capacity for people staying the night had also grown, especially when Belle and Aden had moved out of the upstairs apartment. It was now mainly used for the beds other than for Belle's office.

Everyone knew she was the one that kept things running around the place and without her the Drop In centre would not be as successful as it had been. She knew everything about everything and so if there was a problem, she could solve it. No one knew how she had managed to juggle the management of the Drop In centre with the full time job of the paper but everyone was grateful, especially considering she didn't get paid for the managing.

The main reason for the growth in the resources of the Drop In centre was the funding it was receiving. The council had steadily been increasing the amount when they saw the effect it was having. There even appeared to be less crime in the area, and many, including the council, thanked the Drop In centre for that as most crime was petty and of the sort of vandalism committed by young offenders. It cost less to help the Drop In centre than to go through the process of making a conviction. There was also the funding from the Safe Now Project which Aden had begun work with shortly after opening the centre. He now ran special group therapy sessions and one-on-one counselling sessions with those affected by sexual abuse. When Aden looked back at his life and what he'd achieved with the huge help of Belle, he was proud, because he knew he had helped so many people the way Roman and Morag and a few others had helped him.

Aden sighed and looked at his watch, realising he really better get off if he was going to make Mark's game, when he heard a familiar voice.

"Miss me?" the voice said happily as Aden looked up and smiled happily. He got up and made his way over to hug the woman now stood in front of him.

"Nah, not really," he answered and she laughed.

Hope you enjoyed that, please comment! I love hearing from you! and constructive criticism is welcome!

x

[Taniya_K]

Loved it all. Like always, lol.

The ending - I wonder who that could be?! And I just hope that Aden gets to the match!!!

Loved the Tyler/Lisa stuff. It's nice how they can relate on some things. And I love the Aden/Mattie mirroring there!

Aden's reaction to being told about Tess climbing in through the window drunk and then getting together with Tyler was just as I expected it to be and still funny!

The Belle and Mark scene was sweet. I hope he really does understand everything when it's all brought out into the open.

Cannot wait for more!

xoxo

[LAURZY!]

That was great!

Loved Adens reaction to her climbing through his window!

Loved the Belle/Mark scene, very sweet. I really hope he gets to the game!!!

Great update, cant wait for more

[Jody]

I loved this chapter. I love that all the main characters made an appearance.

I enjoyed the scene with Tess and Aden. Especially his reaction to her being drunk and going into Tylers room. It would have been weird if he didn't atleast find that amusing. So I really liked him bursting out laughing. I can see how confused Tess must have been about that.

The Tyler/Lisa one was good as well. Also liked Adens comment at the end about Tyler looking in the mirror.

I noticed most of the interaction with the kids tend to be with Aden so it's nice to see scenes with Belle talking to any of them.

I hope Aden makes it to the game.

Who is this woman? I can't wait to find out.

I'm glad you added that part about the drop in centre. Especially about how big of a part Belle played in it because for a minute a forgot that she helped him as well. It's good to see the drop in centre doing so well.

I know who I want the woman to be but I don't want to get my hopes up for nothing so please update soon.