Everyone's Got Problems

[Jody]

  wrongturntaken said:

"To them it is... its bad stuff too... and compared to what they went through, the way I feel doesn't really matter."

That was my favourite line. Believing that your problems aren't as important because there not as big as other is such a common thing for so many people to think. And such a sad thing to. This was one of the many times I felt really sad for Mark in this chapter.

Belle and Aden's scene in the beginning was beautiful. I truly enjoyed it. They are still as good together as they were back then.

I'm quite pleased that all this seems to have had a lasting effect on Mark. His interaction with Aden and Belle in the kitchen was really good. You could see that he wasn't okay. It's like the last thing he wants is to have to deal with what he heard, and he just wants to get away from them fast. I don't blame him. And it's also very realistic. Because thats the way some people do deal with things, big enough, that changes the way they saw things. I'm glad Belle realised that he needs time, instead of having the same annoyed look as Aden. And that she made Aden understand.

When Mark gets angry he certainly does turn into a miniture Aden. I like it.

For me, It wasn't the lack of Adelle that was getting to me, although I did miss them, it was mainly the overdose of Tess/Tyler, so more Mark and Lisa was just has great. I like him trying to get her to understand who James Bond was. Kinda like Belle, about Harry Potter with Tyler.

The teasing between Lisa and Mark was so funny. I like these two together already.

I felt so bad for Mark when he explained why he didn't tell them. For feeling like he would be a burden. As well as his comment about Tess being stronger, and their parents loving her for it. So I guess the way both Aden and Belle tend jump on him for having a reaction to things, and put Tess up on a pedestal hasn't gone unnoticed by him. Storylinewise I love that he seems to notice. But poor Mark. I also loved the scene when he entered the kitchen and Belle, Aden, Tess, and Tyler was there. And his thoughts on seeing them smiling. But even though he can't face them, by asking Belle how she was, it shows he still cares. He just can't deal with being around them at the moment. Mark just continues to make me feel so sad for him. The way he feels like an outsider in his own family. And like he doesn't belong because he didn't have the same kind of troubled past as them. I like Mark because he manages to make you feel so sorry for him, and expresses his feelings without getting to angsty. While I feel sad for Mark, I'm loving where you're going with Mark's character.

By the end of the chapter I was totally hooked on Mark and Lisa. Their scenes were a pleasure to read. They are so good together. They had the right amount of seriousness, and casualness in their scenes together. It wasn't over the top intense, or downright cheesy. It was perfect. And i feels it's alot more healthier then Tess and Tyler's were Tess has become so preoccupied with Tyler that she can't even take her focus of him for a whole minute even when her parents are trying to explain the horrors they both lived through when they were younger. And Lisa seems to be really good for him. I happy with the advice she gave whenever they spoke about how he felt. Amazingly enough even with a mother like hers she still managed to end up being a very smart girl. Also funny as hell.

Looking forward to the next chapter.

[Zetti]

Lisa & Mark are so good together, I wish I had a boyfriend like that . It was really good the way you wrote Mark's feelings about being an outsider, I could totally sympathise with the way he felt.

Aden & Belle's middle of the night talk about how Belle felt and the abuse that Aden suffered was insightful and it made for good reading.

I hope you update soon x

[xknomex]

any chance of an update soon?

xxx

[wrongturntaken]

  xknomex said:

any chance of an update soon?

xxx

Sorry there hasn't been one but i've been trying to get really extra organised before my next semesta starts at uni which means finishing some notes off that i haven't quite done yet (Hence my staying away from certain threads on certain forums! ). I should have them done by tonight, so i'll have all day tomorrow to write, or if i finish early enough, i'll try and start writing tonight but i doubt a chapter will be up. If i get my head sorted and organised and actually make room for time to write from Monday, i'm hoping to be able to update more regularly, but i'll have to see.

Thanks for asking!

[xknomex]

your uni work is way more important so finish that first!!! we can wait, (just )

haha I saw you lurking I did wonder why you wont posting :lol:

xxx

[Inactive User]

Good luck with your Uni work. Looking forwards to the next update soon

[wrongturntaken]

Thank you for the comments once again! I'm sorry it took so long to update, it's quite a long one to make up for it, i'll try and be quicker with the next one. This is more of a filler chapter but things will pick up again shortly. Thank you to Laura for reading it through for me!

...and here it is... (remember it's set at the same time as the last chapter...)

Chapter 32

"Hmm," Belle moaned tiredly with a deep breath outwards as she tried to open her eyes, "Whassa time?" she asked groggily as she saw her husband; topless and pulling his jeans on through the tiny slits she had made in her view.

She saw him smile as he noticed her waking up before coming to sit on the bed beside her. He stroked her hair as he gazed at her lovingly, "It's nine," he told her softly.

"Nine? …In the morning?" Belle whined stupidly before yawning widely.

Aden laughed lightly, "Yes."

"But we didn't go to sleep until four!"

Aden's amused look suddenly turned serious, "How did you sleep?" he asked concernedly.

She opened her eyes fully to look at him and offered a small smile, "Okay," she told him.

"Good," he told her gently, "It will get easier," he added as he saw Belle's gaze drift away from him to nowhere. "Why don't you go back to sleep, you need it and it's not like you have to get up."

"No," she argued plainly, "I'm awake now, there's no point in wasting the day. Are you going to the Drop In centre?"

He shook his head, "Not for now, I think it might be better if we all stick around here for today."

Belle nodded in mellow agreement.

*

"Did you want anything to eat?" Aden asked his wife as she sat on one of the stools in the kitchen. He couldn't help but notice she still looked very worn down.

"No thanks, I'm…" she winced and put her hand to her side.

"Belle…?" Aden said worriedly and responded by rushing to her side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered him slowly and Aden didn't miss the lasting look to the floor; signalling she was remembering the events of the previous nights, "…I just need to take a pain…" she raised a hand to her mouth suddenly, "...oh God…" She groaned before running upstairs to the bathroom leaving Aden wondering what had happened. As much as he wanted to be there for her all the time he knew she would come back to him when she was ready.

Five minutes later and she re-entered the kitchen.

"Are you alright?" Aden asked; worry lining his features and his wise eyes.

She tried to nod but wasn't quite successful, "It's just when I thought about the wound… I relived him doing it and… I threw up…" she finished ashamedly, bowing her head.

"Oh, honey," Aden sighed sadly. "I wish I could take this pain away… it kills me to know you're going through this…" he looked at her, taking in her demeanour, "I think you should talk to a counsellor."

"Can't I just talk to you?" Belle said with the hint of a smile.

"You know it doesn't work that way," he said, lightening his tone slightly at her smile but with a serious edge in his voice. "It helped before, didn't it?"

She paused before answering, "Yeah, I guess you're right. For now though, I just want to stay home and do nothing."

"I think that's a good plan," Aden agreed with a slightly stronger smile.

"Did you turn off my alarm?" a flustered Mark exclaimed as he rushed into the kitchen, trying to do up his tie.

"Yeah," Belle smiled, putting all her pain aside to look strong for her son. "After everything that happened last night, you don't have to go to school today."

"…but I want to go to school," Mark surprised her with his response.

"Oh, sorry… I just assumed you might want to talk…" she explained, slightly perplexed at his actions and words.

"Didn't we talk enough last night?"

Aden narrowed his eyes at his son's slightly accusatory tone but knew to say nothing, he knew this would be difficult for Mark but he was hoping they could talk properly today. He looked at Belle and saw the concern in her eyes matching his that luckily went unnoticed by Mark as he continued to get muddled with his tie.

"What gives you the right to go into my room without knocking first, anyway?" Mark continued with the same tone.

"Your mother was doing you a favour," Aden tried to explain without getting angry that Mark was being seamlessly oblivious to how much pain Belle was in right now.

Mark sighed, "Sorry," he said and Aden was pleasantly lifted slightly with the sincerity with which he spoke the words, although he didn't miss the awkward looks Mark was giving him and Belle now that he'd finished doing up his tie and had no other distraction. "…I'm already late for English, I'll see you later," he added, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl before slinging his bag on his back and leaving the house.

Aden turned to look at Belle, "I thought he was okay with everything," he shrugged confusedly.

"Well, he did disappear very quickly yesterday after Tyler and Tess ran off… maybe he just wanted to get away…"

"…from us?"

"It's only fair that he needed time to think, Aden," Belle warned at the slightly annoyed look on Aden's' face.

His features softened as he sighed, "…I guess… I just never thought I'd see the day Mark was in a rush to go to school… especially when he didn't have to…"

Belle smiled supportively, and smoothed a hand through Aden's hair bringing her hand to cup his jaw and looking him directly in the eyes, reminding herself of the need they had for each other. He copied her movements before they rested their foreheads together in a sign of affection.

"Why don't we watch a film or something?" Belle asked, taking away their contact slightly.

"Sounds good," Aden said with a weak smile, taking Belle's outreaching hand and letting her lead them into the living room. "What film?" he asked her.

"You choose," she answered, breaking their hands and taking a place on the sofa, tucking her legs up underneath her and clutching a pillow to her chest.

"Brave," Aden commented quietly to himself, knowing that usually he would have put on a film that he liked and she didn't just to annoy her, but now wasn't the time. A comedy seemed the right genre for the moment, they both needed to laugh. He put on the film and came to sit beside his wife.

She loosened her hold on the cushion to lean her head on his shoulder and he placed an arm around her to hold her close. Within minutes, he could hear the rhythmic breathing that signalled her unconsciousness. He didn't bother to move her for fear of waking her up, so instead watched the film in silent contentment.

*

The film had just finished when Aden heard tentative footsteps approaching the room. He looked over to see Tess entering. He put a finger to his lips to signal for her to be quiet and then pointed at Belle to explain why.

Tess nodded in acknowledgement and gave him a very small smile.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked her quietly as she came to sit on one of the arm chairs.

"Yeah, okay," she answered, looking at her mother sadly. "How's Mum?"

"As well as can be expected," Aden sighed and looked lovingly at Belle before glancing back to his daughter who he was surprised to see had tears flowing down her face. "Hey," he said in a soothingly shocked voice. "Come here," he gestured with his left arm, the one that didn't have Belle wrapped in it.

She did as he said, reflecting in symmetry her mother's position and hugging her father tightly. "I'm sorry," she sniffled. "I just hate that all that stuff had to happen to mum…" she brought her head out to look at him, "…and to you…" she added slightly unsurely.

"It's okay, I know this is hard to deal with," Aden reassured her.

"It's just that you and Mum have always been so strong, I just never thought anything like this could happen… especially not what happened last night," she explained. "It was like it wasn't even happening to us… like it was out of a film or something… it just didn't feel real," she hesitated before adding sadly and slowly. "…I wish it wasn't real."

"I know," Aden sighed once again and swallowed the lump in his throat that had formed at her words. He hated that he'd shattered Tess's image of him being able to do anything. He wanted to be the strong leader, father and defender in Tess's eyes that he'd always been and now he knew that had changed and things wouldn't ever be the same again.

"I didn't really have the chance to deal with it until I was on my own last night but I get why Mum is so protective of me now… she was scared that it would happen to me too, wasn't she?" she questioned Aden seriously.

He nodded, "Me and your mother want to protect you from all the pain that we suffered, your wellbeing is the most important thing to us," he told her imploringly. He knew she wasn't referring to the blackmail, that was something neither he nor Belle would ever tell her, but to the sheer fact that Tess could suffer the same fate as Belle, just at the hands of someone else and for different reasons.

"I love you, Dad," Tess said quietly.

"I love you too," he said softly as he felt Belle starting to stir.

"Aden?" Belle whispered.

"I'm right here," he told her quietly and kissed the top of her head as Tess watched on with a smile.

Belle opened her eyes and saw Tess sat on the other side of Aden. She smiled in greeting before sitting up.

"Does anyone want a cup of tea?" Aden asked, sensing they might want to be alone for a moment.

"Yes please," Belle smiled in thanks.

"No thank you," Tess said as she watched Aden stand up and leave the room. "How are you?" she turned her attention away from him and asked her mother concernedly.

"I'm okay," Belle nodded appreciatively. "How are you?"

Tess let out a loose laugh, "I'm more concerned about you," she said.

"Well, I'm your mother so I'm going to stick to my job of making sure you're alright," Belle told her firmly with a determined look. "So how are you?"

"I'm okay," she answered eventually. "It's just a lot to get my head around," she took a deep breath.

"I know," Belle replied, "Come here," she said, reaching out to her daughter who claimed her in a hug."

Aden came back and smiled proudly at the scene, "Here you go," he said, placing the mug on the coaster on the coffee table.

"Thanks," Belle said and yawned again.

"Still tired…?" Aden asked concernedly.

"Just a bit," she answered before there was a minute of silence.

"Are Mark and Tyler up yet?" Tess asked her parents.

They shared a look, "Tyler's not," Aden answered. "…and Mark's gone to school."

"He went to school?" Tess exclaimed with genuine shock.

Aden nodded.

"I guess I'll talk to him later then," she said more to herself as Tyler entered the room.

"Morning," he greeted the three.

"Afternoon," Aden answered with a small smile and Tyler returned one.

"How'd you sleep?" Aden asked.

Tyler smiled sincerely, "Good," he answered and looked nervously from Belle to Aden.

"He didn't tell me," Belle reassured him, knowing what he was thinking.

"Sorry… I should be more concerned about what happened last night and… about you…" Tyler trailed off apologetically.

"It's not about anyone Tyler. My concern is how everyone's feeling, no matter what the cause," she told him gently.

He smiled appreciatively, "How are you?"

"Wishing people would stop asking me that," Belle said with a small laugh.

"Sorry," Tyler said nervously.

"It's alright," she reassured him. "I'm okay, thank you for asking."

Aden watched the exchange with a smile, "Tyler, can I have a word in the kitchen?"

His new foster son looked at him nervously before nodding. They made their way to the separate room.

"I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go to the Drop In Centre today to talk to someone?" Aden asked gently.

"Today…?"

"You'll feel a lot better about doing it the sooner you do it," Aden explained.

"Um…" Tyler contemplated nervously. "I guess."

"Okay," Aden smiled. "We'll go after we've eaten lunch." "Lunch…?" Tyler exclaimed, "What happened to breakfast?"

Aden laughed as he lead them back into the living room where Tess was now looking over the chick flick DVDs, showing them to Belle as they were obviously deciding which one to watch.

He inwardly groaned at the thought of sitting through a girly film but smiled proudly at his wife and daughter's interaction.

"Tyler and I are going to head to the Drop In centre after lunch. Will you two be alright on your own?" Aden asked them nervously.

Belle looked at him and he could see the hesitance in her face as she answered, "Yeah, we'll be fine."

"I can call Geoff," Aden told them determinedly. "He can come and stay with you whilst we're out?"

"Seriously, Aden, it's fine. Mark will be home soon anyway," Belle told him, her voice gaining slightly more confidence as she realised the fact herself.

Aden didn't look entirely pleased but relented anyway, "Okay."

*

"Has he texted you, Tess?" Belle asked her daughter worriedly from where she was pacing in front of the TV.

"No Mum… and you have to take it easy," Tess answered her worriedly.

"I'm fine," Belle replied evasively.

Tess raised her eyebrows, "If Dad were here he wouldn't want you exerting yourself, please just sit down," she begged.

Belle looked at her daughter and sighed before going back to sit on the sofa.

Aden and Tyler had gone to the Drop In centre an hour earlier but they didn't know how long they'd be.

"What if something's happened to him, Tess?" Belle asked, too afraid for her son's safety to notice the fact she was letting her guard down in front of her daughter. Something she had avoided doing for a long time.

"I'm sure he's fine, Mum. Angelo's locked up remember?" Tess tried to reassure her. "…he probably just needs time. He went to school today, maybe that wasn't enough time to think?" she suggested meekly.

"I guess," Belle sighed, looking at her. "Sorry," she added and Tess knew what she meant.

Just then Tess's phone beeped.

"Be home late," Tess read the text from Mark aloud to her mother who sighed in relief. "He could have called though," Tess contemplated; slightly annoyed at her brother's lack of respect. "…and let us know where he is."

"Yeah," Belle agreed half-heartedly. She was just glad he was safe.

*

"I brought ice cream," Aden told them as he, Belle, Tess and Tyler finished off the meal that Belle had made when Aden and Tyler had returned.

Belle and Tess smiled, "Ice cream always makes things feel better," Tess told him childishly as he put bowls in front of everyone.

They all laughed as they turned their heads at a noise from the door.

"Mark! Finally, where have you been?" Belle asked as her son walked in to the kitchen. She smiled at him to let him know she was glad he was there.

"I went to Aunt Nicole's and Uncle Geoff's after school," he explained with a shrug.

"You could have called," Aden said. Although he didn't sound mad, there was a slight reprimanding tone to his voice.

"Sorry, I didn't realise it was so late."

"Well, I made you dinner anyway…" Belle told him.

"Uh, no thanks… I already ate."

"Oh… well do you want some ice cream?" she tried; hoping to coax him into staying and talking to them.

"No thanks… I'm going out in an hour so I'm just going to go and get ready," he gestured to the stairs wih a slightly forced smile.

"Where are you going?"

"Just a friend's," he answered vaguely.

"Don't be late, remember it's a school night," Aden warned, more out of worry than anything.

"You didn't even want me to go to school today, remember?" he answered snarkily. Aden raised his eyebrows at his son to signal his confusion. There was an awkward moment of silence until Mark sighed, "Sorry… sure I won't be late."

"Okay," Aden said; continuing to ponder Mark's changing moods and behaviours as he watched him walk away.

Mark turned around just before leaving the room, "Oh Mum, how are you?"

Belle smiled at him gratefully, "I'm okay, it still hurts but it'll be okay," she told him before adding graciously, "thank you."

He nodded in a mature way at her before disappearing from the room.

Aden and Belle shared yet another concerned look as Tess watched her brother disappear and seemed deep in thought.

*

"It's gone eleven, Mark!" Aden exclaimed when his son came home.

"So?" Mark answered him nonchalantly.

"So!" Aden said loudly. "So we were worried about you, it's a school night and you said you wouldn't be late."

"I'm not late," Mark answered stonily.

"You're fifteen Mark, eleven is late for a school night," Aden told him flatly, trying to keep his anger in check and remember that this situation could not be easy for his son.

"Fine, I'm sorry," Mark relented although he didn't sound it.

Aden sighed, "I just want to talk to you, Mark," he said slowly. "…and you haven't given me the chance…"

"…well maybe I'm not ready to yet, Dad," Mark answered him quietly. "Now, can I go to bed, like you said, I've got school tomorrow."

Aden closed his eyes in defeat and sighed again, "Fine, but you can't avoid this forever, Mark. We have to talk about it."

Mark simply eyed him up and down before leaving the room and going up to his bedroom.

*

"Hey little bro," Tess said as she knocked lightly on the door before entering.

"Hey," Mark answered her quietly as she shut the door behind her.

"How was school?"

"Fine."

There was silence for a minute, it wasn't uncomfortable but there was a certain tension building up.

"What's going on Mark?" Tess finally asked the question.

Mark sighed, "Nothing," he said exasperatedly, standing up and going to his desk to fiddle with some papers.

"You've been avoiding the house all day, I can't just ignore that," she explained.

Her words were met with yet more silence as Mark looked fixedly away from her.

"Look, this isn't easy for me either you know," she told him exasperatedly.

"I know."

"Do you?" she asked him. "Because as far as I can tell you're just choosing to ignore this whilst I stayed at home today and tried to deal with it."

"So… you're stronger than I am. What more do you want me to say?"

"That's not what I meant!" she huffed. "Where have you been anyway?" Tess asked; noticing for the first time the nice shirt he was wearing.

"…just a friends," he explained carelessly, not looking at her.

"A friends?" she asked him; not believing for a second that there wasn't more to this story.

"Yeah, Lisa's," he told her.

"Lisa's…?" Tess exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah," he drawled.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to spend some time with her," Mark explained as though to a toddler.

"Spend some time with her… you make it sound like you're together," Tess laughed until she caught the evasive look Mark was attempting not to show. "Are you?" she asked suddenly.

"Not that it matters, but yes we are," Mark told her.

"Oh my God," Tess breathed.

"Look, no offence sis, but I kind of want to go to bed and I'm really not in the mood to talk…" he hinted by looking from her to his door with his eyebrows raised rather rudely.

"Fine," Tess sighed. "Guess I'll talk to you tomorrow," she added before reluctantly leaving his room.

Mark sat down on his bed and sighed. No matter what else was going on his father and Tess were right; he couldn't avoid it forever and he'd have to talk to them.

Please comment! x

[LAURZY!]

As you already know, i loved it!!

I really liked how you brought all of them into it and showed their reactions to everything, it was subtly done, but so good!!

The dialogue was brilliant, so well written

I cant choose my fave bit cos it kept changing as i read it but i thought Tess' scene's with Aden, Belle and Mark were so, so good!!

I hope Mark will talk to one of them soon!

Brill update chick

[Taniya_K]

Loved it! Dunno why you were saying it was 'just' a filler chapter! It was wonderful!!

I loved how you did it from another POV ont he same day, so that it wasn't all too confusing, and it gave a great insight as to what evryone was thinking on the day after.

So glad that Tyler went to talk to the counsellor! And that Belle's agreed to do so too.

Loving Tess' talks with Aden, Belle and Mark!

Cannot wait for more!!

xoxo

[xknomex]

Firstly I dont think you can have a filler chapter! all are brill!!!!!

I LOVED that update, It was soo clever making it from another POV and it worked really well!!!! Brilliant :D

I really hope Mark talks to someone!

xxx