Forever && Always

[MizzyBee123]

CHAPTER 11

Aden was the first to head downstairs in the morning, closely followed by Belle. It was 7 am as the sun crept through the small openings of the blinds. As Aden moved down each step, he was nervous at what would be awaiting him. To his surprise, and relief, everything was clear. Not a thing had been moved and there was no sign that anyone had been in.

“I think it’s okay, no visitors lastnight” Aden turned and smiled at Belle.

“It freaks me out that this person is creeping around, and we don’t know who they are or what they want” Belle confided.

“Me too, but by the looks of it, it’s Nicole they’re more bothered about” Aden reached out for Belle’s hand and pulled her in towards him. They hugged, Aden smoothing her hair with his hand.

“I’m sure Charlie will get this sorted though, I mean she’s dealt with stuff like this before, and they have the photograph so they’ll find out who did this”

Nicole woke first, Geoff lying next to her, his arm draped over her. For a second, she’d forgotten the nightmare that was happening until reality suddenly hit her. She hadn’t slept much through the night, every creek she heard, every sound, made her jump. She was tossing and turning all night, she was surprised Geoff hadn’t said anything; she must have kept him up most of the night too. She climbed out of bed, trying to find her flip flops. She turned herself around on the bed and leaned in towards Geoff. With her hand she stroked his face, then very lightly kissed his lips. He stirred, then slowly opened his eyes.

“Hey” Nicole whispered.

“Hey, is everything alright?” Geoff asked whilst directly propping himself up so he could talk.

“Yeah, yeah I’m just going to go get some breakfast, I’ll check on Annie on my way downstairs” Nicole said as she smiled at him. He looked so cute when he’d just woken up, his hair a total mess, but she loved him anyway.

“Wait, I’ll come with you”

“It’s okay I heard Aden and Belle before, they must have already got up”

“Okay”

“Coffee?”

“Just an OJ please” he replied and with that Geoff lay back down on the bed as Nicole left through the door. As she peered through Roman’s bedroom door, she could clearly see Annie was fast asleep. She decided not to wake her and headed downstairs. She walked through the living room and into the kitchen where she found Belle and Aden.

“Hey guys” she smiled as she walked over to the fridge.

“Hey” they both said together.

“Erm seems like we didn’t have a visitor last night thank god” Aden told Nicole. Nicole stopped what she was doing and froze. She didn’t make eye contact, and then eventually carried on taking the orange juice out of the fridge and placing it onto the bench.

“Right. Good” she responded. Aden and Belle looked at each other, belle signalling to him to leave them alone for a bit. Aden rose out of his seat and made his excuses to leave. Belle got up out of her chair and walked over to where Nicole was stood, struggling to find a clean glass.

“God did Aden not think to wash any of these after last night; it’s like living with a five year old...” Nicole moaned.

“Nicole..”

“I mean how long would it take to rinse a couple of glasses out, he knows we have you guys staying over and doesn’t bother to tidy up”

“Nic...”

“I guess I’ll have to do it all myself, as well as everything else and then theres...” she continued until Belle finally snapped.

“Nicole, please” she said staring at Nicole.

“Belle just leave it, I don’t need any of that psychobabble stuff, I’ve had enough with Geoff and Aden asking me if I’m okay every flamin’ five minutes, please don’t you start too.” Nicole snapped still avoiding eye contact.

“But that’s the thing Nicole...you’re not alright and pretending you are isn’t helping anyone” Belle replied, pausing to see what Nicole’s reaction would be. Nothing she was still trying to find a glass.

Bell continued “ Look, I know it’s hard and its freaking you out but...”. Nicole’s eyes widened as she turned around to face Belle, anger consuming her.

“Hard?! Hard?! How the hell would you know? I don’t see anyone taking a photo of you and scratching your eyes out then leaving it around for people to see. And as for freaking me out, it’s not, it’s far from that, it’s totally messing my head up, freaking me out doesn’t even cover it.” She snapped then suddenly the anger turned to fear then into tears as she took in what was actually going on. It wasn’t Belle’s fault so why was she shouting. They were all only trying to help and she was pushing them away. What a fool she thought as she looked up to see Belle still stood there in silence.

“I’m sorry Belle, it’s just..”

“I know” Belle sympathised.

“With dad in hospital still, I feel like I’m more vulnerable y’know, he’s always been this big ex SAS man whose always been there lately to protect me, and right now he can’t and I know there’s Geoff and Aden and neither would ever let anything hurt me but I still feel like I need my dad right now. This whole thing is too creepy for me to deal with.” Nicole explained.

“I know” Belle held out her hand, Nicole apprehensively took hold of it as Belle gently squeezed it. She and belle had a funny relationship, sometimes they liked each other, and sometimes they didn’t. But right now Nicole needed her, as well as Geoff, Aden and Annie, and so it was comforting to know she cared and was there.

Once Annie had woken and they’d packed their stuff up, Belle Geoff and Annie headed home. As they walked through the door into the kitchen they noticed something wasn’t right. One of the kitchen chairs was turned upside down and then as the emerged further they saw papers spread across the floor but they weren’t just any papers though. As Geoff made his way closer, he noticed that the papers were images. Images of him and Nicole. Some of them walking down the peer, some as they walked into the diner, some as they were walking from the surf club. Lots of images.

“What the...” he said as he leaned down to pick one of them up.

“No! Geoff, don’t touch anything. Annie call the cops” Belle instructed as she looked in disbelief at the pictures arranged on the floor. Annie was still very confused but managed to piece together that something wasn’t right and that someone had in fact broken in. She did as she was asked and picked up the phone.

“Geoff, check your room” Belle told him and so he carefully stepped over the pictures, and disappeared into his room. As he opened the door everything appeared to be fine until he looked over near his school bag. His cricket bat was laid right in front of it, and this time there was thick red writing on it.

NEXT TIME was slopped over the surface of the wood. Geoff froze. This person wasn’t targeting Nicole; they were targeting both of them now. Geoff quickly exited the room and told Belle of his discovery. She immediately called Aden and Nicole and they hurriedly made there way over to the beach house, when they arrived the police were taking a look at the house.

“Belle!” Aden exclaimed as he walked over to her and hugged her. Nicole followed closely behind and ran upto Geoff and immediately sank into his arms. Annie stood there still very much confused. She had a right to know what was going on.

“Are you guys okay?” Aden asked.

“Yeah, there was no one here when we got here, they must have been last night” Geoff answered.

“What’s going on?” Annie questioned looking at all four of them for an answer. Nicole looked up at Geoff as Belle looked over to him too.

“Erm, look all you need to know Annie is there’s been a break in. Let’s just leave it at that” Geoff said with a calming tone in his voice.

“Geoff, I’m not five, I know there’s something wrong now please would someone tell me what’s going on!” Annie was growing slightly angrier. It wasn’t often that she got angry but it was really starting to get to her that so many people were lying to her.

“Look, something’s going on and we don’t know why. The other day someone left a photo at our house, with my eyes scratched out, and now someone’s been in here and left images of me and Geoff, and have left a message on Geoff’s bat. We don’t know who it is but it’s pretty clear it’s me and Geoff they are targeting.” Nicole explained, still a little shaken from the new discovery herself. Annie eyes widened as she tried to take it all in. All four of them tried to reassure her that it would be okay and that it would be over with soon. Annie accepted this though now she wished she’d been kept in the dark about it all.

[MizzyBee123]

CHAPTER 12

Charlie and the rest of the cops still didn’t know who it was. They tried to get prints from the photo and the cricket bat but there was no DNA found, not even a mere smudge that could help to identify the mysterious figure. All they knew was that the person who wrote the message was right handed, which didn’t help much seeing as the majority of the Bay wrote with their right hand.

“I better go to the hospital and see dad. He might think something’s up if I don’t. The last thing he needs is to find out about this” Nicole told the others as she kissed Geoff on the cheek and headed out of the back door. Aden decided he’d go too, and so he left shortly behind her. Belle, Annie and Geoff were stood in the kitchen in silence. Belle was wondering how she could approach Geoff about how he was feeling. He takes so much time looking after others, that he forgets to protect himself too. He’d risk his life for Nicole in a second, of course he would. He’s Geoff Campbell, always thinking about others first then himself. But now he was in danger, as well as Nicole and there wasn’t really a thing he could do about it.

“So...how you holding up?” Belle asked cautiously looking in Geoff’s direction. Geoff raised his head a little and sighed.

“Okay, I suppose. I just wish I knew who it was that was doing this. And why...why would they want to do this? We haven’t upset anybody or hurt anyone” Geoff said with a confused and worried face, biting his lip in frustration.

“At first I thought it was a prank...the photo...I mean. Nicole’s not exactly everyone’s best friend all the time, but this is just creepy, and now it’s both of us”.

“What about Trey? or Claudia?” Annie interrupted, lowering her head a little as if she’d said something wrong. Geoff looked at Annie, a little surprised.

“No..no Claudia wouldn’t she’s not malicious like that and well Trey..he’s just a tool..he wouldn’t even know how to spell never mind write the message.” Geoff explained. Annie had expected him to snap but he was surprisingly calm. Although he had a very good heat and tried to see the good in everyone, Geoff was still pretty moody and would snap at his little sister for the silliest of reasons. After all, he is still human.

“I’m just gonna go for a walk, get some air I think” he told the girls and left. Belle reached out to Annie and hugged her tightly.

“He’ll be okay, don’t worry. We all will. And Irene will be back in a few days”

As Geoff reached the opening to the beach he stopped and looked out onto the ocean, his mind bombarded with thoughts. Thoughts about Nicole, thoughts about himself, thoughts about the mystery figure, thoughts about everything and everyone. Although the air smelt so clear, his head was full of worry and fear. The very thought of anyone taking him away from Nicole, from Annie, from Irene, from Belle...it scared him to death. He was always so optimistic but not knowing what was going to happen made him sick with worry, not for him but for everyone he loved. He took off his flip flops and walked onto the sand, down towards the waves, feeling the grains between his toes. He could smell the salty air coming from the ocean, his eyes squinting, the light too intense for him to tolerate. He walked further enough for the ocean to lightly cover his feet. As the waves moved in and out, he could feel the water’s sensation cover his feet inch by inch. He was in his own world, a world full of anxiety, fear and loneliness.

Suddenly, he felt the softest touch on his left arm. As he turned around, a petite blonde stood before him. It was Nicole. She smiled then continued to look out into the horizon. Slowly she moved her hand down towards Geoff’s, interlinking her fingers with his. They both stood in silence looking out onto the ocean, the sun beaming and wind gently blowing.

Geoff was the first to break the silence, as he nervously glanced down towards Nicole and then resumed looking out to the sea.

“Did you know, when you’re around, my heart won’t...it can’t slow down, it beats so hard that it makes it hard to catch my breath?”

Nicole looked up, a smirk on her face. She squeezed his hand.

“Geoff please...Westlife? Could you BE any cheesier?” she chuckled. Geoff smiled back slightly embarrassed.

“hey, I heard that song the other day, Annie had it playing, and well... it reminded me of us and that line kinda stuck out” Geoff smiled again still looking embarrassed. He turned his head further so that he could look into the pool of sapphires that were Nicole’s eyes.

“I mean it though. You have no idea how much you mean to me” he declared as he wrapped his left arm around her.

“I know, and you know you mean a lot to me too.” She snuggled herself further into the frame of Geoff’s body.

“How was your dad?” Geoff questioned sensitively.

“He’s okay, he’s getting there. It’s pretty frustrating for him though, not being able to remember and stuff”. Nicole answered with a shrug. Geoff nodded in agreement. Shortly after, they slowly walked back to Nicole and Aden’s, hand in hand.

When they got to the house, Aden and Belle were watching TV. Belle explained to Geoff that Annie had decided she wanted to go stay with Ruby for the night, the whole saga had creeped her out and so she said she’d rather be around her at the moment. Geoff agreed it was good idea; he’d only worry about her too. He was glad she’d be safe around Charlie and Leah. All four of them agreed it would be best if they all stayed in Roman’s house for another night, that way they’d be together, and well with the beach house being a scene of a crime, it would be difficult to relax. Charlie had organised for cops to watch both houses for the night, in case there were any more visits, though she assured them she was highly doubtful that there would be.

Once they’d had dinner, Aden and Belle went back to lounging about in the living room, giggling and canoodling as usual, and Geoff tidied the kitchen up, ever being the good Christian. Nicole had talked for a while and then went upstairs to her room. When Geoff had finished up, he made his way up to Nicole’s room, knocking on the door until he heard a shout. He peered in and then closed the door behind him. He remained stood next to the door frame, where he turned out the light as Nicole turned on her lamp.

“Geoff, you don’t have to knock on the door, it’s only me” She told him as she shuffled across the bed.

“Yeah, but you could have been changing or anything” he replied, protesting his reason.

“Well it isn’t as if you haven’t seen it all before” Nicole spoke sarcastically glancing at Geoff with a smirk then as she leaned back to change the track playing on her iPod. It was connected to the docking station, next to her lamp on the side table. She rolled over and lay on her back, looking at the ceiling. Geoff walked over to the bed and lay on the bed, his elbows supporting his weight and his head close to Nicole’s. She turned her head to the side so that she was facing Geoff as she sang along to the song. Geoff was looking down across the room, his chin resting on a cuddly toy that had been scattered on the bed. He moved his head so that he could look at Nicole. He watched as she screwed her face and eyes as she belted out the tune that was filling the air.

“Jealousy, turning saints into the sea swimming through sick lullabies choking on your alibi but it's just the price I pay destiny is calling me open up my eager eyes I'm Mr Brightside!”

They weren’t the most romantic of lyrics but it made Geoff laugh, the expression and effort Nicole put into the song cracked him up. He laughed as she continued onto the next verse. She stopped mid-sentence, and began to laugh too, crinkling her nose in the process. Geoff ran his fingers lightly up and down Nicole’s arm. She liked it when he did that, it sent tingles down her spine. He rolled over so that he was facing the ceiling too and then he placed his arm under her head so that he could hold her as they lay side by side. Still looking up towards the ceiling, together they sang along to the last chorus of the song as loud as they could, giggling and laughing together as they did so. As the beat faded out they both closed their eyes, smiling at themselves. Geoff was the first to open his eyes and as he did so, a darkened figure glared at him, straight in the eye.

[MizzyBee123]

Quite a short update but hopefully will keep you happy til i have longer time to write more! i need sleep! ha!

Chapter 13

Geoff tightened his hold on Nicole as he tried to come to terms with the sight he saw before him. The shock had hit him like a boulder, straight between the eyes. Fear began to flow through his body as he froze to the spot. Nicole opened her eyes, her mind still filled with lyrics from the song. Wham! Shock!

“Oh my God” she gasped as she also tried to comprehend what was going on. Her initial reaction was to move but for some reason her legs weren’t paired with her brain. They froze, just like Geoff and she continued to lie for what seemed to be minutes. In actual fact it was seconds, very few seconds before Geoff placed himself in front of Nicole and edging himself backwards, in order to climb off the bed from her side. As they did so, there was complete silence. The figure continued to just stare at them. They didn’t attempt to move in order to hurt them or even provoke them to fight. They were just still and very calm.

“What do you want from us?” Geoff asked, nervously though he tried to hide the fact he was scared from both Nicole and the intruder. Still there was silence. Nothing.

“What do you want?!” Geoff repeated, getting slightly angered, although still very scared. Nicole tightened the grip she had on Geoff’s T-shirt. She remembered feeling scared in the past but this kind of took the biscuit. This was her bedroom, who the hell did they think they were coming in here and making her feel like this. She had a good right to go over there and kick their ass! Well of course, this was her initial thought, the reality was much different. She’d stay very still behind Geoff and let him try and take control of the situation. Otherwise if she even tried to move, she’d crumble into a big heap and beg the intruder to leave. Pathetic? Well, she wasn’t used to people terrorising her and making her feel on edge continually so it would be pretty understandable really.

The figure moved closer as Geoff and Nicole moved backwards, in sync with each footstep.

“If you come any closer to us, I swear...” Geoff snapped, frantically feeling behind him in order to find Nicole’s hand. Once he managed to locate it he held it tight, tighter than he had ever done before. He still stood directly in front of her, protecting her from any harm that could happen, though he was hoping they’d both make it out of this room perfectly alright.

“I want what’s mine” the intruder stated very plain and simple. No anger. No violence, just four words said very calmly.

“and what exactly is that?!” Nicole found the courage to ask in a very soft tone. Her stomach was in knots and the saliva in her mouth was drying up as fast as it formed. Geoff squeezed her hand a little more as he felt his heart beat faster and faster. Any faster and he thought that it might stop. There was no reply. The figure continued to stare at them both. They didn’t move, but the intimidation from the stare got too much for Geoff and he grabbed Nicole’s arm and immediately tried to run towards the door. That was when everything seemed to change. The calm, very mellow behaviour of the intruder spun into a whirlwind and they produced a ten inch blade from what seemed like nowhere. Magic? I think not. Geoff immediately backed away from the intruder and the door way. He took both hands and still stood in front of Nicole, took hold of both her forearms, pushing her backwards as he continued to shuffle back too. His palms sweating due to the intensity and fear of the situation they found themselves in. He turned his head to the side; far enough to see Nicole but to still keep an eye on the figure.

“Are you okay?” he whispered, struggling to keep his macho side alive. Nicole looked up towards him in a slight daze. She couldn’t actually believe what was going on. Her head nodded in response, as a single tear fell from her right eye, gently down the front of her cheek. Geoff forced a smile in her direction. They both felt sick, sick to their stomachs. Aden and Belle were downstairs, completely oblivious to what was going on. If only Aden would come up and check, Nicole thought, but why would he...for all he knew her Geoff were having ‘quiet time’. He wouldn’t want to interrupt that.

Geoff couldn’t take this any longer. The intruder was mute, not a word or signal as to what was going to happen. The suspense was draining both him and Nicole, and while he still had the energy and adrenalin, he decided he needed to do something and fast. As he frantically glanced around, he noticed Nicole had a broken drawer laid down beside her bed. It had broken a few days ago but with Roman in hospital, and Aden being busy with other things, she hadn’t got round to getting it fixed. The front of the drawer had come apart from the rest of it, shards of wood frayed slightly at the edges. If he could create some sort of distraction he could use that as some form of protection. But he couldn’t really put Nicole at risk, no matter how little, she was and had always been his top priority throughout this whole nightmare.

Suddenly, as if God had answered his prayers, a shout came from beyond the bedroom door.

“Hey, guys do you fancy some ice cream or something, Belle’s itching for some?” Aden asked cheerily, unaware of the extra body in the room. Silence. The panic seemed to wash over the intruders face. Geoff was aware of this and realised he had to take his chance. Nicole contemplated what they should do when all of a sudden, without any control; she let out a spine chilling scream. This startled the intruder and Geoff leapt forward to grab the wooden front of the drawer, ripping it apart from the rest of the drawer it was slightly attached to, and he lunged further towards the intruder. With one hit, the figure stumbled sideways, dazed by the impact of the drawer, the knife still tightly gripped in their hand.

“Run!” Geoff exclaimed and pushed Nicole towards the door. A completely bewildered and oblivious Aden was still stood on the other side of the door. With everything happening so fast, the time between the scream and his hand reaching the door handle was milliseconds, though as the door opened, Nicole bound towards him and straight into his arms. The door then suddenly slammed shut and a loud cry was heard from inside of the room. As if in slow motion, Nicole lifted her head from the comfort of Aden’s chest and turned it towards the doorway. The door was firmly closed and Geoff was still inside.

[MizzyBee123]

Hopefully this won't be a disappointment...i tried my best lol

Chapter 14

Words can’t describe the panic that rushed through Nicole’s body in that instant, the thoughts that were going through her head, around and around. Everything was still in slow motion. She could see everything but there was no sound. She could see Aden banging on her bedroom door, desperate to get in, but there was no noise, only the beating of her heart, getting faster and faster. This wasn’t happening, she told herself as she tried her hardest to wish herself away from the nightmare that was occurring.

Aden continued to bang on the door, his hand throbbing.

“Geoff!” he shouted as loud as he could, sweat beginning to form on his forehead. The door was locked from the inside and Aden could hear a scuffle going on in the background, lamps being thrown, and cupboards being slammed. Chaos.

“Nicole, who the hell is in there?” Aden questioned her, still trying to get through the door. Nicole stared blankly at him, completely numb. She was in a daze, though she wanted to help Geoff, she felt helpless in doing so. She began to get flashbacks of the last time she felt this scared.

It was meant to be so perfect, her and Geoff able to do what they wanted, when they wanted. The stupid argument they had about the ‘sex thing’ ... again. And then...

“The guy from the island” Nicole blurted out, no expression, just words.

Aden looked at Nicole in disbelief. Belle scuttled up the stairs, frantic but still unaware of what was going on.

“What? I thought the cops got him?” Aden questioned, raising his voice. Nicole just shook her head. Belle stared at both Aden and Nicole.

“Oh my God, I’m calling the cops” Belle muttered as she briskly turned around and ran back downstairs to locate the phone. Suddenly, something snapped inside of Nicole and she burst into frenzy, helping Aden bang on the door, the hardest she could.

“Geoff!!” She exclaimed tears beginning to slowly drip from her eyes. The last time they were confronted with this man, she was useless. Geoff had the guts to face him but she didn’t. She was numb, scared and silent. This was her chance to face her fear, and protect Geoff in the same way he had protected her back on Jackson Island.

Aden pushed his back against the opposing wall and kicked the door as hard as he could. Nothing. He did the same again but it still wouldn’t budge. He could hear the panic in Geoff’s voice as he yelled for help. Nicole backed herself against the wall too and together they kicked the door inwards, having a little more success this time than before. The door burst wide open to reveal Geoff lying on the floor, near to where Nicole’s bed side table was, and blood dripping from his stomach. The guy from the Island stood before him, his torso turned slightly so that he could see the entrance to the door. The room was a mess, the bed was broken, parts flung everywhere, clothes were scattered, and the blinds were pulled from the window. Without thinking Aden ran at him, his fists in the air ready to grab the maniac and punish him. That was until the guy revealed the knife, and it turned the whole situation upside down.

Nicole stood behind Aden, alternating her glance from a wounded Geoff over to Island man. She couldn’t move, if she did, she’d make it worse for everyone. She wanted nothing more than to grab the knife from this man and use it on him, hurting him the same way he had Geoff. The fear he caused, not only to Geoff and Nicole, but to Aden, Belle and Annie in the last few days, and especially those that he claimed to have killed before. She didn’t believe him then, thought he was a random drunk with problems, but now she was convinced he was a killer, him standing in her bedroom with a knife, and Geoff bleeding was enough confirmation of this.

“Look, we don’t even know why you’re doing this?!” she shouted in a panic, still looking over at Geoff, wishing she could run over to him and hold him, tell him everything was okay and he was safe. But she couldn’t, not yet anyway.

The man looked blankly at Nicole as if she was speaking in a foreign language. Finally he broke his silence and started to move very slowly over to where Aden and Nicole were stood, the knife still in his hand.

“Why?” he repeated, as if she had asked a stupid question. He was unshaven and his face covered in some sort of dirt. The stale smell of alcohol drifted towards Nicole’s nostrils, twisting her face in response. She took a deep breath as Aden began to move them both backwards.

“You took all I had left...” he started, his speech slurred.

“We didn’t take anything!” Nicole responded, adamant that she wasn’t in the wrong.

“That day...you took them” he continued.

“We took what? There was nothing there!” she replied, her voice beginning to get louder and higher.

“My family...you killed them” he exclaimed, his face getting angrier and angrier, he spat as he said the words.

Nicole was confused. That day on the island, there was no one there. Only her and Geoff, and then as they later discovered, this lunatic!

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Geoff and I didn’t see your family, there was no one else there apart from you!” she said, the panic was definitely showing in her voice by then.

“No! You’re lying!... you did it, you killed my wife and my little girl! Now I’m gonna make both of you pay! I’ve waited too long for this moment” he shouted, his teeth gritted, and eyebrows raised. He turned around, moved back towards Geoff, yielding his knife in the air. Geoff was curled up in pain, blood seeping through his T shirt, his face twisted as he tried his best to put pressure on his abdomen. Nicole started to cry, her vision becoming obscured due to the flow of tears.

“Nooo!” she screamed as island man raised the knife, ready to pierce Geoff once again. In that instant, Aden grabbed the pole from the broken bed and lifted it above his head. Whoosh! He glided it through the air, until making contact with the man’s head. Island man fell straight to the floor, collapsing in a heap, the knife falling to the ground, a foot away from where Geoff was laid. Nicole ran straight over to Geoff, cradling his head in her arms as she kissed his forehead and cheek. She wiped away the tears in frenzy so that she could look into Geoff’s eyes. Geoff struggled to keep pressure on his stomach as he lay there on the floor. Nicole placed her hand over the top of his T-shirt, seeped in blood and pushed hard, as hard she could. He cried out in pain.

“I’m sorry, but it’s going to be okay soon, we’ll get you to hospital and they’ll bandage you up, just hang in there” she said, kissing his forehead once again. Geoff forced a smile then screwed his face up again, the pain too intense to handle.

Aden leaned over to get hold of Geoff, helping him to his feet, allowing him to place his arm around his shoulders.

“Quick, let’s go, he’s out cold” Aden said hurriedly, Nicole grabbed the other side of Geoff, and together they helped him make his way over to the entrance to the room.

All of a sudden, Nicole fell to the floor, screaming as she did so. Geoff and Aden swiftly turned around to find Island man lying with his hand wrapped tightly around Nicole’s ankle, though he was still dazed by the blow to the head. Nicole struggled to release herself, continually screaming for help. Belle rushed into the room to be confronted by the ridiculous scene. She stopped on the spot trying to take in what she could see. Immediately, she helped Aden and Geoff as they fought to release Nicole. Aden ran for the knife, grappling his way towards it, though island man tried his best to create obstacles in order for himself to grab it. Without hesitation, as the man was distracted, Geoff stood on his arm, making a cracking sound as he placed his body weight on top of it. The man cried out in pain as he weakened his grip on Nicole’s ankle. Nicole was released and she hugged Belle as tightly as she could, the two girls comforting each other in this moment of madness. They looked on as Geoff helped Aden get the knife, he struggled to focus, the pain in his abdomen too much to bear. Both boys fought the man as he grabbed them, in order to regain possession of his knife. Aden finally managed to reach it and as he raised it, Geoff stopped him from using it.

“Don’t! You’ll be as bad as him if you do this” Geoff pleaded. Aden looked at Geoff, then at the man, who was lying broken on the floor, his arm tangled and his body weak. Aden took a couple of seconds to think about it then he quickly got to his feet, swung back his leg and kicked the man in the face. This caused him to become unconscious once again and all four made their way to the door entering onto the landing.

As they helped Geoff move towards the stairs, the man appeared out of nowhere, grabbed hold of Aden and pushed him against the wall his working fist raised. He groaned in anger and Nicole and Belle leapt onto him trying to pull him off. Aden forced his weight onto the man, pushing him back a little, kneeing him in the lower abdomen. The man doubled over in pain as Aden the grabbed hold of his hair, pulling his head back. The girls looked on in horror as Geoff struggled to stay upright. Aden punched the man in the face twice until the man gained strength and hit Aden right between the legs. Aden curled up in pain, falling to the floor. Geoff straightened himself up, forcing his way through the pain of his wound. He looked at Belle and Nicole then found the energy to take a punch at the man, then grabbing hold of the top of his shirt and shoving him backwards. As Geoff did this; island man lost his footing and fell backwards down the stairs, the look on his face displaying pure horror. Belle, Nicole and Geoff looked on in disbelief as they saw him tumble down each step in slow motion until he finally reached the bottom. Nicole ran over to Geoff putting his arm around her shoulder in order to prop him up, his actions taking up much of his strength he had left. As they stood staring, Aden pulling himself up to his feet, they were silent, all wondering the same thing... Was he dead?

[MizzyBee123]

I've decided this is the final chapter for this fic cos i think if i draw it out any longer it'll spoil it and id just be writing for the sake of it. I'm planning on writing other fics and so with exams nearly finished i'll start on a new one hopefully after next week! Thanks for all your comments! I appreciate them lots! =] so here it is...

Chapter 15

Seconds past in slow motion as each continued to wonder, nobody dared to move. Could one footstep awake the evil figure at the bottom of the stairs? Eventually, Aden was the first to move forward taking to the top step of the stairs, he quietly and ever so slowly moved down the each until he was half way. Belle followed closely, with Nicole and Geoff still stood in absolute shock over what had just happened. Nicole gripped Geoff’s torso tighter the closer Aden go to the figure.

“It’s all my fault” Nicole whispered as she hugged Geoff and rested her head on his chest.

“No it’s not” Geoff replied followed by a gasp as he still tried to fight his way through the pain. They both looked on and struggled to step forward in order to see what was happening.

“Aden, be careful” Belle whispered as they both cautiously approached the final three steps. The man still didn’t move. Everything was silent and all that could be heard was the heavy breathing of all four as they anticipated what may happen next.

Aden could see the phone at the edge of the couch, if only he could reach it without having to climb over the body that lay in front of him. Within seconds Aden rethought his plan. He slowly lifted his leg over the side of the solid banister and clambered his weight over it. His foot dangled until he touched the floor. All three watched as he was finally able to get to the phone. Unfortunately, as their attention was diverted over to what Aden was doing, nobody had noticed the stir of the, what was thought to be, lifeless body at the very bottom of the stairs. As Aden dialled the emergency number, the dial tone began and then an enormous scream sounded the whole entire house. Island man had regained consciousness and had hold of Belle, gripping her neck within his arm, a second knife appeared from what seemed to be nowhere.

“I didn’t want to hurt you guys, it was them I wanted but I guess I’ll just have to have four murders on my conscience now” Island man angrily spat.

Aden’s instinct was to rush over there and do anything he possibly could to get Belle away from the maniac but he knew it would put her into more danger. Instead he stood, as calm as he could be and tried to talk the man around. Belle was terrified, she trusted Aden but the thought of the knife was too intense for her to comprehend and she began to feel even more scared the longer Island man had hold of her. Her eyes began to water as she felt the panic set in.

Nicole and Geoff didn’t know what to do, should they approach this man or would that endanger everyone even more? Nicole turned and looked at Geoff, his face becoming paler and paler. He had no strength to do anything right now. It was up to her, and only her to save her friends and her boyfriend. She crept closer to the stairs and reached over to where the book case stood just next to the stairs. She grabbed one of Roman’s heaviest SAS trophies that had been there for centuries and slowly took each step in time, whilst Island man was distracted by Aden. He was telling Aden all about the hurt he had been caused by both Geoff and Nicole when they so called killed his family. Nicole’s heart was about to burst as it gained faster and faster speed. She approached Island man from behind and without thinking raised her arm and swiftly swung it across the perpetrator’s head. Instantly he fell to the floor, as Belle rushed into Aden’s arms. Nicole took a step back in complete shock as to what she had just done. She could see there was a lot of blood seeping into the carpet from the man’s head. Once Aden had comforted Belle, he reached out to Nicole, assuring her that it was okay and to go check on Geoff. Nicole still dazed, hastily turned around and ran up to the top of the stairs. She found Geoff, unconscious, he was pale and not moving an inch. His t-shirt was completely soaked in blood by this point and Nicole began to sob as she screeched his name in the hope that it would awaken him. He couldn’t die, not now. Not after everything they’d been through. She wasn’t gonna let him go yet.

Aden had rang the cops and an ambulance, though he thought it would be too late for Island man. He hadn’t moved at all since the blow to his head. It felt like hours until the cops and ambulance turned up. They strapped Geoff up and put him in the ambulance, Nicole following closely behind. He was till unconscious, though he was stable. Aden was right, it had been too late for Island man. Charlie broke the news to both Aden and Belle.

“Who exactly was he anyway?” Belle asked, still shaken from her ordeal.

“His name was Derrick Thompson. He’s been wanted for a while in connection to the death of his family. It looks as though, for whatever reason, he killed his wife and child, and then went into complete denial about the whole thing. It looks like Geoff and Nicole were the unfortunate two who he held responsible for it. He couldn’t remember doing it himself, so when he met them on the Island, he thought they were the ones who’d killed his wife and child. I guess he wanted revenge for a crime he didn’t realise he’d committed.” Charlie explained with concern. “I want both of you to head down to the hospital and get checked out, you can check on Geoff whilst you’re down there”

Aden and Belle both nodded then Aden took Belle in his arms in a warm embrace.

Nicole sat next to Geoff’s hospital bed for hours and hours on end, gently squeezing his hand. He’d lost a lot of blood and Rachel had warned Nicole that it was likely Geoff’s body needed time to rest and so he would be in a coma state for some time. The next few hours would be crucial, but she encouraged Nicole to talk to him.

“But what do I say?, Can he even hear me?” Nicole asked, a tinge of sadness dampened her voice.

“I’m sure he can” Rachel replied softly as she gently touch Nicole’s shoulder before leaving the room. Nicole turned to look at Geoff, his face so radiant, yet so still. He had tubes coming ou from all places, but he was still the most beautiful person she had ever met.

“Um, well this is a first. Nicole Franklin lost for words...” Nicole began as she forced a smile, she still had hold of his hand as she gently rubbed circles around the top of it with her other hand. She looked down in sadness as she did this then slowly lifted her head so that she was looking directly at him.

“You have to get through this.” A single tear rolled down her left cheek as she fought her hardest not to break down. “You know, that first moment that I saw you I thought that you would never be interested in a girl like me, I mean, hey.. I wasn’t exactly a nice person back then, especially when I first moved here, but you...Geoff, you made me the person that I’m becoming... and the person that I’ve become, you’re making me a better person and I love you for that. Ever since our first kiss, you’ve always been in my heart and though I regret it took so long for us to be together, I’ve loved every minute that I’ve spent with you....and well, hey...I’m not ready to let you go just yet... so you better hang on in there and get better. Cos without you Geoff, I don’t think I can face...” her fight against her tears collapsed and she sobbed in controllably as she leaned forward to kiss her boyfriend on the forehead. With her finger she gently stroked his cheek before forcing a smile and then kissing him again in the exact same spot.

“Nic...” a voice echoed from the doorway. Nicole naturally turned around and was surprised to see Roman stood, with Aden and Belle behind. One look in her dad’s eyes and she crumbled as she ran over to Roman, leaping into his arms. She sobbed and sobbed as Roman gripped her tightly, closing his eyes and gently kissing the top of her head.

“He can’t die, Dad, he can’t die” Nicole repeated as she buried her head inside the embrace of her father’s masculine build.

Two days past, without any movement or change. Geoff was still lying in the same position and Nicole was still by his side. She continued to talk to him just like Rachel had said, though he didn’t stir or make any attempt to wake up at all. After a chat with Roman, Nicole began to look on the positive side. She was determined to help Geoff, and continued to believe he would wake up and everything would be okay. She had sat in the same chair and talked to him about life, and what she planned to do once they left school, where they would live and how many kids she planned to have. She said anything really, just to cover up the silence. Aden and Belle appeared form the corridor and edged their way toward the bed.

“Hey guys” Nicole greeted them as the got closer to her and Geoff.

“Hey, how’s he doing?” Aden asked with concern.

“Still no change but I’m positive he’ll get better soon” Nicole replied turning her head to look at Geoff as she said it.

Aden and Belle smiled.

“Hey could I have a word with you guys out here” A soft voice asked from the doorway of the room. It was Charlie. Nicole gently kissed Geoff’s hand and all three of them slowly walked out into the corridor. Charlie had asked how Geoff was and reassured them that he’d be fine. She explained that she had purposely come to tell them the news about what would happen after that dreadful night. Nicole wouldn’t be charged for hitting Derrick, and inevitably killing him as it was in self defence, and none of them would have to have any further interrogation after that night as they had all already given statements that checked out. All three sighed with relief. It was over, well apart from Geoff still lying unconscious.

Suddenly Nicole heard her name being called from inside Geoff’s hospital room. It was Geoff. He struggled to remove the mask from his face as he tried to comprehend what was going on. Nicole rushed inside, her hands immediately cupping his face. Her smile beamed as she looked at Geoff. Aden and Belle followed and walked up to the other side of his bed.

“Hey” Nicole whispered, stroking his face with her thumb. Words couldn’t describe the happiness she felt. Her heart felt like it was about to explode, but a good kind of explode.

“What happened?” Geoff asked, still dazed and confused.

“You were stabbed” Aden told him raising his hand to Geoff’s shoulder and placing it down gently. Geoff looked at all three of them. He remembered vaguely, then he saw Derrick’s face in his mind.

“That guy...what...who was he?” he questioned, his eyebrows raised.

“It’s a long story...”Aden began.

“...a story I will tell you later. Right now I’m just so glad you’re back with us” Nicole said with an uplifting tone, a tone that hadn’t been there for quite a while.

“Hey we’ll leave you to it, I’m so glad you’re okay, Geoff” Belle said with a smile as she and Aden said their goodbyes and left the room.

Nicole sat on the side of the bed, her hands holding Geoff’s hand and her body turned to face him. She looked at him adoringly, looking at how the light reflected off his facial features, his eyes with a slight glint in them as he gazed back at her. They didn’t need words. They both knew how the other was feeling and they both knew that they loved each other, and no one, not even Derrick, could break them apart. Geoff shuffled himself to the side of the bed slightly, making enough room for Nicole to fit next to him. He let go of her hand and raised it, welcoming her into his warm embrace. She shuffled herself around and slowly laid beside him turning her body to face inwards to his build. He kissed her on the head as they both shuffled a final time to get comfy, Nicole laying her head on his chest. They closed their eyes and both smiled to themselves. So happy and content. They had each other and that was the way it was meant to be.

“Forever...” Geoff whispered loud enough for only Nicole to hear. She tightened her hold on Geoff and replied in a soft and soothing voice, “...and Always”.

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