Farewell to Love

[Red Ranger 1]

This chapter almost got rejigged then I read what I was originally going to write and realised it worked a lot better that way.Hope you like it.

CHAPTER 11

Belle wasn’t sure why she woke up so early.She’d been feeling tired most mornings recently and it wasn’t as though she’d spent the whole night sleeping.Maybe the air was doing her good.At least, she thought it was the air…

She watched Geoff sleeping.He looked kind of innocent like that.Probably a bit less innocent than he’d been twenty-four hours ago.She wondered what she looked like when she was sleeping, whether she still passed for young and innocent.

An idea crossed her mind and she allowed herself a smile.She leaned over and started kissing him.At first there was no response but then he started to respond as he surfaced back into wakefulness.She smiled at him as he looked at her bleary-eyed.“Morning, lover.”

“Um, morning.”He touched his lips curiously.“Were we just..?”

She ran a finger through his hair.“Just waking you up.”

“Oh, right.No-one’s ever done it that way before.”He shrugged.“Beats the bucket of cold water Pop used to use.”

“Geoff…you know last night, right?”

“Yeah, I think I can remember it…”

“Well, thank you.”

He blinked in surprise.“Do you usually thank guys for…that?”

“No but…I know you weren’t sure about it so…”

He took her hand gently, brushed it against his cheek and kissed her palm.“I did it because…it meant something.To me, anyway.”

She nodded.“Me too.”

He hesitated, then made to get up.“So, what do you want to do today?”

She stopped him, drawing him back into bed and moving forward for a kiss.“Well, we don’t have to get up just yet, do we..?”

It was midday before they finally surfaced.Geoff searched through the fridge and the cupboards and managed to find enough food to make them some sandwiches…and two plates to eat them off.The plates from the previous night, as well as the rest of the abandoned washing up, were still sitting next to the sink. They sat on the floor in the bedroom, tucking into the hastily prepared meal.

“Sandwiches,”Belle commented as she finished hers off,“Last night a gastronomic delight, today sandwiches.You easing off now you’ve had your way with me?”

“No, I…”Geoff stopped, noticing her teasing smile, and his mouth twitched into a reluctant grin.“I was too busy letting you have your way with me to come up with anything else.”

“Oh, well, so long as the time was well spent.”

Geoff put his plate down on the floor next to hers.“Are you going to let me wash them up this time?”

She grinned.“What do you think?”She took hold of his shirt and pulled him towards her.They started kissing, slowly at first but growing more and more passionate.He pushed her back onto the floor, pulling at the clothes they’d only recently donned, and she couldn’t believe how much she wanted it, how much she wanted to feel the way she had the previous night…

And then he stopped.He rolled off her and sat up, his legs across hers in an arch.And to her shock, she saw tears in his eyes.He looked away, embarrassed.“I’m sorry.”

She sat up straight and reached out, taking his hand.“It’s okay,”she said gently,“Although I have to admit, the thought of sleeping with me doesn’t usually have this effect on people.”

He shook his head.“I want to, it’s just…This should be the start of something special, I want it to be, and instead, in a few weeks…”He wiped the tears away.“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be doing this, you’re the one that’s going to…”He tailed off.

“Die,”she finished for him.She looked at him and wished there was something she could say, that it was going to be all right, that it was all going to work out.But it would be a lie and he knew it.So she said the only thing she could say.

“I love you.”

He looked surprised at the words.She was surprised herself.It had all happened so quickly, yet she knew it was true.She wondered where the feelings had come from.Had she always loved him and not realised it?Or was it that she’d loved him in a different way and that was why she’d found it so easy to fall in love with him?

“I love you too,”he said at last.

“Geoff, I wish I had years with you, I wish I had months with you.But I haven’t.Not with you, not with anyone.I guess all we can do is make the most of what time we have.”

She could see the sadness in his eyes, just as it was in hers.But it didn’t stop them kissing again.They carefully fell sideways until they were lying on the floor, their bodies entangled with each other.

They lay there a long time.Making the most of the time they had.

[Red Ranger 1]

Hope you like this one.

CHAPTER 12

Belle stared out the window.One last dose of peace before back to real life and all it promised.A part of her wanted to stay here forever, to hide away from the future that was waiting for her.It wouldn’t work of course.The cancer would kill her here just as much as anywhere.

Geoff stepped up behind her, slipping his arms around her waist.“Well, the bags are packed and in the car,”he told her,“And I’ve given the place a quick tidy before we leave.I’ve even left them some clean plates.”

“Guess we had to stop finding something better to do sooner or later.”

“Guess so.”

She turned, kissed him gently and then lent her head against his chest, letting him hold her.“Thanks for agreeing to this,”she said at last,“I’m glad we had this weekend.I know it’s not a hard promise to keep but…I’ll remember it as long as I live.”

He kissed the top of her head.“Me too.”

“We were just wondering how Belle is.”

Annie started at Nicole’s comment, turning from her seat at the Diner counter to find her and Aden standing there, obviously expecting an answer.“Ah good,”she said at last,“I mean, as far as we know.We’re not expecting them back until this afternoon.”

Aden picked up on the word.“Them?”

“Belle and Geoff?”Nicole guessed.

Annie, not for the first time in her life, wished she’d thought before she’d spoken.“Ah…yes.They went away for the weekend.”

She saw a slight curl to Aden’s lip as he answered,“Nice for them.”

Despite his bitter tone, Annie couldn’t help but sympathise.She wasn’t sure what would be worse, seeing Belle every day and seeing how sick she was getting or knowing she was going through a bad time and not being able to be there for her.“I could tell Belle you were asking after her?”she suggested.

Aden shrugged.“Yeah, whatever,”he replied before stalking out.Nicole paused long enough to throw an apologetic look in Annie’s direction before hurrying after him.

“Aden, hold up!”she shouted as she followed him into the house, narrowly catching the door before it slammed back in her face.

Aden sat down hard on the sofa, not looking in her direction.For a moment, she thought he didn’t know she was there.Then he spoke.“They’ve gone away together.”

Nicole sighed.“Yeah, I heard.”

“They’re probably sleeping together.”

“Probably.Look, I get why you’re jealous…”

He shot her a scornful look.“Well, aren’t you?Or are you supposed to be completely over Geoff these days?”

Nicole shrugged.“Hard to be jealous of someone who’s dying.”

Aden froze slightly at that.“Two months ago, we were living together here,”he said at last,“We were happy, we…we loved each other.And now, what?She’s with Geoff?She loves him?”

Nicole sat down next to him.“Would I be a walking cliché if I said that maybe she loves both of you?”

“Then why him?How come I’m not the one going away with her, the one who’s…spending what time she’s got left with her?”

“I guess…she thinks she can get something from him, something that she needs.”

“And she can’t get it from me?Is that what you’re saying?”

Nicole looked at him doubtfully.“Do you really want me to answer that?”

He looked away.“I wish someone would.”

“So, did you two have a good time?”Irene asked.Belle and Geoff had stopped by the Diner and were standing in the kitchen while she worked.

“Yeah,”Belle confirmed,“It was definitely worth it.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“Actually…there was something we wanted to talk to you about.”

“I mean, we wouldn’t want to go behind your back or anything,”Geoff put in,“But we are serious about this.”

Irene raised an eyebrow.“Well, come on then.”

Belle felt Geoff taking her hand supportively.“We want Geoff to move into my room.”

Irene smiled at them gently.“To tell the truth, loves, I was kind of expecting it.”She walked over to them, placing a hand on each of their arms.“Whatever happened to those two kids I took in all those years ago, hey?Suddenly I’ve got a couple of young adults on my hands.”

“Then…you don’t mind?”Belle asked.

“The only thing I’d mind would be if you two didn’t grab every bit of happiness you could while you had the chance.You just…make sure you look after each other, you hear?”

Geoff smiled back at her.“We will,”he promised.

[Red Ranger 1]

Hope you like this one.

CHAPTER 13

“Well, I bet you haven’t spent your lunch break doing that before,”Belle commented as she followed Geoff out of the bedroom.

He smiled at her, a smile that seemed less embarrassed than it normally would be at jokes like that.“No, I guess I haven’t.”He picked up his tie from the back of the chair where he’d slung it, still knotted, and placed it back over his head.

Belle pushed the tie back into place and smoothed down his shirt.“You know, maybe you were right about school uniforms.You do look pretty hot in it.”

He let her pull him into a kiss, one that left him with a very strong compulsion to follow her back into the bedroom.But real life intruded and he pulled back.“I really should get going.”

She nodded.“Okay.See you afterwards.”

“I’ll be back here faster than ever.”He gave her one last kiss, letting it linger as long as possible, before leaving.

She kept the smile on her face until she’d heard his footsteps receding down the path, then sank into a chair, pulling her dressing gown tight around her, breathing heavily.

These last few days, since they’d come back from their weekend away, she’d been so tired.Her body felt sore, even the gentlest of exertion seemingly too much for her.It was getting harder and harder to hide it from Geoff and Irene and Annie, to hide just how bad she was feeling.

But she kept doing it.Because it was better than the alternative.Better than the looks of pity she knew they’d give her.

It had taken most of Belle’s energy to get herself dressed.And then she hadn’t been able to do anything else.She just sat on the sofa, resting, checking the clock every now and then to see how long it was before school finished.

Geoff was home right on schedule.Belle forced the smile back onto her face.“Good day?”

He flopped into a chair.“So-so.”

“Geoff.”She patted the sofa next to her.“What are you doing over there?”

He smiled and joined her.They started to kiss, growing more and more passionate.Then she let out a gasp, not of pleasure but of pain.It felt as though someone had stabbed her in the ribs, a sharp pain coursing through her body.

She tried to cover it up but Geoff had noticed.“Are you okay?”

She nodded.“Fine, yeah.”

She started kissing him again but he wasn’t so easily distracted.He pulled away from her and peeled her top away from the lower part of her abdomen, examining the skin on her lower left back, where he’d touched her just before she’d given that gasp.He looked at her in horror.“Belle, where did you get these bruises?”

She shook her head.“It doesn’t matter.”

He didn’t give up.“These look like fingermarks.Did someone grab hold of you?”She looked away shamefaced and then he realised.She saw the guilt welling up inside him.“Belle…did I do this?”

She pushed his hand away, getting to her feet.“It doesn’t matter.”

“Belle, I…”

“Geoff, I said it doesn’t matter!”She didn’t know where the energy came from but she left the house faster than she’d moved in a long while.Anything to get away from the conversation that she’d been hoping she’d never have to have.

Aden’s first thought was to move on and pretend he hadn’t seen her.He hated himself for that.This was Belle, the girl he was supposed to love.He shouldn’t be avoiding her.He took a few tentative steps towards the seat where she was hunched up and that was when he saw that she was crying.“Belle?”he asked, “What’s wrong?”

She looked up at him tearfully, looking as helpless as he’d ever seen her.“I can’t get up,”she croaked.

At first he didn’t understand.“What?”

“I sat down here to have a think and…I can’t get up.I don’t have the strength.”

The news shocked him.How long had she been like this?How had he not known?He pushed the questions aside and took hold of Belle under her arms.“You ready?”he asked.She nodded and he hauled her to her feet.She staggered against him, unsteady, and he put his arm around her to support her.

“I’m so sorry, Aden,”she whispered.

He shook his head.“It’s okay.Nothing to be sorry about.”He took a step, supporting her still, and she began to walk alongside him, in the direction of the beach house.“Let’s just get you home.”

The sight of Belle staggering into the house, Aden practically dragging her along with him, caused Geoff’s heart to jump with alarm.“What’s wrong?”he asked.

Belle touched his arm consolingly.“It’s okay.Aden was just helping me.”

“She was sat down by the beach,”Aden explained,“She was a bit sick so I thought I should get her home.”

Geoff took hold of Belle’s other arm and he and Aden helped her to the sofa.Then he offered Aden his hand.“Thanks for looking after her.”

It felt strange to Aden, hearing him say that.Hearing him act as though Belle was his responsibility now, as though Aden was just some passing stranger who’d helped them out.But he took the hand anyway.“No worries, man.I’ll leave you both to it.”

He paused in the doorway and looked back at them.Geoff had sat down next to Belle, a consoling arm around her shoulders, his other hand resting on hers.It should be him, he thought.Worse, it could have been him.He could have been in Geoff’s place, at Belle’s side, the first person she turned to for help.But it seemed that right was no longer his.

He left without another word.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”Geoff asked quietly.

“Tell you what?”Belle demanded,“That my body’s in such bad shape that the slightest knock can cause a bruise?That I can’t even be close to you without being in pain?”

“You know that that doesn’t matter to me…”

“It matters to me!”she snapped, tears rolling down her face again,“I’m twenty years old and suddenly I feel like some frail old woman!I shouldn’t be like this, I should be able to enjoy life, I should be able to enjoy being with you!”

Geoff sighed.“Belle, you know I love…what we’ve been doing…”

“We’re come a bit too far for you to be coy, Geoff.”

He paused.And when he spoke again, he suddenly seemed a lot more grown up.“Belle, I want to make love to you.But I don’t want to hurt you, I couldn’t bear that.So if I do, I need you to tell me, so I know how far I can go.Can you promise me that?”

She nodded.“I promise.”

“And if the time comes when we can’t…well, there’s other ways for us to be close, isn’t there?”

She gripped his hand tightly.“I don’t think we could be closer.”

[Red Ranger 1]

I hope you like this one.

CHAPTER 14

Belle felt Geoff’s arms around her as she woke up.He’d lain alongside her every night, even though for the last month she hadn’t had the strength to do anything but cuddle him.For the last week, she hadn’t even had the strength to get out of bed.

She listened to herself breathing.It sounded steady, regular.Nothing different about it.Nothing you could put your finger on.Yet somehow she knew.

She gently pushed her elbow back, feeling it connect with a set of ribs behind her.“Geoff?”she asked quietly.

He woke with a start, propping himself up on his elbow and brushing a hair away from her face.“What is it?”

She turned over and looked him in the eye.“It’s time.”

After Rachel, their next calls had been to Amanda and Aden, both of whom had rushed over straightaway. The five of them waited in the front room while Rachel carried out her examination.Eventually, she came out of Belle’s room and stood on the step.“I think Belle’s right,”she said at last,“Given how weak she is and how far the cancer had progressed on the last tests, I don’t think she’s got long.”

“How long?”Geoff asked.

“Hours.”

“But there must be something you can do,”Amanda protested.

“I’ve given her some medication,”Rachel explained,“Made her comfortable.She won’t feel any pain, it’ll be quite peaceful.”

“That’s the way Belle would want it,”Annie realised.

“It is,”Rachel confirmed,“Irene…she’s asking for you.”

Irene stepped into the room.Belle was lying there, her head resting against the board, looking as pale as she’d ever been.And smiling, despite it all.“How are you doing, love?”Irene asked quietly.

“I’ve been better,”Belle admitted.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“I think that’s probably a first.”Belle was silent for a moment.“Do you remember when I first came here?”

Irene smiled.“Oh yes.Right little tearaway you were.”

“I was a bit of a mess,”Belle agreed,“But then I met you and you…you gave me a home and a family.All the things I’d never really felt like I’d had before.I guess…in a way, you made me who I am.”

“You know something?”Irene asked,“That’s exactly how I feel about you.You and Geoff and Annie… having you all here, it’s made an old woman feel like she’s doing something worthwhile with her life.”

“I guess I just wanted to say…thank you.For everything.”

Irene heard Belle’s voice break.She stepped forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.“Sweetheart, you are very welcome.”

Amanda had sat in silence on the edge of the bed for a long time.“What are you thinking?”Belle asked.

“About…how much time I’ve wasted.All those years I thought you were dead, they should have made me realise how precious our time together was.These last few years, I’ve hardly seen you.Even when you told me you were dying, I only saw you a few times.I’m just thinking that I should have spent every second with you because now…now it’s too late.”

“Mum, I came here to find you,”Belle reminded her,“And I don’t regret doing that.I’m really glad that I’ve had you in my life.I love you, Mum.”

“Oh, I love you too, darling!”Amanda threw her arms around her daughter and Belle felt her mother’s tears pouring down her face.Amanda looked at her and gave a weak smile.“You’ve got my mascara on you.”She wiped Belle’s face gently.“There you are.All beautiful again.”

Belle touched her hand briefly.“Is Nicole out there?”

“I don’t think so…”

“Can you get someone to call her, please?And can you send Annie in?”

Annie walked nervously into the room, looking as though she was worried what she was going to see.Belle looked fondly at her.“Hey, where’s my smile?”She saw the corners of Annie’s mouth twitch upwards and returned the smile.“That’s better.That’s the way I want to remember you.”

Annie went and sat by her.“I’m sorry, Belle.I just…I hate what’s happening to you.”

“I know you do.And I love you for it.”

“You know…when I first met you, I thought you were one of those girls Pop always warned us about.The ones who he said were destined to come to a bad end.”

“He was probably right,”Belle conceeded.

Annie carried on.“But now…I just wish I could be more like you.More daring.”

“You know something?”Belle asked,“I wish I could be more like you.”

Annie shook her head in disbelief.“You’re just saying that.”

“Annie, you can make people smile just by walking into a room.You just have this…wonderful way of looking at the world, of seeing things so much brighter than the rest of us do.Promise me you won’t ever lose that.”

“I promise,”Annie replied.Belle drew the girl into a gentle hug and softly kissed her on the top of the head.

Nicole hovered awkwardly near the door.“Your mum said you wanted to see me.”

Belle nodded.“Nicole…we’ve never really been friends.But there’s two guys out there who mean a lot to both of us.Right?”

“I think we can agree on that.”

“I think they’re both going to take this hard, harder than they think.So I need you to keep an eye on them for me, okay?Make sure they’re all right.”

“Yeah, of course.”Nicole paused before adding,“I’d have done that anyway, you know?”

Belle smiled at her.“I know.”

Aden had hung back when he first came in, as though uncertain what the rules were.Then Belle had held out her hand to him and he’d grasped it.“I’m sorry,”he said,“I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you needed, what you wanted me to be.”

“It’s okay.I understand.And I want you to know…I don’t regret one second of being with you.I mean, sure, there’s a few things I wish hadn’t happened but…you’ve got to take the bad with the good, right? That’s life.”

“But it was all for nothing.We…we didn’t make it.”

“Aden, it doesn’t really matter who we end up with.You will always be one of the great loves of my life.”

He nodded.“I’ll never feel like this about anyone else.”

She shook her head.“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Aden…do you remember when we first met?”

Aden stopped, casting his mind back, trying to remember the first time he’d seen the new girl around town and wondered who she was, the first time someone had pointed Belle out to him at school, the first time he’d heard her name…And there was nothing.Just blank.“No,”he said at last.

Belle smiled sadly.“Neither do I.We must have just walked past each other in a corridor one day.Not even noticed each other.I didn’t realise then how special you were.How special you were going to be to me.And maybe there’s someone else out there, someone you already know or someone you haven’t even met yet, who’s going to realise one day.And you’re going to realise that they’re the person that’s going to make you happy.”

He didn’t believe her.She could tell that.But maybe one day he’d remember those words.“Maybe,”he replied offhandedly.

He was still holding her hand.She knew he wanted to keep hold of it but they both knew he couldn’t.It wasn’t his place any longer.He let go.

She nodded at him.“Can you ask Geoff to come in now?”

[Red Ranger 1]

I'm glad you liked it, there were a couple of those farewells I wasn't sure about, especially the Nicole one, simply because it was very close to what happened on the show which I've been trying to avoid. Anyway...hope people like this.

CHAPTER 15

Geoff had clambered into bed alongside her, putting his arms around her waist.Belle rested her head on his shoulder and realised she was exactly where she wanted to be.She reached up and gently stroked his face. His hand closed around hers, holding it.The last man in her life.Who’d have thought it?

“Geoff…do you really believe that this life isn’t the end?”

“Yeah, of course,”he replied,“There’s a life after this one, where Pop and our parents are and where we’ll see them again one day.”

She sighed.“I wish I could believe that.Maybe then I wouldn’t feel so scared.”She looked away.“They probably wouldn’t want me anyway.”

He lifted her head, looking her straight in the eye.“When you get up there, they’ll love you just as much as I do.”

She felt the love flowing from his gaze and it was that which gave her the courage to say it.“Geoff…do you remember what you said about Claudia and the baby, how you still think about them sometimes?”

“Sometimes…”

“I think you should find them.”

He shook his head.“I’m not the father.”

“Geoff, it takes more than a few strands of DNA to be a father.If you care about that baby, then he or she deserves to know you.”

She could see he wasn’t convinced but it didn’t matter.The idea was there.A future for him, if it was the one he chose.“I’ll think about it,”he said at last.

He kissed her lips gently and, satisfied, she settled back down into his arms.“It could have been us,”she whispered,“In another life.”

Geoff smiled at the thought.“Right, yeah.A little Geoff and Belle baby.”

“Our own little Gelle baby,”she echoed drowsily.

“You’re delirious.”

“It’s the morphine.”He felt her tense suddenly and when she looked at him he saw fear in her eyes, for the first time.“I don’t want to sleep, Geoff, don’t let me sleep.”

He stroked her hair soothingly and felt her settle.He kissed her on the top of the head.“We’ve all got to sleep some time,”he said quietly, hoping she couldn’t hear the lump in his throat,“Don’t worry about it.You just rest.I promise you…you’ll wake up somewhere.”

Nicole saw Aden tense up suddenly.“It’s happened,”he said quietly.

No-one asked him what he meant or how he knew.They all just looked at the bedroom door.Geoff walked out slowly.He saw their expressions and nodded.

Annie ran to him, throwing her arms around him, and he held her as she sobbed into his chest.Irene and Amanda hugged each other, crying for the daughter they’d shared.Aden…just sagged.Nicole tentatively placed a consoling hand on his back and, to her relief, he didn’t pull away.

Geoff had waited until everyone else was doing their own thing:busying themselves with some job, sitting quietly or whatever it was they felt they needed to do.And until Belle had been taken away.Then he’d made his excuses and left the house, heading down towards the beach.He sat by the road, staring out at the sea, watching the waves continue rolling back and forth as though the world was the same as it always had been.

When the police car pulled up behind him, Geoff thought they were going to tell him to move along until Charlie and Angelo stepped out.“We heard about Belle,”Angelo explained,“We just wanted to say we were sorry.”

Geoff just nodded.There didn’t seem to be anything else to say.

“We were thinking about dropping by the house and offering our condolences,”Charlie added,“But we didn’t want to intrude.”

“I think they’d like that,”Geoff replied.

He thought they’d leave then.But instead Angelo came and sat by him.“Are you all right, mate?”

“I think so.I just…I just miss her.I wish we could have had more time together.”

“Did you love each other?”

Geoff had asked that question himself sometimes, wondering if Belle was only with him because he was safe, because he could offer her the support she needed.But she’d chosen him to hold her when she died.As she’d said, you couldn’t be any closer than that.“Yes, we did.”

Angelo clapped a hand on his shoulder.“Then you’re lucky, mate.Not everyone gets that.”

[Red Ranger 1]

Didn't have as much to do today as I thought I might so I managed to finish off the last chapter.If anyone has an opinion about it or the fiction as a whole, I'd be more than happy to hear it.

CHAPTER 16

Geoff didn’t know why he was there.He was looking at everyone else attending the funeral and kept noticing people who had known Belle longer or better than he did.But Irene had asked him if he wanted to say a few words and for some reason he had agreed.

He paused for a moment, taking them all in.Irene, Annie, Amanda and Ryan in the front row, Aden and Nicole just behind them.Jai was sitting further back with Miles and Kirsty.Geoff had seen him and Annie hugging before the service.Was there something going on there?He didn’t mind;it was good that she had someone.And then there was Tony and Rachel, Martha and Hugo, Charlie and Angelo, Alf and Colleen and Leah, old friends of Belle from school or work…

“I’m meant to talk about what a great person Belle was,”he said at last,“But I don’t need to do that. Because you were all lucky enough to know her.So you already knew that.I remember when I first met Belle and…all I could see was this girl who was always making a fuss, always angry about something.And it took me a while to realise that…that was the best thing about her.Her passion, her loyalty, her commitment.If she got angry about something, then it was worth getting angry about and if she saw something that she thought was wrong, she’d do everything in her power to change it.And if you were lucky enough for her to decide you were her friend, she’d do whatever it took to help you and make sure you were all right.”

He saw with relief that they were smiling, nodding in agreement.Remembering Belle.Like they should.

“But like I said, I don’t need to tell you that.Because we were the lucky ones.”

Annie and Jai had been sitting in the front room when Irene came home.“How did the reading of the will go?”Annie asked.

“Much as you’d expect,”Irene replied,“Belle left most of her savings to Ryan but there were a few things for you and Geoff and Aden.Oh…and she was particularly keen for you to have this.”She held up a carrier bag.“According to Geoff, she said something about you wanting to be more daring.”

Annie was surprised at the name on the carrier bag;she knew the shop but it wasn’t one she’d ever been to personally.She took it from Irene and noticed the handwritten note that Belle had attached to the top:Don’t worry, I promise I never used it with your brother.(Much.)

Annie opened the bag and looked inside…and hastily closed it as she caught a glimpse of black lace.

“What is it?”Jai asked curiously.

Annie swallowed hard.“Um, I think it’s going to be a long time before I show you.”

Geoff crouched in front of the headstone, sweeping it gently, brushing away the dust and dirt and moss. Finally he traced the large letters inscribed there, BRUCE CAMPBELL, before sitting back on his haunches.

“I’m sorry it’s been a long time since I’ve seen here, Pop,”he said,“But I’ve got a favour to ask you.You see, there’s someone new up there and…I need you to know what a great person she is.Her name’s Belle.I guess you’d probably have thought she’d led me astray but…she made me happy.And she taught me a lot. And she meant a lot, to me and to Annie, to a lot of people here.So I need you to keep an eye on her for us, Pop, you and Mum and Dad.Until we’re all with her again.”

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