Beauty In The Breakdown

[Lustre]

Great update!

The Aden Nicole interaction was brilliant.

And I love the way you write Belle's thoughts. Its great to see her doubting her decision to break up with him!

[whispered_envy]

So this fic is really not taking the direction I thought it would, but it's funny where your muses take you!

Warnings: Slight coarse language, sexual abuse content.

Chapter Seven:

“Hey Mr Anger-Issues.”

Aden looked up from where he was sunning himself on the beach to see Nicole standing over him. “Hey Miss Ten-Dollar-Fake-Tan.”

“Mind if I join you?” And before he even answered, she had put her stuff down, rolled out her towel, and was lying next to him.

Aden rolled his eyes. Typical Nicole.

“How is that anger management of yours coming?” She asked casually.

“Yeah. I’m getting there. Or so my therapist thinks.”

“So you haven’t seen Angelo and wanted to bash his face in?”

“Well...I’ve wanted to. But the main point isn’t- I haven’t.”

Nicole laughed. “You’re such a strange person. But good for you!”

“So how’s life on the Princess front?” Aden asked, wanting to change the subject.

“Well, I’m still totally confused about the whole Geoff thing.” Nicole started, always up for a chance to talk about herself.

“Do you like him?” Aden queried.

“Yeah, I do. I know he can be a bit strange, but there’s something about him...” Nicole trailed off.

“You know what I think of him. Tooly McTool Tool!”

“I wasn’t asking your opinion of Geoff. I just wanted to know...”

“What?”

“You’re going to hate me for asking this, but...”

“What?”

“What made you so attracted to Belle?” She asked quietly.

Aden thought for a moment. “I guess it was her fiery passion for life, her sarcastic sense of humour, her intriguing personality, and the way we interacted with one another. There was a sort of spark between us. If you get what I mean.” He added awkwardly.

“I guess I do.” Nicole mused.

“Look, if Bible Boy makes you happy, then go for it. You never know what could come of it.” Aden encouraged her kindly.

Nicole was about to reply, but as she looked over Aden’s shoulder, her face darkened. “Uh oh. Ex alert.”

“Wha-?” He twisted his head around to see what Nicole was looking at, and saw Belle and Angelo walking along the beach towards them. He turned back to Nicole. “Great.” He sighed.

Angelo and Belle casually walked up to them. “Hi, guys.” Belle greeted awkwardly.

“Belle, Angelo.” Nicole acknowledged, while Aden remained silent, ignoring Belle’s gaze. “How you feeling?”

“Yeah, good. Got out of hospital yesterday. All clear.” Belle told them.

“Good.”

“Have you charged my brother yet?” Aden asked Angelo, still ignoring Belle. He was saving himself the pain of having to look at her.

“Yeah, mate. He’s off to jail for a long time.”

“I guess it’s going to be like a little family reunion in there soon, huh? All you need now is to send me off there, and everything will be perfect!” He said sarcastically. He couldn’t help himself. Seeing Belle and Angelo together just made him feel so bitter.

“Aden!” Belle was shocked.

He stood up. “Look, I’m sorry, but I just can’t do the lets-be-friends-and-pretend-everything-is-just-rosey thing, okay? I think it’s best that we steer clear of one another for the time being.”

“If that’s what you want.” Belle replied calmly. She felt bad, but obviously Aden still needed more time.

“Good.” Aden stood his ground.

“Okay, well, bye.” She concluded, before turning to go further up the beach with Angelo.

“Bye.” Aden called to her disappearing back, before plonking himself angrily down on his towel.

“Wanna talk about it?” Nicole questioned carefully.

“No.”

Nicole decided not to press the issue any further.

----

“Nic?”

“What?”

“You seen Aden tonight?”

Nicole looked up at Roman, frowning. “No, I haven’t. He said he was going out a few hours ago though. He didn’t say where.”

Roman also frowned- the exact same frown that Nicole held, which made them look eerily alike. “Hmm. That’s weird. I haven’t heard from him either.”

“We ran into Belle and Angelo on the beach.” Nicole explained.

“Oh really? How was he?”

“He seemed pretty upset about it.”

“Ah.” Roman fell silent, worrying.

Suddenly, there came a crash from outside the front door, making both Roman and Nicole jump. “Who’s there?” He demanded.

There came a groan from the other side of the door, before a wail was yelled through the door. “Romaaaaan! I’ve lost my keys!”

“Aden?” Roman questioned, before he unlocked the door. A dishevelled Aden stumbled into the house, his eyes red and puffy, a bottle in one hand. “Are you drunk?”

“Noooooo!” He replied gaily, before taking another swig of the bourbon and collapsing onto the couch. “Well, maybe just a tad...”

Nicole looked at Aden, a mixture of amusement and concern spread across her face. “God, Aden, why are you getting drunk?”

“Because it seemed like a good idea at the time!” He let out a wobbly smile. “It takes the edge off, ya know?”

“The edge off what?”

“What else? That bitch who dumped me. That bastard who tried to beat her up. That pathetic man who called himself my father!” He announced, before talking another swig.

“But aren’t you just sinking to his level, getting yourself drunk like this?” Roman tried to reason with him.

“No. I could never sink to his level! I could never hurt his kids like he did!” He paused for a moment, his mind taking him elsewhere. “I think...I think I fell out of a tree.”

“Aden, I think you’ve had enough to drink...” Roman warned him, advancing on him slowly.

“No! Don’t you dare for a second try and act like my father!” Aden stood up, wobbling dangerously.

“I’m not trying to be your father, I’m just worried for you.”

“I don’t deserve being worried about.” Aden said sadly.

“Yes you do.”

“But I’m weak...and pathetic...and no-one will ever listen to me.” Tears were forming in his eyes.

Nicole was shocked by Aden’s rapid change of moods. First he was happy, then he was angry, and now he was upset. This boy was certainly complex.

“Who said you were weak and pathetic? Your father?” Roman asked gently.

“No...” Aden’s whole body was shaking, as he looked at them, eyes wide. “My grandfather.”

“Your grandfather?”

“Y...yes. He would tell me that, when he would come into my room at night...and...and...” Aden closed his eyes, gulping.

Nicole’s stomach was sinking. She had a feeling about what Aden was about to say, but she didn’t want him to. It couldn’t be that horrible...

“...abuse me.” Aden whispered, barely audible. “He...he would come and...and...rape me...and I couldn’t do anything about it...” Breaking down into tears, Aden let the bottle fall to the floor, as he stood in front of Roman and Nicole, his darkest secret unfolding in front of him.

Roman stood there, his eyes closed. He knew that Aden’s secret had to do with his grandfather, but the boy had never actually told him what had happened. Nicole, who had no idea except that Aden couldn’t live with his father, now understood so much more about him than she ever thought she would. The news was shocking and devastating to them both.

Words continued to pour out of Aden’s mouth. “After my mum died...dad was too much of a drunk...he moved in...it was horrible...he did it to my brothers as well...we were left alone with him...I was so scared...I felt so alone...Belle...she knew...I told her so we could be together...she broke my heart...”

“Aden, it’s okay. We’re here for you now.” Roman jumped in. Aden was getting more and more worked up and he needed to calm down. “We’re not going to hurt you, and we don’t think you’re weak or pathetic. Do we Nicole?”

Nicole forced a nod, not trusting herself to speak.

“You’re a good person who has had a bad run. We love and care for you, and we will always be here for you.”

Aden looked at them both, bewildered. “I wish I was a real part of your family.”

“You already are.” Roman smiled. As Aden started back at him, a mixture of emotions spread across his face. “Now, come on you, I’m going to help you to bed.”

Aden nodded silently, and let Roman lead him up to his room. A few moments later, Roman returned. He sat next to his still quiet daughter, putting his arm around her. Nicole leaned into him, enjoying the hug.

“You alright there Nic?” Roman asked.

She nodded. “Yeah...it’s just...I can’t believe it...”

“Neither can I.” Roman agreed.

“It’s just so horrible. I can’t believe anyone would do something like that!”

“I know.”

“Poor Aden...everything about him makes so much sense now. Like, why he is the way he is.”

“Yes...that would be such a devastating thing to go through. And to feel as if it’s your fault...”

“I can’t believe it.” Nicole repeated, tears now in her eyes.

“I know it’s hard to comprehend, but we have to be here for Aden. He’s trusted us enough to tell us, and I don’t want to be another person who has let him down.”

“I know...I’m just in shock, that’s all.” She looked up at her father. “Roman, as dysfunctional as we are, I’m really glad that you’re my father.”

“I’m glad that you’re my daughter.”

“Love you Dad.”

Roman was pleasantly surprised. This was the first time she had ever called him Dad. “Love you too.”

The father and daughter team sat together, grateful for everything they had with one another, while a restless Aden slept above them, struggling to understand what he had just done.

[HAA Girl 08]

So good!!!

When are you updating next?

[mk1diva]

aw thats was so good i love how he wants to be a part of their family for real!!!

i know you've only just updated but is there another on the way soon??????

[Jody]

The first scenes involving Aden/Nicole/Belle/Angelo were really good.

Now this is the relationship I like between Aden and Nicole. Not mean but not all of a sudden they are best friends. It suits both their characters more. They do care about each other but they don't sit there talking about how much they care, if you know what I mean.

I am glad that Aden doesn't want to pretend with Belle and that Belle was able to, despite her feelings being hurt, understand he needs time. Love that sarcastic comment from Aden about the family reunion, it sounded like a very Aden thing to say in that situation.

Romaaaaan! I lost my keys.

> So funny.

Now the one thing that did dissappoint me in this chapter was Nicole and Roman's reaction to Aden's abuse as well as Aden's telling of it, not that he told them because in this story I feel it fits but the way he did. I know he is supposed to drunk but it just didn't make me hurt for him like in the beginning of the scene(or any other time in this fic) when he mentioned why he was drinking, then I could feel his pain. Roman and Nicole's reaction as well I just didn't get the feeling of them being that effected. I know that they are and we are told that they are but I just didn't feel it when reading it. I thought maybe the lack of real emotions was because they were just in shock and Aden was in the room but even after it just didn't feel real. It felt like a few standard lines that you are expected to say.

Please don't see this as me being harsh. I apologize if it came out that way. It's just that you're one of the few writes who are capable of capturing the characters emotions so well and that's what made this stick out to me. But by normal standards this would have been really good but you have shown so far that your writing is anything but. It's outstanding really.

[whispered_envy]

Thankyou, enjoy the ride, for your honest opinion. To be honest with you, I didn't really like how I wrote it either! I kept re-writing it and I was getting frustrated with it, so I kinda just gave up and posted it, which is a bad thing for me to do. I probably should have left it a couple of days and come back to it! I don't want to disappoint any of my readers, so I thank you for your honesty.

The next part should be up tomorrow.

[Jody]

I am glad you didn't feel insulted or anything. I always worry about leaving reviews like that. But I can't help myself. You should take it has a compliment though since I only feel the need to point these things out when it comes to stories that I am completely invested in and love.

Look forward to that next chapter.

[solaris]

Maybe there's scope for Aden's drunk confession to be the opening to the abuse issue? Like, maybe it opens the door to a more complete (and sober) discussion - as if getting drunk was the only way to start the process?

[HAA Girl 08]

HI, YOUR FF WAS REALLY GOOD, CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT UPDATE !!

[amz89]

Poor Aden, loved the last two chapters, he must have drank so much to tell them that, more soon please