Save You

[Louise_2983]

So I've just written this in two hours flat after literally being inspired by one line in the whole fic. It's not my usual Adelle fare but I hope you like it anyway!

Story Title: Save You

Type of story: One Shot

Main Characters: Aden, Belle, Nicole

BTTB rating: A

Genre: Angst

Does story include spoilers: Yes - both Aus and UK

Any warnings: Sexual references, half a naughty word()

Disclaimer: Song lyrics are from Save You by Kelly Clarkson

Summary: On day release from rehab Belle walked in on Aden and Nicole in flagrante but left without a word. Later she rips into Nicole in The Diner in front of many shocked regulars but fails to address the issue with Aden who isn't present at the time. Aden hears of events on the grapevine and manages to track her down to the beach...

"I can tell, I can tell how much you hate this and deep down inside you know it's killing me, I can call, wish you well and try to change this but nothing I can say would change anything"

“Belle!” he shouted loudly as he pursued her down to the beach. He knew she could hear him, the whole town could probably hear him, yet she was choosing to ignore him as she almost ran away from him.

Speeding up he shouted her name again and again until he was finally close enough to reach out and grasp hold of her arm.

Twisting her head to face him, her body still moving forwards, she ripped her arm from his grasp and forged ahead only coming to a standstill when she reached the shoreline.

“Belle” he stated more calmly as he came to a stop behind her.

She didn’t respond in movement or words instead choosing to stare out to sea, tears stinging her eyes as they threatened to break free.

“We need to talk” he pushed not willing to just give up. She was going to hear him out whether she liked it or not.

“No” she shook her head without looking at him.

“You need to talk Aden and I don’t want to hear it so why don’t you just...oh I don’t know send me another one of your letters, they make great firelighters!”

“I owe you an explanation” he told her softly, the pain etched in her features tugging at his heart. His fingers itched as he fought the urge to reach out and just hold her, knowing that the gesture wouldn’t be welcome.

“You don’t owe me anything” she told him sincerely. As much as the pain tearing through her tired body was destroying her she knew it was true. She couldn’t have expected any more than this.

“We’re not together anymore, you don’t owe me anything” she repeated with a tiny sigh.

“Maybe not” he admitted as he stepped forward so they were side by side, his arm accidentally brushing hers as she instantly moved away.

“But I owe you more than Nicole does and you ripped into her”

“I was...”

“Jealous?” he asked, no hint of amusement crossing his face as he completed her sentence.

“Angry” she corrected him not wanting to admit that it was actually a mixture of the two emotions twisting into knots inside her tummy as the memory of Aden and Nicole together flashed before her

eyes for the millionth time that day.

“She told you about the pills, pretending she was all concerned and all the time all she really wanted was to get into your pants”

“It wasn’t like that” he told her adamantly as she sunk down onto the sand and pulled her knees close to her chest.

“Oh please” she scoffed, raking her fingernails across the sand, leaving a set of straight tracks in her wake.

“She’s wanted you since the minute she arrived”

“Maybe so” he confessed with a nod as he sat down next to her and remembered just how brazen Nicole had been around him when she’s first arrived in the Bay. He couldn’t help but let a small smile

play on his lips as he did so.

“But that’s not why it...this happened”

“I don’t want to know why Aden” she told him honestly.

“It’s bad enough that I know when, where and how”

“I’m sorry that you saw that”

“But not sorry that you did it huh?” she asked knowingly as she finally turned her head to look at him. The pain in her eyes and voice cut him like a knife.

“We’re not together Belle, I don’t have to be sorry. What happens between me and Nic is our business”

“Then why are you sat here so adamant to tell me about it?” she snapped, lowering her gaze and raising a hand to cover her face as she sighed in obvious pain.

“Because I need you to know that it meant nothing”

“Both times?” she hit back at him the shock on his face instantly apparent.

“Yeah I know all about it Aden, Nicole delighted in informing me that I only caught the matinee! Apparently the show’s been on all week!”

“It meant nothing” he stated again, quiet and solemn. A hint of guilt penetrating his words even though he was adamant that he wasn’t and didn’t need to be sorry.

“Don’t you realise that just makes it even worse?” she whispered as a tear escaped and began to slowly roll down her cheek.

“After everything it took for you to be with me and then you just jump into bed with her for a meaningless fu-”

“It was a comfort thing” he interrupted her not wanting to hear the cold harsh reality of what he had done. He knew she had no right to be angry. But hurt was allowed and the knowledge that he was the

cause of her pain was almost suffocating him.

“Comfort?!” she scoffed, rubbing away her tears.

“Haven’t you ever heard of a hug Aden?”

He ignored her question, lifting a handful of sand before splaying his fingers and letting it gush between them. Silently he wondered if any chance of ever salvaging what there was between them was

slipping away with it.

“We’re both in pretty bad places right now Belle. Roman’s like a different guy and he’s taking everything out on us, it’s tough”

“You’ve been through worse” she sighed looking up at him.

“And sex wasn’t your answer then”

“No, it was the problem” he stated bluntly and instantly she felt a surge of guilt rush through her. Using his past as a weapon against him was something she never thought she’d do.

“It wasn’t something we planned Belle, either of us. We’ve both lost relationships that meant a lot to us”

“Please” she scoffed again.

“Nicole treated Geoff like a lapdog most of the time”

“Well he was happy to yap along behind her” Aden chucked softly but Belle’s expression remained solemn.

“And what we had really can’t have meant that much to you. It’s only been two weeks”

“It hurt Belle” he confessed, his volume so low his voice was barely audible.

“Watching you come off that stuff, seeing you in so much pain, it almost killed me and it brought back so many memories of what I went through with my Dad, so much stuff I thought I’d finally dealt

with. But it’s still there and it always will be. But despite that I stayed with you because I love you and I wanted you to get through it more than I’ve ever wanted anything, I wanted the real Belle back.

The one who didn’t lie and hide things from me, the one I could trust implicitly”

“I was always me Aden” she shrugged defensively.

“No you weren’t” he shook his head sadly as a strong wave pounded against the shore, submerging their feet in clear sea water.

Neither flinched.

“The Belle I used to know, the one I fell in love with. She was strong and feisty and determined and she would never have shown so little respect for herself as you did when you took that overdose”

“You were gone” she told him softly.

“I didn’t have anything left to lose”

“You had your life to lose Belle and that’s something you had a long time before I ever came along”

“Maybe I did depend on you too much” she confessed with a sigh.

“But you were the one person I knew I could count on, no matter how tough life got...or at least you used to be”

“I tried to be strong Belle, I wanted to be that person you needed but I can’t overcome your problems and my own. The only person who can ever really beat this is you”

“I’m trying” she whispered without looking at him.

“I’m really trying, I want to beat this Aden. I want to be that girl you loved again”

“Love” he corrected her, gently placing a finger under her chin and lifting her face to look at him.

“I haven’t just turned off my feelings in the space of two weeks Belle”

“Nicole begs to differ” she laughed ironically.

“Nicole’s hurting right now” he told her quietly, dropping his hand back down onto the sand.

“Geoff’s with Claudia and Roman told her that she should go back to live with Natalie. She feels like no one cares, she feels unloved and she was looking for someone to fill that gap and I was there. I

shouldn’t have let it happen but...”

“But what?” she prompted as his words trailed away until the only sound between them was the waves gently caressing the shore.

“But I wanted it. Her. I wanted Nicole” he admitted as Belle visibly shuddered, his words pounding into her like a knife plunging through her heart.

“Not because I love her or even really wanted to be with her but because she tells it like it is. She’s raw and she’s honest and I needed that. I needed to be reminded that there’s more than secrets and

lies. I needed to forget Belle”

“Then forget talking to me” she told him with a shrug.

“I think it’s Nicole you should be apologising to”

“I’m not apologising to you Belle, I didn’t cheat on you”

“I will always love you” she stated bluntly.

“That’s what your letter said”

“I do love you” he told her adamantly as she rose to her feet.

“I will always love you” she repeated again with an ironic laugh to herself.

“And I believed it. Like a fool I let myself believe it, I let myself cling to the hope that if I could beat the addiction that you’d still be there. And you didn’t even manage to wait two weeks for me! I’m

such a fool!”

“No you’re not” he told her softly as he too stood up, his body mere centimetres from her.

“But maybe this is a good thing. Maybe now you’re not clinging on anymore, hiding behind us, maybe that’s how you find yourself again. I love you Belle...”

“I love you too” she confessed barely in a whisper as he reached out to touch her and she pushed his hand away.

“But I can’t get what I saw out of my head, you kissing her and touching her and...and I don’t know if loving you can ever make up for that, I don’t know if it will ever be enough again”

“I thought that once” he smiled softly.

“When I found out you’d slept with Angelo but when it came down to it Belle nothing mattered more than how much I loved you”

“Then what happened huh?” she asked ironically and without waiting for a response she turned and slowly walked away.

Lost for a response to her question, he let her.

***

“How did you know I’d be here?” he sighed as he climbed onto the boat to find Nicole waiting for him, her bare legs tucked underneath her as she coyly played with a strand of blond hair.

“Well where else are you going to sleep?” she shrugged.

“I didn’t think you’d dare try and come back home after Dad told you to get out and well the only place I could think of other than here was Irene’s and you weren’t going to be there were you?”

“No I guess not!” he snapped dumping his bag onto the deck with a thud.

“Woah what’s wrong with you?”

“Just stuff” he replied with a sigh, shrugging off her question and hoping she didn’t want a deeper response. He didn’t want to explain how much his encounter with Belle had affected him, how the

thought that he may have lost her forever was killing him slowly from the inside out.

She didn’t.

“I know” she whispered sadly, her eyes glazing over.

“I can’t believe Roman reacted that way, I’ve never seen him that angry. He wouldn’t have been like that before...”

He pulled her towards him as she began to cry and wrapped his strong arms around her. She buried her head in his shoulder until her tears subsided into gently sniffles. Slowly she raised her head, her

blue eyes locking with his before she lowered her gaze to his lips and bit her own in anticipation.

Her head tilted slowly forward and she pressed her lips to his, kissing him tenderly. She tasted soft and sweet and different. She was a cacophony of different flavours. Like trying out neopolitan ice

cream when really you only wanted the chocolate.

“Nic” he murmured softly.

“Don’t”

“Why? I thought th-”

“I’m sorry” he told her sincerely as he stepped away.

“But there are some things that are just impossible to forget”.

"Didn't mean

Didn't mean to leave you stranded

Went away cause I didn't want to face the truth

Reaching out

Reach for me

Empty handed

You don't know if I care

You're trying to find the proof

There were times I'd wonder

Could I have eased your pain?

Why did I turn away?

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