Jump to content
Episode Downloads / Asking For Episodes / Viewing Episodes Online

If No One Will Listen

Guest Louise_2983

By Guest Louise_2983
in The Vault

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 272
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Deborah Member

Deborah

Posted
Posted

Loved the last 2 chapters & the sneek peak.

Hoping Nicole will change her mind about the adoption, & love the name Angelica Lily :)

Also there is obviously still chemistry with Belle & Aden & Nicole & Geoff :wub::D

Look forward to reading more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Louise_2983 Member

Louise_2983

Posted
Posted

Chapter 6

Every pair of eyes in the crowded hall were on her. She could feel them watching her every move as she dawdled at her locker not wanting to get to her next class too early and be forced to converse with Geoff. She wanted to turn around and shoot them all down with some caustic comment that would silence them on the matter for good but, uncharacteristically, she couldn’t muster the energy or the confidence and she knew that had some other girl in the year given birth without knowing she was pregnant and then walked away from her baby she would have been one of the ones whispering wickedly.

If this whole experience had taught her anything it was to be less judgmental. Every student in the entire school was judging her in that moment and they didn’t have a clue. They didn’t know how hard it was for her to even get up in the morning or how she had to constantly distract herself so she wouldn’t end up on Geoff’s doorstep asking to see her baby. They didn’t understand and they never would.

Slamming her locker shut she twisted her body around and found herself staring straight into his broad chest, his white shirt a little crumpled and his royal blue tie slightly askew as it hung around his neck. She raised her gaze to find him staring down at her. His blond hair stuck up at the crown and his bright blue eyes lacked their usual shine. Fatherhood was clearly already taking its toll on him.

“Darwin and Perth?” he mumbled as he scanned the university prospectus’ she hugged close to her chest.

“I thought you said the best fashion course in Australia was in the City?”

“Well it doesn’t hurt to look at all my options does it?” she replied defensively as he sighed deeply.

“Are you sure that’s all it is? And not just that you want to get as far away from me and Angelica as possible?”

“Angelica?” she gasped with a tiny smile.

“You named her Angelica?”

“Angelica Lily” he nodded.

“I remembered that you liked it and Lily was my Mum’s name”

“Is she ...is she ok?” she stuttered not wanting to show him that she was interested but needing to know.

“She’s perfect” he smiled softly, his heart jumping a little as he realised she wasn’t just going to pretend their baby girl didn’t exist. There was still some hope that she might come round after all.

“She’s such a happy baby Nic and I think she knows that I’m her Dad. She always has this huge smile waiting for me an-”

“Are you sure it’s not just wind?” she burst his bubble instantly. She didn’t want to but she couldn’t cope with this, she couldn’t watch him almost explode with pride over the little girl she had chosen to

walk away from.

“It could be I guess” he admitted.

“But I prefer my interpretation and at least I’m there for her to know who I am Nic. I think she’s a little bit confused about her who her mum is right now. I mean is it Belle or Annie or is it Aden?!” he

snapped, anger bubbling up inside of him.

She could reject their daughter if she wanted but he wasn’t going to let her ruin this for him anymore than she already had.

“Well the amount of hair product Aden uses in the morning it’s understandable that she’d be confused” she joked lamely, guilt surging through her as she saw the hurt in his eyes.

“It’s not too late Nic” he whispered softly, the hurt he conveyed intermingling with hope and desire.

“You can still be her Mum. You’d be a great Mum”

“Geoff, I-”

“I’m not asking you to have her live with you” he interrupted in a hurry.

“Or to marry me or anything silly like that because I think we’ve established that you don’t want me but I think you want her even if you won’t admit it. Just please come and see her, spend some time

with her, be her mum”

“Until when?” she whispered, tears welling up and stinging her eyes which were already tinged with a permanent sadness.

“Until you realise that this is all too much and you want to give her up for adoption too? Because that’s what is going to happen Geoff and if I’ve bonded with her then it’s just going to be a million times

harder. I didn’t name her, I didn’t want to know her name and I don’t want to see her again because if I do I will want to keep her, I’ll want her to be mine forever and then I’ll just screw up her life like

I’ve screwed up my own!”

He didn’t know what it was, whether it was the heartbreak in her voice, the guilt in her eyes or the sadness pouring out of her entire being that made him do it. But in that moment all he wanted was to

fix her, to make everything better, to see her smile again.

So he did the first thing he could think of.

Taking her face gently within his hands, he kissed her.

Soft, slow and gentle.

He parted her lips with his tongue as she stilled in his grasp, making no move to respond.

He pulled back slowly, her big blue eyes locking with his.

Her heart thudded against her chest as stared at him, a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

Her lips kicked up into a tiny smile before her head tilted slowly forward and he smiled

“Nice try Geoff” she whispered, her lips so close to his that he could taste her breath warm and sweet as honey.

“What?”

“Catching me off guard. Reminding me of the parts of our relationship that did actually work. The bits I miss like kissing you and laughing with you. The things that weren’t enough then and still aren’t

enough now. I don’t want to play mummies and daddies with you Geoff and a kiss isn’t going to change that” she told him adamantly before adding in a whisper.

“No matter how good it was”

“Nicole!” he sighed but she was already walking away from him towards Mr Bartlett who had witnessed his public display of affection towards the blonde school captain and was looking very unimpressed.

As she approached the principal, who had already requested a meeting with her later that day no doubt to discuss the shame she had brought on the school having a baby out of wedlock and then

abandoning it, she worked free the gold pin attached to her uniform and placed it in his hand.

“Saving you the trouble!” she announced dramatically before turning on her heels and flouncing into her next class, her blonde tresses bouncing behind her.

“Perth?” Trey questioned as she flopped down into the seat next to him and he peered at the prospectus she had dumped on her desk with an almighty thud.

“Yep” she nodded with a telling glance up at Geoff as he entered the room.

“It’s my first choice”

***

“Boy am I glad that day is over!” she announced storming into the house, kicking off her heels and plonking her bag at the bottom of the stairs.

“Nice obstacle course you’re creating for Roman there” Aden noted and guiltily she retrieved the bag and shoes and placed them where her Dad wouldn’t fall over them.

“What?” she questioned suspiciously as Aden eyed her nervously.

“I want to talk to you...about Angelica... the baby”

“Not you as well!” she exclaimed in frustration.

“Why won’t people take the hint? If it’s not you or Dad or Annie trying to talk me around it’s Geoff kissing me in the hall at school!”

“Geoff kissed you?” Aden smirked as Nicole’s face turned a bright shade of lobster and he instantly knew how angry she was over Geoff’s tactics.

“Yes! I don’t think he realises that it was kissing him that got me in this mess in the first place”

“Princess, I think you need to realise it was a lot more than kissing or you’re going to flunk biology” Aden chuckled and Nicole’s face became even redder as heat rose within her.

“Oh shut up!” she moaned unable to think of a wittier retort she was so angry in that moment,

“And I mean about everything! I don’t want to hear about the baby. I’m not her mother, I walked away! I don’t want to know anything about her!”

“Then you’d better not go in there!” Aden hurriedly shouted after her realising how much of a mistake he’d made too late as Nicole flounced into the kitchen to find Belle sat at the kitchen table, cradling

Angelica in her arms.

“I don’t believe this!” Nicole yelled as Aden followed her, hovering in the doorway so she had no way out, causing her to pace around the kitchen in a ball of rage.

“Why won’t anyone listen to me?!” she cried, her voice raspy and breaking as she finally came to a standstill, tears beginning to stream down her blushered cheeks as she gazed at her baby girl.

“I love her ok?! There I said it! I love her! And I’m trying to do what I think is right for her but no one will let me! I don’t want to see her or to hear about her because it makes it a million times harder

and it’s hard enough already. I’m not sleeping, I’m hardly eating, I can’t think of a witty putdown to save my life and it’s all because no one will listen to me and just accept that this is what I want!”

“I’m sorry, this was a bad idea” Aden sighed softly, reaching out gently to comfort her.

“We just thought that if we could get you to spend some time with her the-”

“Then I’d change my mind? That I’d fall in love with her and never want to let her go again?”

“Well yeah” he shrugged realising how stupid it sounded when she said it out loud.

“I fell in love with her the same day I decided that it would be better for her to have a mother who wasn’t me guys. That was the hardest decision I have ever had to make but I know it’s the right one. I

keep saying it over and over but it’s like I’ve lost my voice and no one can hear me!”

“Hey!” Aden whispered soothingly as she broke down and sobbed into his chest, her warm tears leaving a wet patch on his grey t-shirt.

“And please stop letting Geoff dress her!” she exclaimed deadly serious as she turned to look at her daughter once more.

“Red and green? Christmas was months ago!”

Aden and Belle couldn’t help but laugh as Nicole sniffled and struggled to wipe away her tears which were being constantly replenished.

“Oh and it gets better!” she exclaimed as she caught sight of the pacifier Belle clutched in her hand.

“Orange?! She’s not a set of traffic lights!”

“There’s a pink romper suit and matching booties in her bag I think” Belle smiled gesturing towards the spotted changing bag looped over the pram handle.

“You could change her if you want?”

“Not helping Belle”

“Sorry”

“I guess you hate me for this huh?” Nicole sighed, still clutching onto Aden slightly.

“You ran away from your adoptive parents and here I am wanting my daughter to be adopted”

“Don’t be ridiculous I don’t hate you” Belle smiled softly as she popped open the buttons on Angelica’s baby grow and reached into the bag for the pink one she intended to replace it with.

“I understand why you decided what you did and just because adoption didn’t work for me it doesn’t mean there aren’t thousands of adopted children who are happy and content with the families they’re

placed with. But she’s not going to be adopted Nicole, she’s here in the Bay and right now she doesn’t have a mother. Just a Dad who despite his best efforts and his heart of gold really doesn’t have a

clue what he’s doing” she laughed as she slipped on the new romper suit and clicked the buttons into place.

“There we go beautiful” she smiled down at the gorgeous little girl in her arms.

“Now you’re just as pretty and stylish as your mummy aren’t you precious?”

“She doesn’t have a mummy” Nicole whispered quietly.

“You just said so yourself”

“Poor you sweetheart” Belle grinned half at Angelica and half at Nicole.

“You’re just going to have to make do with Uncle Aden aren’t you? And I don’t think he looks as good in a dress”

“That’s the last time I put on a fashion show for you!” Aden quipped and a tiny laugh escaped over Nicole’s glossy lips.

“Just stay away from my underwear drawer” she ginned cheekily.

“How about you stay away from her underwear completely?” Belle snapped slightly defensively at Nicole’s remark.

“That was a mistake” Nicole told Belle sincerely.

“A big one”

“I told her that already” Aden arched his eyebrows slightly annoyed that Belle was back to that again. He’d really thought they were moving past all that.

“But I haven’t and she probably needs to hear it from me just as much as from you. I’m sorry about what happened, I knew Aden still had feelings for you and I chose to ignore them. I shouldn’t have

done that. I’m not interested in Aden like that Belle and he definitely doesn’t want me, he’s made that clear believe me!”

“Were just friends” Belle replied with a shrug as she feigned nonchalance when in reality it mattered to her what they were to each other. It mattered a lot.

“Right” Nicole nodded, biting her lower lip as though struggling not to say more. It didn’t last long.

“And how’s that going for you?” she asked looking from one to the other.

“Ross?...Rachel?”

“Oh you’re so droll” Belle stated clearly not amused as Aden laughed.

“Yeah we’re at least Carrie and Big”

“Aden, I’ve seen it remember?” Nicole cackled, throwing her head back in amusement before ordering them to stay exactly where they were and rushing out of the room.

“Well I’m going to go before she locks us in here in some feeble attempt to get us back together” Belle smiled weakly rising from her chair and wrapping Angelica back up inside the swaddle of blankets

nestled inside her pram.

His hand slipped over hers as she grasped the pram handle.

“Is it such an unrealistic a prospect?” he questioned hopefully as her big brown eyes lifted to meet his gaze.

“Aden, I d-“

“It’s not like either of us is seeing anyone else and what exactly are we doing here? We spend pretty much all of our time together on the pretence that we’re friends Belle when in reality I want it to be

more and I think you do too”

“I can’t” she sighed deeply shaking her head regretfully.

“Why not Belle?” he asked quietly.

“It would just be exactly the same between us as it is now...except there’d be some kissing and some other fun stuff” he flashed a tiny grin at her.

“If this is about Nicole still, what she just said was true I swear”

“I know! This isn’t about Nicole, it’s about me Aden. I can’t deal with a relationship right now but when I can you’ll be the first person on my list I swear”

“You’ve got a list?” he smiled teasingly her words having warmed his heart.

“Yeah” she grinned back at him.

“There’s you and Geoff and I thought I might give Mr Stewart a go one day too”

“Well he is a legend” Aden laughed.

“Everyone wants to date a legend at least once in their life”

“Well of course” she smiled before becoming serious once more.

“I just need to be me right now Aden. Just me, just Belle not Belle and whoever she’s dating this week. And if you can’t handle just being friends the-“

“I can handle it” he interrupted, reaching forward to push a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.

“Then keep your hands to yourself mister!” she scolded playfully.

“I love you and I’ll be anything you want or need Belle because the thought of the alternative, of not having you in my life at all, well it kills me”

She gulped nervously as he watched her intensely for any sort of response just as Nicole came bounding back into the room.

“My Dad gave me this” she announced as she handed Belle a small, white fluffy bear with a pink nose and pink velvet ears.

“When he was abandoning me to join the SAS. He came to say goodbye and he gave me that. And for 16 years that was all I ever knew of him. I want her to have it” she smiled softly.

“Who knows in another 18 years or so she might be passing it on to her illegitimate daughter too, keeping up with family tradition and all that”

“Nic” Aden sighed seeing the pain in her eyes.

“I’m ok but can one or both of you just take her away and not bring her back here again please?”

“We were just going” Belle smiled weakly as Aden bent down and tickled the happy little girl who was oblivious to what was really going on around her.

“See ya rugrat” he smiled just as Nicole gently took her daughter’s tiny hand within her own and with a forced smile, amidst a haze of tears bid her daughter goodbye once more.

“Goodbye baby girl, never forget that your mummy loved you”

***

Her heart thudded as she pushed Angelica’s pram up the path and spotted the jiffy bag bearing her name in bold, red, capital letters propped up against the back door. She knew instantly what was inside and who had sent it to her. She knew she didn’t need the contents of the padded envelope but she wasn’t sure whether she wanted it or not. Bending down to pick it up she sighed deeply as the tiny pellets inside rubbed against her fingertips, the familiar rush of relief she used to experience when she’d managed to secure another fix surging through her once more.

Hurriedly she slotted her key in the door and turned it in the lock before pushing the pram into the lounge. Angelica was fast asleep, tiny puffs of air intermittently slipping over her full lips as she snuggled inside her warm blankets. Ripping open the envelope Belle yanked out the packet of pills and stormed into the bathroom.

She flipped up the toilet lid, her hand hovering in mid air above it, clutching the pills and preparing to flush them away.

She wanted to do it. To feel recovered and empowered by her actions. But something was stopping her. A niggling feeling inside that she might need them again, that no matter how much she wanted to get through this she wouldn’t be able to do it. She could just keep them as a safety blanket couldn’t she? She never actually had to take them did she? Who would she be hurting if she just stuffed them in a drawer.

She groaned as her own thoughts truly registered with her. She would be hurting Geoff and Annie and Angelica and Aden. But most of all she would be hurting herself. She had to beat this for herself before anything would ever be the same with the people she loved again. She ripped open the transparent plastic and tipped the bag upside down allowing the contents to cascade down the toilet before

she flushed them away and smiled in satisfaction.

Feeling a tiny hint of pride in herself for the first time in a long time she pushed open her bedroom door only to find him lounged on her bed as if it was his own.

“Liam?!” she gasped, a mixture of shock and horror. He was meant to be in rehab and there he was, a rockstar as large as life laid out on her fluffy doona.

“What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

“Climbed through your window” he shrugged nonchalantly as if he climbed through girl’s windows every day. She laughed slightly as she realised he probably did.

“Don’t do that again” she snapped abruptly.

“What? It’s just a window Belle calm down”

“Just don’t do it again ok? We have doors that function perfectly well here, use them”

“I just didn’t want to draw attention to myself in case the press were staking you out looking for me”

“Yes because a man at my front door would be so much less inconspicuous than one climbing through my bedroom window wouldn’t he?!”

“You’ve got a point there” he laughed softly.

“What are you doing here anyway?”

“Well” he sighed scanning the empty envelope hanging from her left hand and producing an almost identical one from his pocket, only his wasn't empty, and plonking it down on the bed in front of him.

“Snap”

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.