Just When I'd Given Up Dreaming

[bennyboy19]

Story Title: Just When I’d Given Up Dreaming

Type of story: Medium/Long Fic

Main Characters: Aden, Geoff, Annie, other cast, and my own characters.

BTTB rating: T

Genre: Drama, Romance, Angst, Tragedy

Does story includes spoilers: Yes

Any warnings: Warnings will be given before relevant chapters.

Summary: Following the death of a loved one, the town grieves as new chapters begin.

Chapter One

Everything had become darker since she left him. Truth be told, he believed nothing would ever be the same. The places he had come to call his home seemed distant and he felt like a stranger, even within his own home. Aden Jefferies moved with time, not wanting to stop, to left himself feel, if he did that he would be admitting his numbness, his pain, the sorrow which he knew was slowly consuming him whole.

The waves crashed along the shore, before slowly ebbing. He would sit in the sand, close his eyes and think of her. The woman who changed his life, the woman who had given him a chance of life. Yet now she was gone, and his heart felt fragile, it was already cracking, and ready to fall to pieces. He fought back the tears constantly, fighting back the urge to show any weakness. His father and grandfather had told him never to show his emotions, some old habits never do seem to die.

Annie Campbell, young, naive and lovable took a place beside him, and did not say a single word. Instead, she placed her head on his shoulder, and together, they sat in complete silence, watching the waves, rolling in and taken away, like life, like sweet, fragile life.

‘I don’t think I can do it anymore.’ He murmured; his eyes looking out at the horizon, as the sun set along the skin of the water, splaying the sky with beautiful oranges and pinks. ‘Every time I try and get by, I see her. I can still hear her voice. I can’t... I can’t do it.’

Annie stands, wiping away the tears from her eyes. She offers Aden a hand, to which he accepts. He cannot bear to deny Annie, not after everything she had done for him. Her and her brother Geoff, to whom he had never seen eye to eye with, had become the closest thing he had ever had to a best friend following Belle’s death, or at least, that is how he truly felt, despite the muddled nature of his mind.

‘Let’s go have lunch.’ Annie says, entwining her hand within Aden’s, as if leading him away. Behind them, the beach roars on, and within the multitude of noises, Aden can still hear her, can still feel her.

***

Sitting alone in the diner, Aden watches Annie at the front desk, talking with Irene. They both look at him, with ‘that’ face. He feels ashamed, yet none of that matters for the pain in his chest hurts more than living. Taking his phone from his pocket, he dials Belle’s number, and listens to her voicemail message. He hangs up, before redialling, listening to her soothing voice, knowing it would be the last time he would ever hear it.

Geoff Campbell enters the diner, instantly spotting his sister. The two discuss something, their voices on whispers as Aden looks on. Geoff, turning to Aden, sits across from him, not saying a thing, lost for words. They had known that this would be difficult. She was the glue which held them all together. She was everything to them, and now, she had left them with a huge, gaping hole. Geoff places his hands on Aden’s, and the two look deeply at each other. Each was thinking the same thing. Nothing would ever be the same again, yet they had to try. If not for them, then for Belle.

***

‘Hey, you’ve reached Belle; sorry I can’t get to the phone right now. Leave a message, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Bye!’ He clicked his phone again, burying his head into his pillow, before screaming. Resurfacing, he saw Nicole, standing in the doorway, watching him, tears rolling down her cheek. He jumps up, and sits at the edge of his bed, biting his lip.

‘It’s okay.’ She whispers, opening the door and sitting beside him. ‘Aden, I need to tell you something.’

He looks at her, puzzled. In her hands, she is holding a yellow envelope, on the flat side, it simply says “Aden”. She hands it to him, and stands, walking to the door. ‘Belle gave this to me before... she told me to give it to you.’

Aden looks up at her confused, and nods slightly. Staring at the envelope, a swell of emotion takes him, and once again, he feels as though he is drowning, being taken by the tide. Opening the seal, and takes out a single sheet of lined paper. Unfolding it, he sees Belle’s handwriting, and places a hand over his mouth to stop the shock and onslaught of tears.

“To my dearest Aden.

I never imagined in my entire life that I would ever have to sum up my feelings for you in a letter like this. God knows if it will make any sense. I should probably stop rambling and get to the point, shouldn’t I? I know you’d be laughing at me right now. Stop it! Anyway, I just needed to tell you something important. Know now that even if I may not be able to say I love you tomorrow, you should know that even in death, my heart will beat only for you. I have tried to be brave, I have tried not to make you worry so much but I know that no matter what I do, you’ll always be the same Aden Jefferies I fell in love with. Love me for the rest of your life, yet don’t grieve for me for all of eternity. You’re a great catch Mr Jefferies, and out there, I know there’ll be another that’ll fall in love with you, just as I did. She probably won’t be as pretty as me, I mean, come on! Joking. Anyway, please, though my life is ending, yours is only just beginning. You still have your friends, your dreams. Don’t lose them because you have lost me, because, I’ll tell you know, you’ll never lose me. I’ll always be around. I’ll be haunting you! Boo! Okay, I’m tired, and running out of paper! I love you Aden. I really do. For always.

Xoxo.”

In the space of an hour Aden Jefferies had read the letter a total of six times. Relishing in the words and the beauty that was Belle Taylor, and the prospect of his future. How could he go on without her by his side? It just didn’t seem possible. He couldn’t.

Could he?

------

Hope you liked, will add more soon.

[LAURZY!]

Wow......

I'm in tears! That was so good, the emotion was spot on

Cannot wait to read more

[Adelle_fan1000]

Oh Wow! that was just.... AMAZING!!

you wrote that so well..

Looking forward to the next chapter

[Taniya_K]

Ok, so that's got to be the first ever time that I've had tears in my eyes with a first chapter. Just so... wow! Like, really, wow. You captured Aden, and the others, so perfectly. I could totally imagine them acting like this after Belle's death.

Her letter was so sweet and sad. But so true, and something that she would do too. Loved it.

Aden calling her phone just to hear her voice was too sad.

Cannot wait for more! I wonder what he'll do now...

xoxo

[tessalove]

That was really great, it was so sad!!

it was so real, i could see it hapening like this in the show!

great start!!

eX

[Louise_2983]

Awww! I'm crying, that letter was so sad

[bennyboy19]

Chapter Two

He kicked the ball and watched it as it flew past the goal posts. The crowd jumps from their seats, roaring and clapping, holding their breath as Aden Jefferies kicks the winning point. Breathing heavily, sweat dripping from his brow, he looks into the stand and sees her. Smiling, and clapping, tears roll from her eyes and at last he feels as though he can finally accept the truth.

Playing football was the only thing he could do to keep his mind of her. On the field, nothing else mattered but winning. It was, in a way, the perfect distraction.

Eight months had rolled past, and with it, the tragedy of Belle Taylor’s death had only just begun to settle. Still, Aden saw her face every day. It would be only momentary, yet just that glimpse of what he used to have and hold, became everything he would cling to, and hopefully, he would manage to live another day.

He returned to the flat he had been renting, entering to find Nicole and Ruby sitting on the sofa watching the TV. Without saying anything, he walks past them, entering the kitchen to where he takes out a beer from the fridge, and drinks it, hands shaking. It had been like this, a monotonous cycle. It was the only true way he knew how to get by. It was the only way he knew how to numb the pain. On the fridge, a post-it note read: “Liam rang, call him back.”

He sighs, before picking up the phone and dialling Liam’s number. It’s engaged. He hangs up, and stares at the phone. Should he dial her number? Just to hear her voice once again? He sniffled; Irene would have disconnected the number by now. It was pointless. Trudging into his bedroom, he collapsed onto his bed, before looking to the bedside table. A picture of him and Belle sit, smiling back at him. A picture of happier times.

An hour later, Nicole enters, silently sitting beside him and running her hand through his hair. She then lay beside him, holding him.

‘We’re all going out later.’ She kisses his shoulder. ‘You need to come. We want you to come.’

Aden rolls his eyes and accepts. There is no way he can fight it now.

[Red Ranger 1]

I like this, you're doing a really good job of capturing the character.Looking forward to more.

[Inactive User]

Wow loved it. You did well writing this story capturing everyone's emoticons and feelings. Update soon please

[bennyboy19]

There you go

----

Chapter Three

The beach was bustling with people, many of which Aden recognised, whilst others were probably just some teens who lived around the Bay. Jai and Xavier sat on a long in front of a fire, laughing and joking. Ruby, who was sitting by them, noticed Aden and Nicole descending the slopes, and raced to meet them. Aden looked away. He really wasn’t in the mood for a party. Geoff, silently from the darkness, approached, handing Aden a beer, which he accepted thankfully.

‘Glad you came mate.’ He patted Aden on the back, and Aden drank, nodding slowly.

Nicole looked at Geoff, then behind him, to where stood Claudia, looking embarrassed and out of place. ‘How are things with Claudia?’

‘Great.’ Geoff looks back, then back towards his ex. ‘Never better.’

‘Glad to hear it.’ Nicole replies, almost too sarcastically as she links her arm around Aden’s and moves him back to Jai and Xavier. Aden looks towards Geoff and Claudia, and waves slightly as Claudia raises her drink.

Time passed on, and the party grew wilder with each hour. Aden walked to the water’s edge, away from the crowd, listening to the music blaring in the background. This was the spot. Where he first noticed the avid, beautiful photographer that was Belle, taking pictures of him emerging from the water. He smiled at last, remembering the moment in which he caught her out. Hands wrapped around his chest, gliding down before he turned quickly to see a young woman, dancing, pulling him away. Her short brown hair swung in the darkness, a green streak glistened by firelight. She laughed, before grabbing his hands.

‘Come.’ She says, dragging him away from the party. Without hesitating, he follows. They walk for several minutes, not once speaking. They reached the headland before the girl stopped, opened her arms and smelt the air. She turned to him, and laughed, breaking the sudden silence and noise of crickets chirping.

‘Who are you?’ He murmured as she ran her finger down his face.

‘I am who you wish me to be.’ She laughed, placing her finger on his lips. ‘Come, we’re going to have some fun. That party was such a drag.’

Aden looks back to the beach, noticing the fire burning, and only just making out his friends, laughing and frolicking amongst the water, sending sprays at each other. He smiled, before noticing the girl had walked to the edge of the headland, the cliff face overlooking the ocean swell below. Fear rose in his gut, as he raced to stop the girl as she grew nearer to the edge. She had removed her shirt, and was now only wearing a black bikini top and white shorts.

‘What are you doing?’ He screamed, grabbing her by the arm. ‘Are you crazy?’

‘Maybe.’ She agreed, before kissing him on the cheek. ‘Sometimes you have to be crazy. It’s the only way to know if you’re still alive.’

Aden looked to the crashing waves below. The girl held his hand.

‘Do it.’ She moved in closer and whispered in his ear. ‘Are you alive Aden? Because that sorrow that you feel has eaten at you. It’s growing, and it won’t stop. Not now. Live Aden. Jump.’

Aden nodded, before inhaling deeply. He tightened his hold on the girl’s hand, before the two leapt off the cliff, plummeting down into the darkness below. Aden’s world went black, and for once, he finally felt at peace. The water surrounded him, entering his lungs as he fell deeper. A gash in his leg bled profusely as he attempted to swim to the surface, yet the girl dragged him down, pulling him under. His thoughts once again returned to Belle. Live Aden. It’s the only way you know you’re alive.

***

Nicole rang his mobile, rushing from one end of the beach to another. Still, there was no answer. Putting her phone back into her pocket, she cursed, before turning to Geoff and the others.

‘He won’t answer his phone.’

‘Don’t worry. He’s probably just gone back to his place.’ Geoff offers, looking at Claudia. ‘We better go check though. Annie, Jai, start looking down that end of the beach, Nicole, Ruby, and Xavier can take headland. Call if anyone finds him.’

Nicole nods, placing her hand on her head. ‘God Geoff! I’m really scared!’

Geoff placed his arm around Nicole. ‘It’ll be okay. We’ll find him.’

Claudia looked on, noticing the glint in Geoff’s eyes as he embraced his ex. She turned, announcing that she’d look at the surf club, walking away into the shadows.

‘We’ll find him.’ He whispered again. ‘We will.’