Free Fallin'

[MizzyBee123]

Story Title: “Free Fallin'”

Type of story: Short/Medium Fic

Main Characters: Centred more on friendship and relationship of Geoff & Nicole + Ruby, Xavier, Trey, Claudia

BTTB rating: A

Genre: Romance, Drama

Does story include spoilers: No

Any warnings: Mild sexual content

Summary: Geoff and Nicole are friends, Nicole’s with Trey and Geoff’s with Claudia, though unexpected events threaten the relationships and friendships for all.

CHAPTER 1

Nicole and Trey had been dating for four months now. Sure, they had their arguments, just like any other couple but they had fun and excitement to keep their relationship alive. They both loved each other, though they found it hard to actually say the three words to one another. They saw each other every day and often stayed over at each other’s houses. With Roman gone, Nicole was staying with Miles, which, did cause a problem considering Trey’s past with Kirsty but they’d all learnt to deal with it. Everything had changed now; Trey wasn’t the same idiot he was back then.

Geoff and Claudia had been seeing each other for around 5 months. They’d been through so much together including a miscarriage. Though it was hard time for both of them to go through, in a way it was a blessing in disguise. Geoff had his studies to concentrate on and his footy, and Claudia was too young to be a fulltime mum. They went through a rough and turbulent time but eventually fought their way through it.

The horizon was clear for all to see. The ocean moved in and out as the sun gleamed across the waves, almost blinding each and every person on the beach that day. The sound of the waves roaring into each other disturbed the silence that fell upon the atmosphere. She stood there momentarily admiring the view. She often stood and saw the sight before her but today, today was different. She was different.

Nicole let out a slow but long sigh as she continued to look out onto the beautiful scenery. Her sun glasses blocked the intensity of the sun as she stood there in her bikini top and shorts, her flip-flops in her right hand. She grabbed the towel that lay on the sand beside her and she straightened it out before lying on top of it and closing her eyes in the process. She must have remained still and silent for least ten minutes until she sensed that something felt slightly different. She opened her eyes and to her surprise saw a familiar face looking down on her, a wide smile stretched from ear to ear.

“Hey Nic” Geoff greeted Nicole as he sat down beside her on the sand. Nicole sat up and turned to look towards him.

“Hey, what you doin’ here?” Nicole questioned with a smile, looking around to see if any of the other guys were about.

“Oh, I just came out for a walk. Claudia’s not too happy with me at the moment, I think it’s her time of the month and everything I’m doing lately seems to be wrong. So I’ve come down here for a bit. Didn’t expect to see you though, I thought you and Trey were going to the Yabbie Creek Carnival?!”

“Yeah we are but we decided to go later, anyway I think I’d prefer to go tomorrow, I’m settled down here for now and it’s too hot to do anything else but sunbathe in my opinion!” Nicole told him with a cheeky grin as she turned her face back to in front of her, looking back onto the open ocean. Geoff gave a slight chuckle in agreement with her. Geoff knew it was typical of Nicole to say such a thing. He knew her too well.

“You should come. Tomorrow I mean, with me and Trey. And Xavier and Ruby are gonna come too I think, and obviously Claudia’s open to that invitation too. We could all go. We haven’t spent so much time with each other in ages.” Nicole asked Geoff, hoping he’d say yes. Though they hadn’t been together in ages, and didn’t see much of each other anymore, she still very much valued his friendship. That was what she had always liked about him, that he was always there, even if she was being a complete cow, he’d understand. Like when Roman was blind, and when he was arrested, Geoff had called on her to make sure she was okay and was coping with everything. He was her shoulder to cry on in times of need, he was her soul mate really, even if he or she didn’t realise it.

“Yeah that sounds good, I’ll ask Claudia, though I’m sure she’ll be up for it” he replied, smiling as he too looked out onto the ocean. Both of them sat facing forwards, Nicole with a concerned look on her face as Geoff glanced over to her, noticing that there was something up. They sat there for a few minutes until Geoff finally broke the silence.

“Nic, are you okay, you seem well...different...quiet” he questioned with concern, his forehead wrinkled as he awaited an answer.

“Um, yeah I’m fine” she replied, quite obvious in avoiding eye contact with him. She looked down as she played with the sand, allowing the grains to flow between her finger tips. Geoff may be a guy but he understood when Nicole was being less than truthful. She always put up a ridiculous facade in order to disguise her true feelings but Geoff could see right through it. He’d had a lot of practise.

“What’s up?...” he asked ”...you know you can tell me, Nic” he looked directly at her though she still continued to look down towards the sand. She hesitated before looking back at him, her face sullen as her eyes slowly began to fill up with tears.

“I think...I’m pregnant” Nicole blurted out, unsure of how Geoff would react. Geoff just looked at her, not really expressing any form of emotion.

“Does Trey know?” Geoff asked nervously. Nicole shook her head and continued to look Geoff in the eye. She wanted him to at least give her some kind of signal as to what he thought. He swallowed hard then looked out over the ocean once again.

“Okay, err, well have you taken a test?” he asked softly, turning his head back towards Nicole. She stayed silent, shaking her head once again but this time a tear rolled down the front of her cheek as she felt herself getting more and more upset.

Geoff moved his body closer to Nicole’s as he put his arm around her pulling her in towards him as he comforted her in his embrace.

“It’ll be okay. I’ll come with you, we’ll do a test. It gonna be okay” Geoff reassured Nicole as she broke down in his arms. “Sssshh”. He rubbed her shoulder.

In the distance, Trey stood leaning against the wooden fence at the very top of the beach. He could see Geoff and Nicole sat on the sand, Geoff holding Nicole. He looked on in anger, his fists itching to react. He paused for a bit until it was too much and he stormed off, away from the beach.

[MizzyBee123]

CHAPTER 2

Claudia had just finished tidying up the living room and started on the kitchen when Geoff got back from the beach. As he passed through the back door into the kitchen, he could sense a tense atmosphere. Reluctant to cause any more arguments between them he started with a soft ‘hello’. No response. Claudia knew he was there but chose to carry on putting the breakfast cereals into the cupboard before turning on the tap to fill up the sink. Geoff looked around, not quite sure of what he was to do.

“Erm, Claudia can we talk?” he asked nervously, trying to avoid any animosity between them.

“What about?” Claudia replied very bluntly.

“Well, what exactly is it I’ve done?” Geoff questioned still very much clueless as to why Claudia was acting the way she was.

“You know exactly what you’ve done” Claudia snapped turning to face Geoff.

“No I don’t” Geoff protested innocently, trying to think of anything he could have possibly done to make her so angry with him.

“Well let’s start with the visit I just got from Trey” She stated as she tried to enlighten Geoff on what it was that was really bothering her.

“Trey? Why was he here?” Geoff asked, wondering where this was going to lead.

“He came to let me know he’d just seen my boyfriend on the beach with his girlfriend and they looked a lot more than just friends.” Claudia told him as she awaited his reaction.

“Oh, not this again” Geoff sighed, frustrated that his friendship with Nicole was once again an issue between him and Claudia.

“What do you mean ‘this’ again, is there something going on with you and Nicole?” Claudia awaited his answer in anticipation. Though deep down she knew Geoff wasn’t the cheating type of guy, she still had her doubts about him and about their entire relationship. She knew all about his history with Nicole and she still felt threatened by it even after months of being with him.

“What? No! I’m sick and tired of this jealousy Claudia, I told you Nicole means a lot to me but she’s my friend, you’re my girlfriend! You’re acting like a complete child” Geoff spat angrily. He felt like everyone condemned him just for being a nice guy. He couldn’t ever do the right thing.

“Oh so I’m a child now? When my boyfriends blatantly cosying up to his ex girlfriend on the beach” Claudia continued her accusation.

“She was upset what was I meant to do, say ‘see you later’ and leave? I couldn’t leave her in the state she was in... and if Trey was any kind of boyfriend he’d...” Geoff stopped, not wanting to disperse any more information.

“He’d what?” Claudia questioned intrigued as to where Geoff was going with the conversation.

“Doesn’t matter...” Geoff backed away from what he was about to say. He continued to look directly at Claudia

“Why was she sooo upset?” Claudia asked sarcastically. Geoff looked at her, his anger had simmered and he chose just to walk away. He couldn’t talk to her when she was in this mood. He walked over to the fridge, took out a bottle of water and walked back out of the door. Claudia watched as he did this, she could feel tears forming in her eyes as she slammed her hand down on the wooden work top in frustration.

Ruby and Xavier were walking into the diner, when they found Geoff sitting on his own at one of the tables. He had a milkshake but it seemed it was untouched. He’d sat for the best part of an hour with it, simply stirring it with his straw. Ruby nudged Xavier and they walked over to Geoff.

“Hey” Ruby smiled as they approached Geoff. He was completely oblivious to their presence at first until Ruby waved her hand in front of his face.

“Oh hey guys” Geoff said as he forced a smile. The carrie don looking down to his milkshake.

“Hey Xav, could you get me a shake? Strawberry please!” she said sweetly and signalled for Xavier to leave so that she could speak to Geoff alone. Xavier took the hint and left as he wandered over to the counter where a flustered Colleen stood counting her orders.

“What’s up Geoff?...” Ruby asked sensitively. Geoff looked up at her reluctant to say anything.”C’mon it’s me” she finished.

“It’s Claudia...again” he muttered whilst continuing to stir his shake with his straw.

“Another argument?” Ruby asked expecting a positive answer. Geoff nodded, his face so glum.

“I’m sick of the same old accusation that there’s something going on between Nicole and I. We’re friends and that’s it. I wish Claudia would just accept it and move on. Trey saw me and Nicole down on the beach and she was upset so I was comforting her...and then he went and told Claudia and so now she thinks something’s going on”

“Why was Nicole crying?” Ruby questioned, surprised to hear that Nicole was upset.

“She’ll tell you in her own time. Maybe you should check on her though cos she was pretty upset earlier. She’ll be glad to see you” Geoff told Ruby, still very concerned about Nicole and the situation she was in.

“Okay, I’ll stop by in a bit. Look as long as you know there’s nothing going on and you are totally honest with yourself and Claudia, then I’m sure everything will sort itself out in no time. Just give Claudia some space for a bit, she’ll come round” Ruby said with a reassuring smile whilst she gently rubbed Geoff’s forearm in the process. Geoff smiled back signalling his thanks to her before she stood up and walked back over to Xavier to get her drink.

“See ya, Geoff” Ruby exclaimed and then her and Xavier left, hand in hand. Geoff wondered what he should do next. Should he go and see if Nicole was okay? Or should he see Claudia first? Or even Trey, seeing as he had the completely wrong idea about him and Nicole earlier. He couldn’t decide and so remained in his seat for a further hour or so until he finally made a decision.

Nicole was in the porch area of the house alone. Kirsty and Miles were at Yabbie Creek for the day with Ollie and Jai and Alf had left early that morning. She had the house to herself which suited her fine she had a lot to think about. Suddenly Trey appeared and sat in the seat next to her. He didn’t say a word just looked at her. Nicole couldn’t even force a smile. She didn’t have the strength. She felt sick.

“What’s going on with you and Geoff?” Trey asked sharply, his face twisted with anger.

“What? Nothing why?” Nicole responded completely confused.

“I saw you. Together. On the beach. He had his arms around you” Trey protested.

“We were just talking” She replied innocently.

“...with his arms around you? Do you think I’m stupid?”, Trey snapped as he stood up, forcing the chair backwards.

“I was upset...he was being nice” Nicole exclaimed slowly rising to her feet so that she was almost level with Trey.

“I don’t believe you, you’ve using me all this time” he snapped back at her “ I was just filling in the time until he decided he wanted to get back with you wasn’t I?!

“What? No! Don’t be stupid! There’s nothing like that between me and Geoff. That all happened ages ago, we’ve both moved on. I’m with you now!” Nicole pleaded as she walked towards Trey and attempted to put her arms around his neck. Trey shrugged off her attempt and stormed away, not believing a word she’d said.

Ruby passed an angry Trey as she walked up to the SB house. She entered onto the porch where she found a distraught Nicole crying into her hands as she sat at the table.

“Nicole, what’s going on?” Ruby was clearly concerned.

“Rubes, it's all a mess! Trey thinks I’m seeing Geoff behind his back but Geoff was only comforting me because...” Nicole sobbed then paused before finishing her sentence, “ ...because I think I’m pregnant!”

Ruby looked at a grief stricken Nicole in shock, not sure of what to say. She wrapped her arms around Nicole and allowed her to sob in her embrace until she started to calm down.

“I take it Trey doesn’t know?” Ruby asked cautiously. Nicole shook her head in response then continued to stare at Ruby as if she wanted to tell her something but the words just couldn’t surface.

“What is it, Nic?” Ruby asked intrigued.

“If...I am...pregnant, I’m not even...sure it is....Trey’s” Nicole confessed before bursting into tears again.

[MizzyBee123]

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN DISTRESSING SCENES FOR SOME

CHAPTER 3

“What do you mean not Trey’s...” Ruby asked then a thought suddenly popped into her head.

“Geoff?” Ruby asked abruptly. She didn’t really believe that it could be Geoff’s but she felt she had to ask. Nicole turned and looked at her, still sobbing.

“No, we wouldn’t...we couldn’t...he’s with Claudia” Nicole mumbled as she fought through her tears.

“Well who?...And when? Nicole this isn’t like you...you don’t cheat” Ruby questioned, suddenly realising how serious the situation was becoming.

“I know but...” Nicole started very distressed. It was obviously a sore subject and she found it hard to get out her words until she made a complete outburst.

“I didn’t have a choice!” she snapped, crying more and more as she broke down, frantically wiping away her tears

“What do you mean didn’t have a choice? You always have a choice...” Ruby asked very confused. Nicole’s stomach churned as she felt the ache in her heart grow and grow. She was going to have to tell somebody soon. She couldn’t take it anymore. This big secret, it was too much for her to handle, too much for her to live with.

“No, I didn’t. Not this time...In the..beginning he...he was really nice...and then I said I had a headache so we went out for some air. He just started...kissing me...then when I said no...he...he wouldn’t stop.” Nicole snivelled, before continuing to explain, “ I tried to get away...but he had hold of my arm. He had hold of it...so tight. He pushed me and then...” Nicole continued to cry uncontrollably, sinking back into Ruby’s arms. Ruby couldn’t believe what she was hearing as she gently stroked the back of Nicole’s head with her hand. What Nicole was saying didn’t make sense to her, it was surreal. She wondered who he was but somehow found it hard to ask the question. Ruby looked down at Nicole, so torn and vulnerable. She’d kept this to herself for God knows how long, how did she miss the signs?! Nicole had always been the happy go lucky type, never let anything get her down and always managed to laugh about something. When did this all stop? When did this thing actually happen? Ruby realised she needed to get some answers. She would have to ask Nicole the dreaded questions. If she didn’t, no one could help.

“Nic, are you saying...that someone....forced you?” Ruby asked gently with caution.

“I couldn’t stop him Ruby, I just couldn’t” Nicole wept, as she lifted her head to look at Ruby once more. Ruby’s eyes filled as the reality of what had happened finally began to sink in.

“OMG, I need to call Charlie. Who was it?” Ruby asked apprehensively, hoping that the name wouldn’t be familiar, a tear running down her cheek.

“I can’t tell you...” Nicole blubbered as she rubbed underneath her eyes again; her mascara ran down both cheeks.

Ruby composed herself and put both hands on each of Nicole’s shoulders, making sure she had her attention,

“Listen to me, yes you can, Nic, he needs to be punished, he can’t go around doing this to girls” Ruby protested, raising her hand in order to catch the single tear that rolled down her left cheek. Her eyes quickly re-filled as she tried her hardest to convince Nicole to divulge the name. Nicole wasn’t sure. She wanted to forget about it, for it all to go away. She’d lived through the nightmare once, she didn’t want to go through it all over again.

“Nic, please. I can help” Ruby pleaded in a final attempt to persuade Nicole to tell. Nicole finally gave in, she hoped it would make the ache go away from inside of her chest. She whispered the name as Ruby looked on in complete shock. She wasn’t expecting it at all.

Ruby cradled Nicole in her arms for what seemed like hours. What should she do? She knew she had to see Charlie and tell her what had happened but was Nicole really strong enough to go through it all, through the questioning, through the inevitable court case that would follow. Sure, earlier that day she’d sat on the beach with Geoff, normal as can be, but by telling Ruby it had opened a completely different door, and Nicole had collapsed by admitting what had happened. Somehow she’d managed to put it to the back of her mind, blame herself and tried to forget about it. But she couldn’t forget about it. She was late, and a baby may be the result of this horrendous ordeal.

“Nic, I need to tell Charlie” Ruby stated very matter of fact.

“You can’t, everyone will find out, everyone will know what went on and how I let him...”

“And they won’t blame you. None of this was your fault. You said no and he didn’t listen” Ruby said with a comforting tone as she rubbed her hand up and down Nicole’s arm.

“Please let me go and see her and...” Ruby asked.

“Don’t leave me by myself” Nicole pleaded, her eyes red and swollen, glowing with fear. The ache in her heart remained deep inside. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn’t get it to go away.

“I’m going to call Trey. He’ll come around while I go see Charlie.” Ruby exclaimed, as she stood up ready to take action.

“But Trey’s angry with me, he won’t listen” Nicole said, certain of Trey’s reaction.

“I’m still gonna call him” and went inside of the house and reached for the phone. It rang and rang until eventually Trey answered. Ruby told him Nicole was upset and she needed him but he simply ended the call. Ruby gave Nicole a blank look. Nicole was crushed. Even her own boyfriend wasn’t there for her when she needed him most. He was meant to say everything would be okay and hold her tight, but he didn’t even want to know. He was so wrapped up in himself he didn’t even consider that there may be a bigger picture. He just ended the call.

“Idiot.” Ruby angrily stated before dialling in another number. “I’m calling Geoff, he’ll stay with you”

“Ruby can’t you just stay and call Charlie” Nicole requested, reluctant to involve Geoff any more than she had to. She’d already confided in him about the possible pregnancy, she didn’t want to burden him with anymore.

“No, she’s on call, up at the farm dealing with the burglary and her phone doesn’t have signal. It’ll be quicker if I just go up there.” Ruby explained, as she waited for an answer on the other end of the phone. After several rings, Geoff picked up the phone. Ruby explained that Nicole was upset and asked if he could come round. He’d said he’d be there soon.

After ten long minutes, Geoff showed up at the back door to the SB house. He knocked lightly on the side of the open door frame, and stuck his head in.

“Hello” he asked into the unknown, as he looked around what seemed to be a deserted house. Nicole and Ruby both emerged from the kitchen and peered around the corner, directly turning to face him.

“Hey” he said softly, looking at Ruby then focussing his attention on Nicole. Nicole was speechless as she looked Geoff in the eye; she didn’t know what to do or what to say. It was too much. Her only reaction was to get away, away from both Ruby and Geoff and the rest of the world. In one sharp turn, she ran upstairs, leaving both Geoff and Ruby in shock in the middle of the big house. Geoff presumed she was still very much upset about the pregnancy. On his way to the SB house, he’d called at the chemist and bought a pregnancy kit. He made a promise that he’d be there for her and he intended to stick to it, whether Claudia or Trey liked it or not.

“I got this...” Geoff told Ruby, unsure of what to say and he raised the paper bag that contained the test. ”...this way we’ll know for sure.”

“Geoff, there’s a bit more to it than that...” Ruby started to explain cautiously as she could imagine what his reaction was going to be. She tried to organise her words as best she could, then she launched into what Nicole had told her. Knowing that he would be very protective over Nicole, Ruby left out the part about the name of the person that was responsible. Instead she stressed how much Nicole needed a friend right now and urged him to go upstairs to see how she was. Geoff was in complete shock. He couldn’t even find any words to say to Ruby in response to what he had just heard. Instead, he nodded as if to say ‘okay’ and then he slowly began to climb the stairs.

[MizzyBee123]

Short update - i know! but ive been working a lot lately in this last week so havent had a chance to properly sit down and write much. I'll hopefully get more of a chance starting monday to write a much longer chapter! =]

CHAPTER 4

Nicole was lying on her bed, sobbing and snivelling into her pillow. She didn’t know what to do next. She wanted to barricade herself in her room forever, and not have to speak to anyone ever again. She was ashamed, though deep down she knew it wasn’t her fault; she still blamed herself for getting into the situation. She should have left and not even spoken to the guy. She wished she hadn’t been so selfish and caused the argument between her and Trey that night. Trey had stormed off and left her there. She should have gone home when Trey left but she didn’t. Instead she was angry and started chatting and flirting with him. At the time, she wanted to get back at Trey but soon she lived to regret it.

Geoff took a deep breath before raising his hand to the door and lightly knocking on it. There was no response. He gently pulled down the door handle and slowly opened the door. As the space widened, he could see Nicole lying on the top of her bed, her face sunken into the pillow. Her body shook as she continued to cry. Geoff slowly closed the door behind him and paced his way toward her bed. As he approached it he stopped, unsure of what to do, then he let instinct take over and he sat on the edge of the bed, and placed a comforting left hand upon Nicole’s right shoulder. He didn’t know what to say to Nicole either. He was still in shock. Never in a million years, did he imagine something this awful to happen to someone he cared about. He felt helpless. There was nothing he could do or say to make Nicole feel better. He wished he could take the pain away but it was impossible. He remained silent and gently squeezing her shoulder, very lightly. Nicole continued to sob for a further few seconds before eventually raising her head and making direct eye contact. The hurt and sadness in his eyes told her that he knew the whole story. The way Geoff looked at her made her let go of all her emotions and without a word, she sank into his arms and gripped him tight.

“I’m sorry Nic...I’m so sorry” Geoff repeated as he held her in his embrace. She was and always had been a big part of his life, and it killed him inside to know that someone had hurt her in such a way. Nicole didn’t verbally respond, she just continued to hold him and they sat there for a while longer until she finally loosened her grip and broke away from the everlasting hug. As she sat back, she wiped away the tears from her eyes. Geoff pulled away the stray bits of hair that were stuck to her face with his finger tips as he struggled to decide what to do or say next.

“Wh...what happened...y..you know it wasn’t your fault, right?” he said in a voice that couldn’t be heard much louder than a whisper. Nicole didn’t say a word, just diverted her eyes and looked around the room. Geoff lifted his hand and placed it under Nicole’s chin then gently moved her head so that she was directly facing him.

“This ISN’T your fault Nic, none of it” Geoff reassured her as he held her close again, pulling her body into his and this time he kissed the top of her head as he closed his eyes in sincerity.

“I bought a pregnancy test before I got here, we could...do it together” Geoff approached the subject with caution. Nicole broke away from his embrace once again, and a faint smile appeared across her face. Geoff reached for her hand and held it in his.

“I won’t be a second, its downstairs.” He said with focus then gently stood up from the bed and made his way towards the door, then he stopped and turned back to face Nicole.

“I’m here for you, Nicole. We all are. Ruby, me, Xavier, Annie, Miles, Kirsty. All of us.” Geoff said softly before leaving the room and heading downstairs. Interestingly, Geoff failed to mention Trey’s name. He knew what Trey was like, and had never really taken to him ever since he tried to split Nicole and him up when they were together. Since then he’d not really had anything to do with him. He was fine about Nicole’s choice to date him, but he would always be protective over Nicole and would often subtly ask her if Trey was behaving himself. It was their little joke, and Nicole would often laugh the question off and tell him to stop being such a tool. As soon as Geoff heard of what Trey had done when told Nicole was upset, he wasn’t surprised. In fact, he expected it. It was the typical selfish type of thing that Trey would do. Geoff’s opinion of Trey sunk even lower than it had been to begin with.

Geoff waited anxiously outside of the bathroom as he waited for Nicole to emerge. He was stood against the wall, staring at the ceiling and gently banging the back of his head against the wall, nervous as to what the pregnancy result may be. He prayed that it would be negative. He thought of Nicole and how she wouldn’t be able to cope with being a mother to a child at this age, and he thought about the child too, and how it would be a constant reminder of the terrible incident that led to its conception. He had flashbacks back to the time they sat on Nicole’s stairs, nervously discussing what may have been if she’d have been pregnant with his child. Going through taking a test again with Nicole brought back all of the memories from their own pregnancy scare. He remembered how terrified he was, so it was unimaginable what Nicole would be going through right now.

Nicole too, prayed that she wasn’t pregnant. After her ordeal, the last thing she wanted was a lifelong reminder of it, though deep, deep inside of her, she always liked the idea of becoming a mother one day, she just didn’t think it would be so soon. When she went through the pregnancy scare with Geoff, it was different. She knew he’d be there and would always stand by her; he was that kind of guy. But this time, though he was there and Ruby, Miles and Kirsty were there too, she still felt that she was alone in all of this. She was the one who had the responsibility of getting herself into this situation, even if it wasn’t by choice but by mere stupidity of trusting a guy she didn’t know at all. If she was pregnant, she didn’t know if she would even keep the baby. She knew what Geoff’s views were on abortion, and well, she wasn’t even sure if she agreed with it herself, but this was one decision she hoped she would never have to make. Would it be selfish of her to get rid of it before it even had a chance to live? After all, this was a baby she was dealing with here, not a choice between pairs of shoes or a variety of lip gloss. She might have a baby growing inside of her and choosing the right thing to do was terrifying, let alone the most confusing thing she had gone through in her life.

The bathroom door slowly opened and a glum Nicole shuffled out onto the landing where Geoff was still waiting. He automatically stood up right, looking at Nicole. She looked back but didn’t say a word. Instead she went back into her bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. She stared down at the small plastic stick that she clutched in her hands. Geoff slowly followed behind and stood in the entrance to the room.

“Two minutes and then I guess we’ll know” she stated, no emotion just fact. Geoff walked over to the bed and sat beside her.

“Okay, two minutes...” Geoff replied nervously, as he too looked down at the stick that was in Nicole’s hand. Her other hand was placed on top of her knee and she lightly rubbed her hand up and down against the material of her jeans as the anticipation started to take its toll. Geoff gradually moved his hand so that it lightly touched the skin on the back of her hand. He placed it down and clasped her hand in his as he smiled in reassurance. Nicole looked up into his eyes where their gaze met and lingered. they didn't say a word to eachother, but they both knew what the other was thinking. Two minutes seemed to last forever.

[MizzyBee123]

I've decided this fic is going to be shorter than intended, theres still a few more chapters but i want to create a happier fic and slightly more light-hearted fic, the gloominess of this has got me down a bit lol Anyway here's the next chapter!

CHAPTER 5

“It’s...negative” a relieved Nicole sighed, her deep blue eyes fixed on Geoff’s. A wide grin slowly spread across his face as he pulled her in towards him and gave her a tender hug.

“That’s good news, its good” Geoff comforted her. They didn’t say another word, both so happy that there wasn’t a permanent result to the nightmare that had occurred. A small smile appeared across Nicole’s face as she clung tightly to Geoff’s torso. Relief was an understatement when describing how she felt at that moment in time, though it still didn’t take away the pain still felt deep inside of her, the pain that was suffocating her from all directions.

There was a faint knock at the bedroom door. Ruby peered around the wooden door frame, followed closely by Charlie and Kirsty. Nicole slowly sat upright, still holding onto Geoff’s arm in an act of protection from the questions that would inevitably be asked. She took a deep breath as Ruby looked at her, as did both Kirsty and Charlie, both with a look of shock on their faces. Cue the awkward silence.

Geoff, Ruby and Kirsty agreed to leave the room whilst Charlie took a statement from Nicole. As they went downstairs, Miles and Jai were stood in the kitchen, awaiting anymore news. Geoff walked over to the sink, picked up a glass from the side and turned on the tap. Jai walked over and stood beside him as the others talked amongst themselves.

“How is she?” Jai asked him, concerned for Nicole. Since she’d moved in, they’d become closer. He couldn’t believe she’d gone through this by herself, and that he hadn’t noticed anything strange in the past few weeks. He should have realised something was up, how could he not?

“Broken...” Geoff replied, staring out of the window as he raised the glass to his lips and gulped the ice cold water. Jai too looked directly out of the window, unable to gather any words in order to reply.

An hour passed and Miles, Kirsty, Ruby, Jai and Geoff were still waiting downstairs. Miles was perched on the side of the sofa with his arm around Kirsty. The entire house was in silence. Geoff couldn’t sit and neither could Ruby or Jai. They paced across the living room, into the kitchen, out into the porch, everywhere. All three questioning themselves how they could let this happen, and how could they let her go through it alone. Why didn’t any of them notice something had been wrong? As Geoff paused in the kitchen, he put both hands down on the wooden surface that stood in the middle of the space and leaned against it. He stared downwards; just thinking to himself. Ruby walked over to him and leaned her back against the same wooden furniture, standing next to Geoff.

“Has she taken the test?” Ruby asked in soft tone, no louder than a whisper. Geoff looked up at her and pushed himself backwards until he was stood upright shuffling his weight back onto his two feet.

“Negative”, he slowly nodded. Ruby drew a sigh of relief as a faint smile coloured her face. Charlie suddenly appeared from the bottom of the stairs, followed by a timid Nicole. As Charlie entered, she took in a deep breath. Nicole walked so far into the room before stopping and staring at the others. Kirsty immediately stood up and walked over to her, hugging her tight. She caressed her hair as she held onto her, tears forming in her piercing brown eyes. Miles too walked over to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Inside, he felt a shade of guilt, though he knew he couldn’t have stopped it from happening, he promised Roman he’d look after her but he’d failed. To some degree, each and everyone standing in that room felt guilt for not being able to protect her. Nicole became so overwhelmed that she found it hard to fight back her tears once again. Her sobs grew and grew until Kirsty edged her towards the couch and they sat down together, Kirsty still holding her. Nicole had tried for days and days to block out the ordeal she’d endured, that being around so many people and being open about what had happened, had caused a delayed reaction. Talking about the rape made her lose all control of her emotions.

Geoff looked on helplessly; a stray tear fell down his left cheek as he frantically tried to wipe it away. He touched Charlie’s arm, and urged her into the kitchen. Ruby turned and noticed this and she too joined them in the kitchen.

“What did she say...when did it happen? I didn’t want to push her for details, she was already in such a state” Geoff whispered hoping to understand the situation a bit better. Charlie divided her attention between both Geoff and Ruby.

“It was three weeks ago, on the Saturday night.” Charlie stated, followed by a sigh.

“And...Who was it?” Geoff questioned, desperate to know who it was that was responsible. He could feel the anger building up inside of him. Charlie looked at Ruby, not sure whether she should tell Geoff the name. Ruby decided she would have to be the one to be honest with him, though she was nervous as to what the reaction would be. She figured he’d probably find out soon anyway and so she too sighed, ready to tell him.

“Geoff, promise me you won’t go around there, fists in the air...” Ruby began before being interrupted.

“You knew?” he asked in surprise, slightly annoyed that Ruby had kept it from him.

“Yes...but at the time, Nicole needed you, I couldn’t tell you otherwise you’d be too angry and Nicole would have been caused more pain than she already has been”

“Who was it?” Geoff asked sharp wanting Ruby to stop her excuses and to just tell him outright.

“It was...” Ruby glanced over to Charlie then back to Geoff. “Lachie”

Geoff’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He looked over at Nicole who was still crying, and then he looked back at Ruby. He could feel the tension rising up inside of him, the anger consuming him from head to toe. Without a word, he stormed out of the back door and out of sight. Ruby ran outside and onto the porch behind him, before stopping and shouting.

“Geoff, don’t!” she yelled, helpless to do anything to restrain him. Charlie had followed Ruby, quickly moved passed her and went after Geoff. Within seconds both of them disappeared into the distance. Ruby looked on, wondering whether she had done the right thing.

As Geoff hurriedly walked across the top of the beach towards the Surf Club, an irate Trey was coming out of the door.

“Geoff, I want to talk to you” Trey shouted as he walked towards Geoff, squaring up to him in the process.

“I am not in the mood, Trey” Geoff responded angrily, trying to ignore him and walk past.

“Well that’s just too bad ‘cos I am, what the hell do you think you’re playing at? Did you get too tired of Claudia so you moved back onto Nicole, is that it?” Trey spat as he forcefully shoved Geoff backwards. Geoff refrained from retaliating. In that moment in time, Trey wasn’t the one he’d come to confront, yeah he thought he was pathetic and gutless for the way he’d treated Nicole earlier but right now he wanted to find Lachie, and fast.

“Trey, just get lost” Geoff shouted in annoyance, trying to force his way past, but Trey continued to thrust his face in Geoff’s.

“Anyway, what do I care, you and the slut deserve each other” Trey sneered. The mere use of the word ‘slut’ hit a nerve inside Geoff and he flipped. He grabbed Trey by the top of his T-shirt, pushing his fists up towards Trey’s chin. Geoff drew his eyes closer to Trey’s as their faces remained an inch apart. Trey struggled to free himself from Geoff’s grip until Geoff suddenly let go, along with his anger.

“You’re not worth it, she’s better off without you after everything she’s been through lately” Geoff announced then slowly walked past Trey toward the door way to the surf club. A look of confusion and surprise clouded over Trey. Surprise because Geoff had walked away from him, and confusion about what Geoff had said.

“Lately? What do you mean?” Trey reacted, suddenly rethinking the situation.

“Geoff!” he bellowed but Geoff ignored the noise and continued to walk away, into the Surf club entrance.

Lachie was stood at the bar in Noah’s waiting for his drink. As Geoff walked inot the pool area, he glanced round until he spotted Lachie. Without saying anything, he walked over to Lachie and tapped him on the shoulder. As Lachie twisted his body around, Geoff pulled back his fist and punched him in the face.

“You low-life piece of scum!” Geoff shouted, and then punched Lachie again but this time in the stomach. Lachie doubled over in pain. Onlookers stood shocked in silence.

“Did it make you feel good huh? Taking advantage of a girl like that?" Geoff snorted angrily gritting his teeth and pulling Lachie towards him in an angered fashion. He had a tight hold on the collar on Lachie’s footy top.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, mate” Lachie calmly defended himself, slightly grinning at the whole situation. The pathetic, sickly smirk that was written across Lachie’s face confirmed to Geoff he did in fact take advantage of Nicole and showed no remorse at all. Charlie ran in just in time to stop Geoff causing any more damage to both himself and Lachie.

“Geoff, leave it please!” Charlie commanded, running up to both boys and prising them apart. Geoff shoved Lachie backwards against the bar and moved to one side as to let Charlie take control. She grabbed Lachie’s hands and pulled them behind his back.

“I’m arresting you on suspicion of sexual assault...” she began as Lachie placed an innocent look on his face, denying all accusations. As Charlie pushed him forward in handcuffs, Lachie leaned in towards where Geoff stood and whispered in his ear.

“She loved every minute of it”, he sniggered. Geoff’s blood boiled and without hesitation turned and head butted Lachie in the face.

“Geoff!” Charlie shouted and pushed him away from Lachie, “This isn’t helping Nicole, go back and see her. I’ll take care of him!” Geoff looked on and followed as Charlie led Lachie away and out to her car. Geoff stood outside as Charlie ducked Lachie’s head into the car. Lachie maintained an intimidating eye contact with Geoff, even when he was pushed into the back seat of the police car. As the car drove away, Geoff could feel a feeling of sickness in his stomach. The words she loved every minute of it resounded in his head. He couldn’t believe how sick Lachie was. They’d hated each other since day one but he never imagined he’d do anything like this. Sure, he expected him to play dirty on the pitch and have numerous digs at him now and then but to physically hurt someone close to him. Maybe that was why he did it, to get back at Geoff for taking Claudia away from him....

“It’s all my fault” Geoff concluded as he spoke to himself. The guilt hung heavy around his neck and he ran over to the nearest gathering of bushes and vomited into the ground.

[MizzyBee123]

I've written this chapter while almost half asleep, so if there are any mistake or spelling errors, please have some sympathy lol ive updated tonight because i wont get a chance tomorrow as im at work alday then going to see James Morrison! so here's the latest for now...

CHAPTER 6

When Geoff arrived back at Mile’s and Kirsty’s, he was greeted by Jai coming from the front door. As Geoff approached with a faint smile, Jai looked worried.

“Trey’s in there, he’s trying to speak to Nicole but Mile’s won’t let him. He won’t leave.” Jai told Geoff, as they both stopped for a second. It was possible to hear raised voices in the air and Geoff took in a deep breath before entering the house through the opening of the door, closely followed by Jai. What they found was Miles standing between the double doors leading to the stairs, and a highly worked up Trey in front of him, trying to shout up to Nicole.

“Hey, Trey what the hell are you doing, do you want to upset her more than she already is?”

“Orr, get lost Campbell, this is between me and Nicole, not you. Go and run back to your girlfriend, and I’ll see to mine” Trey sneered as Geoff raised his voice

“Nicole wanted to see you this morning and where were you? Huh? Too busy looking after number one to even care about anyone else! That girl upstairs needs you, man, and all you ever do is run out on her time after time. It’s pathetic. Do you even know why she’s so upset?” Geoff snorted, his anger levels sky high. Trey looked on at him blankly, not sure of whether he could scrape a response to Geoff’s outrage.

“She’s upset beca....” Geoff started before he glanced over to the doors and saw a timid Nicole stood behind Miles, looking on as the two guys fought. He immediately stopped shouting and looked downwards, as if he were about to get seriously told off. Nicole stared at him until Trey turned and also saw her stood in the entrance of the double doors. From nowhere, and even Nicole couldn’t pin point where it came from, she had the sudden urge to speak out and began raising her voice.

“...Because I was raped Trey, yes, RAPED. And I needed you this morning and you weren’t here so what makes you think it’s okay to be here now. Ruby called you and you hung up the phone..y..you...HUNG UP THE PHONE! You’re my boyfriend. You’re meant to be here, to comfort and protect me. And well where were you the night it happened? Oh you stormed off because of a silly little argument we had! I’m sick of it always being about you, Trey! There’s two of us in this relationship, not just you! So thanks, thanks a lot because now I feel broken and scared, and it hurts...” her voice began to break as she tried to fight the emotions that were consuming every cell in her body. Trey tried to speak but Nicole interrupted, “It hurts too much, Trey, too much for me to ever trust you or want to be around you ever again. Now go! I don’t want to see you again. We’re over” She finished before breaking down into tears and collapsing into Miles’ open arms. The others looked on sympathetically before turning to stare at Trey. Trey had got the message, and slowly turned to walk out. Geoff moved back a step in order to allow Trey past; both maintaining eye contact with each other as Trey walked towards the door and left.

Four days had past and neither Geoff nor Ruby had seen Nicole. Of course they called the house to make sure she was fine, and Mile’s promised he’d call if they were needed but they figured they’d give her space, let her sort her head out without being too overcrowded. Trey hadn’t been in touch either, physically or via phone call. Typical. He left without a word or even a fight. Was probably best considering.

Claudia was clearing up at the farm when Xavier appeared from the main gate.

“Hey, how’s it goin’?”, Xavier asked, a big smiled plastered across his face.

“Hey, good how about you?” Claudia asked in politeness. It was obvious she had something on her mind, but she forced it to the side for a second in order to engage in her conversation with Xavier.

“Good thanks, I was looking for Martha, is she around?” Xavier wondered walking over to an upturned wheel barrow and perching himself upon it.

“Um, she was but she’s gone to the city to get some parts” Claudia responded finishing with the tools in her hand and walking over to where Xavier was sat.

“Was it urgent?” She enquired, sensing the smile that Xavier once had, had simmered to vague expression.”Xavier, are you alright?” she pushed, as she lowered herself so that she was level to him.

“Yeah, its just...well with this whole Nicole business...I keep saying the wrong thing to Ruby and I know it’s ‘cos she stressed out and worried about her but I don’t know what to do. I came up here hoping Martha could give me some stuff to do to get out of the way for a bit”

“Nicole business..what Nicole business?” questioned a completely confused Claudia. Xavier didn’t know what to say, he’d assumed she’d known giving that Geoff was her boyfriend and her past with Lachie.

“Erm, maybe I should just go” Xavier stated on cue as he raised himself up onto his feet and began to walk away.

“No, Xavier, what’s been going with Nicole?” Claudia asked, assuming that what was going to follow was evidence that Geoff had been having a relationship with Nicole. She lightly grabbed his shoulder and turned him round so that he was face to face with her.

“I don’t want to be the one who spreads it but...Nicole...she was raped.” Xavier explained as a shocked Claudia looked away towards the grass on the side verge.

“Raped? By who?”, she further interrogated. Xavier didn’t know if he was doing the right thing. This was Geoff’s job. He should have told her, not Xavier.

“Erm, well that’s the thing...it was Lachie” he added cautiously. Claudia’s jaw almost dropped to the ground as she tried to take the information in. What? Was she hearing correctly, her ex had raped Geoff’s ex? That wasn’t right. It can’t be right. Lachie would never do such a thing. Would he?

Geoff had just finished footy when his phone beeped. As he reached into his pocket to retrieve the phone, the screen was lit. He had a message. He entered his pass key and opened it up.

COULD U COME OVER 2NITE?

IF UR BUSY, THTS FINE.

I JUST NEED TO TALK TO SUM1.

NICOLE XX

The distance between Geoff and Claudia had grown since the argument they’d had a few days back. Claudia had spent most of her time up at the farm, and well, Geoff’s mind had been preoccupied with other things such as school and footy, but with Nicole mainly. He still secretly blamed himself for what happened. He didn’t tell Claudia about it, mainly because he hadn’t seen her much, but because he wasn’t sure how she’d take it given Nicole was his ex girlfriend and Lachie was her ex boyfriend. Neither of them wanted to believe the worst of either Nicole or Lachie. Geoff knew Nicole was a flirt, she always had been. She was beautiful, sexy and had a great sense of humour. But Geoff knew there was more to her than looks. There was a kind, caring, thoughtful, generous, courageous and beautiful person inside too. Yes they didn’t manage to make their relationship work when they were together, but their friendship had always been strong, and the last week or so had proved that and if anything had made it ten times stronger.

WILL B THERE AROUND 6, OK?

SEE U THEN

GEOFF XX

Geoff closed his phone and placed it back in his pocket. He threw his footy bag over his shoulder and started to walk home.

When he got back to the house, Claudia was in the kitchen making a drink. Geoff walked in as she was placing the milk back into the fridge.

“Hey” Geoff said as he entered and threw his bag to the floor beside the wooden bench.

“Hey” she faintly replied before launching into the question that had been on her mind for some time now.

”Geoff, why didn’t you tell me about Nicole....and Lachie?”

“Err well I didn’t know how to say it, I mean he’s your ex boyfriend. It’s not exactly a nice thing to tell you that he’s some kind of monster is it really? Plus Nicole didn’t need it spreading around.”

“He isn’t a monster!” she said abruptly, almost cutting off the end of Geoff’s sentence. Geoff shook his head.

“See I knew you’d say that, and that’s why I didn’t tell you. I knew you’d take his side over Nicole’s.” Geoff raisd his voice a little as the topic began to hit a little nerve inside.

“He wouldn’t force her, she must have got it wrong” Claudia stated adamantly.

“Got it wrong? Excuse me? There’s a pretty big difference between a yes and a no, Claudia. He crossed a line, a very big line. How can you stand there and defend him?” Geoff asked, his eye brows raised, finding the whole discussion a little unbelieveable.

“Because I know he wouldn’t do anything like that.” Claudia replied in a quite soft tone, looking down towards the ground, rather than directly at Geoff.

“How Claudia, how do you know? You said yourself he’d changed. One minute he’d be loving and the next he’d fly off the handle for no reason. He raped Nicole, Claudia. He raped her. And now she’s going to have to live with that forever.” Geoff shouted, annoyed that his girlfriend would even consider defending such an animal as Lachie.

“I need to call him” Claudia blurted out as she went over to the wall, picking up the phone and frantically typing in a number.

“Have you listened to anything I’ve said?” Geoff was astonished at how she was behaving. It was obvious to him that she still had feelings for Lachie, despite his actions.

“I need to speak to him. I need to hear it from him.”

“Well then you’ll be waiting a while, because he’s straight out denying it.” Geoff sneered as he slammed his hands down onto the work top, either side of the sink. His head hung down as he tried to digest Claudia’s reaction to the news.

“Well there you go then, he didn’t do it. It must be Nicole, she’s wrong.” Claudia retaliated, removing the phone from her ear and placing it back into its holder. She moved two small steps towards where Geoff was stood.

“Oh, so you’re saying it’s Nicole fault he’s in jail and that...” Geoff began, raising his arms into the air and turning around to face Claudia once again.

“I might have known you’d stick up for her” Claudia snorted, consumed with the jealously that was seeping through her body and that had been there since the first day she saw Nicole and Geoff together up at the farm. She remembered their close bond that they had even though they’d just broken up a couple of weeks before. Nicole had turned up in a taxi and well, Claudia had made her mind up about her from that moment on.

“Oh, don’t start with that again, I’m sick and tired of it Claudia! All we do is fight these days, there’s no fun anymore, we don’t talk...” Geoff trailed his sentence.

“What exactly are you saying Geoff?” Claudia asked, a dull pain shooting through her heart. Though she knew their relationship had been strained for some time now, the thought of them breaking up really hurt deep inside. She looked into his eyes and could see the same type of pain she was feeling. After a soft silence, Geoff mustered up the words to explain.

“I don’t know what I’m saying Claudia, I just need some space I think” Geoff sighed as he picked up his footy bag form the floor and took it into the bedroom. Claudia looked on slightly startled as Geoff paced his way out of the kitchen.

[MizzyBee123]

CHAPTER 7

Xavier knocked on the hard, oak door then waited patiently for a response. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say to Ruby but he hoped that it would come to him naturally when he saw her. He could feel nerves churning in his stomach, as though he were about to jump off a really high cliff edge or something. On second thoughts, that might not be a bad idea, if it meant he would escape the wrath of Ruby Buckton...again.

A few seconds later and the door slowly creaked open to reveal a slim dark haired figure stood in front of him, face to face.

“I love you, and I’m sorry, I know I haven’t been saying the right things or doing the right things lately, but im not sure how to deal with this whole Nicole business and I’m scared that it will affect us and well...i’m sorry....and I love you.” Xavier blurted out in a frenzy, hoping the words ‘sorry’ and ‘I love you’ would stand out and solve everything. He looked directly at her and gave an awkward smile. Ruby looked at him with a blank face. Without saying a word she threw her arms around him and held on tight. Xavier lifted his hand and stroked her hair as they stood there for a couple of minutes, not speaking just hugging.

“I’m sorry too, you know I love you” Ruby whispered as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath then exhaled slowly.

It was beautiful night, the sky was clear and the moon illuminated the darkness. The sound of the ocean in the distance and the gentle breeze blowing through the trees were the only echoes that could be heard as Nicole gazed out of her open bedroom window. She smiled to herself as she embraced its beauty. Though she’d lived in Summer bay for over a year now, she’d never taken time to admire the simple things such as this. She was always looking for a party, or wanting to be in the company of someone else. She’d never had quiet time where she could take a step back and just think. And to her surprise, she enjoyed it. The time now was around 7.30 and there was still no sign of Geoff.

Suddenly, there was a double knock at the door before it slowly opened to reveal the tall, blonde familiar face that she was expecting.

“Hey, I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long. Miles said it was okay for me to come up. Is it okay for me to come in?” Geoff asked sweetly. Though he was late, she knew there must have been a pretty good reason for him not to be there on time. Geoff was ALWAYS there, and she knew that. Nicole twisted her neck round so that she could see him then she replied with a simple, “Course” before resuming her position. She continued to look out of the window as Geoff gently closed the door and walked across the room to stand next to her, he too looking out of the window.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?...I’ve never seen something so still and peaceful before.” Nicole said softly, continuing to stare outside. Geoff looked down at her, wondering if he should say something back. Silence. Peacefulness.

“Why me, Geoff? Why did he have to do this to me?”, she finally broke the stillness with her words. “I feel....numb”Geoff didn’t know what to say. He contemplated telling her about the guilt he felt inside. If he hadn’t crossed paths with Lachie, would he have left Nicole alone? This was a question he asked himself, and had been asking himself since the day Lachie was arrested.

“Nicole, what if Lachie did this to get back at me. What if I hadn’t ever met him, or met Claudia, and I’d never clashed with him, none of this would have happened, would it?” Geoff said as he turned to pace around the room. He couldn’t look Nicole in the eye. She turned back around to watch him walk backwards and forwards, slightly confused. The thought had never even occurred to her. She didn’t blame Geoff. How could she? He wasn’t there when it happened and he couldn’t have stopped it.

“What? No, Geoff, don’t be stupid. None of this could ever be your fault. You’re the most kind, genuine guy, I’ve ever known in my entire life. All that stuff doesn’t matter. Even if you hadn’t met him before, he’d have still done the same thing, I know it, the way he was.....it makes my skin crawl.” Nicole told him, as she lifted herself to her feet and walked over to Geoff, placing her hand on his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

“But, I wish I could make your pain go away, Nic, if I could switch places I would in an instant. Seeing you go through this is killing me... but there’s nothing I can do, is there?” he sighed, his eyes welling up. In all the time she’d known him, she’d never seen him cry. His eyes, they looked so pure, so innocent. Her heart melted to see him so upset. He was the best friend she’d ever had or will ever have, and she knew that. She wrapped her arms around his stomach and placed the side of her head on his chest. He held her tightly as a tear rolled down his cheek. He squeezed his eyes in order to let the other tears fall too. Nicole closed her eyes as she breathed in and out in sequence with Geoff’s body.

“Thank you” she said softly.

“For what?” he questioned.

“For being you, for being Geoff” she whispered. A smile rose upon both their faces as they stood in the middle of the room, their bodies embraced.

Ruby and Xavier were sat on Ruby’s sofa watching a movie. She’d placed a cushion on his lap and had laid her head down onto it. Xavier stroked her hair back as they sat in silence watching the colours that lit up the screen.

“How is Nicole, anyway? Have you spoken to her much lately?” Xavier asked, interrupting the movie. Ruby continued to watch the TV as she answered.

“She’s OK I guess, I mean Miles said she was still sitting up in her room for hours on end but she was speaking, and I managed to speak to her on the phone before. I just wish all of this hadn’t happened, I mean to Nicole of all people, with everything that happened with her dad not long ago, this is one of the last things I could ever imagine happening to her.” Ruby confided as she sat up to look at Xavier.

“If that creep had laid one finger on you, I swear I’d have killed him by now. I don’t know what Trey’s playing at” Xavier snorted angrily.

“But that’s just how Trey is, he’s selfish. Even if he does love Nicole, his problems always seem to be a whole lot worse than everyone else’s, even hers” Ruby sighed then lay her head back onto the cushion and resumed her position. Xavier leaned forward and kissed her gently on the side of her head as she smiled in response.

An hour had gone by and Geoff was still over Nicole’s. They were sat sideways on her bed, their backs leaning against the wall. Because Geoff’s legs were so long they hung off the width of the bed, as Nicole’s just managed to reach the edge. They had magazines sprawled across the bed with snacks dotted across it too.

“Okay, so why do girls even read these magazines? I mean, ‘Dear Sheila, I think my dog hates me’...why would you even write a letter like that into a magazine, never mind read about it!” Geoff laughed and shook his head, flicking through the pages. Nicole too laughed, then grabbed it off him and put it beside her.

“Because, I find them just as amusing as you!” she smiled looking at him, and then she leaned over to the side table and grabbed her iPod.

“Listen to this. Can you remember it?” she asked scrolling through the playlist on her music player and then lifting an earphone up to his ear.

“Cos if one day you wake up

And find that you’re missing me

And your heart starts to wonder

Where on this earth I could be

Thinking maybe you’ll come back here to the place that we’d meet

And you’d see me waiting for you on the corner of the street

So I’m not moving, I’m not moving.”

A smile painted Geoff’s face as he turned to look at Nicole who too was listening to the song.

“Yeah, I remember this” he said nodding in response. “Actually, this song reminds me of our break up, and how horrible a time it was” he said looking down as he fidgeted with his fingers. Nicole turned and looked at him, not sure of what to say.

”I know it was my decision to end it, but it was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. And there was always a part of me that could relate to the guy in this song. As much as I loved you, I knew at that time it wasn’t working out for us” He said coyly as he lifted his head back up to look Nicole in the eye. “It broke my heart when we broke up, but I always knew we’d be friends, and we’re stronger now than we’ve ever been in the past”. Geoff lifted his arm and placed it around Nicole’s shoulders. She leaned in towards his body as he tightly gripped her, laying his head against hers as he held her. They both closed their eyes, listening to the rest of the song.

“Geoff, do you ever wonder whether we’d have made it if we didn’t have the sex issue, or if Trey wasn’t around” Nicole asked, unsure of whether she should be really asking the question. She knew some things were best left in the past, but she was curious as to what he thought about it.

“Yeah, sometimes” he responded quite simply.”But we were slightly younger then. I mean though we are still the same age, both of us have grown in the last few months. We’ve both had to deal with stuff that has made us more mature, and well as you probably know the sex isn’t really as much of an issue as it once was!” Geoff laughed, slightly embarrassed at his past beliefs and actions. Nicole knew he was talking about how he’d gone and slept with Claudia without a second thought, not long after they had split.

“I must admit it did hurt, Geoff, that you went and slept with Claudia so soon after we finished. I respected your beliefs so much, and when I found out about that I just felt like a fool” Nicole confessed.

“I can’t explain what I was doing because now I look back on it I really don’t know why i did it. I was angry at you, and I felt pressured and I gave in. And I know I shouldn’t have but I think now if I try to live like that again, I’m just a hypocrite. I’ve had sex twice now, and that’s twice too many in God’s eyes.” He tried to explain, as they both looked forward, still holding each other, but no eye contact. “I know you respected my faith, and I’m sorry that I doubted you when we went back to the island but I just....I wasn’t sure. And I think now that we’ve become friends I’ve been able to get to know you far more on a friend’s level than I ever really could when we were together. There were too many flaws in our relationship back then for me ever to totally trust you, I guess. But now, I trust you with my life and we know each other inside out. I’ll always be here for you, Nic” Geoff said softly and sincerely.

“I know, and I’m here for you. Soul mates for life hey?!” she smiled as she lifted her head up and kissed him on the cheek before resuming back to laying her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah, for life” Geoff agreed, as he picked up the iPod from Nicole and began to search for another song.

Song included was 'The Man Who Cant Be Moved by The Script'

[MizzyBee123]

Two chapters in one day - I am doing well!! ha!

Though this is the last chapter unfortunately. Thank you for all the great comments, i really appreciate them =]

Hope this ending is okay...

CHAPTER 8

Six months had passed since then. Lachie was in jail, tried and tested and sent down for two years. The trial had taken its toll on Nicole but she’d managed to find the strength to fight it. She had Geoff, Ruby, Jai, Xavier and Miles and Kirsty on her side right the way through the trial, they attended each date with her and Ruby had even convinced her to go to counselling every fortnight, to help her get over the nightmare and self guilt. Nicole’s life was seemingly brighter seeing as she’d managed to gradually gain some self confidence back. Geoff had finished with Claudia soon after the trial and so she’d moved out to the City to see her distant cousin and relatives. Ruby and Xavier were still going strong. And well as for Trey, he’d moved on, though no one actually knew where he’d gone. He’d left school and hadn’t contacted Nicole since the day she spat her words at him.

And so it came to Nicole’s first day back to school. She’d been off for months but had tried her best to catch up on the work she’d missed. Geoff had collected notes for her and had taken them to her every day after school. Though she wanted to go back and get back to a bit of normality, she was terrified. Terrified of what people might say or do. They all knew, that was for sure. Once Colleen found out, it amazed everyone it hadn’t become national news! The majority of people, people who really knew Nicole, sympathised and were supportive, but there was always the minority that said she’d deserved it because of her past promiscuous ways.

As she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, she finished applying the last bit of lip gloss, before straitening her uniform and checking her hair. A deep breath and she was ready.

“Nic, Geoff and Ruby are here” Miles shouted up the stairs.

“Coming now” she answered before grabbing her bag and walking down stairs. The butterflies in her stomach were enormous as she reached the double doors before entering into the open living area. She saw Ruby, Geoff and Jai stood in the entrance of the door, nervously smiling as she approached them.

“Hey you ready?” Ruby asked, raising her eyebrows. This was a big deal for Nicole and she took another deep breath before smiling and nodding. As they left, Miles gave her a reassuring wink before picking up his brief case and heading out of the door too.

As they reached the gates to the school, Nicole hovered back as the others went ahead. Geoff noticed she’d stopped and turned to see an emotional Nicole stood nervously still. Ruby stopped too and without any words, they both walked up to her, Ruby linking her left arm and Geoff holding her right hand and together they walked into the school grounds in unison, Jai walking beside them the entire time.

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry, anyone says anything and they have all of us to deal with” Geoff whispered and smiled.

First lesson was over and done with pretty quick. Only a few people stared but she could handle that. It was the comments she feared most. Everyone knew about it and she could see it written all over their faces. Their thoughts, their opinions were all visible. But Geoff was in all of her classes so it wasn’t all that bad. She knew he’d have something to say if people said anything. She needed to discover the old Nicole. The Nicole that wasn’t scared of what people thought, that stood up for herself and gave as good as she got when people challenged her. One thing was for sure, the rape had changed her. She’d become a weaker person, and she needed to build up her strength to gain back her life, and return to the Nicole everyone knew and loved. It would take time though and she knew that but she’d get there in the end. She almost felt like she could be open with people once again, with boys and though she wasn’t ready to get physical, she felt she could learn to become intimate with someone again. This was a major improvement that had occurred over the last month or so. Until then she couldn’t really bare to be looked at by other men or boys. She felt intimidated by them. The only one she felt comfortable with was her best friend, Geoff.

The lunch time bell rang and the students stood up and flooded out of into the corridor, Geoff waited whilst Nicole packed up her things and then they both went out to their lockers, as they waited for Ruby and the others. The stares got more intense, and it was obvious to hear the whispers and comments groups of girls were making in the far corner. Nicole looked around, zoning out from the conversation Geoff was trying to make as the voices got louder and louder. Nicole became more and more intimidated as her breaths got shorter, her nerves building and building as it all got too much something inside her exploded.

“Geoff, I can’t do this I have to go” she quickly spat out as she swiftly turned and ran out of the main doors.

“Nic wait!” Geoff shouted after her as he too ran behind her, trying to catch up with her. he eventually found her sat on one of the wooden benches hidden near the trees on the school field. She was crying into her hands as she sat by herself. Geoff walked up to her and sat beside her. He cradled her until she began to wipe her tears and attempted to talk.

“I’m sorry I just can’t deal with the whispers, it’s too much” she stammered, trying to catch her breath.

“It’s okay, just take it one step at a time” he reassured her as he held onto her tight. Ruby and Xavier had seen her run off and had followed them out of school. As they approached, Nicole was still crying, and so Ruby ran up to her and crouched down, resting on Nicole’s legs. She looked at her for a few seconds then wrapped her arms around her.

“Let’s go home” she whispered before helping Nicole up to her feet and putting her arm around her as they walked. Xavier and Geoff picked up the bags and followed the girls, two steps behind.

When all four reached the house, it was of course empty. Miles and Kirsty were both at work and Jai was still at school with Annie. AS they walked into the house, they dumped their bags and all sat down.

“You’s don’t have to stay, I’ll be okay, I just can’t be there” Nicole told the others.

“No it’s okay; me and Xavier have double maths anyway!” Ruby laughed.

“And it’s only another boring careers fair we have this afternoon so I’d rather be here than there!” Geoff butted in. Nicole smiled before getting up and walking into the kitchen.

“Hey, do you guys want a drink?” she asked politely looking in the fridge.

“Please!” All four replied together.

“I’ll help” Geoff said, raising out of his seat and strolling into the kitchen. Ruby and Xavier talked amongst themselves as Geoff and Nicole got to work in the kitchen. Nicole lifted out some ice cubes from the freezer and walked over to the sink where Geoff was stood. She struggled to free the ice from the cube tray. As she did this, Geoff offered to help and placed his soft, strong hand on top of hers. As their hands connected, they both smiled and lifted their head so that they were looking into each other’s eyes. That feeling was back. The feeling she’d last felt around a year ago, when nothing had gotten in their way. It was just the two of them and the world didn’t matter. After a few seconds, Nicole freed her hand from Geoff’s and walked through the door into the porch area at the back of the house.

“Nicole, what’s wrong?” he asked her as he dumped the cube tray into the sink and followed her into the porch.

“I’m just scared...of messing up what we have...I don’t want to ruin it” she told him honestly as she turned and faced him directly.

“It won’t be ruined, if anything it’ll be better, better than it’s ever been. I love you and I always have, I guess. Since Claudia, my feelings for you have changed, they’ve grown stronger. You were there for me during the break up, and you were so sweet, so caring and well, I fell for you again. I’ve been trying to fight it, I know that you aren’t ready for another relationship and that’s fine. But you’re the one I want to be with, and I’ll wait as long as it takes for you to come back to me. I’ll always be your best friend, but I want to be your boyfriend too” he smiled nervously, unsure of how Nicole would take his confession. At first she didn’t say anything, she just looked back at him, slightly mesmerized then in silence, and she leaned forward on her tip toes, and placing a soft, gentle kiss on his lips. As she did this she lightly closed her eyes and after a couple of seconds pulled her head back. She opened her eyes and gazed back into his.

“I want you too, it’s just taken me longer to realise it. It’s always been you, no one else has ever come close.” She smiled before Geoff lifted his hands and placed one on the side of her face and the other on the side of her neck.

“We’ll take it slow, and this time, we’ll be open and honest. No secrets, no lies, just us.” He told her seriously as he pulled her in towards him and kissed her again, this time he opened his mouth just that bit wider and kissed her passionately, as Nicole wrapped her arms around his waist.

“I love you”, she told him when they parted, and he pulled her into him tightly as they stood holding each other again. This time, not only as best friends but as soul mates, as lovers.

“It’s about time! I thought you two would never get your acts together! I’ve been waiting months for this to happen, it’s so obvious you’re still crazy about each otherafter all this time!” Ruby laughed as she and Xavier appeared around the door entrance to the porch, both with wide grins spread across their faces. Geoff and Nicole looked at each other and they too burst out laughing.

“I’m so happy for you both!” Ruby beamed as she went over to the two of them and wrapped her arms around both of them. Xavier smiled and hung back, not wanting to get in Ruby’s way.

“And I’m so happy, for the first time, in a very long time” Nicole said sweetly looking at Ruby then slowly turning to face Geoff. She was in love again and it felt amazing. Although she'd never get over the rape ordeal, she knew Geoff would look after her, and he'd be patient and loving.

“So which DVD are we going to watch?” Ruby asked as a debate became underway as they all headed back into the living room, the guys holding their girl’s hand and snuggling up onto the sofas. The girl’s fought for a chick flick whilst the boys were determined to watch an action flick.

“Erm, boys, Ruby and I voted and well, I guess you lost....The Notebook it is!” She giggled, as Geoff playfully poked her in the ribs. She then stood up and grabbed the remote form the edge of the TV and sat back down on the sofa, linking her other hand with Geoff’s and snuggling into him before kissing him lightly on the lips and turning to switch on the DVD. All four sat around that afternoon watching TV and chatting, and it was one of the best afternoons they’d all had in a long time!

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