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Veritas Vos Liberabit


Guest Taniya_K

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Another great chapter. Loved the banter between them. I'm nowhere closer to figuring out how she's going to die. What I do know though, is that I definitely couldn't accuse this fic of being predictable, so far. Looking forward to the next chapter

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Thanks for the comments, guys, and sorry for the wait. I haven't had time to sit down and write until last night, so if this chapter's a bit iffy it's because I did it instead of sleeping! I'm glad no-one's really caught on to where I'm going with this, and that it's not predictable. Exactly what every writer wants to hear about their fic :)

Chapter 4

Her whole body went rigid as the too common sound of her phone ringing penetrated her deep sleep. Letting out a groan, she stretched out an arm along her bed, trying with all her might to reach the offending item as quickly as possible. However, the edge of the bed was too far for her, and with the two teddies creating barrier between her and the bedside table, she was forced to open her eyes.

Sighing as the ringing continued, Belle shuffled closer to the other end of the bed, weaving her arm in between the cuddly toys until she met the cool, hard surface of the table. It took only another few seconds as her hand glided over a glass, small plastic bottle and a clock to finally her vibrating phone.

"Hey, baby." She mumbled as soon as she answered it, already getting herself comfy in the bed again.

"How'd you know it was me?" Aden's voice greeted her. She smiled lazily even though no-one else could see it and let her eyes drift shut again.

"Who else would dare to call me at 9 in the morning on my day off?" Belle told him sleepily, earning herself a chuckle in reply. "And I saw the caller ID. But seriously, Aden. 9am?"

"Sorry, sweetheart." He apologized sincerely. "I'll get off in a second. Just thought I'd call to make sure you don't forget your meds. And, of course, to hear your beautiful voice."

"Smooth." Belle giggled, pulling her duvet up to her shoulders as she curled her body up underneath. "And it's been a week, Aden. I know."

"Yeah? Did you take them in the night?" He asked her. There was a false tone of politeness underlying his words that made her cringe slightly.

"Yes." Belle replied in the same tone. "Maybe not at 3 on the dot, but close enough, I assume."

"How close?"

"An hour, I think." Frowning, she tried to recall what time had been shining on her alarm clock when she had reached over for the glass of water. Somehow, she could remember waking up more than once, and pursued that train of thought. "Hold on. Did you call me at 3?"

"Nope." Aden chuckled, the mere sound of it able to bring her slowly but surely out of her sleepy state. "I did call you at 5 though."

"Did I answer?" Belle asked a bit sheepishly, having no recollection of such a conversation.

"Barely." He informed her lightly. "You told me to go away and then hung up."

"No, I didn't!" Belle scoffed.

"Yes, you did." Aden insisted. "You then texted me at 6.30 asking if I was working."

"I don't remember that, either." She murmured. "Did you reply?"

"No, cos I was working." He laughed again. "What happened to you last night?"

"I don't know!" She sighed heavily. "Just tired, I guess."

"And missing me, of course." Aden added in an arrogant tone, and Belle had no doubt that there would be a smirk on his face right that moment.

"Naturally." She agreed, the smile clear on her face. "So, 5 or 6.30."

"What?" He asked her in confusion as she changed the subject suddenly.

"My meds. I would have taken them at 5 or 6.30, so that would mean..." She trailed off as she tried to do some mental arithmetic so soon after waking up. "11 or 12.30."

"Oh, right." Aden finally clocked on. "Yeah, that's right."

"I know it is." Belle told him with a soft huff as she turned onto her back and began to stretch out. "So why aren't you working?"

"Just on a short break." He informed her. Belle opened her mouth to reply, but a yawn beat her to it that turned into a hiss of pain when her right hand to collide with the edge of her bedside cabinet. "What was that?"

"Me, stretching and getting hurt." She grumbled while holding her hand in front of her to inspect the damage. "Never mind, I'll survive. Just a small scratch."

"Sure?"

"Yeah, Aden, I'm sure." She rolled her eyes while letting her hand to drop onto the pillow next to her, careful not to get any of the blood that had began to peek through the scab that she had managed to crack. "Anyway, when do you finish today? 2, right? Want to meet up?"

"Ah, aren't you forgetting something?" Aden answered slowly.

"Not that I can think of."

"A certain princess' birthday, maybe?" He reminded her.

"Is that today?" Belle asked in surprise. "Hasn't she got school?"

"Yeah, but after I've got to be at home." He told her. "But that does leave a good hour or so to squeeze you in today."

"Please, don't put yourself too out for me." Belle replied sarcastically.

"You're more than welcome to ours for Nic's birthday, you know." Aden heavily hinted to her.

"I'll take the hour." Belle laughed. "You'll be able to come around after again, though, right?"

"I dunno." He answered in a thoughtful voice. "I haven't really bought Nic a present so who knows how I'll end up paying for it."

"Well, as long as you're good as new for tomorrow, I guess." Belle sighed dramatically with a wide grin forming on her face. "But seriously..."

"You can't get enough of me, can you?" Aden chuckled almost seductively that made Belle almost curse the fact that there wasn't more that could be done between two people over the phone, especially them right then.

"You've got me." She said in a very dry tone. "How did you possibly know?"

"The feeling's mutual, babe." He told her with a hint of both amusement and seriousness that made her tummy flip uncontrollably. "I'll call and let you know, yeah?"

"Alright. But you're still coming over after work, right?"

"I promise I will!" Aden laughed. "But right now, I need to shoot off, gorgeous."

"Ok, no need to tell me twice." Belle sighed. "Love you. See you later."

"You too, babe." He replied a second before she the dial tone greeted her as he hung up to get back to work.

She dropped her phone onto her pillow and let out a breath. Laying still in the position that she was, outstretched in her bed, she contemplated going back to sleep. Turning onto her side, Belle reached out to place her phone back safely onto the table before pulling one of the teddies to her in an attempt to get comfy again.

Burying her face into the head of the fluffy green toy, she exhaled deeply as the gash of her hand came into her peripheral view again. The blood had formed a small bump that had already began drying. She had learnt that putting a Band-Aid on the cut, which was in a weird position, didn't really work unless she covered a whole other section too. And by doing that, Belle had also learnt, made it look worse than it was and made everyone, specifically Aden, worry.

Belle pushed back her covers and herself up in her bed simultaneously. It took a moment before the head rush that had overtaken her to vanish, and it was only then did she swing her legs over the edge of the bed and stood up.

The distance between her room and the bathroom was thankfully short as she made the journey. Going through her daily ritual of waking up before breakfast, and including cleaning the blood from her hand, it wasn't long until Belle stepped into the main part of the house.

"Morning, love." Irene greeted her as soon as she set foot into the same room as her.

"Morning, Irene." Belle smiled warmly over at where she was leaning against the small breakfast bar, sipping coffee while reading the paper before work. "Kids gone already?"

"Yup." She replied. Belle could feel her eyes on her as she went to pour herself a glass of water. Turning back around to see Irene back to reading her paper, she brushed it aside until she headed back towards front room. She had reached the edge of the room as the new addition to it finally caught her attention.

"Oooh, Irene. Did someone send you flowers?" She asked her in a teasing voice, laughing lightly while turning to face her.

"They're not for me, darl." Irene merely answered, causing Belle's eyebrows raised up as she took a small drink of her water.

"Annie?'" She tried, placing her glass down onto the surface in front of the two of them.

"Nope." Irene replied, faking non-chalance as Belle bit her bottom lip.

"I'm guessing they're not for Geoff either, right?" At the elder lady's shake of the head, Belle practically bounced over to the dining table, giggling softly with gleefulness and excitement to match that of a child on Christmas morning. "Wow, they're so pretty."

"That they are." Irene laughed, folding over her paper to end her charade of reading it as she watched her eldest foster daughter tiptoe to peek into the bunch of red, white and pink flowers that she had already put into a vase full of water.

"Aw, I have the best boyfriend ever!" Belle gushed as she found the small card in the flower arrangement. It read simply 'love, Aden', but the meaning behind it and the gesture was more than any words he could have added to it. "They're so beautiful! And smell great, too. I've always liked... Uh... Car-"

"Tulips?" Irene supplied for her as she walked up to her and the flowers.

"Yeah, tulips." Belle repeated, laughing a bit naughtily at the fact that she hadn't known such a basic fact.

"Any particular reason for the sudden grand gesture?" She questioned her warily as Belle shook her head.

"Not really." The smile on her face died down as she thought about Irene's question. "This seems fishy, doesn't it?"

"I didn't say a thing, Belle." Irene instantly told her, raising her hands up while going back into the kitchen. "You know Aden the best."

"Oh, boy." Belle sighed, heading back to her glass of water and sinking into one of the stools, murmuring to herself. "What have you done this time, Aden Jeffries?"

---

Letting go of her magazine with one hand, Belle rubbed her nose as she sneezed again. And again. And again. And again.

Growling in frustration, she closed the reading material and threw it across the coffee table before pushing herself up onto her elbows to stare across the room at the flowers from where she laid on the couch. She had never had an allergy in her whole life, especially not to flowers. It would have been very clear if she had had one many years ago when she used to be allowed to play in her adoptive mother's garden, outlined with many different beautiful flowers all year round.

Yet, somehow, ever since she had came out of the shower and taken another good look around the bouquet, and a nice, enchanting sniff at it, there had been a permanent tickle in her nose that was driving her crazy.

Dropping her head back momentarily, Belle let out a deep breath before pushing herself up into a sitting position and placing her feet flat onto the floor. Using every ounce of energy that she could muster, that was quickly increased as she sneezed once again, Belle stood up and made her way to the bathroom. It took her over 10 minutes until she was able to find the box containing the word 'antihistamines' on the back in the medicine cabinet.

She read the instructions carefully, taking note of the time as she placed the glass of water down after swallowing two little tablets. 13:07. It was only then that she cursed and made her way to her bedroom to retrieve the almost empty bottle of antibiotics from the table.

Returning to the kitchen, Belle twisted open the childproof cap and shook out the contents into her palm. She could never manage to get just the one, and the last time she had stuck her finger into it in a fit of anger, it had came out bruised and pill-less.

Dropping one onto the counter, Belle began to slide the rest of them back in when her brain kicked into gear. Tipping them into her palm once again, and picking the one from next to her, she counted them up, upset but not too surprised to see that there were still 5 remaining; the same amount as the night before.

"Ah, damn." Belle muttered under her breath while bouncing them about lightly in her hand. It had been 6 days since she had first taken the meds, and looking at her hand now, everything looked fine. That was, obviously, except for the redness that now surrounded it from earlier that morning.

Making up her mind, Belle placed all 5 back into the bottle and shut the lid tightly. Picking up the box of the anti-allergens, she took them both back to the bathroom and replaced them back into the cabinet. Shutting it, she caught her reflection in the mirror on it, letting out a laugh almost filled with forced relief as she caught sight of her worried expression.

Shaking her head, Belle twisted open the cold water tap and splashed her face with it to re-awake and refresh her. She reached out for a towel to pat herself dry. Covering her face for a couple of seconds with the soft fabric, she scrunched up her nose before letting out another sneeze.

"Ow...!" Belle grumbled, rubbing her forehead where she had collided with the edge of the medical cabinet by accident. It hadn't been too hard, but it sent vibrations all the way to the back of her head and down to her throat.

Suddenly, the sound of light sniggering caught her attention as she lifted her head up out of the towel to look into the mirror. With the door left half open, Belle could clearly see Aden, and vice versa, leaning languidly against the corner of her room and the front room just below the steps. The amusement was showing in everything he did, which only made her kick the door shut in embarrassment.

Knowing she couldn't stay there forever, Belle took her time to dry her hands and face once again before drying the rim of the sink too. Throwing the wet towel into the hamper, she took a final look in the mirror, glad that she looked positively fine with nothing to show for the bump, and opened the door once again. It wasn't much of a surprise to see Aden standing by the table, admiring the flowers, until she walked out, where he turned to face her with a wide grin.

"It's not funny." Belle quickly told him, coming to a stop in front of him with crossed arms.

"I know." He said softly, the smile still on his face as he reached out and moved her fringe to the side to see if her little accident had cause any damage. "It was rather cute."

“What are you doing here, anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be at work until 2?” She asked him instead, turning her face away a bit so that his hand ended up tenderly stroking her cheek.

“Finished early.” Aden informed her. “Does that hurt?”

“It’ll be fine.” Belle told him pointedly, making him nod.

“Ok.” He simple replied. “Nice flowers.”

“Oh, I know.” She exclaimed dryly while heading over to the sofa and taking a seat at the far end of it before dragging the magazine back onto her lap.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aden questioned, surprised by her passive reaction.

“Just that they’re nice flowers.” Belle shrugged, flipping over a page and pausing before glancing up at him. “Why? Are they meant to have another meaning behind them?”

“Yeah. That I wanted to give you flowers. Because I love you.” He added. When that failed to receive an answer too, Aden walked over and sat down on the opposite end of the couch that she was on to look at her curiously. “Why? What else are they suppose to mean? Have you been getting other flowers that I don’t know about?”

“What?!” She asked incredulously. “No!”

“I’m confused.” Aden admitted, slumping back in his seat while keeping his head facing him.

“Flowers are usually a sign of guilt.” Belle explained vaguely. “Like chocolates.”

“You mean like the chocolates that I bought you a couple of days ago?” He pointed out to her. His words made her freeze, recalling vividly the huge bar of milk chocolate that Aden had gotten for her.

“So, no guilt?” She asked him, almost sheepishly.

“No guilt.” Aden repeated, flashing her his typical smile that she couldn’t help but to reciprocate after failed attempts of trying to hide it. “What did you think I was guilty of, anyway?”

“Hmm…?” Belle questioned, feigning ignorance as she flipped quickly through the last few pages of the magazine and throwing it back onto the coffee table. “Oh, you know. Nothing really.”

“Really?”

“Really.” She repeated, trying to sound as serious as she could in contrast to his sceptical one.

“Alright then.” Aden gave in before suddenly leaning forwards and working a hand between the crook of one of her knees to drag her harmlessly towards him.

“Hey!” Belle giggled lightly. She pushed herself up onto her knees next to him when she got the message of what he wanted, one hand gripping onto the back of the couch while the other held onto his shoulder to keep her balance.

“You didn’t thank me for the flowers, you know.” He pointed out to her matter-of-factually.

“I didn’t?” She gasped dramatically, lifting a leg to place it on the other side of his and moving both her hands onto his shoulders so that she could straddle him without any difficulties. “Well, we can’t have that, now can we?”

“My thoughts precisely.” Aden readily agreed, already threading a hand through her hair as she captured his lips in a sweet kiss. It lasted only for seconds before she pulled away and smiled down at him sweetly. “I don’t think that was ‘thank you’ enough.”

“Oh, really?” Belle smirked. Without another word, she swooped in once again, this time starting with a kiss so deep and passionate that she knew he would have no room to complain. The burning in her lung for the need of air was the only thing that made her pull back again after what seemed too short of a time.

“That was…” Trailing off, Belle couldn’t help but laugh a bit throatily at his clear lack of words, and breath.

“Better?” She teased, pushing herself away out of his reach as he tried to kiss her again. “Nuh uh. We all know where the third kiss leads.”

“So…?” Aden asked her slowly.

“So we ought to stop.” Belle informed him, dropping a hand to play with the collar of his top from under the hoodie that he had on.

“Or we could just move.” The words had just made sense to her by the time Aden was already on his feet, holding her tightly as she looped her arms around his neck. She giggled as he carried her to her room, pressing small kisses to the side of his mouth to taunt him just that little bit more.

“I like the way you think, Jeffries.” Belle whispered slyly after he had kicked the door shut and laid her down onto the bed before climbing on himself.

“Not just the way I think, I hope.” He asked her in the same volume after breaking off a brief kiss and allowing her to slide her hands under his jumper to pull it off.

“Oh, no, of course not.” She replied, shivering in pleasure at the feeling of his hands crawling up her back under her top. “There are a few other things that I just love about you.”

---

Smiling lazily, Belle opened her eyes slowly as she felt his hand trail with a feather-light touch down her bare back. Looking up at him through her lashes, she couldn't find the want to move from her position; laying on her front in her bed with her head resting tiredly atop of her crossed arms upon her pillow. The small ache that it caused in her lower back was pushed out of her mind when Aden leant in to press his lips to her own. Without any control, Belle lifted her head up a bit to make it easier, dropping it back down with a happy sigh when they parted.

"So..." He began, pushing himself up on his side, using his elbow to keep him elevated and propping his head up on his hand.

"Yeah." Belle replied, allowing her eyes to flutter close again. She could feel his body heat even from the small distance that separated them, along with the musky yet fresh, masculine scent that was undoubtedly Aden which could make her feel calm and safe without a touch.

"I hope you're not falling asleep on me, gorgeous." He murmured teasingly into her ear, making her squirm slightly from the pleasure of it.

"I'm not." Belle assured him, still not opening her eyes. "Just taking in the moment."

"If you say so." Aden chuckled, moving his free hand under the covers to lay it on the small of her back.

"That feels good." She said, exhaling deeply as he continued to rub it gently with his thumb. Turning her face into her pillow slightly, Belle was forced to move a hand out from under her as she let out a trio of tiny sneezes.

"Bless you." He told her as she pressed her face back into her pillow with a groan. "You're not ill, are you?"

"No. I think it's just the flowers." She informed him, finally turning her out head and opening her eyes to face him. A worried and a bit guilty look was written clearly on his face in reaction to her words.

"You're allergic?" Aden asked softly and slightly concerned as a frown settled on his handsome features.

"No, of course not." She quickly told him before reaching out with a hand to manually smooth out the frown from his face. "You'll get lines and wrinkles. You won't look so pretty if you do."

"Thanks." He scoffed, though smiling nonetheless. "But the flowers...? For future reference."

"Nothing. I told you, I'm not allergic." Belle insisted. "Unless you can be allergic to just tulips?"

"I don't think so." He shrugged with one shoulder, relaxing the arm he was using to prop himself up so that he could now lie down next to her.

"It's probably just me. Never mind. I love them, and you, anyway!" She grinned and rolling onto her side with a bit of difficulty from the aching muscles before shuffling up to him to close the space between them.

“Good to know." Aden whispered while wrapping his arm tightly around her waist as she kissed him gently. It was a kiss that could have, and probably would have, lasted forever had the sounds of people returning home not interrupted them and brought them back to reality.

"No...!" Belle moaned quietly while burying her face into his chest in despair. "They can't be home already. It's like 1:30 or something."

"Actually, sweetheart, it's more like," Pausing, Aden looked over his shoulder to catch sight of the alarm clock behind him for the time. "Just past 3:30. Which also means that I need to go."

"No, don't!" She hurriedly exclaimed, wrapping both arms around him though it did nothing to stop him from slowly moving away. "So, what? You're just going to love me and leave me?"

"I'm sorry, babe. But I have to." He apologized with genuine sincerity as he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on his boxers and pants before turning to lean over a disgruntled Belle. "I'll be back later."

"Promise?" She tried as he grimaced dramatically.

"I'll try." Aden replied instead, pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek and then getting up.

"I guess that'll have to do." Belle sighed, even as a soft smile graced her features. Watching as her boyfriend kicked some of her clothes to the side to find his own, she used her own legs to pull closer Aden's jumper from where it laid at the bottom of the bed.

"Hey, that's mine!" He huffed when he finally saw her pulling it on before laying back down under the covers again.

"Not anymore."

"I'll be back for it." Aden assured her, running a hand through his hair to settle it down as he checked his reflection in her mirror.

"I'll hold you to it." Belle told him as he made his way over to the bed again.

"You do that." He smirked while brushing the back of a hand over her cheek. "I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Ok. Have fun." Belle said with a saccharine smile, accepting a final kiss from him.

“Without you?” Aden gasped mockingly, “Impossible."

"Damn straight." She muttered as he reached the door. "Got you well trained, I see."

"Oh, you do.” Throwing a wink at her, he finally unlocked and opened the door before pretending to check the main part of the house out. Belle could tell even from her position in her bed that there was no-one out there anymore, and she waited until Aden realised the same thing. Finally doing so, he let out a breath and said goodbye before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

Sighing with a hint of upset, Belle turned over onto her other side and reached over the edge of the bed where her two teddies had been thrown off in the middle of their passions. Holding one close to her and tucking it under her chin, and placing the other one by the pillow in front of her, she let her eyes drift shut once again when she heard footsteps pound down the stairs above her. With no intent of interacting with anyone right then, Belle pulled her duvet up over her head as voices began to sound outside her room and coerced herself into a light sleep.

---

“Belle?” Annie called out softly after knocking on her bedroom door. “Belle, it’s me. Are you awake?”

“Yeah, why?” Her slightly groggy and muffled voice came back to her.

“Are you ok?” She asked her, voice filled with concern. Having been at home since school at 3:30, it had now been 5 hours, and she hadn’t seen Belle once. She has heard her leave her room, but not seen her.

“I’m fine, Annie.”

“Are you sure?” The young teen prodded further, seeing out of the corner of her eye as Geoff returned home. “You haven’t been out since Aden left. Did you have a fight or something?”

“Annie, we’re fine. I’m fine.” Belle replied, and Annie could tell by the lack of any other sound that she hadn’t moved from wherever she was.

“Are you hungry? There’s some left over from dinner.” When Belle politely declined her offer, Annie looked over at her brother, who stood a few feet away with a look of confusion. “Or something to drink?”

“I have some water.” She informed her a bit tiredly.

“What’s going on?” Geoff spoke up, questioning Annie just before she got to say something else to their older sister.

“I don’t know. Belle’s been in her room for most of the day.” She answered in a hushed voice before turning back to talking to the girl in question through the door. “How about some chocolate?”

“Isn’t that the same as food? She said she wasn‘t hungry.” Geoff reminded her.

“Well, yeah, but not for Belle it’s not.” Annie whispered to him. Having heard Belle’s decline to her offer, she sighed and looked at Geoff for some help, who merely shrugged in response. “Ok, well… If you need anything, we’re here, ok?”

“Thanks, Annie.” Belle replied, the sound of shuffling indicating that she was still in bed accompanying her words.

“Now what?” Annie asked her brother as she stepped away from the bedroom door and into the front room of the beach house.

“Now, nothing.” Geoff merely told her, jerking a thumb over his shoulder as he followed her. “Has she really been in there all this time?”

“Yes. Except for this one time when I was upstairs doing some work. I heard the bathroom door creak so I came downstairs and I could hear her throwing up.” She explained worriedly. “But she disappeared back into her room before I could say anything else.”

“Wait, she’s ill?” He asked her, his worry about intruding into Belle’s life suddenly turning into concern for her.

“I don’t know.” Annie shrugged, chewing on her thumb nail nervously as she glanced over her shoulder towards the room that she had just left. “It doesn’t mean that she’s ill. She might have had something bad to eat.”

“Yeah, it could be…”

“Oh!” Annie suddenly exclaimed, all tones of worry vanishing as excitement overtook her. “What if she’s pregnant?”

Who’s pregnant?!” Both kids turned immediately to face the back door of the house as Irene stood in the kitchen with a incredulous look on her face and crossed arms. “Well…?”

“No-one’s pregnant.” Geoff assured her.

“That we know of.” Annie interjected innocently, only to earn herself a warning look from her brother.

“Belle’s just ill and Annie’s jumping to conclusions.” He adjusted to explain to their foster mother.

“If the girl says she’s ill, then I guess she’s ill.” Irene told the two of them, softening her posture while laying down her purse onto the table next to the vase with the flowers.

“Well, she hasn’t really said she’s ill, per se, yet. Annie said she was throwing up earlier.” Geoff said slowly, making Irene nod and sigh.

“Alright.” She replied, making her way towards the bedroom under the stairs. “You two stay away. Don’t think I won’t know if you’re eavesdropping.”

“I’ve got some work to get done. I’ll be in my room.” Geoff informed her easily, before they both turned their sights onto Annie, who stood silently until she melted under their gazes.

“Me, too, I guess.” She sighed, gently being urged forwards towards the stairs by her brother.

Irene waited until she heard both doors shut before knocking on the door of her remaining foster child. Asking to come in when she got an annoyed reply, she waited for a moment before Belle answered again.

“The door’s locked.”

“Then how about you open it.” She said in a tone that everyone knew not to argue with. Hearing the telltale sounds of movement and irritation, Irene smiled as she heard the door unlock and then open.

“I’m not pregnant.” Belle greeted her with before retreating back into her room and into her bed.

“You heard.” Irene stated, closing the door behind her and coming to stand at the end of her bed as she pulled her duvet up to her chin as she sat up against the headrest.

“It’s hard not to. Walls are a bit thin when there’s silence in here and Annie gets excited.” She smirked.

“Don’t we all know it.” Irene sighed. She smiled at her, but it died down when she eyed Belle carefully after a moment.

“What?” She asked a bit self-conscious.

“You feeling alright, love?” Irene asked her gently, coming round to the edge of her bed and perching on it. “You look a bit pale.”

“I do?” Belle glimpsed at herself in the mirror opposite her bed, though she couldn’t really see any difference. “I’m fine. Just a bit tired.”

“I didn’t know being sick was a side effect of being tired. Especially on your day off.” Her voice was filled with scepticism and the tone that Belle has learnt over the many years to mean the underlying message for her to explain what was going on.

“It’s nothing. Honestly.” She assured her, pulling out her bare arms having already changed into her nightwear from under the covers to lay effortlessly on top of it. “It’s just some bad period pains. Nothing I can’t deal with.”

“You sure?” Irene questioned her carefully, still eyeing her as if she would be able to figure out the truth simply like that. Or least, get the truth out of her from pressure. When Belle nodded with a smile, Irene exhaled deeply and accepted he answer. “Have you taken something for it?”

“Painkillers.”

“Alright, then.” She said when Belle refused to specify anything more. “I guess I’ll see you later. Don’t forget you’re working the morning shift tomorrow.”

“How could I forget?” Belle replied sarcastically, earning herself a dry laugh from the elder lady who stood up with the intent of leaving. Squeezing her hand softly, she froze as a frown formed on her lips in replace of the smile.

“You’re awfully warm, darl.” Irene told her, holding up a hand to her forehead for a second until Belle shook it off.

“I’ve been in bed for the past few hours. It’s expected.” She laughed. “I feel fine, Irene. I’ll be as good as new in the morning.”

“Alright…” She sighed, dropping a kiss to Belle’s cheek and backing away with crossed arms. “Just say if you need anything, ok? Or if you feel worse.”

“I will, and I’m sure I won’t.” Belle smiled genuinely at her as she reached the door. “Night.”

“Night, love.”

---

The sound of her phone ringing broke through Belle’s faraway thoughts. Groaning, she opened her eyes and frowned at the time that the alarm clock showed her. Within reach this time, Belle merely stretched out an arm to where the vibrating phone shone bright in the darken room and brought it to her ear after checking it.

“12 hours.” She murmured while letting out a yawn and curling herself up more.

”What?”

“You called and woke me up at 9 this morning, and now you’ve done the same.” Belle explained briefly.

”But it‘s 9:30.” Aden informed her with a hint of confusion. ”And you were sleeping?”

“A little difference, and no.” She sighed, running her other hand through her hair to get it out of her face before letting it drop back to her waist again. “What’s going on?”

”Nothing. Finally got some free time and thought I‘d make good with the promise to call.” He told her. ”What going on with you?”

“Nothing.” Belle repeated hastily. “How was dinner?”

”It was alright. Quite fun, actually. You know how it gets sometimes when Nic‘s overly happy.” Aden laughed lightly, making her scoff.

“Um…” She began, her voice tinted with disapproval. “Not too overly happy, I hope.”

”If she were, then I wouldn‘t be calling you so early.”

“True, true.” Belle accepted with a small giggle. Inhaling deeply, she let out an almost silent moan as a twinge of pain coursed through her body from her abdomen. Clearing her throat quickly and discreetly, she carried on. “So, what now?”

”What was that? You ok?” Aden asked her, having picked up on the sound that she had tried to disguise.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She brushed aside. “You didn’t answer my question.”

”You‘re not fine.” He replied stubbornly that made Belle sigh softly.

“It’s just some pains. I’ll get over it.” She told him in a bored tone before getting to the bit that she wanted to. “Tell me why you called.”

”What kind of pains?” Aden prodded, ignoring the request from the other half of her words.

“Just the typical ones.” Belle said with humour, though the silence that followed made her elaborate when it became obvious that he didn‘t follow. “You know, the curse of being a girl? Period pains?”

”Oh, I see.” He finally clocked on as she rolled her eyes to no-one. ”I guess that means you don‘t want me to come over then, right?”

“Well, I was hoping for you to ask me first…” She told him, adding a tone of hopefulness to it to make it sound important.

”Can I come over, babe?” He obeyed, a laugh accompanying his words.

“Nope.” Belle answered, laughing also. “Sorry, I just wanted to do that.”

”What? Shatter all my hopes and dreams for the night?” Aden questioned rhetorically. ”You sure did that.”

“Sorry…!” She apologized with earnest this time. “You know if it were any other day I’d let you. But if you really want a sleepless night then you‘re more than welcome.”

”No thanks. I think I‘ll avoid the bruising this time around.”

“There were no bruises!” Belle gasped incredulously at his accusation.

”There were many bruises.” Aden countered with a scoff. ”You‘re a mean person when you want to be.”

“That is not true! I’m a lovely person. All the freaking time!” She retorted, letting out a hiss of pain soon afterwards.

”Ok, ok, no need to get all worked up about it. I‘ll take your word for it.” He told her, still laughing quietly as he heard her groan. ”Listen, I‘m going to leave you to it then, alright? You sound like you need some sleep, and it‘ll probably do you some good anyway.”

“Alright then.” Belle sighed tiredly, the pain from her body suddenly making itself known now that the attention was focused back onto it. “I’m sorry. I’ll definitely make it up to you.”

”I‘ll make sure you do.” Aden said knowingly. ”I‘d say making me breakfast in the morning would be a good way around it.”

“I’d love you, but I’m working…” She trailed off as his words clicked into place for her. “But you already know that and that was the point of it.”

”Wow, Belle. You‘re very quick these days.” He commented sarcastically that would have made her hit him had he been near.

“Oh, I know.” She said instead. “Fine, I’ll make you breakfast. Don’t you have work?”

”Nope. Got the day off.”

“Good. A day we can finally spend together.”

”Indeed we can…” Aden replied with a bit of suspicion in his voice. ”What‘s the plan?”

“There isn’t one.” Belle said blankly. “Yet.”

”Right, well I‘ll be waiting for that then.” He told her light-heartedly before turning serious. ”And if you need anything, call me, yeah?”

“You know I will.” She insisted, though they both also knew that she wouldn’t unless it was at the utmost necessity. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

”See you then, sweetheart. Night.”

“Night, babe. Love you.”

”Love you, too.” Aden replied before eventually hanging up.

Exhaling deeply, Belle replaced her phone back onto the bedside table and slowly turned around to face the other side. A smile pulled at her lips as she brought one of the teddies closer to her to cuddle it tightly to her body. Out of her own boredom, and the lack of urge to move, she had managed to pull on the black jumper that she had borrowed from Aden earlier that day and wriggle it onto her teddy. It was rather large for it, and it took her a few attempts before she succeeded with finding the arms and head out of the holes of the garment. However, in the end and finally happy with it, Belle smiled at it with triumph and adoration. Now, as she let her eyes droop shut again, she was glad that it had worked and gave her something to sleep with that could temporarily reproduce the warmth and protectiveness that Aden would normally provide her without him being there at all.

---

Irene frowned as she climbed down the stairs, all fresh and ready for another typical busy day at the Diner. The first sight that had greeted her were the two shirts scattered along the back of the couch, one a plain white school one and one a footy one, that pointed out that the culprit for messiness was Geoff

Deciding to leave it be for a minute, she made her way into the kitchen, glad to see that the kettle was already on. By the sounds of things, there was someone in the bathroom, and by the looks of things, someone had already ate and left.

Pouring herself a cup of hot coffee, Irene glanced over her shoulder when the bathroom door opened to reveal the only permanent male residence of their household.

"Morning." She greeted him, watching as he froze for a second in surprise before returning the gesture. "Take the shirts with you. The living room isn't a hamper, mister."

"Sorry, Irene." He replied sheepishly, walking over to the sofa and scooping them up with the hand that he wasn't using to hold up his towel. He disappeared into his room quickly after, and Irene carried on with making herself a small breakfast.

Sipping her coffee while taking a bite out of her dry toast, she flipped mindlessly through the local paper to pass time until she had to head off. Geoff joined her only a little while later, practically snatching the back of the paper from her for any sports information as he ate.

Placing her paper back onto the table next to her now clean plate, Irene looked at her watch and let out a deep sigh.

"You don't happen to know where Belle went, do you?" She asked her companion. A confused look passed his face as he swallowed the mouthful of cereal that he had been eating.

"Belle?" He made sure before shrugging. "I thought she was still in bed.”

"She's got work this morning." Irene informed him pointedly as Geoff merely shrugged once again. "Are you sure? Who's left their stuff in the sink then?"

"Oh, that was Annie! She must have forgotten to tell you yesterday." He informed her even though he had realized that Irene would have figured it out it had been his younger sister already. "She's gone to see Ruby. Something about an assignment."

"Right." Irene nodded, finishing the last of her drink and standing. Heading into the kitchen with her cutlery first, she then turned back and went straight to the bedroom under the stairs.

Knocking on the door, gently at first, she waited for a response before knocking once again, this time a bit harder and louder.

"Belle? Belle, if you're not going to work today, then you better say something now, girlie." Irene warned her. Giving her enough time to perhaps reply, she shook her head at the silence that greeted her. Placing a hand on the door handle, she twisted it and spoke up. "I'm coming in, Belle.”

The door opened relatively easily, having not been locked or had the usual blocking of strewn clothes from the night before. Light was whirling in the darkness of the room, making it easy to see the outline of Belle still laying in her bed. She laid on her side, away from the door and Irene, and therefore the incoming sunlight. Rolling her eyes, Irene went over to the small window that was situated in the corner of the room and pulled open the drapes to let the entire room bask in the beautiful warm sun.

“Belle, c'mon, darl." She whispered softly, taking a seat on the bed behind her and resting a hand lightly on where the younger girl's waist was under the comfy duvet. Squeezing gently, Irene frowned when there was no kind of protest from her. She leant in to hover slightly over her, worry finally overtaking her when she realized just how quiet and still Belle was. Even on the days that she hadn't wanted to go to school or was too tired to work, Irene had always been prepared for squirming and a long list excuses, perfectly matched up and executed to make them seem genuine.

Taking a shaky breath in, she moved her other hand to brush the hair back off her face and almost gasped at the clammy feel of her skin, along with the strange tint to it.

"Belle...?" Irene called out in a normal voice, shaking her shoulder before hesitantly letting her eyes avert to her chest. It rose and fell, thankfully, with every breath she took, yet she still didn't wake up. "Belle!”

"Irene...?" A voice, filled with concern and nervousness, that made her jump came to her.

"Call an ambulance." She replied with forced calmness that she was pretty sure was from shock, not able to tear her eyes away from the girl in front of her who seemed like she was sleeping.

"What? Why? What's wrong?" He hurriedly questioned her, taking long strides straight into the room and halfway to the bed before Irene's words made him stop.

"She's not waking up." The words were enough to catch him dead, but the trembling in her voice and the wavering of steady breathing along with it simply made everything worse. "Geoff, call the ambulance now!

---

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Oh. My. Freaking. God! :o I certainly did not expect that for an ending. But then again, shocking endings are what you do the best! Still...wow! I loved it all. Even with that ending. As a poster above said, it was going to happens sooner or later, but I didn't expect it now! Sorry, I'm probably repeating myself, but I feel so blown away by this chapter. I loved the way it started with the phone call. And alllll the racy fluff (is that term used correctly? I've read it somewhere and always wanted to use it.) The flowers were so cute. Too Aden! And I loved how Belle became suspicious about his motives. Tut, tut, tut, Belle for not taking her meds. Oh,and the bit with Belle taking his jumper was too adorable, as was the teddy dressed in it so that she would have something to cuddle up to in bed that's like Aden but not him :wub: Now that'a love! I want his hoody :( It looks so warm and comfy and sexy :ph34r: Ok, going off topic. Basically the whole chapter was brilliantly awesome, and that ending just blew me away. I can't wait for more, once again. I want to know what's wrong with her and how Aden murders her now. I'm hopeless at speculating, so I'm waving the white flag for it.

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