Discovering The Truth

[Georgia]

Story title: Discovering the Truth (Sequel: 'For Ben')

Type of story: S/M Fic - Two-shot

Main characters: Ben, Aden, Nicole, Cameron, Jasmine, Belle.

BTTB rating: G/T

Genre: General

Does this story include spoilers: No

Any warning: No

Summary: It's been years since Belle said goodbye to the world, but the day after Ben's sixteenth birthday, the secret that Belle kept to the end is revealed. How will Ben be able to cope, and how will his family be able to help him?

Ben’s POV:

The TV blared loudly from downstairs, but to me, it was just meaningless sound. Yesterday it was my sixteenth birthday and everything had been perfect. Today, sitting in Aden’s closet, a box open in front of me, everything has fallen apart.

One piece of paper matters above everything else. It’s the piece of paper that changes everything, despite the fact that I was happy with the way things were. I didn’t want anything to change, but it did.

Birth Registration Notice

This certifies that a certificate of birth has been filed with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics under the name of:

Ben Geoffrey Franklin

Born on August 25th, 1994, at Northern Districts Hospital

Name of father: Aden Michael Jefferies

Name of mother: Belle Susan Taylor

Date filed: 25th of August, 1994

Written on an otherwise ordinary piece of paper, and signed by a Doctor. Armstrong; was proof that Nicole wasn’t my mother, and Geoff wasn’t my father. I frantically wiped the last few tears off my cheeks, before throwing the paper back into the box, before standing and rushing out of the wardrobe.

My heart stopped in my chest when I saw the sight at the bottom of the stairs. Cameron and Nicole were snuggled up on the couch together, and instead of smiling because my mum was happy, I felt sick. This was the woman who had lied to me about everything. What made it worse was that Aden was sitting alone in the armchair, his eyes distant. Aden was still mourning for Belle, and I hated to see my father upset.

“I’m going out”, I stated, not in the mood to ask. Nicole’s head spun around, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

“Don’t you mean can I please go out?” she asked, expecting me to give my usual answer. She didn’t realize that in the last fifteen minutes, I had been changed beyond repair.

“It’s important. I’m going to the library to study”, I lied. I didn’t have any homework, or tests coming up. I didn’t even have an assignment I needed to work on, but I needed to get out of the house. Nicole didn’t seem to realize because a proud smile stretched across her face. Cameron just turned back to the television, but Aden’s eyes seemed to be staring straight into my soul. I shivered, before turning my face away from Aden. I didn’t want him to be able to tell that something was wrong.

“Well, I’ll see you later”, I said quietly, before turning on my heel, and slowly walking out the house, not wanting to draw extra attention to myself. Jogging to the bottom of the street, I turned left, heading towards the cemetery.

The cemetery was quiet, but not eerie. It seemed somewhat peaceful, and I stopped running, instead walking towards Belle’s grave. I had been there many times before, usually with Aden, as he never went more than three days without a visit. I used to think that his visits were morbid and creepy, but now I understand. I felt closer to Belle, and as I ran my hand over the inscription, I sighed softly.

Belle Susan Taylor: Best friend, best love; the angel in our souls.

I had seen her one night coming down the stairs and she had looked like an angel. I remember telling her that, before moving onto the next issue I needed to discuss with Aden. It seemed fitting that the word angel was written on her tombstone.

“I don’t know what to say. I had this whole speech planned out in my head, but now that I’m here, it seems stupid to say it”, I whisper to the marble, my fingers twisting the hem of my shirt, a nervous habit I had picked up from Aden... who had picked it up from my mother.

“It’s not stupid Ben. She was my entire world, and I don’t believe that she just left me to fend for myself in this crazy world. She’s out there somewhere. At times, speaking to her grave was the only thing that kept me going”, a voice from behind me said softly. I didn’t need to look around to know that Aden was standing behind me.

“How did you know where I was going?” I asked, my fingers letting go of my shirt, and delicately tracing the edge of the cold stone in front of me.

“This is where I come when I’m upset. I saw the truth in your eyes Ben, and I just knew you’d come here. We have that in common”, Aden explained, moving to sit beside me.

“We share blood as well”, I reminded him. I desperately needed confirmation... deep down I knew that Belle and Aden were my parents, but I needed him to tell me it was true.

“It’s a long story Ben, and I can’t delve into it again. It’ll shatter my heart”

“You don’t have a heart anymore! She’s been dead for years Aden and you still come here practically every single day! I’ve never seen you with a girlfriend, and I can hear Mum, I mean Nicole, worrying about you at night. I can hear you cry when you think no one else is listening, and I see you stare at her photos all the time. You have no heart to shatter because she took it with you!” I screamed, smirking victoriously when Aden’s face paled, and his eyes filled with tears.

“Of course she took my heart with her. She whispered I love you as she died. She took away everything I wanted, and there are some days when I hate her so much I can’t get out of bed. And then I remember that I love her, and I feel so unbelievably guilty. There was the time when I tried to date. I leaned in at the end of the date to kiss her, and she whispered my name passionately. And all I could say was I love you Belle. She haunts every single one of my thoughts, so forgive me for crying. Forgive me for staring at her photos. She was my everything. And one day, you’ll love someone as much as I love her, and you’ll know how it feels Ben. So forgive me for not wanting to delve into the past, into the pain”

My smirk disappeared as I saw the pain I had inflicted on Aden. “I’m sorry; I just wanted to know”

“She wrote it down”, Aden whispered, “She wrote down the whole story, up to the point where she had you. I can’t tell you the story, but she wrote it down”

“I need to read it. I need to know”, I told him, turning away from the grave.

“Please... don’t. Don’t bring the past back up”, Aden choked out, but I ignored him.

“I need the story... please Aden... please Dad”, I whispered, knowing that the last word would affect him more than anything else I could say.

“It’s in the wardrobe. It’s in the light blue suitcase. Don’t let anyone know what you’re reading Ben”, Aden informed me, and I just nodded, before standing up and walking slowly back towards the house.

As I left, my eyes welled up as I heard Aden speaking to the gravestone.

“I miss you everyday Belle... there isn’t a minute where I don’t think of you. You’d be so happy right now Belle. Ben knows that we’re his parents. He knows you are his mum. He’ll learn the truth, and he’ll understand why you left him”

I noticed that Aden didn’t say whether or not he loved Belle, and I knew that was because he hated her too much to love her, yet he loved her too much to hate her. It left him stuck; unable to move on from the woman who had been his whole life.

That’s the first part of the story guys! What do you think? Part Two should come out sometime this week. Oh, and the story that Belle wrote down... That’s One Mistake.

[Georgia]

Part Two:

Ben's POV:

I sat there, the tears rolling down my cheeks as I finished the journal. It had taken me less than three hours to read Belle’s story, as I had barricaded myself in my room.

Aden had been keeping Nicole and Cameron away, and I was grateful for that. Now wasn’t the time to be interrupted.

As soon as the book was shut, I threw it at the wall, smiling at the sound it made as the corner to a chip out of my wall. I’d have to explain that to Nicole later, but right now, I didn’t care. I had a lot to get used to.

I understood why Belle and Aden hadn’t raised me, and I understood why Nicole hadn’t told me the story. There were obviously a lot of bad memories involved in the whole story.

But knowing what had happened made me feel nauseous. I couldn’t believe that Aden could have done something that horrible to the woman he loved.

“Have you finished the story?” Aden asked from the doorway.

“Don’t bother to knock”, I said sarcastically, glaring at the dent in the wall from the journal.

“I take that as a yes, considering the hole in the wall, and the journal on the floor”, Aden replied, his eyes sweeping the room, before he stepped further into the room and shut the door.

“How could you do something like that to the woman you loved?” I hissed; disbelief clear in my voice. Nicole knew what Aden had done to Belle all those years ago, yet she had still let him live in our house.

“I have no excuse... I was drunk, and upset, and there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t regret what happened”, Aden whispered softly, but I didn’t want to hear it.

“You should have been there every step of the way. You should have begged for forgiveness until you were blue in the face. You made her hate the only child she could ever have. You took my mother away from me”

“Don’t ever say that Belle hated you. She did love you Ben. She loved you more than anything, but she wouldn’t have been a capable mother to you”, Aden defended his love.

“You took away the life that belonged to me Aden. You’re my father, yet you took away everything I should have had. Belle should have been my mother. I can picture it now... me rushing home from school, because I knew that my mum would have fresh made cookies on the side. You should have taught me how to ride my first bike, but you didn’t”, I whimpered, the tears pouring out of my eyes again.

“I know. I can’t defend myself... it was all me. I ruined everything”, Aden sobbed, sliding down the wall so that he could sit next to me, but I quickly moved away.

“I don’t want your excuses. You were supposed to be the person who would care about my mother and I but you didn’t. Belle may be my mother, but you are not my father”, I spat towards him, before jumping to my feet and rushing out of my bedroom, leaving a crying Aden on the floor.

“Ben, please stop jumping around on the stairs”, Nicole yelled from downstairs.

“I’m not jumping”, I screamed back.

“Get down here right now Ben”

I sighed, rolling my eyes and racing down the stairs to the kitchen. Nicole was standing there, her pink apron tied tight around her waist, and flour smeared against her cheeks.

“I made your favourite chocolate chip cookies”, Nicole trilled, grabbing the still warm plate from off the side, and bringing it over to me. My eyes widened in surprise, before I grabbed a cookie off the plate.

“Thanks”, I whispered, “I love you Mum”

Life wasn’t simple, but those four little words would make Nicole very happy and she was the one person who had been there through everything in my life. Belle may be my mother, but Nicole was my Mum, and Geoff was my father.

“I love you too sweetheart. Do you mind running upstairs and sorting out the washing while I finish dinner?” Nicole asked, and I quickly nodded, before racing back up the stairs.

Nothing had really changed... Nicole was still my mum, and she always would be. She was the woman who changed my diapers, and taught me how to talk. She was the one who never gave up when I got sick. She was everything I needed.

And Belle... she was my mother. She was the lady who had given birth to me. She had given me life, and I would always be thankful to her. I could still think of her as Aunty Belle, because really... that’s all she was to me. The woman who had left when things got too hard, but came back when requested.

But Aden... someone who did something that horrible to the person he loved... he was no father of mine. I had always felt sorry for Aden, as he never moved on from Belle, but knowing the truth, he deserved every bit of pain. I would carry on believing that Geoff was my father. Nicole had told me stories about how strong and brave he was, and that was the kind of man I wanted to be.

Aden’s POV:

As soon as Ben left the kitchen, I walked in, my eyes still rimmed with red. I had known that one day Ben would find out, but I had no idea it would be this emotional.

“Aden... what’s wrong?” Nicole asked; concern clear in her tone.

“What we knew would happen. He found the birth certificate”, I explained. Nicole’s jaw dropped and she stared at me speechless, before bursting into tears.

“Aden... I can’t lose him. He’s my son; I need him. Please don’t take him away”

“Nic, relax. I kept my promise”, I informed her, my heart breaking even further as I saw Nicole cry.

“You did?”

“You came to me at Belle’s funeral, and you asked if I could help keep the secret. You asked me to become the bad guy, to hand him Belle’s journal if he ever found out. You know Ben so well; you knew that he’d think I was the bad guy. I promised that I would... Belle died without telling him the truth. She wanted you to be Ben’s mother, and I wanted to keep her wish alive. I promised”, I whispered, my eyes looking away from Nicole.

“Thank you Aden... for letting me keep my son”

“It’s what Belle would have done"

"You didn't have to do what you did...", Nicole trailed off, unsure what she was going to say.

"You and Belle deserve to be the heroes in Ben's story. After everything I've done, I don't deserve the respect and love of that boy. I am the villain in his story", I said softly, before turning on my heel and walking out of the house.

I could hear Nicole calling after me, but I didn't listen. I didn't need Summer Bay anymore, there was nothing for me to stay for apart from Belle's grave. I had left this town once before and I had survived, and I could do it again.

Jumping into Belle's little blue car that I had kept running, I gunned the engine and drove away from Summer Bay once and for all. I wouldn't go far, because I had to visit Belle, but I would go far enough.

As I passed the welcome to Summer Bay sign, I swore with frustration, as tears filled up my eyes. "Goodbye Belle", I whispered, as I left the one place that had ever felt like home. "I did this all for you"

And that's the end of that saga. I feel like I've been writing this forever, and I probably have. Thanks to everyone who ever commented on One Mistake, 'For Ben', or Discovering the Truth. It's been greatly appreciated.

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