The Unravelling of Summer Bay

[Georgia]

Chapter Six:

“What the hell are you thinking? He’s a married man Indigo, a married man. He took a vow; he swore to Mattie that he would love her forever... you don’t just get in the way of that”, Nicole yelled as soon as Indigo stepped back into the room, this time fully dressed.

“Don’t get all high and mighty with me. You’ve done a lot of bad things in your life as well Nicole; you don’t get to judge me”, Indigo yelled back, her eyes narrowing in annoyance at the hypocrisy pouring out of Nicole’s mouth.

“I haven’t slept with a married man Indigo. And you know what’s worse? His wife lives in town Indi. She serves us our coffee in the morning. She’s best friends with Belle. Belle is the closest thing to a sister Annie has. Annie’s brother is Geoff, who’s dating my best friend... god Indigo, don’t you ever think?”

Indigo’s mouth fell open, and her eyebrows narrowed in confusion. “I have no idea what that has to do with anything Nicole. You might want to explain that to me”

“If Mattie finds out that you’re sleeping with her husband, then everything will fall apart. Mattie will hate you, Belle won’t talk to you, Charlie won’t talk to you... Martha will probably ignore you as well, because she’s become pretty close to those three. Annie won’t talk to you, because you’ve upset her sister’s best friend. Then Geoff won’t talk to you, because you’ve upset his sister. Then Ruby won’t talk to you, which means I can’t talk to you either. You’ll be refused service in the diner, the new entertainment complex, the church, the surf shop. Our business will fall apart because no one will want to buy from you”, Nicole screeched. “Did you ever think of that?”

“No... I didn’t, because no sane person would think of all those links. That is never going to happen Nic; people don’t act like that”, Indigo tried to calm her friend down.

“Maybe not in the city, but in a small town they do. Think about what happened when Angelo accidently killed Jack. That ripped apart the whole town. Martha refused to talk to Angelo, even after three years, and wouldn’t talk to Charlie either. Liam wasn’t allowed to talk to Charlie or Angelo either. Belle and Mattie stayed friends with Charlie, so Martha gave them the cold shoulder as well. Liam was constantly in trouble for talking to Belle, and in the end, he terminated that relationship. In a small town everything is linked. I just can’t believe you didn’t think”, Nicole finished, her voice dropping into a whisper.

“I was thinking Nicole. I was thinking that Lucas is a great guy, and he’s unhappy in his marriage. I was thinking that I deserved happiness as well, and why should Matilda Hunter get in the way of that. I have every right to be with the man I love”, Indigo said softly, her voice filled with love.

“You... love... Lucas?” Nicole questioned, the words sounding awkward spilling from her lips.

“Nic, he doesn’t love Mattie anymore. He loves me. He told me so”, Indigo spoke as if she was talking to herself instead of Nicole.

“Don’t call her Mattie. That’s a name for her friends to use, and you definitely are not her friend... I can’t be here right now. I can’t look at you anymore. I have to go”, Nicole stuttered, before turning on her heel and rushing out of the door, leaving Indigo screaming after her.

Nicole jumped into her car and sped off towards the diner. She desperately needed a coffee, and she desperately needed to talk to Belle. Belle would know exactly what to do. After all, Mattie was her best friend.

When she got to the diner, it was practically empty. Belle was behind the counter, her hands fiddling with the numerous dials on the coffee machine. Nicole walked straight up to her; her hands shaking with nerves.

“Thank god Mattie isn’t here”, Nicole began. Belle opened her mouth to talk, but Nicole didn’t notice.

“I went to Indigo’s house this morning. I had to show her some fabric samples for the new line we’re designing. Her car was on the driveway; I thought that was odd. She usually parks in the garage so that her car doesn’t get damaged. She loves that car. It’s her baby, her pride and joy... she bought it when the company first made a profit”, Nicole continued.

“Stop rambling Nic, just spit it out”, Belle chuckled. Although she and Nicole weren’t the best of friends, they were still on good terms, and Belle had never seen Nicole this worked up before. “Did Indigo try and set you up on a blind date or something? Oh my god, she did. It’s with Ric, isn’t it? That’s why you wanted to make sure Mattie wasn’t here... you’re going to date her ex-boyfriend”, Belle rambled, her hands gesturing with excitement.

“No that’s not it; Indigo was in there with a guy”, Nicole deliberately trailed off and waited for all the pieces to click into place.

“Oh my god, Indigo was with Ric. Indigo slept with Ric. That’s... weird. I would never have picked those two to be a couple. Thanks for the gossip Nic, but really, you should tell Mattie... she’ll probably be ok with it you know. She’s with Lucas, and she’s moved on. She doesn’t have feelings for Ric anymore, although it’d probably be strange at first...”, Belle

continued with her rambling as if Nicole had never interrupted.

“It wasn’t Ric”, Nicole said softly, before gaining an interest in the floor, her eyes tracing the pattern of the tiles.

“Well, who was it? Oh god, please tell me it’s not Drew. I don’t think I could cope with him being back in the bay. Oh it is Drew isn’t it? That’s why you made sure Mattie wasn’t around... you wanted to speak to just me. This is going to be awkward... what will I say to him? It’s not like I have feelings for him anymore, but it’s still weird”, Belle muttered.

“Oh for god’s sakes, it’s not Ric, and it’s not Drew. Indigo’s sleeping with Lucas”, she yelled.

“What?” a small whisper came from behind Nicole. “Lucas is doing what with Indigo?”

Nicole turned around to find a horrified Mattie standing there with her mouth open. Nicole looked round at Belle for support, who quickly moved to Mattie’s side, wiping away the tears that had formed in her eyes.

Nicole put her hand to her mouth in shock, whereas Belle put her arms around Mattie in comfort.

“He’s sleeping with someone else... he’s sleeping with Indigo”, Mattie whispered over and over again. Eventually, Nicole couldn’t stand the guilt anymore, and left the diner, and

Belle quickly shooed out the last of the customers, locked the door, and pulled Mattie over to the couch, before sitting down next to her.

“It’s going to be ok Mattie. I’m here for you”, Belle whispered every time Mattie took a breath. “I always have been, and I always will be”

[freckleface]

ha, I love how everyone wouldn't talk to her

You're right though it is linked.

Great story update soon

[tessalove]

Oh no! Poor Mattie! I really hope she's ok!

Indigo is in a lot of trouble im gonna to guess!!

Update soon! El x

[Red Ranger 1]

Nicole's ramblings that no-one would talk to Indigo if they found out were amusing.Indigo loves Lucas...he'd better feel the same way or is this going to get even messier than it already is.Loved Belle's rambling about what Nicole was trying to tell her, although if she'd mentioned Matilda actually was there it could have saved them a whole heap of trouble...

[Danni02]

Great couple of updates.

Aww poor Mattie!

Update soon

[Georgia]

Thanks for the reviews guys. I'm sorry I haven't been updating much; it's just I haven't really been watching H&A at the moment, so therefore I haven't been writing. I will, of course, finish my stories.

Chapter Seven:

When Lucas walked into the diner that evening, he knew something was wrong. First of all, there were no customers; only Belle and Mattie sitting on the couch. Second of all, it was clear that both of them had been crying.

“Hey guys, what’s wrong? Where’s Aden? We’re supposed to be having dinner tonight”, he said casually, knowing that Mattie would tell him what was wrong when she felt like it.

“Oh, I called Aden and cancelled the plans. Mattie didn’t feel like going out and I didn’t either. I must have forgotten to call you”, Belle said harshly, not even bothering to look up at Lucas.

“That’s cool. I’ll just take Mattie home, and put her to bed. Has she got the flu or something?” Lucas asked, his eyes drifting over Mattie, who was curled up with her head on Belle’s lap.

“She contracted it from hanging around with scum like yourself”, Belle jumped in. Mattie just cried quietly, not able to lift her head so she could look at Lucas.

“Look Belle, I don’t know what your problem is, but I don’t have time for it. I’ll be telling Aden about your behaviour in the morning, and I doubt he’ll be very impressed”, Lucas threatened.

“You’ve changed so much Lucas, I can hardly recognise you”, Belle spat, her eyes narrowing as she took in Lucas’s stance.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he yelled, his whole face twisting into a horrible mask, anger being the most dominant feature.

Belle didn’t say anything, but gently moved Mattie’s head off her lap, and laid her on the couch, before standing up and stalking over to Lucas.

“Just how long have you been sleeping with Indigo?” she hissed

“How do you know about that?”

“I have my sources. You know, Mattie told me she thought you were having an affair, and I didn’t believe her. I said that you loved her too much to hurt her that way. Obviously I was wrong, and now I feel like an idiot for not believing my best friend over a lying, cheating scumbag”, Belle yelled, anger and hatred pouring out of her voice.

“Mattie will forgive me though. She always does. She loves me”, Lucas taunted Belle, which was clearly the wrong move. Belle swore at him, before jumping at him, or at least attempting too. Mattie, who had been watching out of the corner of her eye, had jumped up and grabbed Belle just in time.

“Relax Belle, he’s not worth it”, she reassured her best friend, before turning to the man she had loved for so many years.

“Will you stop seeing Indigo?” she asked quietly, her eyes flashing with an unrecognisable emotion. Lucas said nothing, but his eyes dropped to the floor.

“You can’t even hold my gaze. Of course you’re not going to stop seeing her. She’s good for your ego: she’s young, successful, gorgeous... plus, it’s exciting and dangerous to be sleeping with someone who isn’t your wife”. Mattie spoke softly, but her tone was more serious and terrifying than it would have been if she yelled.

“It’s not about the excitement and danger Mattie”, Lucas said quietly, his eyes still trained on the floor.

“Don’t you dare call her Mattie; that’s a name for friends and family... you’ve betrayed that right”, Belle whispered, exhaustion clear in her voice.

“I want a divorce Lucas. I don’t want to be Mrs. Matilda Holden anymore. I want to be me again; I want to be Miss. Mattie Hunter”

“You’d really leave me over one mistake?” Lucas asked, his eyes disbelieving.

“I would be willing to work on our marriage if you promised never to see Indigo again, but you couldn’t do that”, Mattie explained. “I’ll send the papers as soon as I can. I don’t want to see you ever again. You need to be moved out of the house by the time I come home, and you’re forbidden to step foot in the diner”, Mattie informed him, her voice leaving no room for arguments.

“But... but...” he stammered

“Goodbye Lucas. Thanks for the great memories”, Mattie said sarcastically. Every good memory she had of Lucas was overshadowed by at least two bad ones.

Lucas said nothing more but turned on his heel and stormed out of the diner, slamming the door behind him. Belle and Mattie barely had a chance to get back on the couch before the door was pushed open again. Belle opened her mouth to ask the customer to leave, but when she was it was Charlie, said hello instead.

“God guys, you’ll never believe what just happened”, Charlie spoke quickly, and it was obviously good news, as her cheeks were flushed ruby red.

Belle wanted to cut Charlie’s story off, but before she had a chance, Charlie launched into it, and the moment had passed.

It was obviously going to be a long story: Charlie seemed keen on saying absolutely everything that happened, and neither Mattie nor Belle had the heart to cut her off.

After what seemed like a year, Charlie finally finished. “So Angelo asked me to move in with him, and I said yes”, she exclaimed, and trained her eyes on Belle and Mattie so that she could see their reactions.

Mattie looked close to tears, but they were obviously not happy ones, and Belle seemed more concerned with Mattie’s welfare than Charlie’s news.

“God guys, this is a huge step for me, and the first thing I wanted to do was tell my best friends, but you’re more interested in each other than my story. I listen to you all the time, and just once, I wanted the same courtesy”, Charlie yelled, looking close to tears herself.

“Charlie, we’re thrilled about your news; it’s amazing, and you and Angelo are going to be so happy...” Belle trailed off.

“Then why is Mattie close to tears?”

“She just asked Lucas for a divorce”, Belle brought Charlie up to speed, and her reaction didn’t disappoint. Her eyes widened in shock, and she clasped her hand to her mouth in horror.

“God Mattie, I am so sorry”, she whispered, before hugging her friend.

The two lone figures quickly became three, and the silence stretched on for hours, each person seeking comfort for something different, and alien to themselves, and each other.

Mattie, of course, needed comfort because she was leaving Lucas.

Charlie needed comfort because she was terrified about the step she was taking with Angelo, although she was masking it well.

And Belle... well Belle needed reassurance that she hadn’t completely messed up Mattie’s life. She needed to know that she was still a good friend, because right now, she felt like it was all her fault.

[Danni02]

Great update. Was worth the wait

Aww poor poor Mattie....Belle is right Lucas is scum!

Yay for Changelo moving in together, although you have me slightly worried if Charlie is actually going to do it...

Update soon

[Red Ranger 1]

Liked the showdown between Lucas and Matilda.Charlie rushing in with her good news and then hearing Mattie's story was well done.Hoping for another update...

[tessalove]

Great Update!! I really liked it!

Poor Mattie though! I hope Lucas doesn't hurt her more by being with Indigo infront of her!

Update again soon, I know your not watching much, so whenever your ready!!

Ly xxx <3

[Inactive User]

Great chapter.

Poor Mattie. I want to hug her

Grrr Luc is such scum for cheating on her

More soon please