Hope, Peace, Love.

[Zetti]

Very good fic

I am liking the storylines.

Rachel didnt deserve to find out that way

[Danni02]

Good update.

Oh my, poor Rachel finding out about Taylor like that. Like everyone else has said I think Rachel may think thats why Tony wants to stop trying with her.

And Adelle....well...I think they should both taken the opportuinies they have been given, even if it does mean breaking up....or maybe, like Barbara said, Aden could got to Uni in London??

[charmed60]

Oh wow Kirsty that was just....incredible! Fantastic! I felt so so sorry for Rachel and your writing of that scene was perfect, her devastation was palpable. I agree with what the others said, I wouldn't be surprised if Rachel thought Tony doesn't want a baby anymore now because of Taylor; it was such an awful way for her to find out and I fear it will push her away from Tony.

‘Don’t you dare touch me,’ Rachel screamed. She stumbled as she picked up her flip flops that were buried under the sand. She paused momentarily to catch her breath. She felt nauseas. Crippling pain hit her in the stomach and she moaned slightly. Her baby was dead. Her husband didn’t want a family with her. And he had a daughter with someone else. The physical pain was so overwhelming. Rachel had no idea how she managed to stay upright. She was painfully aware of Jazz staring at her as she forced herself to breathe, completely unaware of the fresh tears that were running down her checks

This paragraph was just heartbreaking and I loved the way you described Rachel's stomach pain as physical because of the loss of her baby. It made you realise how awful things are for her right now and what's even more frustrating is it's no-ones fault. It's just a terrible situation that's been bestowed upon them all and no-one can do anything about it. I was cringing so much when Jazz began to speak and desperate for her to stop because I could almost feel the shock and devastation from Rachel but even more when Taylor said she wanted to go and see her Daddy I wonder where Rachel will go? Tony's little monologue was also very sad, he must feel helpless and guilty even though it's out of his control; I hope he finds Rachel and manages to talk to her and they find a way to get through it together.

The writing was so fantastic I almost forgot about the Aden/Belle stuff Again it's a really difficult situation but I agree with Danni, they need to put their personal lives before the relationship, I wonder if they'll find a way to work through it? And I loved the little scene between Irene and Aden; that was very H&A in the sense of the amount of times someone's stormed out of Irene's kitchen and left her like that

Can't wait for the next chapter; I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next!

[HighwayUnicorn]

Deleted.

[KirstyEkua]

Thank you so much everyone for your lovely comments I really apperciate it, you're all too nice, hehe.

Sorry this update took so long. I hope you enjoy it though Any comments/thoughts greatly apperciated.

‘Rachel,’ Leah exclaimed, what on earth has happened?’ She watched in shock as Rachel stumbled into the kitchen, the tears flowing freely down her face. She looked distraught as she stood by the door, gasping for breath.

‘I didn’t know where else to go,’ Rachel faced Leah and wrapped her arms around her self. ‘Everything is so messed up,’ she cried, her voice breaking. ‘It just hurts so much,’ she sobbed as she took in big gulps of air, unaware she was making no sense. She’d left the beach and initially had no idea where she was heading; but before she was even aware of it she was outside Leah’s door, praying she was home.

‘What does sweetie,’ Leah rubbed Rachel’s arms tenderly. The anguish in her voice had scared her. Rachel shook her head and muttered unintelligibly. ‘Sit down,’ Leah insisted, steering Rachel to a chair. ‘I’m going to get you a glass of water and I’m going to wait until you’re ready to talk to me, okay?’ Rachel nodded weakly and tucked her hair behind her ears, her heart thudding in her chest. She felt nauseas. Now she was here she was terrified. Having to talk about everything that had happened; actually saying the words out loud, she didn’t know if she could. But being with Leah was the only thing that made sense to her right now. Thinking of her husband brought a sharp pain to her chest and she winced and forced herself to concentrate on the flowery tablecloth in an effort to stop the thoughts that were whirling through her head.

Leah ran the tap, letting the water run over her fingers until it got cold. She kept her back to Rachel as she struggled to compose herself. Leah knew it was the baby. She knew as soon as Rachel had appeared in her doorway, shaking and visibly distressed, the tears streaming down her cheeks. It was nothing new. She was thankful Dan and VJ were out, doing some 'boy' stuff or whatever they did. It was already dark outside, the orangey pink sky now a vivid black, with only a few scattered stars brightening up the night. She shivered as light breeze came in from the slightly ajar door, wincing as she heard her friend's cries along with the gently chirping of the crickets.

‘Here you go,’ she smiled as she pulled up a chair next to Rachel and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. ‘Is it the baby?’ she whispered. Rachel just looked at her. She didn’t need to say anything. ‘I’m so sorry,’ Leah pulled Rachel into her shoulder and held her close. She didn’t know what to say. No words were going to take away the pain.

‘And Jazz,’ Rachel muttered into Leah’s shoulder. ‘Tony’s daughter,’ she blabbed incoherently. ‘He doesn’t want babies with me,’ she sobbed loudly. ‘I thought he loved me, Leah, how can he do this? And now he has Taylor what’s going to happen to me? I lost my baby,’ she howled and gripped Leah tightly, her nails digging into her back.

‘What, Rach,’ Leah gently pushed her away so they were face to face. ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked, puzzled. Leah listened in horror as Rachel explained the details of the days events, her voice wavering as she struggled to elucidate the news that had devastated her.

‘Oh my God,’ Leah gasped, her heart breaking for her friend. ‘I can’t believe it.’ Leah gazed at Rachel uncertainly. How could this be true? It just couldn’t she reasoned, there had to be some mistake. But as Rachel’s bottom lip quivered and her eyes once again filled with tears Leah knew she wasn’t just over reacting.

‘What do you mean?’ she asked gently as she brushed her hand through strands of Rachel’s hair. ‘Jazz is here, in Summer Bay?’

‘Yes,’ Rachel nodded miserably. ‘She has a child – a girl – with To, Tony,’ she stuttered. ‘He had no idea.’

‘Oh Rachel, God.’ Leah struggled to contain her astonishment. ‘And he told you he didn’t want a baby with you?’ She was confused. It didn’t make any sense to her; Tony wanted a baby just as much as Rachel did, he told Leah often enough.

‘Yes.’ Rachel gazed out of the window. ‘I don’t think it’s a coincidence that as soon as he finds out he has a daughter he decides he doesn’t want babies with me,’ she said flatly, her voice suddenly devoid of emotion.

‘Rachel,’ Leah paused, the worry written all over her face. ‘This is a massive shock – for both of you,’ she emphasised. ‘And I can’t believe Tony doesn’t want children with you, I just can’t. I know how much he loves you and how desperate he is for a family with you.’ She squeezed Rachel’s hands. ‘You need to get through this together,’ she added gently.

‘But why Leah?’ Rachel asked, her voice filled with pain and confusion. ‘Why would he change his mind like that?’

‘I don’t know sweetie,’ she answered honestly, her heart breaking. ‘Did he give you a reason?’

‘Something about not wanting to see me go through it again,’ Rachel replied bitterly. ‘But I just don’t buy that. I’m fine.’

‘Rachel you’re not fine.’ Leah grasped her shoulders. ‘I know Tony would never do anything to deliberately hurt you. He loves you so much. And maybe this is just his way of being cruel to be kind.’ Leah bit down hard on her bottom lip as she struggled to contain to the tears she could feel welling up. She knew she had to try and be strong for her. Rachel was falling apart before her eyes and she felt powerless to stop it. Taking a deep breath she pulled Rachel up from the chair and pulled her close. ‘You need to sleep, look at you you’re exhausted,’ she smiled sadly as she took in the deep, dark circles under her eyes. ‘Come and lay down for a bit,’ she suggested as she gently lead Rachel to the living room. Rachel followed, too emotionally and physically exhausted to protest. Her legs suddenly felt like lead weights and she struggled to keep her eyes open.

‘Thanks,’ she whispered weakly as she curled up on the couch and gave in to her body’s need to sleep. Leah gently wrapped a blanket around her and stroked her hair before tip toeing to the kitchen.

***********

Martha sighed as she wrapped her hands around her steaming mug of hot chocolate. She was sitting outside; her legs perched on the edge of the garden table as she leaned her head against the back of the chair. Exhaustion washed over her. Jack had no idea what it was like she mused as she took a sip, wincing as the hot liquid burned her tongue. It was already dark and a gently breeze was beginning to pick up. She gazed up at the twinkling stars, a slight smile spreading across her lips. Peace was a rare thing for her these days. Sitting out here she could barely hear her daughter’s cries. Jack had insisted he’d put her to bed. Martha didn’t have the strength to argue. The day’s events came hurling back to her as she thought of her baby. It immediately made her think of Rachel. She had no idea how to deal with it. Calling had proved useless. And then Tony had appeared in their living room, looking dishevelled and anxious, demanding to know if they’d heard or seen Rachel. Then he’d dropped the bombshell that even now Martha was struggling to grasp. Jazz and Tony had a daughter. He’s started rambling about Rachel going to work, about not being able to stand seeing her in so much pain, then the fateful words that Martha couldn’t believe he’d come out with. Telling Rachel he didn’t want children with her. Martha had stood perfectly still as he’d delivered the information to them, too stunned to utter a word. Jack too was at a loss for what to say. She understood Tony’s reasons for wanting to stop trying but she doubted Rachel would see it that way. And she knew how much he regretted it, that he’d just blurted it out at the worst possible time. And now there was Jazz, and a little girl desperate to call Tony dad. It was all just too much. Tony had left as quickly as he had appeared. Jacks suggestion that he try Leah caused him to bolt without saying another word. Marta couldn’t recall how long it had taken for someone to speak; they’d just stared at each other, too dazed to even say something that would help them understand what had happened to their family.

Sighing heavily she tentatively walked back to the house, praying Laura was asleep. ‘Jack,’ she whispered as she walked quietly across the living room, sighing with relief as only the sound that filled her ears was that of creaking floorboards. ‘Good job,’ she whispered as she stood in the door way of the nursery, watching her husband gazing intently into their daughters crib.

‘Thanks,’ he grinned as he approached her. ‘It’s not so hard,’ he winked cheekily as she kissed her cheek. ‘About this ball Martha,’ he took her hand and led her to the sofa.

‘Jack,’ she warned, the anger boiling up insider her. ‘With everything else going on at the moment I do not want to get into another fight about this. I’m not going. It is that simple,’ she deadpanned.

‘At least think about it won’t you?’ he pleaded. ‘Martha please,’ he said more gently. ‘It’s important for us to do stuff together.’

‘Except I really don’t want too!’ Martha took a deep breath as she struggled to contain her rage. The last thing she wanted was to wake the baby. ‘I can’t believe you’re still harping on about a stupid party when you’ve just found out you have a half sister and your good friend has just lost another one of your would be siblings,’ she hissed. ‘And your father is probably feeling like he’s been hit by a ten ton truck. But all you care about is getting away from Laura for a night. Like you’re not away enough during the day,’ she continued nastily.

‘Martha, it’s not like that and you know it.’ He stared at her in bewilderment.

‘Whatever, I’m going to bed. You can sleep out here,’ she muttered, indicating her head towards the couch before disappearing into the bedroom.

***********

‘Tony,’ Leah looked up in surprise as he burst into her kitchen, his eyes heavy with worry. She stood up quickly, pushing back the chair she’d been sitting on for the past hour, just staring into space. Feeling powerless to do anything else made her feel worthless. What kind of a best friend was she?

‘Is Rachel here?’ he asked breathlessly. Without waiting for a reply he thundered into the living room, running his hands nervously through his hair. She had to be here, he thought. There was nowhere else. He stopped suddenly and stood behind the couch. He could smell her perfume. He managed to smile as it washed over him and his heart started to beat a little faster. As he moved closer he saw her curled up under a red throw, her hair spilling around her face. She looked so peaceful.

‘Tony, wait!’ Leah cried as quietly as she possibly could. ‘She’s sleeping,’ she whispered softly.

She gently took hold of Tony’s upper arm and pulled him back into the kitchen. ‘I think she needs to rest right now.’ Leah pushed Tony into a chair and pulled one up next to him. ‘Maybe you do too,’ she added, more to herself as she sat down heavily.

‘I take it you know?’ He didn’t look at her. Instead he stared at his hand and twisted his wedding ring around his finger.

‘What? About my best friend losing another baby, her husband having a kid with someone else or the fact that her husband told her he didn’t want a child with her?’ Leah grabbed his shoulder and forced him to look at her, her eyes flashing with anger. It surprised her. She hadn’t realised how much rage was bubbling inside her until now. We all need someone to blame she though. It was only then she realised he was crying.

Guilt suddenly overwhelmed her. ‘Tony I’m so sorry,’ she whispered. ‘She was in such a state and –’

‘Rachel knows about Jazz and the girl?’ Tony interrupted. It had dawned on him that he hadn’t told her. He’d been waiting for the right moment, if such a thing existed. Hell he was still having trouble getting used to the idea. Even now he could scarcely believe it.

‘Well yes,’ Leah replied with obvious confusion. ‘She thinks that’s why you don’t want a family with her. She thinks you don’t love her enough now you have a new daughter in your life.’

‘What.’ Tony was incredulous. ‘That’s ridiculous. I love her more that anything, more than anyone, more that I’ve ever –’ He paused and shook his head forcefully. ‘She can’t think that,’ he whispered, his voice breaking. ‘She just can’t.’

‘Tony,’ Leah began kindly, ‘so much has happened in such a short space of time. It’s going to take a while for everything to sink in. And she’s just had another miscarriage –’

‘I’m aware of that,’ he snapped angrily throwing his hands in the air before wiping away his tears. ‘I held her in the bathroom just moments after, I wiped away her tears and I cried with her for the baby, our baby,’ he emphasised as he struggled to hold back his tears. ‘I just can’t stand to see her hurting anymore Leah I can’t. It breaks my heart. Every time I feel like she’s slipping away from me and I can’t bare it.’

Leah didn’t know what to say. There was nothing she could say, she knew that. Instead she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him, unable to understand how things could change so quickly.

‘Jazz,’ he whispered into her shoulder. ‘She must have said something to Rach when she ran off earlier. They must have bumped into each other,’ he looked up at Leah. ‘The bitch,’ he muttered, his voice rising in fury. ‘The stupid f**king bitch. She just couldn’t wait. How could she do this to her? Oh God,’ Tony shuddered as he pictured his wife’s face at hearing he had a child with Jazz. ‘Can you imagine what she must have felt like?’ Tony sobbed and held his face in his hands. ‘I’m going to find her,’ he suddenly announced as he stood up quickly, determination written all over his face. ‘I can’t let her get away with this.’

‘No, Tony,’ Leah replied firmly. ‘That’s not going to help anything right now. You need to be here for Rachel,’ she insisted. ‘That’s what’s more important. All the Jazz stuff you can deal with later. Right now you need to be with your wife.’ Leah didn’t realise she was crying until she felt hot tears streaming down her face. ‘Please,’ she whispered.

Tony nodded. ‘You’re right. Thanks Leah,’ he smiled at her weakly before sitting down at the table, wondering how he was going to fix this mess.

[Red Ranger 1]

Woah.I love how Leah was able to support Rachel whilst still seeing Tony's point of view, even after that brief flash of anger, and how she stopped him doing anything stupid.Jack and Martha still seem to be balancing on a knife edge.Really looking forward to seeing where you take this.

[HighwayUnicorn]

Deleted.

[charmed60]

Wow Kirsty, that was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster! I absolutely loved the scene between Leah and Rachel and thought it was very realistic that Rachel instinctively ended up at her house. The way Leah got emotionally involved and was affected by what had happened to her best friend was really touching and I thought it was very noble of her to still try and look at both points of view whilst clearly not understanding Tony's actions herself. You wrote Rachel's reactions really well, the way she goes from being overtly emotional and distressed to suddenly being devoid of emotion shows how much everything is taking a toll on her and makes me worry for her - I wouldn't be surprised if she's having a breakdown. Hopefully once Tony gets a chance to explain things to her she will understand his point of view more. It really was bad timing for him to say that to her

I loved the way that you intertwined Rachel and Tony's story with Martha's and how she continued it and filled in the gaps with her thoughts. I thought that was a really clever piece of writing. I'm a bit worried for their relationship, Martha seems to be cracking as well under the stress and whilst I can understand why Jack is desperate to get her out of the house, I can understand why she thought he was being selfish, considering what's going on with his Dad. It was interesting how her anger made her reveal that she has issues about him not being around much to to help with Laura.

Finally the Tony/Leah scene Bless Tony's heart - he's coming off as the bad guy when in reality he hasn't actually done anything wrong and is just as affected by this news. I'm glad that Leah was able to see that and comfort him after her original angry reaction. I think people are forgetting that Tony is actually losing a baby to everytime she has a miscarriage and this scene really showed how much it's affecting him; you wrote it beautifully. I also liked the way Tony suddenly realised he hadn't told Rachel about Taylor; I hadn't even realised at first and it created so much suspense, I wondered what Tony was going to do. Thankfully Leah was able to make him see that being with Rachel and sorting out their problems first was the most important thing although I'm worried how he'll react when he next sees Jazz.

A fantastic chapter I absolutely can't wait for the next one; so desperate to see Tony and Rachel talk; I hope they can get through it.

[KirstyEkua]

Thank you so much everyone for your lovely comments I really appreciate you taking the time to respond Hope you enjoy this.

Rachel opened her eyes slowly and lifted her head from the arm of the couch. It took her a few seconds to realise where she was. She had the luxury of a few seconds of ignorant bliss – before the now familiar feeling of nausea washed over her and the horrors of the last twenty hours came hurling back. Forcing herself to take deep breaths she stood up, trying to ignore the shaking in her legs. A low murmur of voices floated through from the kitchen causing her to freeze. Tony’s voice. She was torn. Part of her wanted to fall into his arms and have him hold her; the other wanted nothing more than to get away from him for a fear of being unable to control the words that were threatening to come out of her mouth. But all too quickly the decision was taken out of her hands. Before she could take another step Tony appeared in the doorway, his eyes lightning up as he clapped eyes on her. Her first thought was how terrible he looked.

‘Rach,’ he whispered as he approached her, his heart breaking at how fragile and broken she looked. ‘Please, let me explain,’ he pleaded as she shrank away from his touch. ‘I never meant for you to find out like that, about Jazz I mean,’ he mumbled. ‘Honestly Rach you know I’d never do that you too, ever,’ he continued fiercely. ‘I wanted to tell you myself but it was all just such a shock. And then the baby and everything.’ He stopped suddenly, noticing the pain that flickered across her face at the mention of the baby.

‘Maybe I should leave you guys alone for a bit,’ Leah hesitated as she hovered by the door. ‘Dan and VJ won’t be back for ages and I need to pop out for a bit anyways,’ her voice trailed off.

‘Thanks Leah,’ Tony quickly turned to her and smiled gratefully before focusing on his wife. ‘Rach,’ he questioned hopefully.

‘Yeah,’ she nodded. ‘Thanks Leah.’

‘If you need anything you know where I am,’ Leah impulsively walked over and hugged Rachel, squeezing her arms as she did so. ‘Don’t push him away,’ she whispered to her before disappearing out of the house.

Rachel crossed her arms across her chest and finally looked at her husband; her heart melting as their eyes locked. Before she realised what was happening his arms were around her; holding her close despite her feeble resistance.

‘I just want to be a mother,’ she cried as she gave in and clung to his t-shirt. ‘It hurts so much,’ she sobbed harder as he rubbed her back and rested his chin on her head.

I know, I know,’ he whispered as he closed his eyes, cursing silently at the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. ‘It’s going to be ok.’ He didn’t sound convinced.

‘How can you say that?’ She pushed him away hurriedly and stared at him, her gaze cold and unnerving. ‘You said it yourself; you don’t want a child with me. You have a daughter with an ex girlfriend who has made her intentions pretty clear. Yet, yet you have the audacity to stand here and tell me everything is going to be ok?’ she replied nastily.

‘Rachel there’s nothing I want more than to have a baby with you. What I said before, Rach It all came out wrong.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘I just can’t stand seeing you in so much pain. Every time I feel like you’re slipping away from me and I’m powerless to stop it. I feel so useless. You know what the worst thing is? He asked rhetorically. ‘There’s nothing I can do to make things better. And that’s what kills me. I’m supposed to protect you,’ he cried, quickly wiping his wet eyes with the back of his hands. He didn’t want to cry in front of her. ‘But I don’t want you to keep going through that.’

Rachel cried softy. ‘But I want us to keep trying,’ she insisted, her voice breaking slightly. ‘I know we can get through this, all of this mess,’ she emphasised, ‘together. And Tony don’t you dare think you’ve been useless through all of this because you haven’t, until now that is,’ she laughed half heartedly. ‘Please don’t give up on me,’ she whispered as she placed her hands on his chest and looked up at him through watery eyes. ‘There’s a specialist I want to see, it can happen, I know it can,’ she sobbed quietly. You do want it don’t you,’ she questioned, the fear showing on her face. ‘It’s not because of Jazz is it? I mean now you have a young daughter,’ she continued, almost bitterly.

‘No, no, oh God Rachel no how could you ever think that? You’re all that matters to me,’ he insisted. ‘I love you so much, more than I could possibly tell you. This thing with Jazz, I think maybe, well maybe it’s better to forget about it.’ He stared at the ceiling, suddenly regretting what he’d just said. A part of him was desperate to get to know his daughter but he was terrified of the consequences.

‘What, you mean, not see your child?’ Rachel asked in confusion.

‘Yes,’ he said unconvincingly. ‘She survived this long with me,’ he joked weakly as he ran his thumb over her cheek and gently brushed her hair back from her face.

‘Tony,’ Rachel sighed and took his hand before leading him to the couch. She folded her hands in her lap and took a deep breath, aware of how dry her mouth suddenly felt. ‘I think you should get to know her. She’s your daughter and none of this mess is her fault. You’re a wonderful father and she’s so lucky she gets to call you her dad. If you don’t then you’re going to regret it and I can’t let that happen. I love you too much,’ she smiled weakly as she stared at him, watching as his face changed from one of puzzlement to relief. ‘It’s what you want deep down isn’t it? Don’t keep me out of this Tony please,’ she reached out and squeezed his hand as her voice wobbled. ‘We’re in this together right?’

‘Right,’ he echoed. ‘You’re incredible, you know that?’ he whispered into her ear as he pulled her towards him, hugging her tightly.

‘I have to be to put up with you,’ she joked as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Tony laughed and kissed the top of her head. ‘But first we’re going it take things slow,’ he insisted seriously. ‘First of all Rach I want to concentrate on us and the baby. Maybe once we’ve had time to come to terms with everything, then we’ll see.’

Rachel nodded in agreement. ‘Let’s just stay like this for now,’ she muttered sleepily and snuggled her head into her chest.

‘Sounds good to me,’ he smiled to himself and ran his hands down her back. A tiny weight had finally lifted.

***********************

She’d done it. In less than a month she was going to be in London; working as a magazine journalist. It was going to take a while to get used too she mused as she slowly opened the door to the flat she shared with Aden. On one hand Belle wanted nothing more than to scream from the rooftops and go out and gets horribly drunk but on the other she just wanted to slip away without any fuss. Every time she thought about telling Aden she felt sick to the pitt of her stomach. Sometimes she thought it could work. People transferred to study abroad all the time. And it wasn’t like she was planning on going forever. But deep down she knew Aden would hate the idea. Tagging along to London behind her without job prospects while she had this amazing exciting opportunity.

‘Hey,’ she called out, a little over enthusiastically as she practically ran over and joined him on the sofa. ‘Sorry about lunch. I just had a deadline and so much to do and your news about Uni really took me my surprise I had no idea you even applied.’ Aden’s stony expression brought a halt to her rambles and she sighed heavily. ‘Aden,’ she pressed.

‘It’s fine Belle. I know how important your job is to you.’ Aden didn’t take his eyes off the tv. After running out on Irene earlier he’d gone for a walk, intent on making his way straight to the newspapers office. But he’d ended up side tracked and realised how immature he was being. Belle’s job was stressful. And he guessed maybe she’d had a lot on her mind. He had totally sprung the news on her after all.

‘Fine, be like that,’ she hissed as she stormed into the kitchen, anger boiling up inside her. He could be so infuriating sometimes, he just drove her crazy and now more than ever she wanted to -. Belle gasped suddenly as her thoughts were interrupted by the candle lit table.

‘Like it?’ Aden approached her from behind and wrapped his arms around her. ‘Surprise,’ he laughed. ‘Sorry for being an idiot before.’

‘You jerk,’ she swatted his chest. ‘I didn’t appreciate that little act you put on just now,’ she joked.

‘Sorry about that babe.’ He pulled her to face him and kissed her softly. ‘I’m so proud of you, you know that right?’

Belle smiled, hoping it looked convincing.

‘And look what I got,’ he continued excitedly as he pulled a bag from the counter. ‘Course books for Uni,’ he grinned. ‘I’m really serious about this Belle. I’m not going to screw it up. I promise you. You’re finally going to have a boyfriend you can be proud off,’ he half joked.

‘Oh Aden,’ she whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat. ‘I’ve always been proud of you. No matter what.’ She reached up and kissed him passionately; doing the only thing she felt she could do to prolong his ignorance a little while longer.

[HighwayUnicorn]

Deleted.