Bradie’s POV
It had been one long night, but I was so grateful for Imogen being so supportive. We stayed up nearly all night just waiting. Now, it was just after 11 and I was waiting for Rach’s assessment to be over so I could take her away. The nurse made me sit outside whilst she checked rachael over, I wasn’t ready for life to change again. I was liking it the way it was at the moment. I had Imogen with me, and I wasn’t letting her get taken away again. I also had Rach but after this stunt, I was starting to doubt whether she wanted to be with me. I gave her everything, I wouldn’t ever cheat on her, yet she still cut her back open when she knew she had Anemia. Thank god for Ashley, swooping in and finding her and staying with her then helping her get past it.
I hated admitting it but that girl was changing. Since she got back from her little trip to Sydney, she had stripped the dye from her hair and dyed it chestnut, put in extensions and stopped straightening it. She was nearly dressing normal as well and her relationship with Shaun was getting stronger, they were more connected than before. Even Imogen, who was my sister, was changing jumpnow for the better aswell, they were practically made for each other. Jimmy and Shae were brick solid as were Andy and Bella, so the only relationship I was starting to doubt was my own. I knew rushing into love was a bad idea but it seemed to work magic for the others. I guess I just wanted a piece of that. ‘Bradie, Let’s go…’ Rachael’s voice interrupted my worries and stopped my fears for a few seconds. We walked slowly back to the hotel, hand in hand, it was almost back to normal again. Back at the hotel, we laid on the lounge together and rachael seemed kind of fidgety. I knew what was coming. The words nobody ever wanted to hear…
‘Bradie, I’m so so sorry I lied’ was what I heard.
I did a double take, I was expecting to hear “it’s not working out” followed by her running off but no, life’s always a surprise. She hugged me tight and cried a bit before talking. She didn’t shut up for about 20 minutes but it was the most heartbreaking 20 minutes of my life. I guess behind everyone, there’s a dark secret. A past they want to forget. Turns out Zach wasn’t her boyfriend like I’d thought, but her brother who committed suicide after she told him not to hit her mum. The last words he said to her were ‘Rachael, if you go out that door, I will kill myself. You’re all I have’ but she walked out anyway and everyone blamed her.
Rachael’s POV
Bradie wiped the tears off my cheeks and listened to every word I told him as we laid on the lounge. It was the closest I’d felt to anyone in so long, besides Ashley. Maybe keeping this locked up wasn’t such a good idea after all. We laid in silence for a bit, and kissed a few times. It was amazing. The Ellen DeGeneres Show just started as Bella came in, trailing Andy behind her. “MINDFUCK” Andy said when he saw the TV screen. I laughed for a little and starting to stare at Bella’s scarf. Under her scarf, I saw a hint of purple skin, she saw me looking and tightened her scarf. But I knew better. Either Andy was hitting her or they were having sex. Either way, this wasn’t good. I decided to talk to her alone, leaving Andy and Bradie alone to kill each other. We ended up out the back of the hotel, There was a park for little kids. I unlooped the scarf from around her neck, unable to stop my sharp intake of breath at the big purple bruise on her neck.
This wasn’t a normal bruise though, it was a hickey. Bella flushed bright red and pulled the scarf back around her neck before I could get a second look. This was serious, Bella was only 16 and kind of crazy to be honest. Reckless almost to the point of suicidal. Or she had been but she had seemed so much better… After talking to her for a while, I realized she wasn’t stupidly trying to get hurt, she loved Andy. That was something I could understand. This talking thing was better than I thought, easier than expected. I told Bella what happened and when she hugged me, I hugged back. It was almost perfect. Back inside, Andy had left but Bradie was making tea, Bella went off to find Andy so Bradie and I drunk tea and kissed a bit more. I didn’t want this to ever change.
