If you hadn't noticed already everything that happens in the story comes along with a deeper meaning than if you just take it at face value. I love how Lucie touches on important topics and brings light to the fact that they actually happen.

I think that sometimes books can portray a perfect vision and as much as it's great to live in that fantasy while you read, it's not realistic. Therefore, I love that the Bad News Series has never put that message across.

Here are a few examples and the deeper meanings behind them:

1. Juliet's Adoption Situation/and Children:

Many people in the world are adopted and many do not know who their biological parents are. I love how Lucie hasn't just made the typical mum, dad and child family and instead added adoption into the story. A lot of people who do eventually find out who their parents are often get disappointed and this is an issue that Juliet is experiencing. It helps people to see that they are not alone and that things may not be perfect but you can make the best of it.

Juliet's children in the story are also not by the same dad. This is something that happens in real life and is completely normal in the society we live in and it is also completely okay. This theme highlights that and shows that it doesn't change anything or make you less of a good person because of it.

2. Sophie's Miscarriage Situation:

So we just found out that Sophie experienced her third miscarriage. It's so easy to shrug this off as 'oh no, another one. I feel sorry for her' and forget it but it's much more important than that. Lucie wrote the miscarriages into the story for a reason and that was to one show that Sophie's life isn't all that perfect and to also highlight the fact that miscarriages happen and that having a baby isn't all that simple for everyone.
I think what makes it even more crucial is that she picked Sophie as the character to experience them because she is one of the strongest and most determined. It shows that even the most confident people can fall and experience difficulties in life. It shows the pain that people who miscarriage go through and the potential guilt they feel for expressing their feelings about it. A miscarriage is a loss no matter how early on it happens and not being able to carry a baby is a heartbreaking experience for many women.

3. Jess' Family Situation:

Jess begun the story with basically no family. The family she did/does have have never been there for her and she has grown up in life dealing with her issues alone. Not everyone in life have family or even a close family that they can connect with and Jess' situation really highlights that.
Jess has gone through an extremely tough time in her life and the fact that she did most of it alone lead to her going through so much hurt in the gang that she became a person she truly wasn't. She built up a wall and became cold and didn't allow people in.
However, it then goes on to show how good can come out of it. That there are more people out there that you can connect with and who will love you whether or not they are blood relations or not. It shows that even when you are alone you are strong enough to create a new and more beneficial life for yourself.

Fun fact! Jess and Jack are now the longest lasting couple in the story!!

Now that Sophie and Elliot are fully over and have been for nearly a year in the story time, they have taken their winning spot!

I think it's so cute because if you think about it their relationship did not start as one you would expect to last. They were both into messing around and enjoying the single life and Jess was also fully involved in the gang.

She got criticised so much by the gang when she first got with Jack but they both stuck it out and have managed to work through everything.

I think the game changer for them was when Ellie was born. Before then I never saw them as lasting, I thought it would just be a fling. However, after they had Ellie their relationship and love for each other seemed to grow stronger. It's not even about them staying together because of Ellie. I think they stayed together because they have this intense amount of love for one another that was just made stronger when they had their first child together.

Everything about their relationship is absolute goals and also their family life. I love how they take it all so casually and don't try and be perfect at it. They are young parents so are obviously going to see/do things differently to what older parents would do but I think that is what makes their family so amazing.

I also love how their relationship isn't simply romance and a ring on the finger to signal marriage. Instead they are a team and have each others back and work together through everything. 

It's like they have their best friend by their side through every struggle and issue that gets thrown at them in life and I absolutely love that. I think this is something that distinguishes them from all the other relationships in the story. It pulls them away from being in a relationship just simply for passion or practicality and adds the best friend aspect with the unconditional love.

I definitely envision them being the kind of couple that stays together until they are old and also being that couple that still loves one another intensely even when they have been together for an insane amount of time.

So yay for Jack and Jess now being the longest lasting couple and goodbye to Sophie and Elliot holding that number 1 spot.

So I thought I would start this new thing called 'WTF' which is basically going to be a summary of my predictions of the craziness that is going on in the story. There are so many questions and I am going to give my opinion to what I think is actually going on!

Sophie's Baby Daddy:

When she first found out she was pregnant the potential dads included; Corey, Aaron and a few random guys she met in London. Shortly after that I was convinced it was Corey due to the way the story was going and it would also make sense as Sophie wants to exclude the dad from the baby's life. We know the way Corey is and i'm not sure she would trust him as a father figure.

However!!! In the latest chapter, Aaron was the guy she called after checking through dates and trying to figure out who the dad is. There are two obvious theories to this:

1. Aaron is the dad.
or
2. She realised one of the guys she didn't want to be the dad is and would rather it be Aaron. Therefore, as crazy as she knew it was, she was desperately trying to reach Aaron and ask for help?

I don't know what is more likely or if it is another guy completely but I am now swaying towards hoping it is Aaron's!


Matt and Abbie's suspicious lurking:

I don't have many good guesses of what is going on there but my suspicions don't only focus on Matt and Abbie but also Jay and Jess. Jess told Juliet that Jay knows what is going on, so therefore why hasn't he stepped in and told Matt to leave Juliet's? Surely Matt is more protected by Jay than he is staying in Juliet's home so maybe it's nothing to do with that!

Jess left the gang ages ago but she still has ties with it. We know she keeps in contact with Jay and we also know how much the gang means to her. She left and rejoined a few times and even left the kids and stayed in Vegas for a little bit. Maybe she is gradually getting more involved and something is going to happen there? - this could be a crazy prediction but I just found it strange how casual she was when talking to Juliet while she was more panicked.

"Come on, you can't sit in on a Friday night when you're back in Brighton." Corey was attempting to persuade Sophie to go out.

He had arrived at her dads when she had refused over and over in text to join everyone.

Luckily for him, Sophie was home alone because Corey wasn't quite ready for the storm that was about to hit him.

"That's all you fucking care about." Sophie spat, causing his previous teasing grin to fall into that of confusion.

He wasn't quite prepared for her sudden change in tempo, thinking that he would easily get her out the door and joining everyone else.

"What do you mean?" He opened his arms in question.

"Going out. Why can't you give a shit about something else for once and accept that I want to stay in." Sophie bit.

"Okay, Soph calm down. I thought you were just avoiding it. Chill."

Corey's last word was one he should not have spoke because Sophie had very little patience in her already and that was one thing that could push her limits.

"Don't tell me to 'chill' Corey." She mocked. "If you want to go out, go out. Just leave."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" 

"You. You're what's wrong."

"What the hell did I do?" They were clearly not on the same page and that was just making everything even more intense.

"Last night my car broke down. I was stranded and couldn't get hold of you." Sophie began and Corey was already aware of this after being informed by text the next morning once he had noticed her missed calls. 

"And I wonder why that was?" She asked a rhetorical question, no answer from him being necessary. "Because you were out, in a club, likely getting pissed with a bunch of girls caring about nothing else! Do you realise how messed up that is?"

Looking back at her in utter confusion, Corey began shaking his head. He didn't know where this was all coming from nor why she was so mad at him.

Yes he felt guilty for missing her calls but he hadn't quite expected this overloaded reaction.

"No I don't understand how messed up it is, soph. You really need to explain this to me."

"Of course you don't." She chuckled, yet this was anything but amusing to her. "Because that is all you care about."

"What and you don't? Has London suddenly made you a changed woman who is too good for that lifestyle?"

Corey's question had Sophie's whole body tense up even more. Her hormones were causing every bit of this argument to escalate more than it usually would.

"No, it's fucked up because how can I rely on you for anything if you couldn't even answer a damn phone call?" Sophie threw her arms out in aggravation.

It was now becoming clear where this all was coming from even though it was completely unknown to Corey.

The baby news had made her begin to rethink everything and begin critically observing every aspect of the potential dads.

She was scared and alone and was trying to figure out how each of them would step up to being a dad.

However, it was clear from this minor incident and her anger that Sophie would very quickly be swaying towards the idea of doing this whole parenting thing alone.

"I'm sorry but it was just..." Corey began to speak before Sophie interrupted him.

"Aaron and I haven't been speaking yet he was the one who answered my call and he was the one who came and got me out of that mess. You've been sleeping in my bed every fucking weekend Corey yet you couldn't even take a night out of your childish antics to come and help me out. That's so fucked up."

The tone in Sophie's voice was expressing more anger by the second and it wasn't being missed by Corey.

He obviously wasn't aware of Sophie's real reasons for the lash out but he definitely knew pushing her limits right now wouldn't be safe. However, due to his character he was finding it difficult to not fight back and defend himself.

He hadn't had the experience of knowing when to just let the girl be right and move on. He didn't realise how much easier it could make an intense situation like this be.

"The music was so fucking loud Soph and I didn't hear my phone. Aaron was at home, of course he would have heard his." Corey reached out to take Sophie's hands to guide her into him but she refused and shrugged him off.

"Whatever, I don't even care. Let me know when you have grown the fuck up and maybe we can talk. But until then, I want you to leave." She spat and he just looked back at her in shock for a moment.

He wasn't quite sure how to react and unknown to him this was Sophie's final decision that he wasn't a great 'dad' fit if it happened to be him. This was giving her one more reason to take the option of being a single mum.

Each of the main female characters are so different and I love that they are all so relatable in different ways. Starting with Sophie she is a huge party animal, extremely confident in general and in her self, very sociable, work obsessed and also an amazing friend.

She is shown to rock the whole independent, career woman role so well and shows that women can be the ones to bring in the money and take charge.

She is also relatable in terms of the struggles she has suffered with her family life. Her parents divorce, her mums cheating and being left to feel as though she had to be more independent at such a young age.

She has also experienced two miscarriages and has shown that even though it was a really tough time, she managed to get through it. She has also shown that it is okay to not want children. Elliot always really wanted them and tried to persuade her but she stood her ground in the end and moved on and focused on what she wanted.

She has also experienced many difficulties alongside goods in terms of love and guys. She has managed commitment and shown that she does like being in love but at the same time she wants to be on her own so she can have fun and not feel guilty for her life choices.

She has experienced and failed in a marriage, showing that it's not for everyone and that its okay to not want that. It doesn't have to be something every girl dreams of doing.

Lastly she has shown that it's okay for girls to have countless of relationships/flings with guys. It's not just okay for guys to do it and girls shouldn't get judged like many do. Even when she has been judged she stands up for herself and doesn't let anyone talk down about her because of it.

So in regard to the last point and for fun, I thought it would be interesting to see how many guys that we know of she has been with haha!

Firstly, we know she slept with 5 guys before Elliot.

1. Jack

2. Aaron

3. Ollie

4. Someone from school

5. Someone from school

6. Elliot

7. Todd

8. Kye

9. Corey

They are the names we know but there are obviously more due to it being hinted at that every time she is single she spends her time out with a collection of different guys.

There is also someone else that she has slept with that will come out in the story eventually. HINT 

The next one of these posts will be on Jess or Juliet. 

Alexis (Zaiden's girlfriend)

(played by Ally Maki)

Age: 27

About: Zaiden's girlfriend - has been with him since she was 22.

She is confident, loyal, fun to be around and not scared to say it how it is.

She is really good friends with Sophie and also Kaia.

She is currently pregnant with her first child with Zaiden.

Jack's memory loss is obviously causing a strain on both Jack/Jess family life for different reasons and I thought I would point some out here:

1. Jack's current mental age is 19 while Jess' mental and actual age is 26.

This must mean he acts in a much more immature way than Jess and probably has a much more immature mind. Therefore, he must be struggling with the idea of having to be more grown up especially with the children.

He will also probably find it difficult to get his head around the fact he isn't out partying all the time.

Lastly, Jess is going to be in a different frame of mind as to when she was 19. Back then she was probably much more careless about everything. However, now she is much more caring and probably a little more sensitive on things too.

2. In Jack's mind he has been with Jess around a year. In reality it has been 7 years.

This must be so difficult for Jess because Jack may not possibly show the same love that she does feel for him. Of course Jack loves Jess but the intensity of that love is probably going to take some more time to reach the same level.

3. Jack has lost his identity.

He doesn't really know who he is and what is expected of him. 19 year old Jack is extremely different to 26 year old Jack and he probably feels very lost.

Especially seeing the house and finding out that he runs the business alongside having a wife and kids. He is probably a bit intimidated by his 26 year old self and feels a lot of pressure. He doesn't feel mentally capable to deal with all of that but feels like it's expected of him.

It is probably also so difficult for Jess because Jack became such a mature, loving man and she is probably scared he might lose some of that and go back to his teen antic ways. 

4. Jess is having to teach Jack about the last 7 years of his life.

Imagine having to explain to your husband his whole adulthood life. Having to tell him about all the major events in his life and especially one of them being the marriage and another being the children. It would be so difficult and tiring and would probably take over her life while also dealing with the worry that he will never get his memories back.

However, even though these are all issues I actually think they will work things out fine whether or not Jack gets his memories back. I think they are a strong enough couple and won't let something like this break them. 

Jack has already shown how much he cares and is willing to learn with the effort he made with the children and also the ring.

So fingers crossed it works out haha because they are my favourite! 

So after the Fast Forward chapter where Sophie must have completely confused the poor nurse and went from Corey to Aaron, it made me come up with two different views on it.

1. For Sophie:

Firstly, whether or not what she does/did is bad, I can't help but love how she manages it. Like imagine being like Sophie and being able to have that sort of control with very little effort haha!

But anyway, I think that she probably didn't intend to do what she did. In her mind, she has previously experienced a break up with Aaron and it's obvious that she isn't over him. Therefore, Corey was there as support for her and she knows that Corey wouldn't be after anything other than sex. Therefore he is the perfect person to have that sort of empty relationship with because that's what he spends his life doing.

However, Corey is not completely immune to the way in which Sophie lures guys in and can cause them to catch some kinds of feeling even if he wouldn't admit to it. Therefore, that's where what she did at the hospital is wrong but at the same time, she didn't know that what happened the night before and what has been happening would mean anything to him.

Also, Sophie wasn't the only one in that situation, Aaron has a 'girlfriend' therefore he is just as bad for doing it. He also knows that she is sleeping with Corey so could have prevented it too. But either way, I think that would have been very unlikely because it's obvious Aaron still has feelings for Sophie so probably doesn't care about anything else.

2. Against Sophie

On the other hand I think there is a chance that she knows what she is doing. Whether or not she is doing it to be cruel is irrelevant, but I think she probably knows.

She knows from experience that she can make most guys fall to her feet pretty much instantly so she uses that. She probably is firstly, trying to get back at Aaron and show him what he's missing because she wants him back. Then also, she is probably trying to get the luxury of having both guys - which is a win win situation haha and she knows it will work.

When Sophie told Aaron that "If anyone is going to get hurt from this, it will be him first." I think she knows that she can control her feelings better than anyone. She knows that even the coldest of guys like Corey will catch feelings for her because she knows how to play it. Therefore, she doesn't have to worry about getting hurt by messing around with Corey because even if he does open his mouth about what they are doing, she will always have the upper hand because he will catch feelings and she can refrain from that.


Sophie is such a difficult character to get your head around because one moment you LOVE her because she comes across like the sweetest angel (especially when it comes to friendships and how sweet and vulnerable she can be in relationships) but then you can be SCREAMING at her because she does extremely stupid things. For example, everything that happened with Elliot and also using her looks to get what she wants.

"Did you hear the news?" Ollie threw his arm over Aaron's shoulder as he approached where he was working.

"What news?" He stopped what he was doing to give Ollie his attention.

"Jack's extending the garage, he's brought the land next door and he's making it bigger."

While this piece of information was new to all the other guys, Aaron had been aware for quite a while. Therefore, he wasn't buzzing with curiosity as the others seemed to be.

"Which also means there will be a bunch of new employee's. They better not be twats and get promotions before I get a shot."

With the expansion on the garage it did mean that new jobs would be open. While the whole thing was a bonus of making more money, all some of the guys could think about were the extra people who would be working there.

"Well shit, you better get proving yourself then." Aaron smirked, knowing Ollie could be a bit of a slacker when it came to work.

He would do the job but was easily distracted so could find himself much more interested in those coming into the garage to have their cars sorted.

And with that said, his nosy eyes took focus on a girl who had pulled up into the car park and was making her way up to the office. She disappeared for a few seconds before the receptionist appeared in the doorway and called over to Aaron.

"Carla is here Aaron. Her car is out the front." She said only causing Ollie to begin laughing.

"She's already playing that card.The one they all play with Jack!" Ollie teased, throwing a dirty cloth at him.

"What 'card'?" Aaron mocked as he caught it in his hand and threw it to the floor.

"You know... damn, my car needs fixing I don't know what to do..." Ollie put on his best representation of a female voice. "Oh wait! You make a living from fixing them. Amazing! How about you fix mine even though there is fuck all wrong with it, just so I can pay you a visit because I haven't seen you for two whole hours!!"

By this point Ollie was making a huge scene in the middle of the garage, throwing his arms in the air as he carried out the act. Leaning down to pick the cloth up that Aaron had thrown on the floor, he threw it over his head to resemble longer hair.

"Oh then i'll just stand right here while you do it and touch your arm like this and rub your back because you know, it's sooo important to help you work."

Trying not to laugh, Aaron began walking towards the reception area before Ollie jumped in front of him and continued.

"Then i'll pretend i'm thick as shit and don't know what a wheel on a car is because what girl knows that?" Ollie then flicked the cloth from his shoulder.

"But maybe you can show me because then we can get really close and you'll kiss me and sweep me off my feet like a garage fairytale!" As Ollie placed his hands either side of Aaron's face, preparing to act as if he was kissing him, Carla appeared in the garage completely startled by what was happening before her.

"Shit," Ollie immediately recollected himself and holding his hand out towards her. "Nice to meet you. I wasn't pretending to be you... I was pretending to be my girlfriend... a girlfriend that I don't have... one that I imagine I will have."

While he was trying to recollect himself from looking like a complete idiot, Aaron couldn't hold back his laughter.

"I'm sure you car is fucked up... big time." Ollie began to nod, not quite sure what to do with himself.

"Right..." Carla trailed off, not quite sure what to say nor what to do.

She was clearly a little bit shy and Ollie's approach had been extremely overpowering.

"Fuck off Ollie." Aaron raised his brows at him as he attempted to lead Carla off in the direction of her car yet he carried on.

"Harris is brilliant at fixing things, Carla. He can multi-task too so he'll show you how everything works... like the wheels and stuff."

"Seriously, fuck off Ollie." Aaron warned once again.

By this point, Ollie was trying to hold back his laughter so Carla didn't think he was messing with her but he was finding it difficult. He was probably the only one who ever found his jokes funny so he was taking full advantage of what he thought was quality.

"I'll give you both privacy. I'll just be over here." He waved to the other side of the garage which was still very much in view.

...

"Sorry about him..." Aaron trailed off once they had reached her car, knowing she wasn't quite used to the overpowering men that worked at this garage. While he was capable of toning it down around certain people, the others clearly were not.

"It's okay." Carla briefly smiled. "I didn't really understand a word he was saying anyway."

"That's probably a good thing." Aaron chuckled before looking towards her car. "Is this yours?"

"Yeah. You don't mind looking at it do you? I'll obviously pay you."

"Course not, what's wrong with it?"

Aaron's next question silenced Carla for a few moments before she just broke out into a smile.

"I'm guilty!" She held her hands up. "There is nothing wrong with it... I just wanted to see you but didn't want to come across too desperate."

There it was. There was Carla admitting to what Ollie had been previously messing around about. He had been right but she had actually caved in and admitted it.

"So you're going to pay me for what?" Aaron raised his brows in a teasing manner.

Pulling her bottom lip into her mouth, Carla shrugged her shoulders.

"Um... taking me out, for dinner."

For a shy girl, she most definitely wasn't scared to jump right to it. She had clearly had enough of the casual nights spent together and was ready for more.

Looking over to where Ollie was stood watching like a hawk, Aaron was trying to mentally battle with himself over what to do.

"Are you offering to pay?" He asked to buy himself some time, yet she hadn't caught on to that and figured this was just a flirtatious game.

"I'll pay for the petrol." She responded with a grin over her face.

"Alright, deal." Aaron nodded, now trying to avoid the many faces and actions Ollie was pulling in the background. "I'll pick you up at eight?"

"Sounds perfect." Carla replied and it was difficult to appreciate how happy she seemed while a twenty-six year old guy was jumping around in the background, trying to mimic an excitable school girl who had just been asked on a date.

"Where have you been?" Kaia asked as Sophie walked through the door.

Both her and Alexis were sat in the living room, coffee in hand and trying to wake up and recover from the night before.

"Um... at Corey's." She trailed off, pulling that guilty expression.

While Alexis raised her brows while grinning, being that supportive friend of the whole 'having fun while you're young and single' thing, Kaia was unusually not looking the same way. She looked extremely disgusted which was more than strange coming from her.

"Right." Was her response, causing Sophie to drop her bag on the floor and make her way over.

"Since when were you one to judge a one night stand Kaia?"

"I'm not." Kaia shrugged her shoulders before getting up off the sofa.

"That's your judging face and your judging reaction. You are definitely judging!"

"No, i'm not." Kaia's voiced was raised at this point before she began charging off to the bedroom. "I need to get ready."

With her out the room, Sophie was left speechless for a moment at her bestfriend's reaction to the whole thing. Kaia was the queen of one night stands and was always going on about how she didn't understand why people viewed people viewed others so negatively for them. However, it seemed as though her views had suddenly changed in that moment as she didn't seem so in favour of Sophies.

"What's wrong with her?" Sophie took a seat down next to Alexis, genuinely confused as to what was going on.

"I don't know." Alexis shrugged her shoulders. "I think she's just mad."

"About what?"

Placing her coffee down on the table, Alexis sat back before seriously looking at Sophie.

"You know her better than me but I think she likes Corey... maybe that's why."

"What?" Sophie's hand flew to her mouth as she suddenly felt sick with guilt. "Oh my God... I didn't know... shit."

Standing to her feet she was frozen on the spot for a moment as she wasn't quite sure how to react.

"Does she seriously like him? Shit, shit shit. If I had have known..."

"I mean I don't know... it might not be that, that's just my guess." Alexis concluded and nodding her head Sophie then hurried off to her friend's room.

"Kaia?" She knocked on the door a few times before just pushing it open, walking in to a still angry looking Kaia.

"I'm sorry... about last night. Is this because of Corey... do you like him?" She came right out and questioned it and Kaia looked a little shocked to begin with.

"It's not that." She began shaking her head. "I mean, I guess yeah a little but I like a lot of guys a little. It's just you try being friends with someone who goes away for a few months, comes back and has guys throwing themselves at her! Being that friend sucks."

Kaia looked genuinely upset and it was then Sophie realised this wasn't over Corey, there was something deeper here.

"I wanted to spend the night with you because I hadn't seen you in so long but you spent it with Corey. I've missed you so fucking much Sophie but no one cares when a friend misses a friend, it's all about whether your family or Aaron miss you."

"Kaia, I'm..." Sophie tried to speak but she was stopped as she continued.

"And I fucking hate that you choose Corey to help you deal with your shit with Aaron over me. Like I bet you only slept with him because of that Carla girl. That's so messed up! You're better than that Soph." Kaia threw her hands out through aggravation.

You could hear by the tone in her voice alone how upset she was by this whole situation and this was definitely not something Sophie expected to be waking up to this morning.

"I bet i'll be the only one who is open and honest with you about everything too." Kaia began, taking this opportunity to say everything she had wanted to say to her bestfriend last night. "Aaron is sleeping with that girl. I won't wrap the truth up in bubble wrap and leave you making assumptions. But that doesn't mean you have to jump in Corey's bed to make yourself feel better or get back at him. You can make him regret it and feel like shit by just walking into that club. He already knows what he is missing out on."

"Kaia, I'm sorry. I didn't know it bothered you... I was just, making quick decisions in the moment and..."

"And thinking that sleeping with Corey was going to fix everything." Kaia finished her sentence for her.

"This isn't about Corey!" Sophie stressed.

"Yes it is because he only comes to your defense when it involves Aaron! He knows that's the way to make you want him. I genuinely care but you don't give a shit about that. You ran away the moment things got difficult with Aaron. You pissed off to London and didn't even think for one second that your bestfriend could have helped."

"I didn't run away. I just had my own place there... and my job."

"And you had friends who cared about you here. But it doesn't matter about me does it? It doesn't matter that I miss and need my bestfriend. All that matters is that you give the guys what you want when you come home for a weeks holiday."

Sophie was left speechless, she didn't know what to say because she had never realised that Kaia felt this way. She had always been Sophie's biggest supporter when it came to both her job and her crazy antics on a night out however, it was proving that she wasn't in support of everything.

There was a few minutes silence before Sophie's phone began signalling that she had a text. She had been ignoring it that whole time until Kaia pointed it out.

"Are you going to answer that?" She questioned looking to the screen and seeing Corey's name. "You don't want to miss plans for another night with the next guy you plan on getting into a quick relationship with."

Kaia knew Sophie well and knew how she dealt with those breakups she cared about. When she had experienced them with Elliot she had always made bad decisions and ran off with whatever random guys she could to distract her mind and she was now doing the same because of Aaron.

For someone who was so independent and could support herself alone both physically and emotionally, she never took a break from relationships. She was rarely ever single and would move from one to the next.

"Kaia." Sophie bit, not wanting to have this argument.

"I can't wait to watch you get caught up in something messy again. Maybe once you're finished with Corey you will go back to Todd and let him get you hooked on drugs and alcohol once again. Who cares if you throw away everything you worked so hard for because you will have got back at Aaron wouldn't you? You'll be even."

“Where did you run off to last night Corey? You disappeared…” Nate approached him the morning after when they had all arrived at work.

“Back to mine, with Soph.” He added the last bit with a smug smile.

While Aaron was only a few paces away from them, he was trying his hardest to stay out of it by finding pointless means of distraction. He didn’t want to hear it but it was pretty much being forced on him anyway.

“Did she fulfil your lifetime goal and sleep with you then?” Was the next question thrown Corey’s way and he was more than happy to be open about it.

“Of course she did.”

“No fucking way!” Nate began to laugh, genuinely surprised that Sophie had given in after so long. She had always been so adamant she wouldn’t step foot near him but that had not lasted. “Come on then, details.”

Corey didn’t need much persuading as he prepped himself to begin telling it all. However, it was clear Aaron could only keep out of it for so long before he turned around.

“She…” Corey began to say before a fist collided into the side of his face, leaving them all in shock.

“What the fuck was that for?” He bit, holding his cheek.

“If you had enough respect for that girl you wouldn’t make your night into story time for everyone here. Shut the fuck up.” Aaron warned.

He knew for a fact if Sophie found out he was telling the details to all the guys at the garage, she would be fuming. Part of him knew it was none of his business, they weren’t together and she had slept with Corey knowing what he was like. However, at the same time he still felt the need to protect her. It had killed him the moment he found out what had happened yet he knew it would kill her just as much if the night became public news to all the guys.

“More like you don’t want to hear it.” Corey fort back, a challenging expression over his face. “You stupidly broke up with her remember… it was your own fault.”

“Do what you want, just have a bit more respect.” Aaron’s response was much calmer this time as he tried to get back to work.

“So you’re are giving me permission to continue sleeping with your ex?”

Corey was purposely trying to aggravate Aaron and he was succeeding. He knew since the breakup things had been rough, yet he had little sympathy. If Sophie had have ended things with Aaron, he may have been a little more sensitive but because it was the other way around, he wasn’t capable of acting like he cared.

“No, I’m not giving you fucking permission.” He turned back around so him and Corey were face to face. “But that means fuck all to you doesn’t it? Whatever you want, you’ll go and do anyway.”

“I just don’t remember a ‘keep off’ sticker being placed on her when you ended things.” Corey shrugged his shoulders. “You had your chance but screwed it up so get over it.”

“So what do you plan to get out of this then?” Aaron opened his arms in question as he took a few steps closer. “She works and lives in London. Are you going to move there too?”

“What like you would always be too fucking scared to do?”

Corey’s words caught Aaron’s full attention as he just looked back at his ‘friend’ with that angered look across his face.

“Because commitment makes you run doesn’t it? It happened with Amie and now Soph… any signs of feelings and you escape before you turn soft.”

Even though Corey was purposely trying to annoy Aaron, he was hitting the nail on the head. Aaron had always kept away from commitment and no one knew why. He was a genuine guy who would have much preferred a relationship to just messing around at this age yet he never let himself fully get that far.

Corey wasn’t one to settle down either but there was a difference. It wasn’t because he was scared, he just wasn’t ready. So the fact that they were engaged in this conversation right now was highlighting what the real issue was, yet with no explanation.