The Fear of Falling Apart

8.5

{Memory}

*play the song*

*its quite calm and quiet in the beginning*

Arielle's POV

"Bloody hell, what the fuck!" I throw a book at the wall, out of frustration.

"Hey, calm down, Ari." I tense up immediately, and Addison notices. He sighs, and I bite my lip, closing my eyes.

I shake my head, and turn to look at Addison. "Explain to me once more?"

Addison stays quiet, before chuckling bitterly. "Mark told me that he'd meet me at the bar, to settle some shit."

"Okay, so what happened between you guys? Why the fuck is he so pissy?" I ask, clearly confused.

Addison runs a hand through his hair, sighing again. "Taylor used to date Mark." I stay quiet, not wanting to interrupt him.

"We started talking, and she dumped him, because Arielle, we fell in love." He whispers, closing his eyes. I swallow, pushing thoughts of Nick away.

"When we met up at the bar, that asshole provoked me! And of course you know how that went. He just let me hit him." Addison stares intensely at a speck on the ground.

"Its all my fault. I should've controlled myself, I should've thought of what good it would do for me. But I didn't."

"But, you didn't cause major injury, right?" I whisper, anxietly bubbling in the pit of my stomach.

Addie breaks his gaze, turning away. "I broke some ribs."

My chest clouds with pain, and I reach out to hug him. He holds me close, his breathing uneven. "I'm so fucking retarded."

I try to laugh, failing miserably, "Yeah, that you are."

He pushes me away, ruffling my hair. "Love you Arielle."

I smile sadly, feeling my eyes tearing up. "When do you go to court?"

Addison shrugs, "In a month, I think."

"I love you Addison." I tell him, thinking about what would become of this home.

♡
I bite my lip, leaning against a wall. I slide down, holding onto my knees. I hear the front door close, and someone locks it. I frown, straining to hear what was going on. I hear the sounds of chairs being pulled out, and then a loud huff.

"What is it son." My dad asks gruffly.

"Dad, is m-mom coming?" Addie forces out the word 'dad' and 'mom'.

"No. Get on with your news. I haven't got all day."

"I'm going to jail." 

It's silent, and I tense up. Worst case scenarios run through my mind, making me bite my fingernails. I stop when I hear my dad speak. 

"What the hell did you do? Beat a woma-" I gasp, anger soon replacing the shock. I cannot believe he would even suggest that. What the- 

"I beat up some guy, and I'm going to court sometime next month."Addison interupts coldly, exaggerating the word guy. 

I hear the sound of a chair hitting the ground, and the clanking of keys. Is he leaving just like that? 

"I'll let your mother know." His rough voice calls out. "And let your sister know, that I know she's hiding behind the corner."

I flush, and hear Addison chuckle. The front door closes, and Addison laughs loudly. "Come on out Arielle, he already left." I roll my eyes, a faint smile on my lips.

I leave my corner, going to sit beside Addison on the sofa. He smirks at me, and I open my mouth but close it. I wanted to stay something really snappy, just to piss him off. But I knew that I only had a month left, before he went to court, and who knows what will happen then.

I let out a sigh. "Dude, what do you think will happen?"

He shrugs carelessly, "No idea."

*

"Mr. Mark Copeland has charged you of battery, and you will need to go to Civil Court this Thursday." Addison runs a hand over his face, and I frown. Civil Court? What the hell is that?

"What time do I need to be there?" He questions, wiping his wet hands on his jeans. He picks up his phone, taking it off speaker. I pout, and throw him a look.

Addison rolls his eyes, and sticks his tongue out at me. "Alright. Thank you." He hangs up, putting his phone away. 

"Motherfucking bitch." He says quietly. I snicker, and sit on the counter. "Are you gonna get a lawyer?"

"I have to. But I don't think we can afford one." Addison frowns, and bites his nails. I find myself biting my nails too, and I get an idea.

"Isn't Issac going to law school?" I offer, Addie's head turning to look at me.

He nods, grinning. "Great idea." 

**

"They gave me three months."

"Gave you what?" I ask, confusion lacing my features. I blink, and then I know what he's talking about.

"What? Why?"

"They said even though he provoked me, I still hit him. Thats the least Issac could bargain."

**