What Happens on Bondi...(Bondi Rescue Fanfic)

Chapter Sixteen: Stop Giving Me Choices

If I could explain how my head felt when I came round on the floor in that office, it would be something along these lines;

Imagine, say, that you were being held under very deep water for long enough so the pressure is squeezing your brain. 

On top of that, you are being hit with a mallet, repeatedly by a screaming three year old, lost in a supermarket where the fire alarm is going off. 

Except, the fire alarm is merging into the shark warning and there are thousands of screaming, angry, scared tourists. 

That. 

"Can you hear me Aria?" Aid asked, peering over at me, awash with worry. 

I nodded and immediately regretted it. My brain mass was now swirling around inside my stressed little head.

Carol Anderson was stood over me on the otherside, a cup of water from the officer cooler in her hand. Aiden helped me to sit up slowly and placed the cup in my hands, squishing my fingers around it to ensure I wouldn't spill it down myself. 

"I'm okay, really." I insisted, pulling away from the pair of them, now more antsy to get on with it and not prolong the process. 

"Alright." 

Aiden spotted me as I walked over to my chair again, trying to catch me if I fell. 

I didn't. 

He took his seat next to me and sat waiting for Mrs Anderson to talk. She shifted through the paperwork and slid it across the table towards me. I took it from her hands and flipped it so it was the right way up for me. 

"Take a read of it and make the necessary decisions." She instructed. "I'll give you a minute." 

The skinny woman pushed her chair back and left us alone in the room to gather our thoughts. 

"Let me read it." Aiden grabbed at the corner of the papers, only to have me slap his hands away. 

I shook my head and continued to read. 

Miss Sunny Merritt has legally requested for custody of Vegas Tatum Merritt to be handed over to his aunt, Aria Savage. 

The father, Aiden Savage should be permitted visitation rights and part-custody should Aria accept these terms. 

In the event that Aria declines to accept custody for Vegas, he should be transferred into the Waverly area foster-care system until a family can be suited for him. 

All papers must be signed a week from today. 

Signed

William Bennett

(Chief  of Waverly Council Office)

"What does it say?" 

I slumped back in the chair and wiped my forehead with my sleeve. How was I going to look after a kid? I mean, I was only 19. Most people settled down, found a husband, a good job with a steady wage before having kids. It wasn't just handed to most people. 

"It says that I've been named as his sole carer and that you have part-custody should I accept it." I explained, pointing out where it was written as I spoke it aloud. 

Aiden nodded and he too slumped back in his seat. 

"Do you know what you want to do?" 

There was silence in the room for a few minutes and the thoughts weighed heavy on my throbbing brain. It was almost too much to take in but I had to do it. Even though Sunny was thoughtless and careless and selfish, she was, at one point, my friend. 

A knock at the door snapped me out of my thoughts and I watched as Carol entered again and daintily sat back down in her seat and knotted her fingers together, tight lipped. 

"Have you made your decision yet?" 

I nodded. 

**

All it took was for me to press a pen to a few sheets of paper and scribble out my signiture. 

That was it. 

I was now a parent. 

Kinda. 

Vegas was now legally my child, at least. It was truly terrifying to think what could possibly go wrong from this point onwards. Being only 19 didn't help either. 

I stood by the car door of Aiden's ride shaking from the early morning light before the sun had risen fully and warmed up the city. 

I waited for the door to unlock before I slid in the passanger seat and stared blankly out the windshield. My brain was numb from thinking about how much things can change in a day. They don't mean it lightly when they say that life can change overnight. 

Deep down I was determined to do this the best I could, to make the best out of a tragic situation. I knew that I had help, too. Which made me feel a little less uneasy. But the feeling was still there. 

Aiden began to drive me back to my apartment which would soon either see me leaving it's walls, or welcome a three year old. 

I dreaded to think what was going to happen when I got back...