Chapter 37: At Your Side

When the daylight's gone

And you're on your own

And you need a friend

To just be around

I will comfort you

I will take your hand

And pull you through

I will understand

And you know that

I'll be at your side

There's no need to worry

Together we'll survive

Through the haste and hurry

I'll be at your side

If you feel like you're alone

And you've nowhere to turn

I'll be at your side

At Your Side – The Corrs

Aeris sat on a park bench with her lyrics book. She idly noted down a line and looked out across the park. There were some children playing football, some mothers with babies were talking, a couple of college students walking and drinking coffee. Aeris jotted something on her pad.

She was waiting for Matthew Gast. She had arranged to meet him here so they could talk properly. She had arrived a little early and started to write a new song. The park was a good place for inspiration. Dappled sunlight fell through the trees behind her, speckling her with shadows.

A few minutes later she felt Matthew sit down next to her. She put her things away and turned to him. He was carrying a bunch of roses.

"Hi Dad." She said. He smiled.

"Hi Aeris. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"Also fine. Here… I bought you these. To say sorry for ruining your birthday." He handed her the roses. She smelled them and smiled at him.

"Thanks."

They sat in silence. Eventually Matthew burst out,

"Has he seen you yet?"

"Eric? Yeah. He came over yesterday and we spoke. But I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh… right…" Matthew said. Aeris saw his hands turn into fists but didn't comment. She said,

"What happened? All of it this time. I don't want anything hidden."

"Aeris-"

"Dad, listen to me. Whatever happened then affected me too. It doesn't matter that I wasn't even born. That last fight has affected my whole life and I have a right to know what happened. Everything."

Matthew stood up and paced back and forwards. He ran his hands through his hair, scratched his beard and eventually said,

"Eric was my friend. I think it's important that you know that. Eric, Lucrecia, Richard and Infalna were my closest friends and I loved them all dearly. I had met Richard when we started college together. Lucrecia and Richard were already friends and Eric was a friend of Lucrecia's. We were so tight. We knew everything about each other."

"What happened?" Aeris asked. Matthew sat down again and stared at the ground.

"When we started working on the cure, I thought we were going to be friends forever. We were young and the world seemed like the brightest place there could be. But… I always loved Infalna. We had met in school, before we went to college. We were the best students at science, and I was proud of the fact. We went on to college together and met the others. I knew Lucrecia and Richard were meant to be together. It was obvious. And I hoped that maybe Infalna felt the same way I did about her."

Matthew scratched his beard and sighed.

"I was planning on telling her how I felt. But Eric beat me to it. They were so happy together. I felt so angry at them both, as if they had no right to be that happy. But I didn't say anything. I just carried on with my research. A year after we started the work, Lucrecia had Vincent. We were only 24 at the time. Still so young. After Lucrecia died we fell apart as a group. Richard barely spoke to us. But Infalna and Eric were still happy together. And then they announced that they were going to have a baby. And that they were engaged.

"My world fell apart, Aeris. Everything I had hoped for was gone. One of my best friends had died, another was depressed and the girl I loved was engaged to my best friend. And then… just a few weeks after the announcement of their proposal, I found Eric with another woman. He didn't know I knew at the time. I thought maybe he would stop, so I didn't say anything. But it happened again. And again. And then I found out that Eric was in debt. A lot of debt. He was using Infalna's money to pay for it all, as well.

"So I confronted him. He denied it all at first but I told him everything that I knew and he confessed. I told him to tell Infalna but he refused, saying I couldn't prove it. And I couldn't. So I said that I would tell her, if he didn't. We started fighting. And then Infalna came in and wanted to know what was going on. I couldn't tell her… Eric left without a word and left me to explain to Infalna."

"But you didn't tell her the truth, did you?" Aeris said. He couldn't look at her. He kept his eyes on the ground.

"I told her that we had been fighting about their future. Only that I didn't think he would stay with her and I wanted to make sure that he would. I didn't tell her about the women or the money…until yesterday. At the party, I asked Eric what he was doing here. Asked him why he was staying in contact with you."

"What did he say?"

"Aeris-"

"Tell me!"

Matthew rubbed his eyes.

"Aeris… I think he's after your money. You've got a lot of it now. I can't prove anything, but I told Eric to leave. Because if he did anything to you, or your mother, I could never forgive myself. All I want is for you two to be happy. I know both of you were originally his. But I still love you both and I won't let him hurt you again."

He continued to stare at the ground. Aeris didn't speak. She picked at a fingernail and then started to pace as he had done. She stopped, opened her mouth, closed it again and started to pace. Eventually she stopped.

"Dad?"

His head shot up to look at her. Aeris took a deep breath.

"I think I need to talk to Eric. I know you two have this big history, but I don't know what to do. I think I need to sort things out. But I barely know Eric. And you're my dad. So I do believe you. But I also believe that people can change. So I'm going to presume that Eric has and go and see him. But remember what I said in the garden. You're the only person I could call my Dad."

Matthew stood up and put his arms around her in a loving embrace. Aeris hugged him back and he said,

"I love you. You do know that?"

"Of course. I love you too."

Aeris unlocked the door to the apartment threw herself down on the sofa. The apartment was empty but the answer phone bleeped. Four messages. She pressed the play button and started to make tea.

"Aeris, its Mike. We've got a meeting tomorrow at 4. Call me if that's not a good time. It's about the documentary. Elena said she told you. Anyway, I'll see you then. Bye."

Aeris stirred some milk into her tea as she listened to the next message.

"Hey Aeris, its Tifa. We've got an Open Mic night coming up at the café. If you're gonna perform call me quick and I'll sign you up. See you later."

The third message.

"I've got a message for Vincent Valentine. His new oil paints have just come in, if he'd like to come and collect them."

Aeris sat down as the fourth message played.

"Aeris, Yuffie here. I borrowed your purple top. Don't worry, I'll return it. Just don't get mad, OK? See ya later!"

Aeris laughed and reached over to press delete. But then she paused. There was already a played message on the answer machine. She deleted the four and then played the old message. As she listened, the teacup slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor, spilling its contents everywhere.

"Vincent, I got your message. I'll meet you at 2:30 by the fountain and we can discuss the situation then. Don't worry, I won't tell Aeris. Eric."

She stared at the machine. What the…? Why were Vincent and Eric meeting? What was the 'situation' that needed discussing?

She checked her watch. 2:20. She could get there on time if she ran. Seizing her bag, she pulled the door shut behind her and set off for the park.

Standing by the park entrance, Aeris had a clear view of the fountain. Eric Gainsborough was already waiting there. A few minutes later, from the other end of the park, came Vincent. Aeris was too far away to hear their conversation. She watched carefully. They appeared to be arguing. Vincent handed Eric something and said something before walking away in the direction he had come. Eric waited and then left. Neither of them saw Aeris.

She waited for a few minutes. What was going on? She wanted answers and she wanted them now. Aeris headed towards the hotel where Eric was staying. The receptionist looked up.

"Can I help you, Miss?"

"Is Eric Gainsborough here? I'm his daughter."

"I'm afraid he's not. Would you like to wait for him?"

"Yes… please. Can I go up to his room and wait there?"

"Just one moment."

She tapped on the computer and then handed her a key.

"Room 18. Take the elevator to the second floor and it's alone the corridor."

"Thanks…"

Aeris headed upstairs. Unlocking the door, she let herself into the two rooms. A sitting room and a bedroom. Sitting on a chair, she waited patiently for fifteen minutes. After that she walked around the room, waiting with slightly less patience. What was taking him so long?

A pile of letters lying on a desk caught her eye. Aeris picked one up and scanned it.

Dear Mr Gainsborough,

In connection to the previous warnings sent by our company, we regret to inform you that if you do not pay the quoted sum, we will be forced to take legal action. Please contact your local office as soon as possible so we can discuss payment.

Aeris stared at the letter. How could he possibly owe this much? What had he spent it on? She took another letter. It was basically the same as the previous one but with a different company. From what she could tell, Eric Gainsborough owed at least four companies huge amounts of money, as well as private loaners.

So this was why he had come back. Matthew had been right. Everyone had warned her. Everyone had said look out. But had she listened?

No. Of course not.

Aeris turned to leave. To see Eric standing in the doorway. His eyes flew from her to the letter in her hand. Aeris swallowed hard. Eric closed the door and turned to her.

"Aeris… I think we need to talk."

(A/N: Phew, quite a cliffy, eh? Again, I'm sorry for the long wait. Lack of inspiration lately. Also I'm kinda sad. Remember the picture of the dead tree, way back at the beginning of the fic? It was based on an actual place. Namely, my local park. All those beautiful trees and the dead one in the middle. It was great for inspiration. And guess what the council has done? Chopped it down. Kind of a bummer. But also slightly ironic, don't you think? Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll try and do something more cheerful soon, OK? Please review on your way out. It doesn't take much. Just press the button and write what you think. What have you got to lose?)