Sat on the beach a few days later, Aria focused on the art project she'd started and looked up as raised voices caught her attention. She couldn't say that she was surprised, when she spotted some of the River boys arguing with John Palmer and shook her head as John stormed off. Heading to Angelo's a while later, Aria walked in to find Brax sat at the bar and went to join him.

"Hey," he greeted as she took a seat next to him, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was down on the beach doing some homework and thought I'd come to see if you needed help," Aria replied.

"Deliveries due in about half an hour," Brax told her, glancing up from his paperwork and frowning at the way Aria was playing with the bottom of her shirt, "What's wrong?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"I've decided to enter the Summer Bay Talent Festival and Liam gave me an entrance form, but I need a parent to sign it," Aria explained, retrieving the form from her bag and placing it on the bar, "Do you think it would be okay if you signed it?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

Taking the form, Brax gave it a quick once over and signed it without hesitation. The delivery soon arrived and Aria helped sort it out, before heading to the Surf club to meet Andy.

"Hey beautiful," Andy greeted, chuckling when Aria looked around with a frown and pulling her into a hug.

"Oh, you're talking to me," Aria replied with a smile, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Fancy a game of pool?"

"Sure," Aria agreed.

They had just started their second game, when Jake walked in with a few of his boys and took a seat at a nearby table. Just being near him put her on edge, but she wouldn't let him see that and simply focused on the game.

"I'm sure that you're cheating," Andy accused playfully, when Aria potted the black ball for the second time and threw her hands in the air with a grin.

"Awww, I'm sorry," Aria stated, "Would you like another shot?"

"How about you treat me to a cheeseburger at the diner?"

"Come on, you drongo," Aria teased, smiling as Andy took her hand and entwined their fingers.

Once they had eaten, Andy headed off to meet Josh and Aria made her way home. Letting herself in, she walked towards the kitchen and froze momentarily as she spotted Heath lying in a puddle of his own blood on the floor.

Rushing to his side, she put pressure on the stab wound to his stomach and called for help. Traveling to the hospital with him in the ambulance, Aria watched as he was rushed through a set of double doors and took a seat in the waiting room as tears streamed down her face.

Staring at Heath's blood on her hands, Aria heard the sound of Brax's voice and stepped out into the corridor to find him standing with Ricky.

"Ari," he said, rushing over to where she stood and pulling her into a hug, "Are you okay?"

Shaking her head, she twisted her fingers into the fabric of his t-shirt and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Tightening his hold around her, Brax kissed her head and waited until she had calmed down to let her go.

"Aria, why don't we go and get the blood off of your hands?" Ricky suggested, earning a nod from Aria and leading her to the bathroom.

Staring into the sink, Aria watched as the blood mixed with the water and slipped down the drain. Returning to the waiting room, she took a seat beside Brax and anxiously played with the sleeve of her jumper.

"What happened?" Brax asked gently.

"I don't know, I came home and found him on the kitchen floor," Aria mumbled as Casey and Kyle arrived.

It was an hour, before Sid entered the waiting room and everyone stood up. Taking note of the lack of expression on his face, Aria felt her heart sink a little and waited anxiously for him to speak.

"Heath lost a lot of blood, but the knife didn't do any major damage and he's stable."

"So, he's going to be okay?" Aria inquired quietly.

"It'll take time for him to heal up, but I'm confident that he'll make a full recovery," Sid answered.

"Can we see him?" Kyle added, earning a nod in response and following him towards Heath's room.

Aria trailed behind as they made their way through the hospital, staying near the door and watching as Cheryl rushed in. Letting Brax explain what happened, she watched Heath's still form and looked up as her mom spoke.

"This is all your fault, you know?" she practically spat in Aria's direction, "Heath told us all about the trouble you've been having with that Jake Pirovic and It's nearly gotten your brother killed..."

"I..." Aria started, before falling silent and running from the room as tears again streamed down her face.

Cheryl was right, it was her fault and she needed to fix it.

Author's Notes: Thank you for reading!