OBVIOUS DISTRESS

THE PARK WAS THE ANTIDOTE TO WASHINGTON SQUARE. No graffiti, no chess tables, no broken benches, and no drug heads. Instead, there were lots of trees and a pond swarming with ducks and children. Going there had been like stepping into an oasis: green, lush and clean. Ed had loved it. But Ed didn't feel happy. While their view had changed, his and Gaia's relationship was still stuck back in New York. And Ed wanted to move out of that place.

After wandering around the park for a couple of hours, they had climbed back into his car and driven around, looking for somewhere to eat lunch. Eventually they had agreed on a diner that sat on the edge of town. Ed's first impression was that it was bright and brilliant. His second impression was that it was crumbling at its foundations.

"Ed, are you going to eat your chips or just keep on stabbing them? 'Cause if you don't want them I'll have them."

Ed snapped into focus. Giving his head a little shake to loosen his thoughts, he pulled his plate closer. "Stay away from my food or I'll stab you."

Gaia snorted in response and raised her eyebrow. Ed choked on his chip. Her expression was the one that clearly said, "Oh really?" He had lost count of the times of numbers she had directed it at him after a stupid comment, or at a thug with a loose tongue. She had even made that expression at Jake when he had challenged her during PE.

Jake.

Ed could feel his chip surfacing.

Will.

Had she ever made that expression at him? Ed didn't know. In fact he knew nothing about the girl opposite him.

ED SLAMMED DOWN HIS FORK.

"You can't just tell me about your dead boyfriend then suddenly start talking about Quantico's town hall. That's not fair."

A chip fell from Gaia's fingers, slapping down onto the sticky tabletop. Her grey eyes widened, as she said his name in a pleading tone.

"No Gaia. Shut up and listen. When you phoned me I thought we were going to fix our friendship, but instead we've built some sort of facade!"

Ed flattened his palm on the table top, pressing it down hard. Somehow the movement made him feel held up and strong. He could see a man glaring at him from across the diner, but Ed didn't care. He didn't care that everyone could hear every damn word he was saying.

"For the first time you opened up without any prodding or poking from me. And call me stupid but I thought that meant you would actually tell me things now!"

Gaia's head snapped up; her eyes darkened.

"I have told you things."

"Yeah, sure," Ed scoffed. "You told me about Will. But what about your roommate? I presume you have one. And what the hell do you do as a FBI? What about Jake?! You know, I had to find out about him from your dad!"

Gaia blinked.

"WHAT?"

Ed's outburst had shocked her. But now she felt stunned to her seat. What did her dad have to do with anything?"

"My dad...He what?"

Gaia felt herself crumple as she watched the edges of Ed's face soften and sag, sadness dulling his eyes and voice.

"On Prom night, after you left, your dad, he turned up at my apartment asking where you were. He told me about Jake..."

A ringing replaced the sound of Ed's voice. His face began to sway in front of her. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Since leaving New York, her father had been the only person she kept in contact with. They phoned each other regularly, and even met up occasionally, but during all their conversations her father had never once mentioned Ed, let alone having spoken to him. How could have her dad not have mentioned this?

"I figured you left New York because of what happened to Jake. Because of just what happened in New York. I don't blame you for wanting to leave after everything."

Gaia opened her eyes to look at Ed again, only his face was blurred by tears.

THE CUFFS UNRAVELLED UNDER HER FINGERS AS SHE PULLED ON THE LOOSE THREADS OF HER SWEATSHIRT. Tugging on one of the threads, Gaia watched as the seam came undone. The sweatshirt was old but held together in one piece of ages. It was only now that it was showing the wear and tear of the past four years. Letting the material drop from her fingertips, Gaia began reliving her memory in a carefully measured monotone.

"Skyler Rodke and his father had developed a drug a make feel fearless. Problem was that the drug had major side affects. He, erm, he has leaked the drug onto the street to test those affects, but, he um, he obviously thought being turned into a psycho wasn't a major issue."

"The droogs were taking his drug."

Gaia turned to see the hard look in Ed's eyes. The red light from the diner across the street bounced off his cheek, colouring it with anger and shame. Slowly she sucked in some air and blew it out through her teeth. "Yes," Gaia confirmed, the word feeling heavy on her tongue. It had been because of the droogs that Ed had ended up in hospital along with Kai. Gaia felt her heart ache at the memory, but she squashed the feeling. She needed to ignore her emotions or otherwise she would not be able to finish.

"I decided to stop the Rodkes. I told Jake what I had decided, what I had planned. I also told him that I didn't need his help to stop Skyler. But he didn't listen." Gaia paused, soaking her stray tears with her sleeve. "He wasn't meant to be there. I wish he had just listened to me. Then he wouldn't have died!"

Slamming her eyes shut, Gaia tried to trap her multiplying tears behind her eyelids. But as a sob shock her body she knew she had lost the fight. The last coherent thought she had was that she had held Jake as he died, her sorrow streaming down her face.

HER FACE FELT SORE, STICKY AND STIFF. Her bum felt numb from sitting on the kerb. And her soul felt exhausted.

Gaia and Ed had been sitting on the side of the road for around 15 minutes, 15 minutes that had been filled with Gaia digging up anguish and crying out her nightmares. Gaia couldn't remember when she had last - if ever - relived so much of her painful past within a 24-hour span.

Despite the obvious distress her story had caused Ed, he had remained solid and a comfort as she cried. And for that Gaia was thankful.

"You could have told me all this three years ago. You know, you might have found that talking about it at the time helped, instead of.. bottling it up."

"Maybe," Gaia replied with a shrug. Shifting slightly, she gazed at Ed's guarded profile. "You wish I had told you."

"I would have preferred to have heard it from you and not your father," Ed admitted with a grim chuckle. Sighing, he turned to look at Gaia. "But it doesn't matter now."

Gaia nodded, though she wasn't sure why. Looking across the road at the diner, Gaia couldn't help but wonder how their normal midday meal had turned into a feelings fest.

"One of the reasons I decided to date Jake was that he could take care of himself. I knew that by being around me he was likely to end up in a fight, and so knowing that he could hold his own meant I didn't have to worry about him getting hurt. I guess that's also one of the reasons I dated Will.

"And now look. They're dead, whereas you, an ex-cripple, is still alive."

ED FELT STUNNED AS A SHAKEY LAUGH SLIPPED FROM GAIA'S LIPS. He couldn't think of one funny thing about what Gaia had just told him. And as Ed Fargo was king of lightening the mood, his only conclusion was that Gaia had gone mad.

Flicking her eyes towards him, Gaia chuckled, "I think I preferred our no questions policy."

Ed frowned for a second, then found himself chuckling as well. The noise felt fake in his throat, yet he knew it was real.

"If I remember correctly, that lasted for about a minute," Ed replied, his mind flying back four years. "I couldn't stop myself from asking if you got into fights everywhere."

"Unfortunately I think the answer is still yes," Gaia said with a sad smile. She looked small, sitting on the kerb with her knees drawn up to her chest - like a young child - her hair flapping in the breeze. Ed suddenly felt the need to wrap his arms around her. But he didn't get the chance.

Gaia began to climb to her feet, brushing the dirt from the seat of her jeans. Casting her clear eyes down at him, Gaia said, "Come on. Let's get out of here."

Willing obeying, Ed got up and followed her to the car.