Author note: Ashamed, my dear readers, doesn't even begin to describe how I feel. It's been much, much too long since I updated and I don't doubt that you looked at this in your inbox and thought, who, what story? I'm so sorry for the lateness and hope that you're still willing to read this. A massive thank you has to go out to my reviewers, without who I doubt very much this would even be here.

Chapter sixteen: all the things he said

Hudson Farm

Adam's words disturbed me more than I cared to admit and haunted me long after I left Deild Vale and Adam behind me. I struggled to sleep that night, unable to stop thinking about what he said and it plagued me, was it really true that I was just like George's mum? Was I foolish and naïve to think that I could keep George's dad from moulding George into the archetypal Baxter? I didn't think so, George was George and he was nothing like his father and nor would he ever be and as for me being like George's mum, well, so what if I was? It wasn't as though I was going to lead the same life as her just because we were a little bit similar and besides, it was my own family that I had gotten all my attributes from, nowhere else, except maybe whatever force acted on me the night I decided to help the poor. Adam was an idiot, a conniving pain in the rear end who was jealous of the happiness I'd found with George and had the audacity to call his attempts to get me to leave George fear for my own well being. He was talking out of his backside about the whole, George-will-be-like-all-the-other-Baxters-as-soon-as-its-too-late-for-you-to-leave crap and I didn't believe a word of it, why should I, Adam hasn't exactly been the most honest man in my life so far has he? No, he was wrong about George, I was sure of it and I had much too much faith in my current boyfriend to believe otherwise. I trusted George with everything I had, I didn't trust Adam as far as I could throw him, George had never internally done anything to hurt me, Adam cheated on my with my friend and has physically harmed me quite a bit since then. All in all, the decision of who I believed in the most wasn't a very tough one.

So why was I still thinking about it? I loved George, he'd never turn into his father because he'd been fighting against just that for such a long time now and not to mention that he's his own person and doesn't have to become an immoral tycoon/MP when he grows up. I didn't doubt that, but still here I was lying in bed, wide awake at about half past six in the morning, after finally dropping off to sleep from sheer exhaustion only to wake up again after my reoccurring nightmare at quarter past five, bang on the dot, my mind buzzing with a thousand thoughts I didn't think I could even entertain. Could the other thing Adam had said be true? As sure as I was that he was wrong about George, I couldn't seem to summon up equal conviction for the other thing he told me. Running my hand through my hair I sat up in bed, furious that I was actually considering Adam's words. I stared out into my darkened room for a few more moments before giving in to the frustration and confusion that poked at me mercilessly and promptly kicking off my bedcovers before springing out of bed, unable to sit still a second longer. Adam was wrong, he'd said what he had about my mum out of pure spite, he had to have done, there was no way that what he said could possibly be the truth. Exhausted from a tiring day which had been followed by yet another long and virtually sleepless night, I was suddenly full of anxious energy and very much on edge. Just about resisting the urge to upturn my room in pure frustration, I let out an agitated noise and headed for my bedroom door, unable to stay in the confining silence a second longer, I needed to distract myself, to push aside Adam's vicious lies and get busy.

Stepping into the corridor, dressed in the shorts and T shirt I wore to bed, I looked across the landing for a moment, making sure that the coast was clear. The house was silent then, everyone soundly asleep in their beds and only the sounds of the piping creaking and my family's soft snoring audible in the quiet of the night. With a wistful glance at George's bedroom door I decided not to disturb him, there was nothing George could do for me now short of simply holding me, and pleasant though that might be it wouldn't help me make sense of what I'd been told. Also as soon as he saw how agitated I was I knew full well that he'd want to know what was wrong and I couldn't tell him about what Adam had said without revealing that I had been in contact with the scumbag. No, I couldn't talk to George about this, not without revealing that I'd been lying to him, and besides, what Adam had said to me was far too disturbing to discus with George.

Shuddering out of both anger and revulsion I scowled and crossed the landing silently, not wanting to wake up my family since it was still early. Bloody Adam! I ranted internally, who was he to tell me all this stuff like he was any authority on my life and the lives of the Baxter's. Not once had he ever done anything for anyone but himself and he honestly expected me to believe that he was telling me all of that to protect me. The very idea was laughable; he had obviously forgotten that I knew him and didn't believe a word he said. Reaching the stairs I navigated them expertly, striding over the familiar creaking steps and treading as lightly as I could, I did know Adam, I thought pulling a face, and hate him though I did was this really the sought of thing he'd just make up? Was Adam the kind to tell a lie of this magnitude, knowing full well what it implied? Of course he was, I insisted though there was a part of me that thought otherwise, Adam was a pilock of the first order and a world class liar, he could turn around and tell the Pope that the sun wouldn't rise tomorrow without so much as blinking. But still, he hadn't seemed like he was lying to me and I prided myself on being able to tell when he was talking crap. Listen to yourself! I chastised as I reached the foot of the stairs and headed for the farm house kitchen, he's actually got you fooled, of course he was lying, and such a thing could never be true. I could always ask my mum, I thought as I reached the fridge but dismissed the thought instantly, and frowning to myself I pulled open the fridge door a little more violently than the action warranted. I couldn't possibly ask my mum something like this, I thought as I pulled a carton of orange juice from the fridge and went off to get a glass, never mind that the question was ridiculous, it just wasn't the sort of thing you asked your mum. But then how could I be sure that Adam was lying and there wasn't any truth to his claims? I wondered as I poured myself a glass of juice and returned to carton to the fridge, a permanent frown in place and furrowed eyebrows. By trusting my instincts and what had happened in the past, I thought, Adam had always lied to me, why should now be any different? It wasn't that simple though, my instincts were telling me to consider this and feeling beyond confused and a little pissed of, I sank into a chair at the kitchen table.

This is crazy, I thought, but what if it's the truth, what will I do then? Question everything I've ever been told probably, I thought sarcastically; as if Adam had told the truth then I wasn't certain of anything any more. Sighing I set down the glass and ignored it, thinking that I needed something stronger if I was going to think about this. Holding my head in my hands I tried and failed not to think about what Adam had said, his words echoed in my mind and I could do nothing to chase them away. 'if you want to ask someone about how a Baxter can change, then you ought to ask your mum.' I hadn't though, I'd asked Adam to explain and regretted it ever since.

"What the Hell is that supposed to mean?" I asked irately, glaring at the dark haired boy in front of me who was looking at me as though he had just divulged a state secret, deathly seriousness didn't look right on Adam "what does my mum know about that?"

"You don't want to know," Adam said, repeating his earlier warning, however like earlier I was having none of it and refused to just leave the conversation here, I wanted to know exactly what Adam was saying about my mother, I felt offended that he'd brought her up and ready to insult Adam for it.

"I think I'll be the judge of that," I said as he continued to look at me in the most unnerving way "tell me what you mean, no more crap Adam, the truth, if you even know what that word means."

Looking deeply unimpressed Adam said "no, I don't have to tell you anything, you wont heed the warning to matter what I say." and with that he turned away from me, leaving me feeling like something had just been snatched from my grasp, after the initial disappointment my anger set in and I scowled at the back of his head.

"Adam," I all but growled "you can't say something like that about my mum and expect me to let you drop it, what has my mum got to do with Baxter?"

"I can do whatever the bloody hell I want," Adam said turning back to face me "in case you've forgotten I'm the one in charge here not you, I'm not one of your pathetic little Outlaws, doing whatever you say whenever you say it. I called you here and I'll tell you what I want to."

"Come off it," I snapped at him "we both know you want to tell me this, I could see it in your eyes when you said that about my mum, you just want to toy with me first, you get off on having power over people and that's all this is. You don't care if what you say will hurt me; you just like being the one with all the answers, the one in control." I seethed and Adam looked positively furious, glaring at me in contempt for a moment he looked almost like what I'd said had hurt him for a split second before he spat,

"Your mum used to shaft Baxter," his voice brimming with anger and his eyes burning with the desire to see me upset.

I wasn't upset "Bastard," I hissed lunging for him "how dare you say that about my mum!" I cried as I went to punch Adam, I was so distraught though that I wasn't as aware as I should have been and he managed to grab hold of my arm and stop me "she was always good to you, how dare you say that about her."

"You said you wanted to know," Adam said seizing my other arm as I went to try and free myself, standing in front of Adam with him tightly gripping both of my hands and his furious face inches from my livid one I did the first thing that came into my mind, something that with anyone else I would never have done and wasn't particularly proud of. Quivering with rage I stared him right in the eyes before throwing my head back and spitting in Adam's face, as he cried out in disgust Adam let go of one of my arms to wipe his face, moving quickly I landed my second blow. Still furious I promptly kneed Adam in the groin and as he doubled over in pain the lying sod let go of my other hand, without any hesitation I pushed him backwards, hard, and he landed on his back on the floor.

"I asked you to tell me what you said, not for a vicious lie about my mother!" I exclaimed watching him as he writhed in pain on the floor "that was a new low, scumbag, even for you." furious beyond words that Adam had the pure audacity to even suggest that my mother and Robert Baxter had…urgh, it didn't even bare thinking about, it was the most hurtful and disgusting thing Adam had ever said to me and never in my life had I hated this man so much before, except maybe when he threatened George. How dare he? My mum had always been lovely to him, she always told the rest of us off when we spoke of him hatefully, even though she disliked him for the way he had treated me and what he did, she could abide by us being cruel about him. He didn't deserve her kindness.

I turned to leave, more than ready to do Adam more damage but knowing it would do me no good to attack him, I was better than he was. Hands balled into fists I turned away from him and headed towards the window, sod this, I wasn't spending another half and hour listening to his lies, no way no how.

"Don't you want to hear the rest of the story?" Adam asked his voice filled with anger that paled in comparison to my own, rounding on him I spotted him still sitting on the floor protecting his sensitive areas with his hands, but glaring up at me.

"There is no story," I replied forcefully "only your lies."

Wincing as his pained part was jostled, Adam got to his feet and met my gaze "You know what, Robin, all this is, is further proof that just deluding yourself, that you cant accept what's right in front of you."

"Stop talking, Adam, you're not doing yourself any favours," I seethed as I flexed my fingers to keep from lashing out again "there's nothing to accept, you're lying."

"I'm not," Adam insisted "everything I've said to you tonight is the truth; I swear down on my life that it is, Robin."

"Hang on a minute," I said raising a one moment finger to the sky before returning my harsh gaze back to Adam "let me go and get my camera; no one should miss you being struck down by the hand of God." I said coldly and Adam looked bothered, like what I had said had upset him. That didn't last long though.

"You're mum used to go out with Baxter," Adam told me and I groaned, gritting my teeth I turned away, unable to look at him "like George, Baxter used to spend a lot of time on the Southside when he was younger and that's where he met your mum, he was fifteen and they went out for a year before…"

"You expect me to believe that?" I asked cutting across him in scepticism, didn't he know when to stop "my mum hates Baxter, just like everyone else on the Southside, she'd never had gone out with him, not for anything, his family ruined her family's lives."

"That never stopped you though, did it?" Adam asked and under my confused and irritated stare he added "You still go out with George, even though his father makes your family's lives miserable."

"It's not the same, my mum wouldn't have touched Baxter with a ten foot barge pole, I know it!" I said and when Adam only looked smug I scowled and said "Nothing you say means anything to me, you've always lied to me."

"This is the truth," Adam said and I scoffed "Your mum was Robert Baxter's first girl friend, they went out for a year and then he left her for her best friend, George's mum."

"What?" I asked still scowling but feeling my stomach drop a little with what he had said "no, that's not possible."

"Sound familiar does it?" Adam asked and for a second I thought he was talking about me and him when he said "has your mum ever mentioned losing her first love to her best friend? It's the sought of things mothers and daughters share, isn't it?"

"Oddly enough, no." I said coldly, mentally shaking my head and repeating to myself that Adam was a liar and none of this was true "however what is familiar is the part about a girl being cheated on by her boyfriend with her best friend, that part rings a bell somewhere in my mind, oh, I wonder where." I snapped, being far more callous and harsh than ever before and having no room for feeling sorry about it, why should I, he had just insulted my mum after all.

Adam ignored my jibe and carried on as if I hadn't spoken "you only need to ask her, ask her if she was friends with George's mum, or if she knew her, its not an unreasonable question since both of them grew up on the Southside, if she says that she did then you know I'm telling the truth."

"No I don't," I said folding my arms across my chest and having enough of this "I'm going to ask my mum no such thing because you're a lying scumbag that couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it. My mum never went out with Baxter, NEVER, even if she was friends with George's mum, which I'm sure that she wasn't since she would have told me by now."

Grinning cunningly Adam said "What if the only reason she hasn't told you is because she'd fallen out with her, what if she was still angry for what her friend did to her."

"My mum's not like that," I said thinking of my sweet tempered mother, who only ever had a bad thing to say about one person, Robert Baxter. My mum wasn't the kind of person to hold such a grudge against her friend, but was it possible that this was the reason for her deep hatred of Baxter? "Besides, if she resented George's mum as much as you're suggesting then George wouldn't be living with us now, she wouldn't want it, she'd hate him for what his mother did."

Adam shrugged, unfazed by the claim that I had thought would stump him "I dunno, maybe she's trying to make it up to her dead friend by looking after her son. I don't know everything, but what I do know is that your mum used to go out with Baxter and it didn't end too happily for her."

"I thought you said I was like George's mum?" I asked him, seeing holes in his story and quickly ripping at them.

"I think you're quite a bit like both," Adam said easily from where he stood by his bed "it doesn't matter really, all that matters is that you know the truth."

I scoffed at that and folded my arms across my chest "yeah, cause that's what you told me. This doesn't make any sense you know, Baxter would never have appealed to my mum, he'll have been a pampered prince and a spoiled brat even at that age," I said not even pausing when I remembered that that was what I thought of George at first "anyway, my dad is the only person that my mum has ever loved." I said with naive conviction.

Adam laughed "you seriously believed that?" he asked and when I only scowled at him added "god, its worse than I thought, you really do live in a fairy tale."

"You think that if you want, you don't know me any more." I said coldly and when Adam looked at me with a sudden intensity that was not only shocking but also alarming, since he didn't look angry or anything which was something that hadn't happened often. I quickly started talking again, not wanting to know why he looked how he did "you haven't told me how you know all this," I said "somehow I don't think that Baxter was having a good old natter with Conner about it and you just happened to overhear. How can you possibly know anything about his past?" I asked, sure once again that I had stumped him.

I hadn't though; as ever Adam had an answer "I didn't need to hear it from him, anyone over the age of thirty that lives in the Southside will know about his relationship with your mum. It was the talk of the town way back when so it wasn't difficult to find out."

"Oh right, so you're basing all your claims on a couple of old gossips. Real reliable! I can't believe this! Seriously, how stupid do you think I am?" I asked, stunned by his answer and fed up of listening to him, despite my words I was taking what he had said to heart and that frightened me, I didn't want to think about it.

"For not believing me: incredibly stupid. It's right in front of you, Robin," Adam said starting towards me and causing me to pull a disgusted expression as he grabbed hold of my shoulders in earnest "even you aren't this dim, you must have seen or heard something, anything that your mum or dad or Baxter had said that proves what I've told you. You must know."

Irritated and furious to find even the faintest traces of doubt in my mind I shrugged out of Adam's grip and said "My mum, never went out with Baxter." In the strongest but calmest voice I had.

Adam sighed "Idiot," he muttered before backing away "if you don't believe me that's your own loss, I've told you the truth and you'll be the one to suffer for you not listening, not me. Your mum DID go out with Baxter, he DID cheat on her with her best friend who he later married, and he HAS taught Peter Perfect to act the same way. Don't come crying to me when Georgie Boy hurts you."

"You're the last person I'd come to, if that ever happened." I snapped harshly, incredibly hurt by what he'd said about my mum and refusing to believe a word he said "George is nothing like his dad and thankfully nothing like you. He'd never hurt me and he'd never lie to me about something like this either, I don't believe a word you've said to me, all you ever do is lie." I told him, holding my head high and glaring at him, not about to let him win.

Looking just as cold and harsh as I felt Adam stared at me for a moment before saying "Whatever, don't believe me, I don't care." He said before turning away from me and heading towards his bedroom door, causing me to wonder if I could leave then "But if you gather up enough courage to ask your mum about this, you'll know that I'm right."

Digging my nails into my hair I took a deep breath, Adam was lying, he had to be, I couldn't even contemplate the idea of my mum and Baxter ever being together, it just seemed wrong to me somehow. Could anyone honestly blame me for feeling that way? A murderous, tyrant who terrorised the people of my town, who'd caused so much pain and misery, who wanted to overthrow our soon to be Prime Minster so he could take his evil nation wide and wanted me dead, used to go out with my mum? Was it any wonder the idea didn't sit well with me? I felt queasy, furious and oddly betrayed, thought not by Adam, this was the sort of thing I expected from him, no, it was my mum I felt betrayed by and that very thought alarmed me. I'd left Adam's house determined that I was right and that this was just another one of his schemes to mess up my life, but over the course of the night his words had crept up on me and I couldn't stop thinking that maybe they were true. Painful though that was to even think. I kept telling myself that all this was was Adam trying to ruin what I had with George by telling me this stuff, but suddenly I found myself doubting even that. It didn't seem right.

The more I tried not to think about it the harder the task became and pretty soon I was even remembering all the instances my mum and Baxter had been in the same room together, trying to decide if there was any evidence there to support Adam's claims. My dreams of them in the hospital, while I was unconscious, and Baxter's visit to our house the other week came to mind. Had they acted differently? I wondered but I couldn't remember each instance clearly enough to say, in the hospital there had been a strange tenseness that I'd put down purely to who Baxter was and what he did to people like my parents, but I remembered that he'd been acting strangely, almost as though it bothered him to be around them and they were especially cold to him. While when Baxter came to the house I was sure that I'd seen him looking at my mum in the weirdest way and maybe that I'd seen her blush and be uncommonly cold. I didn't know for sure, in each instance I'd been too distracted to pay attention to my parents and Baxter, too worried about George for anything else. I groaned and pressed my hands against my face, great, now I was reading deeply into everything that had ever happened; I was looking for it to be true even though I knew it couldn't be. My mum would NEVER have gone out with Baxter, never. She hated him, she loved my dad and George's mum had never been her friend. Adam was a liar.

Time passed me by as I sat there, warring with myself over what Adam had said, half convinced he was right and half sure he couldn't be. I didn't know what to think, even considering that he was right went against the grain and what he was implying sickened me, but even still, there was a part of me that thought he might be telling the truth. Staring holes in the kitchen table, perhaps hoping to find the answers to my burning questions underneath the wood, I struggled through my thoughts and emotions and came up empty. However, I was soon pulled from my musing by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Sitting quickly upright I did my best to look normal as my mum rounded the corner into the kitchen and jumped at the sight of me.

"Robin!" She exclaimed raising a hand to her heart and smiling at me "you scared me half to death," she said as she strode, fully dressed for work, across the kitchen. I watched her intently as she moved; thinking once again about what had been said against her, could it be true? "What are you doing down here so early?" she asked as she flicked the kettle on and went about gathering the things she needed to make tea.

Blinking I sat there for a second before looking up at the clock and reading the time, it was almost half past seven "It's not really early," I said stretching out my back, which ached from having been sat hunched over as long as I had "I've got to be in college for nine." I said and my mum nodded at me, smiling as pleasantly as always.

"Okay, love," she said pouring herself a mug of tea before turning to me and asking "do you want one?"

"I'm fine," I said gesturing to my untouched glass of juice in front of me and folding my arms before resting them on the table. I watched my mum as she nodded again and went about her business, unable to keep myself from looking for confirmation of Adam's claims in how she acted, though I didn't know what I expected to find there, since I'd never noticed anything before. My mum was just as cheerful as ever and began to chatter happily about what she was going to be doing today in her job as a teaching assistant and asking me what lessons I had at college today. Distracted I hardly heard a word of what she said but somehow managed to tell her that I only had one lesson today and that George and I planned to go out for the day afterwards, not even the thought of the much anticipated trip to Marian's Bay able to shake me from my thoughts. It couldn't be true.

Frowning at my minimal response Mum sat down in the chair opposite me and wrapped her fingers around the mug of steaming tea. Frighteningly I found that I couldn't bring myself to meet her gaze across the table. "Robin," my mum said her penetrating eye fixed firmly on me and a look on her face that said she knew there was something wrong "are you alright?" she asked and I nodded, causing my mum to look even more sceptical.

Smiling a crappily forced smile I snatched up my glass and took a drink more for something to do than anything else, Mum still watched me as I struggled to force the liquid down my dry throat, feeling more and more bothered with each passing second. "You seem upset," my mum continued, eyeing me warily and her voice taking over a strictly parental tone so I knew she was worried.

"Do I?" I asked fighting back a hysterical laugh, thinking that upset didn't come close to describing how I felt, I felt betrayed, hurt and confused, even though it was crazy for me to think like that since I didn't know if Adam was telling the truth or not and if we really had entered into an alternate universe and he was, why should I feel betrayed? It happened years ago before my mum and my dad were even together and besides, how different was it from what I was doing with George now?

"Yes," my mum answered, that worried tone still there "is there something you want to talk about? Because if there is you can always talk to me." Not about this I cant, I thought before picking up my glass again, I was pretty sure that this was the last thing you'd want to hear me say, whether it was a lie or the truth. I knew I'd feel the same if it were me, to have my daughter accusing me of something like that or to bring up something that I'd probably been trying to forget, I wouldn't appreciate it. "I know that no teenage girl wants to talk to her mum about everything, but if you ever need me, I'm here to talk."

Riddled with guilt for what I was almost believing of her I returned my gaze to the table before correcting the action and looking at my mum, she could read me like a book and would be more concerned than ever by that "I know," I said before forcing another smile and getting to my feet, downing the last of the juice from the glass I dropped it into the sink and turned back to my mum, going for an air of nonchalance I was sure I missed completely.

"Are you going to be staying out late for work again?" my mum asked, probably still trying to get to the bottom of my distress.

"Yeah, I'll be at the office," I said honestly and in doing so reminded myself that there was much more important things to be worried about than rumours about my mum, like tonight's meeting with the Rebellion, whatever Grace might be up to and stopping Baxter from becoming Prime Minster at all costs. However, even with that in mind and determination filling me I couldn't stop thinking about my mum and Baxter. "We've got something important to do tonight." I said and my mum nodded in understanding.

"Maybe you shouldn't stay out so late tonight," my mum suggested as she eyed me, no doubt taking in the bangs under my eyes "you seem tired, Robin, and I'm sure your friends wont mind if you leave early to get some rest." She said with an edge of parental concern.

"They'd understand," I agreed "but I'll wait until we're finished before coming home, we won't be too late, we're just deciding on something." I said thinking even as I spoke that it didn't matter how early I got back to the farm after the outlaws and I planned out what to do tonight, I'd still be leaving again as soon as everyone was asleep. Besides, even if I did turn in early I doubted it would make any difference, I was as bad as Mark now for sleepless nights.

My mum didn't look satisfied by this and frowned for a moment before saying "you work too hard," in a stern tone "one of these days you'll give yourself a nervous break down if you don't slow things down a bit." again I fought back a bubble of hysterical laughter, thinking she might be more right than she knew, I had certainly bitten off more than I could chew lately.

"Thanks mum," I said jokingly "have I really got all that to look forward to?" however my attempt at lightening the mood and providing myself with a chance to escape failed miserably as my mum looked up at me, every inch deathly serious.

"I mean it, Robin," she said her mood dramatically different than when she first came in "I worry about you."

"There's no need to," I assured her even though I knew there was every need for her to worry, just not for the reason she had in mind "my friends are helping me, I'm not going to suffer a nervous breakdown any time soon." I said, anxious to put her mind to rest but also dying to leave, since I wasn't sure how much longer I could keep from asking her about what Adam said.

"Yes well, friends can only do so much," she said before looking thoughtful and adding, in a different slightly distant tone "and they're not always there for you when you need them."

I frowned at that, regarding my mum with what was almost suspicion I wondered at what she'd said, it wasn't the sort of thing you normally heard from her, it was much more untrusting and cold. I was confused, my mum never had a bad word to say about anyone (bar one) so why would she suggest that my friends wouldn't be there for me? Unless she wasn't talking about my friends any more "what makes you say that?" I asked and my mum snapped out of her thoughts and smiled at me.

"Nothing," she said without hesitation "I just meant that you need to look after yourself as well as relying on your friends. I swear Robin, if they have to force you away from work again because you wont admit that your ill…" she said trailing off, implying a threat but not about to actually give one.

I blinked, momentarily stunned by her sudden mood change, she was now cheerful again, recovering quickly I rolled my eyes at her protectiveness and she laughed before threatening that I wasn't too old to be grounded. "Like I don't know that!" I said thinking about the other month when I'd been grounded for joy ridding with George, which, in my defence, sounded a lot worse than it actually was "I'd better go and get ready for college." I said pointing to the stairs and conscious of how tight a schedule I was on today.

"All right, love," my mum said raising her drink to her lips "just make sure your cousin is up, he's been tired lately and your dad let him sleep in a few hours but he'll need him on the farm soon. Personally I'd take a symbol or something into his room with you, that boy sleeps like a rock." She said fondly of her nephew and I grinned, slightly cheered up by the prospect of pestering Joey but still thinking about what Adam had told me.

"With pleasure," I said before hurrying out of the room and taking to the stairs, my mind whirling as I bounded upwards. What was that all about? I wondered, thinking about my mum's strange behaviour when we were talking about friends, suddenly Adam's words were ringing in my ears, reminding me of what my mum supposed best friend (according to Adam) had done to her, was that what she was talking about, her friend getting with her boyfriend? Ridiculous, I thought as I reached the landing, none of what Adam had said was true, something else had bothered my mum, or else maybe I was imagining her reaction, that seemed likely.

"Morning," a sleepy voice murmured from my right and I turned to see a bedheaded George leaning against the doorframe of his room. My heart swelled at the sight of him and I smiled, all thoughts of Adam and his lies leaving me as George took up my every thought. Suddenly I couldn't wait to get going, after college we had one thing to take care of and then George and I were heading off to Marian's Bay for a few hours, I'd hardly spent any time alone with him recently and seeing him standing there, dressed only in a pair of grey joggers, his hair tousled from sleep and his eyelids heavy as he watched me, made me all the more anxious to go. Adam be damned, I thought as George lent in a kissed me on the cheek, there were much more important things than his spiteful lies, the town, helping the poor, stopping Baxter and whoever else might be in league with him, my friends and George. We'd go to college today, compete our recon mission, spend a blissful few hours at the coast and then go and meet with the Rebellion, I wouldn't let Adam's words bother me, no matter how much I felt like there might be some truth in them.

Author note: I'm not as proud of this as I could have been, it was never meant to be this long, it was just meant to be a little bit before what will happen in the next chapter. However, as is often the way with my writing, it took on a mind of its own and this happened. I really want to know what you think of it though, please review. :) x