"Nina, what the hell are you talking about? Aiden's not drinking again."

"Ap," she leaned forward and held me by the shoulders. "Ap, you need to listen to me. This is why Diego didn't want to tell you. He didn't want you to freak out. He wanted to give Aiden a chance to pull himself together again. But you need to know - you need to help him."

I pulled myself up and shook my head. "How do you know?"

"Diego told me."

"How does Diego know?"

Even in the semi-opacity, I could see her pull a face at me. "April, they're best friends. Of course he knows."

"I'm sure he's fine, Nina. You're worrying about nothing. He promised me he'd quit."

Nina stood up too. "I'm going in. It's getting cold out and I think it's going to rain. I think you should go to Diego again and sort out whatever you need to." She sat motionless for a few moments before shaking herself out of her torpid state, opening her mouth to speak again, but I assured her that I wasn't worried, that everything was fine and that she and Diego fought about nothing.

Then, I sat back down in the seat and waited for the rain to come. Rain was going to come. The sky was overcast with grey and the smell of rain lingered on the horizon. When the first few raindrops fell, I stood up and took a deep breath.

***

I stood in front of Aiden and Diego's room and knocked hesitantly, shifting on the spot in the semi-darkness of the corridor. No answer. I knocked again, more confidently this time, but no answer came again. I frowned and said clearly: "Aiden?"

No answer.

"Diego?"

Still no answer. I clasped the door handle and pushed the door open but there was still no noise of protest, not even the steady rhythm of breathing to indicate there even was any living person in the room. I sighed and stepped forward – they'd left their balcony door open.

"Ow!" I glanced down and found something glinting in the semi-moonlight. Bending down, I picked it up. A bottle of whisky. I felt my heart drop in my chest and my throat constricted. I glanced around the room and reached for the light switch.

I hated what I saw as soon as the light flickered on – there were three empty alcohol bottles visible on the bed. Diego must have found them and confronted Aiden about it - otherwise they would have been hidden. Aiden's bed, the one nearest the window, was undone and his sheets were flung onto the floor. His bedside table was littered with everything he'd said he was done with.

I felt my eyes burn. Rain was still drizzling down steadily; thunder crackled distantly, illuminating the sky and I jumped at the sudden noise. I reached for the balcony door handle to pull it shut, but something caught my eye on the beach below.

I frowned – was that... was that a person?

There was a figure on the beach, sitting with the faint outline of a surfboard by their side. I swallowed. I had no doubt that it was Aiden. It had to be. If it wasn't, it would be damn well awkward to just ambush them. By the time I had reached the edge of the beach, the rain was pouring steadily now and the waves were roaring in my ears.

"Aiden?" I called over the wind.

I'm not sure if he was ignoring me or if he really didn't hear, but I seriously doubted that, especially with his werewolf hearing.

"Aiden." This time it wasn't a question. He turned slightly and I hesitated besides him, unsure of whether or not to sit. "Can I sit down?"

"In the sand?" His voice was low, as though he hadn't spoken in a long time.

"No, in the grass," I tried sarcasm but he didn't smile. "Did you go surfing?" I nodded towards his surfboard with mild curiosity.

"April, quit beating around the bush. Go back inside. You're going to catch a cold out here."

"The waves are pretty big...they look dangerous," I looked at him side-long, "are you sure it's safe to surf?"

"April, what do you want?"

"You're not even dressed properly," I glanced down at him; he didn't have a shirt on, only his swimming trunks. I felt my stomach knot in embarrassment but I ignored him. "And I thought you said you were going to catch up on sleep tonight."

"Well maybe I'm not tired." He snapped irately. He remained motionless, his eyes trained on the waves ahead, not even looking at me as he spoke.

"I know you're drinking again." I spoke quietly.

"Who told you that?" His tone was sharp and I felt myself flinch at how emotionless he sounded.

"Did anyone have to tell me. Why didn't you tell me?" We were speaking with our backs turned towards one another – I couldn't bear it if I faced him.

"It's not serious – I'm not back on it." he muttered quietly – he sounded so much like a child in that moment that I felt like throwing my arms around him.

"Aid," I murmured. My entire body was drenched with water and I felt myself shaking, the cold plunging through to my bones. I looked over to him – I don't know how he wasn't shaking from the cold. I went onto my knees so we were level height and twisted so I was facing him. "Stop lying."

"April please drop it, okay?" I didn't move. "For fuck's sake, I can't talk to you right now." He snapped.

"Look, can we talk inside please?" I pleaded.

"I don't want to talk to anyone April – not you, not Diego, not Emma. Just... please, leave me alone." His voice was shaking with the sheer amount of control he had to use. He turned away from me.

"Fine. I'll leave. But you need to come inside." I stood up abruptly and looked down at him. He turned his face upwards so he was looking up at me and I crossed my arms over my chest, staring him down. "It's cold. You'll get ill. If you want to be alone, don't be alone out here in the rain. Please?"

We remained in silence, mentally arguing with our eyes – he finally succumbed and sighed, turning away again. "I'll go inside soon." I remained motionless for a moment; it was difficult to disassociate myself from this scene.

I let out a groan of exasperation – "Just –"he looked up at me, eyebrows raised in expectation. I sighed irately, "don't go back in the water."

Then, I turned away and walked back to the house in silence, not waiting for a reply.

***

The next morning, I had a plan all set in my mind perfectly. To be honest, I don't think I really slept at all last night – I was up tossing and turning so much I don't think I let Nina sleep either. I silently stepped out onto the balcony and felt rather than saw the sun filtering through the dove-grey clouds, ending the rainy period.

"Why the hell are you awake at –"Nina groaned, "6:30 in the morning?"

I glanced back into the room in surprise. "Sorry. I didn't want to wake you."

"You didn't. I don't think I even slept, you were moving around so much."

"Sorry." I repeated.

She waved it off and yawned again. "Did you speak to Aiden?"

"I think you can do with some extra hours of sleep. Go back to sleep, Nin."

She raised her eyebrows and released her hair, shaking it out so it puffed out. "I'm awake now. Did you?"

I shook my head, "I don't want to talk about. He doesn't want to be helped, Nina. He needs space."

She cocked her head to one side and raised an eyebrow pointedly, lips pulling up in a sarcastic smile. "I know you want to help him, April, not give him space.

"You don't know what I want Nina. Look, just... go back to sleep? Please?"

We bickered for a few more minutes after that and I nearly lost my cool on more than one occasion, but I finally managed to convince her that I was fine and that I just wanted to go for a walk and grab some breakfast. Aiden was about to have an intervention today – I just needed to brush up what I was going to say and fill Diego in about it too.

When I went down to the kitchen, I paused at the doorway. Aiden and Barbara were already at the breakfast table. Barbara held a small glass of a tawny-umber coloured liquid in her glass and I felt my jaw tighten. I wasn't jealous – I was pissed. Then, my attention turned to Aiden, but a frown creased my brow line. His head was resting on the table and his fingers were curled around a large shard of glass. I glanced down in confusion at their feet and found the liquid staining the floor.

"He must have slept here all night." Barbara didn't face me – she already knew I was there.

"Is this...?"

"Yeah," she twirled the liquid around and sniffed it with distaste, "whiskey."

"When did you find him?" I stepped past the broken glass and examined the state of the kitchen and Aiden. He looked angelic and peaceful as he slept – but it was all false. The closer I looked, the more discontent I saw on his face. Everything screamed that he'd gone off the rails.

"5 minutes ago. I came down for some water– I barely slept last night. The rain was so loud."

I nodded mutely. She must have received the message when she heard me whimper as I saw the state of his knuckles, bloodied and bruising. Did he punch something last night? His surf board was propped up against the wall and he had a blanket draped around his shoulders, still slightly damp from the rain.

"I'll –" she stood up, "leave you to it." Her expression crumpled at the sight of her best friend. "Need any help?"

"I - I can handle it." My brain spoke for me. I did want her help. I felt like a child still. "Thank you."

She left, sighing, looking back at us one time. I paused and heard her slow footsteps trailing up the stairs. Then, I turned my attention to the mess in the kitchen; I managed to pick up the largest shards of glass so as to not hurt either of us and then threw the liquid in the glass down the sink.

I set about making breakfast. Half way through the eggs sizzling on the stove, I heard him groaning tiredly at the table. I'd wiped away the worst of the liquid pooling in small puddles on the table and turned when I heard him rousing.

He sat up and clutched his head – I was by his side, palm out with two pills and a glass of water in my hand.

He took them gratefully and popped them, swallowing the water that was offered next. Then, he looked up, groggy-eyed. "April? What's going –" he looked around at his surroundings and groaned.

"You crashed in the kitchen last night," I gestured to remains of glass still glittering on the floor and his sorry state, "clearly."

I turned my attention back to the eggs and spoke as I flipped them. "Eggs?"

"April, what are you doing?"

I frowned. "I'm making eggs, you idiot. Do you want some?"

"Lose the act, Ap."

"I'm not acting. I'm being genuine. Do you still... get hung over? Or are you used to it by now?"

He shook his head, spluttering: "What kind of a question is that?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "what? I'm just asking out of curiosity."

"Look, I'm going upstairs. Can we talk later?"

"No." I turned around, my eyes narrowed. "No, we can't."

He raised his eyebrows. "Seriously? I feel like crap – can I not have a shower before we talk?"

I placed the cooked eggs in front of him and sat down on the chair opposite him. "Eat." I ordered passively.

His eyes slid down to the eggs and then me, "why are you doing this?"

"Aiden. We'll speak as you eat – you only have alcohol in your body right now – eat something and get that damn stuff out of your system." He began eating cautiously, glancing up at me every now and then.

After he'd finished, he thanked me and pushed the plate back, leaning back so he could cross his arms and glare at me over the table. "Want to explain this all to me now?"

I sighed, knotting my fingers together – I couldn't pretend like I didn't care anymore – I wasn't like Aiden. I couldn't make it look easy. "I think you need to get help."

Silence.

Then, he spluttered out a nervous laugh. "You're joking, right? Help? What, like a shrink?"

I stared him square in the eye. "Maybe not a therapist – but you need to get away from this all. And you can't do that when you're around everyone."

"April," he leaned forward and clasped my hands firmly in his own, his eyes blaring. "I'm fine. I had a few drinks, that's all. I can handle it – I, I know I can."

I tilted my head to one side and grit my teeth together to stop myself from crying out. "Is that you talking? Or is it the whiskey?"

"April..." He clutched my hand even tighter, desperate. "I'm fine. I swear, I'm fine."

"How did you get back on it anyway? Did someone offer it to you? Were the withdrawal symptoms too much?"

"Ap," his fingers were shaking violently now and I felt my heart puncture in my chest; I felt sympathy for him. I hated myself for letting this happen to him. I hated how pitiful and lamentable he looked at that moment – how much he'd let himself go. I hated that he'd gotten somewhere and nowhere.

"You're back in that place again, Aiden. And I don't think I can get you out of it again."

"She's right, bro." Diego's voice came from the doorway and I looked up. I'd filled him in on the intervention as soon as I had got dressed – turns out, he hadn't slept last night either.

Aiden scrambled around in his chair, eyes narrowed dangerously. His pupils were dilated and he looked more wolf than he did human in that moment. "Diego - what the hell did you tell her?"

"Nothing," he retaliated calmly, "but she deserved to find out."

"There was nothing to find out!" He growled again; he turned to face me and I started. His canines were prominent and his pupils had bled into a black and grey whirlwind.

He saw me flinch and fell back slightly. "Can you just admit it - you're drinking again! You fell asleep on the table with whiskey at your side and a bruised hand."

"Are you all this dead set that I can't fix myself?" He turned to us both in horror and I noticed Nina behind Diego, staring at Aiden with the same piteous expression that was plastered on all of our faces.

"We believe in you. But you need to be honest with us."

"Fine, I'm drinking again – but it's only been a week. And I'm trying to control it... but I can't stop, Ap. It was my crutch for most of my life – if you take that away, I become crippled."

"Then let me be your crutch."

He stood up, shaking his head – his fingers were shaking vigorously now and his cheeks were flushed red. "It's not that simple! I can't keep dragging you into my mess."

"Then –" I looked at Diego. "Then you need to let us sort out your mess with you."

He shook his head firmly. "No. I'm not going to keep hurting you again –" I opened my mouth to protest – the intervention wasn't supposed to go like this! "You're right. I need to go and be alone. I need to sort my shit out before I can even think about being with you. You're my mate – you'll always be here, but I can't be there when all I do is hurt you over and over again. I broke my promise to you, I won't be able to forgive myself if I stay and mess your life up more – you deserve more than a drunk like me. You went to hell and back, and I'm still stuck at that hell. Let me leave."

I felt my eyes fill with tears at the finality in his voice. It felt like he'd ripped my heart out of my chest himself and then left me, hanging on a thread, waiting for the fall. He stepped forward and pulled me in as he spoke softly, gently, apologetically. "And the worst thing? I can't even kiss you goodbye because I can't let this be the memory you have of me – hung over and reeking of alcohol. I'm sorry."

Then, he turned and left.