As the saying goes 'innocent until proven guilty', but not in Aden's case, it's definitely 'guilty until proven innocent' this time round for the young gun of Summer Bay. That's how he's being charged amongst his peers and rightfully so, given his lack of integrity in past situations.
Take Tam for example. Aden took advantage of her vulnerability at a time when she was going through enormous stress, filling her with booze and then trying to have his wicked way with her down at the beach - that was until 'Saint Cassie' came to the rescue.
And here he is again, this time with little Annie and accusations are flying left, right and centre. But this time Aden is actually innocent.
We, the viewers, know what actually happened when Aden found Annie on the beach fueled by alcohol. We know his intentions weren't so pure initially, but then when he realised the seriousness of the situation we saw a side to Aden we didn't know existed.
However, the rest of Summer Bay did not see that and if we had not seen the truth we would be tarring Aden with the exact same brush; that Aden with his low morals and wicked ways was the one who got Annie drunk!
No one, especially not Geoff, believed that Aden could have a thread of decency within him to actually do the right thing by Annie and immediately everyone has jumped to the conclusion that Aden was up to no good.
With Annie a complete mess in hospital, not willing or able to talk to anyone about what happened, Aden is a long way from saving his name. So the jury's out! Can Aden find a way out of this mess and rebuild some trust in a community bent on recrimination.
Lies tear us all apart. They destroy trust. And in a close knit community like Summer Bay lies can ruin a person's reputation within a group context for good. And when people can't trust you, who are you going to turn to for help when things go wrong?
We have to build trust amongst those around us. When we break that trust we break our own ability to survive in a world that can be so difficult at times. For we all need help at some point or another.
Luckily for Aden, Morag sees a boy not much different to Ric when he first came on the scene in Summer Bay. A boy angry and confused. A boy who just needs to be shown a different view of the world. Will Morag be able to save Aden from himself, and Summer Bay?
Let us know what you think and if you have been in a situation where you have told a lie or lost the trust of those around you and have had to take the long, hard journey back to salvation?
Written by:
Megan McAuliffe
