Okay, so I haven't watched the recent Aussie episodes of Home and Away. They will come to my part of the world next week and watching them once will be bad enough. But I've been chatting away to lovely people in the forums about what is happening and I have my own theory about Charlie only being with Angelo because she doesn't want to be alone. From what people have said, she hasn't been all that enthusiastic about the whole thing. Which frustrates me terribly! Her character is being totally ruined on the show and it's so sad. I hope they find a way to Save Our Charlie! For now, here is the start of my current storyline inspired fanfic. I don't know how long it will be but I will post it alongside my usual stories. Normally I would save it... I have so many stories written and ready for you to read but I don't want to juggle too many balls, so to speak, so I will only post them as another story finishes. But due to it being current, I'll post this one now. So, with no further ado, I shall stop rambling and let you read... Love, IJKS xx
Chapter One
Charlie Buckton's head was a mess. She'd been so sure a few weeks ago that breaking up with Angelo Rosetta was the best thing to do. He hadn't taken it well and even gone as far as climbing up a tree to spy on her when she thought she was seeing someone else. She hadn't been. She'd been seeing a counsellor in order to try and work through her issues and recover from her commitment phobia. But they'd kissed again last week. And last night they'd gone on a date, which while it hadn't gone to plan, had resulted in them sleeping together. It felt very much like the first time they'd ended up together. Charlie's heart had been breaking. She'd lost her boyfriend, Roman Harris and then nearly drowned trying to save Annie Campbell's life. Angelo hadn't been in a good place either and they'd wound up getting drunk and naughty.
Last night, her head was still full of confusion and Angelo had been so swamped with the struggle of Hugo Austin's case. They'd slept together again. It had been okay. Sex with Angelo was always okay. Once upon a time she'd really enjoyed it, despite how quick it always was. But then she'd dated the most wonderful person in the world and sex with her, with Joey Collins had made every other sexual encounter seemed dire. Angelo wasn't really dire as such. He was unimaginative and didn't last very long. But it was okay. And that was the problem really. Everything with Angelo was okay.
Over the last year, nothing in Charlie's life had really felt right. Things had become messed up and confused with her daughter, Ruby and now they weren't even living together. The whole town had found out what had happened to her as a teenager and she'd nearly been sent down for a murder she didn't commit. Her father had admitted that he was the killer, she'd unearthed a people smuggling ring, nearly been killed by Hugo, a man who seemed to now be being treated as some kind of hero to his family. He was a monster! And she had been on and off and on again with Angelo to the point where even she was bored of their misery-go-round.
She'd thought, a few weeks before that she'd made a clean break of it. She'd started to enjoy the single life, living a little vicariously through Leah Patterson and her new romance with Elijah Johnson. She'd been working hard and had thought perhaps one day, she might move on and meet someone new, or preferably someone in her recent past, who would help her commit and be her perfect one. But that hadn't happened. Joey was gone and Charlie was back to sleeping with Angelo and then freaking out about it.
Thinking back, all but one relationship had begun with spontaneous sex. She'd barely known Roman when she'd ended up in bed with him, Angelo had been a drunken night of consolation and she'd had that awful one night stand with Hugo that had cost her everything. The one person who hadn't followed the same pattern was Joey. They hadn't jumped into bed. They'd danced around the issue of their attraction for weeks and it had been a big decision for Charlie to be with her. She had been worth the wait, although she doubted that Joey felt the same about her. And Joey had been the first and only person she'd ever genuinely fallen in love with. She'd randomly said it to Roman and it had freaked him out. She hadn't even really meant it. Looking back now, she thought she'd just got carried away with the idea of him, rather than the person he really was. But she'd told Joey on that first night that she loved her. And she'd told her every day during their short relationship. She'd told he on the last day that she'd seen her and she knew she'd carried that love in her heart all this time.
She didn't love Angelo. Well, she did. But she wasn't in love with him. She thought he was sweet and loving, he'd made it clear that he'd do anything for her and Ruby and her friends kept insisting that they were meant to be. But she found fault with him easily. She thought he was selfish. Everything in their world seemed to be about him. And while he was funny and charming, she couldn't help but find him a little arrogant and possessive. She'd always prided herself on being an independent woman but sometimes, when she was with him, it felt like she was losing herself somehow.
She'd never felt that way about Joey. Even thinking of her now, made her smile, albeit a little sadly. She'd found Joey utterly charming and there was nothing arrogant about her. She was adorable and amusing and if anyone had genuinely adored Charlie for all that she was, good and bad, it was Joey.
Sighing, Charlie stood up from her sitting position on the beach. She had come to a decision.