Hey lovelies, so this is the one-shot I briefly mentioned at the end of a chapter of one of my stories. It's inspired by today's episode combined with Brax's previous visit to Charlie's grave.
Just a quick note- Ruby isn't going to the police station in this, she's just leaving Summer Bay as planned.
I hope you like it and remember to let me know what you think of it. :-)
x-x
Don't Let Me Go.
Brax couldn't help but panic after he received a distressed telephone call from Ruby telling him she was leaving the bay.
He instantly rushed towards the Summer Bay house to see what was going on. Shortly after arriving, he was told that Ruby had a few goodbyes to say first, he rushed straight over to Leah's place.
"Is she here?" Brax demanded as Leah opened the door.
"Yeah," Leah nodded.
"Where is she? I need to talk to her, to say goodbye."
"She's in Charlie's room." Leah informed him, wearing a soft voice.
Brax's heart momentarily stopped beating as he heard Leah's words, he needn't ask what she was doing in there. He knew all too well. He had spent many a night in that room after her death, just to feel close to her.
To feel like she was still with him.
To feel that he somewhat still had a piece of her in his life.
He was grateful to Leah that she hadn't touched anything in the room, and that she didn't plan to. That was Charlie's room and it always would be.
"Is she okay?" Brax asked, biting his lip. He knew that Ruby leaving Summer Bay meant leaving Charlie and most memories of her, and that's something Brax didn't have the courage to do, he was concerned as to whether Ruby did or not.
"She's alright." Leah nodded.
"Hi, Brax." Brax looked up at the petite voice that came from the doorway of the kitchen.
"Hey, kid." Brax smiled before stepping into the house, "Are you alright?" he asked her, his voice laced with concern as he knew Ruby was saying goodbye to her mother.
"Yeah, I'm okay," she nodded, "I called you because I wanted to say goodbye," Ruby began as her eyes filled with tears, "And to say I'm sorry."
Brax shook his head as he looked at the young girl, "You don't have a reason to apologise, Rubes."
"I do," Ruby nodded, "These past few months- after Charlie's death, I've just blamed you the whole time, and I haven't let you in to protect me or make sure I was okay when I really needed you. I was stupid because you knew exactly what I was going through, because you loved Charlie as much as I did, and you would have done anything for her, just like me." Brax and Leah both remained silent as they listened to Ruby, "You've been so good to me, even like a dad at times, so thank you for that, because I've never known what that was like." Ruby paused and brushed her hands across her cheeks in an attempt to remove the tears, yet more continued to fall, "You're gonna be a great father whenever that time comes."
"Rubes, no-" Brax interrupted, having become uncomfortable with the way the conversation had turned.
"No Brax, listen to me." Ruby warned, making Brax laugh a little, he couldn't help but think how alike she was to her mother, "I don't know if having kids is something you and Charlie ever thought about, but I know that she'd want you to be happy, and she loved you, she thought you were pretty amazing and that you were something special, so you need to let her go so you can be happy, just like I am."
"I won't ever forget her," Brax shook his head adamantly.
"I'm not telling you to forget her," Ruby smiled as she stepped forward before placing her hand over Brax's heart, "She'll always been in here, without a shadow of a doubt. But she wouldn't want you living your life still completely in love with her when she's not here anymore, she'd want you to move on and be happy."
Brax simply nodded, "For the record, I'd do anything for you too, you know that, right?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah, I know." Ruby nodded.
"Anything you need, anytime, you call me, okay? You let me know."
"I will," Ruby smiled before stepping into Brax's arms, wrapping her arms tightly around him, "I'll miss you." she whispered into his chest.
Brax smiled as he held her tighter, "I'll miss you too," he answered before kissing the top of her head, "Now you look after yourself, Rubes."
"I will," Ruby once again brushed her tears away as she looked up at him, "And you do the same." Brax simply nodded and looked down at the teenager, Ruby stepped forward and hugged him once more before kissing his cheek, "Goodbye, Brax," she flashed him one final smile before she left the house and left Summer Bay.
x-x
His conversation with Ruby was the main reason he was standing where he was now. That and the fact his visit was long overdue and quite simply, he missed her.
Brax tentatively approached her grave, carrying a bunch of yellow tulips in his hand, after briefly paying his respects, Brax walked toward the headstone and crouched down beside it, placing the flowers at the base.
He smiled as he looked down to see another bouquet of fresh flowers there, and he knew there were from Ruby. Placing the bunch of flowers he brought down beside them, he looked at the picture of her on the headstone and spoke, "I think the visit's long overdue," he mumbled, "I brought you yellow tulips... your favourite."
Brax sighed as he carefully studied the picture on Charlie's headstone, taken at a time when she was so happy and care-free, when they were happy.
"I guess I just came here to tell you I miss you- like, really, really miss you," Brax bit his lip, "I miss this," he whispered as he pointed to her smile in the picture, "I miss your smile, I miss hearing your laugh, I miss seeing your face, I miss your eyes, but most of all I just miss you, Charlie," Brax took a calming breath before he continued to speak to her, "I just need you, and I'm sorry about everything because this is my fault. You shouldn't be here, you should be alive and happy and smiling, you should be with me."
Looking down at the bouquet of flowers Ruby had placed, Brax spoke again, "And now Ruby's gone too," he sighed, "I miss her already too because she's so much like you, Charlie, so much."
Another deep breath.
"She helped me through your death more than anyone and she didn't even try, just knowing that she knew what I was going through was enough, even though I wish she didn't have to experience the pain of losing you, it brought me some small degree of comfort during such a horrible time."
Another sigh, "I keep expecting you to talk back to me, maybe appear out of nowhere and kiss me, to which I'd have no objections, you know that." Brax grinned as he looked at her picture once again, his dimples on display and he knew if she were alive and watching him, she'd be grinning right back at him. A tiny, almost unrecognisable ghost of a smile played on Brax's face as he spoke again, "We could have been happy together. You, me and Rubes, we could have been a family."
x-x
"You were pretty good out there, Rubes," Brax ruffled the young girl's hair as they made their way over to where Charlie was sunbathing.
"Why thanks, Braxton. You weren't too bad yourself," she giggled, nudging him in the ribs before the pair of them dug their boards in the sand.
Ruby winked at Brax before the pair of them stood over and shook themselves off, allowing the water droplets to fall onto Charlie, "Woah, woah, guys stop it!" Charlie squealed as she pushed them away and sat up, "There was no reason for that." She pouted as she looked up at her boyfriend who was soon crouched down beside her.
"Oh but there was," Brax grinned as he leaned forward.
"You're so cheeky," Charlie laughed as Brax's nose brushed past hers, "And if you think you're getting a kiss after that, you're not." She informed him matter-of-factly.
"Aw come on, Serge, you can't deprive a man of a little kiss," Brax whispered before he pressed his lips against hers.
Charlie smiled against his lips before running her hands up his toned chest before gliding one hand through his wet hair, whilst the other clutched onto the back of his neck as she pulled him closer.
"Guys, seriously, that's enough- I don't wanna be throwing up over lunch," Ruby groaned as she looked down at the couple.
"Don't look then," Brax grinned before pecking Charlie's lips once again. He winked at Ruby before towel-drying himself and throwing his t-shirt on before the three of them headed out for lunch.
x-x
"That was a pretty good day," Brax smiled as he remembered the time they had spent together, "And you were teasing me with how hot you looked in that navy blue bikini."
Brax chuckled as he could only imagine Charlie's response to that, "I was willing to give you anything, Charlie. I was more than happy to do anything for you, you know that."
x-x
Charlie smiled as she turned around and saw Brax walking towards her, carrying a yellow tulip in his hand, she laughed when he placed it in hers and kissed her cheek, "Hey you." he smirked.
"Hi," Charlie grinned, "What's this?" she asked, holding up the flower he had presented her with.
"It's a tulip." Brax answered smartly.
"Oh you're so funny," Charlie commented wittily before slipping her hand in his as they began to walk across the beach together. She looked up and grinned as a little boy accidentally kicked the ball in her direction, she was about to kick it back to him, but she stopped and smiled as Brax beat her to it, "Did you ever think about having children, with Tegan?" Charlie asked.
"Nah," Brax shook his head as he gingerly ran his thumb over the back of her hand, "I want kids, yeah. But I didn't want them with her."
"With who?" Charlie asked, a small smile playing on her lips as his gaze met hers.
"With the right woman," Brax answered as he stopped walking and stood in front of her. Charlie's smile remained in place as Brax placed his large hand at the base of her neck, his thumb gently stroking her cheek, "I love you," he whispered as he leaned forward so their lips were almost touching.
He delayed the kiss until he waited to hear her response, "I love you too," she answered, also in a whisper before their lips met in a gentle kiss.
x-x
"I guess you never really know what you have until it's gone, ay?" Brax sighed as he gazed at the picture of Charlie, "I love you, Charlie."
Brax couldn't help the grin that formed on his face as a gush of wind passed, he closed his eyes and took another deep breath, "So I suppose that's you saying you love me too, eh?" he chuckled before opening his eyes and looking at her headstone, "I'll see you soon, I promise." He whispered before gently running his index finger across her picture before standing up and walking away from her grave.
He stopped at the foot of her grave and turned back, looking at her headstone one last time, he spoke for the final time, "I'm never, ever, ever going to forget you, Charlie Buckton. And I'm never going to stop loving you either," Brax stood still as he closed his eyes for a minute, just enjoying feeling close to Charlie, close to the woman he fell madly in love with.
A smile graced his face as he pictured her smile, he could hear her laugh and he was quite content that he managed to gain the courage to talk to her; his smile slightly subsided as he looks at her headstone one last time, shaking his head, he whispered one last goodbye before he left.
x-x
How was that? Please review and let me know what you thought of it. xo