New Story! I've got a massive writers block in my other story, so I've been writing this one and thought I'd publish it. It's a Charlie and Brax fic, like usual, but will also focus on Jack and Martha a lot too, as well as other characters with big parts. I added a Braxton sister to this one, to spice things up a bit. SO here is the first Chapter, set 10 years prior to the proper story, but it gives you a bit of a background lead into what is to come.
Hope you enjoy it, if you do, favourite, follow and review, because that's what will keep me writing it!
Chapter One: Prolouge
Today was like any other day to the Braxton Family, growing up in Mangrove river just outside Summerbay. Cheryl Braxton got dressed for work before leaving some money on the counter for her children to buy dinner.
"I've left some money on the counter for you to order pizza, I'll be home in the morning." She called out to the children in the back yard as she left to work the night shift at the pub.
Her eldest son Darryl, mainly known as Brax, shouted back in response from the back of the yard, "Thank's Mum, have a good shift"
Cheryl smiled as she hopped into her car and left.
Brax sat at the back table watching his brothers wrestle each other playfully. Heath was much bigger than little Casey, so he was always careful, but sometimes Brax had to remind him to be gentle. Brax looked over to his younger sister in the yard who was playing with her best friend Charlie. Charlie basically lived at the Braxton house because her father was always on Duty being the Chief of Police.
"Hey Brax" Emily said without lifting her eyes off the piece of paper in front of her, "Does this look like a princess castle to you?"
Brax chuckled to himself as he stood up from his spot and walked over to her. He took the place in-between his sister and her friend, and examined the picture his sister was drawing in coloured pencil.
"It really does Em, just like Sleeping Pretty" He nodded.
"Sleeping Beauty Brax" She said matter-of-factly, "It's Sleeping Beauty, not Sleeping Pretty"
"Oh sorry" He replied sarcastically, "How am I meant to know that stuff, I'm not a girl"
He laughed as his sister rolled her eyes before continuing to draw. Turning to look at Charlie's picture he was quite surprised at how good it was.
"What are you drawing Charlie?" He scooted over a bit closer to her.
Charlie always got a bit shy around Brax, something she couldn't quite understand, he just made her nervous. Her cheeks turned a light shade of red as he got closer to her, looking over her shoulder at her picture.
"What does it look like Brax, they are birds" She spoke softly.
She tucked her long brown hair behind her ears, getting it out of her face before she continued to draw.
Brax smiled at her, "What's with you an birds?"
She frowned at him playfully "What's wrong with birds? I would rather be a bird than a person."
"Why would you want that?" He laughed.
"Because I wish I could fly"
"I want to fly too, but that's why I'm going to be a pilot." Brax smirked as he sat up a straight, "I'm going to fly around the whole sky one day."
Charlie smirked at him, "The whole sky is really big Brax, it's too big to see the whole thing"
"Im gonna be the first one to do it" He replied, "I'll go above the clouds and fly with the birds."
With that, Brax jumped up from the ground and started running around the back yard with his arms out stretched pretending he was a plane. Both Charlie and Emily watched him and giggled, and giggled louder when Heath and Casey joined in.
Charlie smiled, "I want to fly with the birds too" she said getting to her feet too and copying the action of the boys.
In a matter of seconds, all of the Braxton's and Charlie were chasing each other around the backyard pretending to be planes. They all laughed and ran around, bumping into each other and jumping over the outdoor setting.
After a few minutes they all sat back down, tired from the running. Brax sat next to his sisters friend, "I'll take you one day Charlie, I'll take you flying"
"You promise?" She smiled back at him.
"Pinky swear" He said as he held up his little finger.
She hooked hers around his and kissed her thumb.
Brax looked at her confused, "Why are you kissing your thumb?"
Charlie laughed, "Cause that's how you make it official, you have to kiss your thumb"
Without questioning it further Brax lowered his face to his hand, making it so close that their noses touched as they kissed their own thumbs. Charlie's blue eyes were beaming straight into Brax's green ones, causing butterflies to rise in her stomach. She had a crush on her best friends older brother.
After a few seconds, they pulled away. "So now it's official" She smiled.
"Guess it is" He smiled back at her.
The moment lasted a moment longer than a usual look would have, only to be broken by the sound of certain jealous Braxton.
"Charlie, you're meant to be my best friend, not Brax's" Emily said a few meters away with her hands on her hips.
Brax laughed again, "It's not my fault she likes me better than you"
A look of shock crossed Emily's face, "She does not!"
Charlie blushed a little before running back to Emily, "You are my Best Friend Em, I was just making a deal with Brax that's all"
"Told you so Brax" Emily smirked before grabbing her friends hand and pulling her back down to draw.
Brax just laughed, "I'll order the pizza" he said as he went inside. Charlie turned to watch him go, smiling to herself.
There was silence in the Braxton household as the children sat down to watch a movie. Half way through, Emily and Casey had fallen asleep on the bean bags in which they resided, Heath had gotten bored and went to his room, leaving Charlie and Brax the only ones awake in the lounge room. Despite the fact that she was awake, Charlie's eyes had become increasing heavy.
"Oi" Brax whispered behind her from the couch, "You can come up on the couch if you want? It looks sorta uncomfortable down there with Em half asleep on ya!"
Charlie looked towards her friend her lay across majority of the bean bag, leaving only a small sliver left to sit on. It was pretty uncomfortable considering she was already half on the floor, so she may as well move. She slowly picked herself up, trying to cause as little movement as possible before dropping down next to Brax on the couch. She couldn't help but look at him, wondering if there was some sort of ulterior motive behind his asking her to move, or if that was just wishing thinking.
"Movies kinda boring huh?" He said softly.
Charlie's eyes snapped back to the television trying to erase any sort of implication she was staring at him.
"No, I don't mind it actually, why?" her voice was slightly shaky.
"Well everyone fell asleep, and you were almost asleep on the floor, so I just assumed" He chuckled back.
She relaxed knowing that he hadn't caught her in the act of admiring.
"Okay I admit it is sorta lame" a small smile formed on her lips as he looked at her and laughed.
He nodded, "Yeah I didn't like it either, I just put it on to calm everyone down before bed," He pointed towards Casey and Emily asleep on the floor, "But it worked better than I had hoped."
Charlie giggled, "Yeah well at least you wont have to wrestle them to bed"
"Phew!" Brax over exaggerated wiping his brow with the back of his hand, causing both teenagers to laugh quietly.
"How are things at home anyway? Hows your Dad holding up?" Brax's tone became a bit more serious than in the previous minute.
Charlie shrugged, "I don't know, he wont talk to me much. He visits mum's grave a lot, but only takes me with him on sundays. I ask him if he is okay all the time, but he says I'm too young to understand and to leave him alone."
Brax turned to face the girl beside him, he couldn't help but feel a gut wrenching pain dwelling in the pit of his stomach at the sadness on her face. It must be so hard for her to have lost her mum, and then for her dad to shut her out like that.
"I'm sorry Charlie" He said sympathetically, "I wish I could help in some way."
there was a small pause before she spoke.
"He misses you ya know Brax." She said softly
Brax's eyes found the floor, "Your dad?" He asked, although her knew exactly who she was talking about.
"Jack." Her eyes followed his to the ground, "He won't admit it, but I know he does."
Guilt washed through Brax's body, "He made it quite clear he doesn't want anything to do with me. I don't want to push it and make any of this more hard on him at the moment, he's already got enough on his plate."
Charlie shook her head, "He was mad Brax, I don't get what happened between you two, you were best friends."
"It's hard to explain Charlie, you wouldn't understand." He couldn't tell her the reason, it doesn't matter anyway.
She scoff at his remark, "Yeah right, you're as bad as my Dad."
He mentally kicked himself for saying it, considering the way she was feeling about her dad.
"No Charlie that's not what I meant, I just meant like, even if I told you, it wouldn't change anything."
She angled her whole body to face him, crossing one leg under the other on the couch. As the lights were out, the only source of light came from the television, causing shadows to form on Brax's skin. The shadows highlighted the angle of his jaw, and the muscles on his arms, as well as the slightly visible adams apple that had began to form on his throat. He looked older than usual, more like a man than a teenager. It caused her heart to beat faster in her chest, and her breath to catch in her lungs.
"There's no harm in trying, tell me." She protested.
Brax shook his head, "There is every harm in trying, I could loose you as well if I told you."
Loose me? What does he mean by that? She thought confused.
"What are you talking about? Em, and you, and the boys.. you all are my best friends. You're like family."
He turned to face her completely as well, causing the shadows to shift and now highlight his worried expression, "That's the point, I would ruin it all."
A pang of fear filled her stomach, she wanted to know but she was scared to find out if he was so adamant it to ruin everything. She couldn't loose Emily, or any of the Braxton's at this point, she'd already lost enough.
"Well if you wont tell me, at least try and sort it out with Jack." Charlie pushed again, "you were like a brother to him Brax."
"That's why he's angry, every things changed." Brax said again, and it confused Charlie even more.
"Whats changed!" She said angrily, it was seriously starting to frustrate her now.
"You changed." He said firmly.
Charlie sat stunned, looking at the boy before her, "What do you mean I changed?"
He put his hands up to cover his face, before moving them over to the back of his head. This is it, he thought, you're going to ruin everything now.
"You grew up Charlie" He looked up at the ceiling, "you're not that kid who was just my sisters best friend, or my best mates little sister anymore." he paused, "You're more than that now."
His heart was also racing, he was spilling his deepest secret after at least a year of keeping it from her and everyone around him. He liked her, and as much as he tried to avoid the feelings, they were getting too strong for him to keep down. He moved his eyes away from the ceiling to look at her again, seeing the shock look on her face. Her bright blue eyes that could see straight into his soul, looked back at him causing his hands to shake ever so slightly.
"Wait.." she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper, "You like me?"
It was like her stomach jumped to the back of her throat. He likes me. She couldn't contain the
overjoyed feeling arising within her, but forced herself to keep a straight face until he confirmed her thoughts.
Brax's head fell into his hands once more, "See I told you it'd ruin everything, now you're going to avoid me and think I'm a creep. Jack was probably right, you're too young for me, you're off limits!There's no way you'd see me like that, I'm such an idiot."
A smile formed on her face, she couldn't believe it. After all this time, he liked her too, she wasn't just a girl with a stupid unlikely crush.
"Brax.." she began to speak before he cut her off.
"Im sorry Charlie, I should never have told you, I'll keep away from you so you don't have to feel awkward when you're here with Em." he spoke quickly, his eyes still fixed on the floor.
"Brax.."
"No it's okay, I'm an idiot, I should have just kept my mouth shut."
"Would you shut up!" She said slightly louder, causing Casey to stir on the bean bag, but luckily he stayed asleep. The noise caused both of them to silence before she spoke again.
"Will you let me finish talking?" She asked with a large smile on her face.
Her expression caused confusion in Brax, What was she smiling about? This is so embarrassing, she's probably laughing at me cause I'm such an idiot, he thought. He nodded slightly, "Sorry."
"You haven't ruined anything" She began, "Jack could not have been more wrong."
His head shot up, "What do you mean?"
She giggled at his quick reaction, "I like you too Brax."
He couldn't help the smile that took over his expression, the swarm of butterflies that filled his stomach and the intense desire to kiss her that rose within him.
"You like me too?" He asked, he knows she just said that, but he wanted to confirm and make sure he wasn't hearing things.
She nodded back, "Yeah"
It took a moment for it to sink in, she actually liked him back.
"Wait, this is why Jack is angry at you? Because you like me?" She asked confused still.
Brax nodded, "Yeah, you're his little sister. For one he thinks you're too young for me, two he is really protective of you I guess, and he says you're off limits because your his sister… it'd be just weird."
Charlie frowned at the comments her brother had been making, "Well Jack's not the boss of me." She said matter of factly, moving slightly closer to him.
He moved forwards without a second though and brought his mouth to meet hers. The softness of her lips created a warm fuzzy feeling to take over his whole body. The same reaction was had by Charlie as she smiled into the kiss, she couldn't believe this was happening.
After a few moments they parted as a noise stirred from the floor. Blushing immensely, they both sprung apart, smiles still plastered on their faces as they looked towards the other people in the room.
"Brax, it's bed time." croaked a very sleepy Casey.
His eyes were still closed, so Brax assumed he hadn't saw anything.
"Yeah Case, let's go." He replied before turning to face Charlie once more, "I'll see ya in the morning Charlie."
Defined dimples formed on his cheeks as he smiled wide, overcome with pure happiness from what had just happened.
Charlie's expression mirrored his, "See you then." She said as she laid down on the couch, pulling a blanket over her.
One more set of butterflies filled her stomach as Brax winked at her, before carrying Casey up to his room. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face as her laid in his bed, knowing that she felt the same.
Nothing could ruin this moment, and for the first time in months Charlie actually felt happy.
"BRAX!"
He was woken by a loud thumping on his door, looking at his alarm clock which read only 7am, he slowly opened his eyes. What the hell?
"BRAX OPEN THE DOOR!" Called a male voice from outside his bedroom door.
His eyes shot open at the sudden recognition of the voice beckoning him. Jack. He quickly jumped out of bed, and unlocked his bedroom door to see his best friend, Charlie's older brother, with bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down his face.
"Jack, what's going on?!" He asked quickly, worried sickened him.
Struggling to catch his breathe, Jack panted a broken sentence, "It's Dad… He's lost it… He's taking us… he's taking us away."
Brax was surprised the contents of his stomach that rushed to the back of his throat didn't fly out of his mouth. They couldn't leave the bay, not now, not after everything.
"What do you mean!" He asked panicked, as he grabbed his friend, steadying his falling frame.
A blood curdling call from the lounge room rung out throughout the house, causing his whole body to shake. The sound of screaming, crying and loud thumps caused him to sprint out of his bedroom in a split second in just his boxers. Jack found his footing and chased after him.
"NO, DON'T TAKE HER AWAY FROM ME!" Screamed Emily as she ran out the front door after her friend.
"Brax, he's taking Charlie!" Called Heath, who was holding a crying Casey in the corner of the lounge room pointing to the front door.
Brax and Jack ran out the front door to see a screaming and crying Charlie being forced into the back seat of her fathers car.
"NO!" Brax yelled as he ran towards them, "YOU CAN'T TAKE THEM!"
Before he could reach the door, Charlie's dad had already shut it and locked it, trapping her inside.
"BRAX!" She cried as she banged on the car window, "BRAX GET ME OUT OF HERE, I DON'T WANT TO GO!"
"Jack, get in the car!" Bellowed his father, as he walked around to the front driver seat.
"Dad please don't do this, She needs them, I need them, Please" he begged as tears fell from his eyes.
"CHARLIE!" Emily screamed again, now being held back by Heath in the front yard.
"Get in the car Jack or so help me!"
Jack turned to face Brax, who was desperately trying to open the door in front of Charlie.
"I'm sorry Brax" He cried.
Brax shook his head, tears falling from his eyes now too, "No! You can't just go Jack! Please!" His eyes pleading with his broken best friend.
"You're my best friend, you always will be." He said as he got into the front passenger of the car, slamming the door shut and breaking down into tears.
"NO!" Brax yelled as he hit the window, "DON'T LEAVE US!"
"BRAX!" Charlie still cried.
The car ignition started causing Brax to go into a full blown panic. His best friend, and the girl who meant the most to him were about to be taken away. As it started moving downy he street, he ran beside the car.
"CHARLIE!" He hit the window, trying with everything he had to smash it open and save them.
"BRAX NO!" She screamed, "I'LL COME BACK! I'LL FIND A WAY BACK! I'LL FLY BACK TO YOU!"
Tears streamed down both their faces as the car sped up, "I PROMISE I'LL TAKE YOU FLYING! I PROMISE!"
Slowly but surely the car became too fast for Brax to keep up with, no matter how hard he sprinted after it. Jack slumped over in the front seat, overcome with sadness he cried. Charlie still hitting the back window as she watched Brax run after her.
He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, but it was no good. The car kept getting further and further away. He watched as his best friend, his brother, broken and bruised was submissive to his father, and the girl he cared about being torn away from him, fading off into the distance. When the car was no longer to be seen, Brax fell to his knees on the road. Heart broken, he cried for the Buckton's, who were gone for good.
So that's the prolouge, the next chapter will start 10 years later.
What did you think?
What do you reckon will happen?
remember, favourite, follow and review!
it means so much to me when you do!
Many loves x