Act II
"I wasn't talking about Elsie, I was talking about Charlie. She's your mother, you silly girl."
Ruby started giggling, she knew that she shouldn't and really did feel awful about it. She knew that her father couldn't help getting confused, but the idea that Charlie was her mother was just so absurd that she couldn't stop herself from laughing. She looked to her big sister, expecting to see her amusement mirrored on Charlie's face. It wasn't.
There was nothing but pure, unadulterated panic written all across Charlie's face. Oh god…
Ruby stood up so quickly that her chair clattered to the ground. "Charlie, it's not true, right?" she started to plead, verging on hysteria. "Tell me that he's just gotten confused again."
A single tear forced it's way down Charlie's cheek as she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to pretend that this wasn't happening. She couldn't speak, she could barely breathe. If it wasn't for Joey's hand pressed firmly against her back, Charlie may have stopped functioning altogether.
Charlie's silence was damning. "Oh my god," Ruby whispered, utterly horrified. This was not happening, it couldn't be. No. Unable to deal with any of this, Ruby fled back inside the house.
"Did I say something to upset her?" Ross asked, genuinely bewildered. He looked to his wife for guidance.
"I, ah, no. No, you didn't, darling. But I think it's time for you to have a little lie down," she replied, thinking it best to remove her husband from the situation before he accidentally dropped anymore bombshells.
"Charlie?" Joey asked gently, once they were alone.
"Can we not do this here?" Charlie replied in a strained whisper. She knew that she was going to have to tell Joey the truth, she deserved that much, but she couldn't do it there. It was too open, too exposed.
"Of course, where do you want to go?"
Home. Away. Back in time so she could stop her father before he could reveal the truth.. "The bedroom."
"Sure."
Once they were both standing Joey tenderly took Charlie's face in her hands and gave her a reassuring kiss. "Whatever you're going to say to me, I want you to know that we're going to be okay." As far as Joey was concerned the past was the past and she wasn't going to let whatever happened then have any bearing on their relationship now.
Charlie managed a shaky yet grateful smile. "Thank you." She may have already lost a sister, she couldn't deal with losing her girlfriend too.
-
They had retreated to the bedroom to talk but so far not a word had been uttered.
Joey hands stroked Charlie's hair and back while the older woman clung to her lover like she was a life preserver, like she was the only thing keeping her grounded.
"When I was a kid, there was this guy who was always hanging around the house. He was Dad's partner as well as his best friend," Charlie began, her voice startling them both. "I remember that I never liked him very much and always tried to stay in my room when he was around."
All of a sudden, this story became very familiar to Joey. She remembered the bad vibes she'd always gotten from Robbo, how she'd always tried to avoid him and hide in her room when ever Brett had him around. She patiently waited for Charlie to continue, knowing first hand how hard talking about something like this could be.
"One night, I was sick," Charlie continued, trying to blink back tears. She refused to let herself cry, she'd promised herself one day when she was twelve years old that she'd never cry over this again. "I was doped to the eyeballs on cold meds, so I'd been sent to bed early. He and Dad had been drinking in the study like they always did. He came in to my room and sat on the side of my bed…"
"Oh Charlie," Joey whispered, her voice full of sorrow.
"I was so out of it, I didn't know what was happening, couldn't do anything to stop it. Maybe that's why I'm such a control freak now," Charlie tried to joke. "…In the morning I thought that I'd just had a bad dream. I wanted it all to just be a bad dream. But then a couple of months later, I started getting sick. At first, Mum thought that it was just food poisoning but when it didn't go away after a week or so, she took me to the doctor he did a blood test and it turned out that I was…" She stopped and swallowed hard. "Pregnant and it was too late to…" Get rid of it. "Do anything about it."
"Dad was furious, he thought that I'd been sleeping around to try and punish him for not paying enough attention to me. So I told him. I told him and he believed me. He didn't question it, didn't ask me if I was sure. He just believed me. He hugged me and told me that he was going to take care of everything." Charlie shifted and nuzzled her face further into Joey's neck.
"They kept me at home, hid me away in my room whenever anyone came over." Back then his family's reputation meant everything to Ross and he wasn't about to let it tarnished by something like having a barely teenaged pregnant daughter. "And when Rubes was born, Dad used his influence to have his and mum's names put down on the birth certificate."
"As soon as I was well enough, I got shipped off to boarding school and only got to see Ruby during the holidays. It was so easy to pretend that she was just my baby sister, eventually I didn't even have to pretend anymore. They did the right thing, I couldn't have been a proper mother to Ruby. I was just a kid. I'm still not ready to be her mother. I never wanted Ruby to find out, I never wanted anybody to know."
Joey hugged her tighter, feeling so helpless. She just wanted to make it better. "And your Dad's friend?" she inquired gently.
"All I know is that I never saw him again." Charlie finally tilted her head up to look at Joey for the first time since they'd entered the bedroom. "Are you mad at me?"
"Why would I be mad at you?" She was feeling angry at so many people at that moment but Charlie was not one of them.
"Because I've been lying to you, even after I promised that I wouldn't." It had been one of Joey's only conditions when they had gotten back together, that Charlie always told her the truth, no matter how painful it may be.
Joey tenderly kissed her forehead. "I know that this isn't about me, I get it."
"Thank you." Charlie whispered, kissing the underside of her lover's jaw. "I know that you weren't expecting me to come with so much baggage. If you want out, I'll understand." Joey was young and it wasn't fair to expect her to deal with her girlfriend having a daughter that was only four years younger than herself.
"Yeah, because I came into this relationship completely issue free," Joey remarked dryly, making them both laugh, before getting serious. "Charlie, I am not going anywhere."
Charlie let herself relax a little at Joey's statement, now she only had Ruby to worry about losing. "How am I going to tell Rubes? She's going to hate me." She probably already does.
"Hey, she's not going to hate you, I know that she's upset right now but Ruby loves you."
"She loved me when she thought that I was her sister," Charlie uttered miserably. She liked the slightly unconventional relationship that she and Ruby had and she didn't want to lose that. "I don't want this to change things between us. I mean, I've never felt like I was her mother, I know that sounds awful but it's true. I don't want to be a mum to her."
Joey was at a loss for words, she knew that there was no way that the two of them could just continue on as sisters after this, no matter how much they both might want to. "Maybe you should go and check on her? She must've calmed down a bit by now."
"The words Ruby and calm don't really go together," Charlie managed to joke, knowing that she wasn't any better. Both of the Buckton women could be described as drama queens and to say that they were prone to overreacting would be an understatement. That was one of the many reasons it was so nice to have Joey, who was so laidback about most things that she was practically horizontal, around. With her there to step in and mediate their little squabbles, life was so much easier. "Besides, I doubt that she's going to want me crowding her right now."
"Would you like me to go and check on her?"
"Would you?" Charlie was grateful that Joey had offered without having to be asked. She really was handling this amazingly well.
"Of course. Are you going to be okay?" the younger girl asked, worried about leaving Charlie alone when she was in such a fragile state.
"I think I can manage alone for five minutes. I should go and clean myself up anyway." Charlie wiped at her mascara streaked cheeks. "I must look awful."
"No, you don't," Joey said with total sincerity. "You're beautiful."
-
"Morag, I told you that I didn't want to talk!" Ruby yelled in response to the knock on her door. She knew that the older woman was concerned about her but Morag was so not someone that she felt comfortable confiding in.
"It's Joey."
Joey, on the other hand, was. They had developed a friendship that went far beyond Joey's relationship with Charlie. So after only a moment of hesitation, Ruby unlocked the door and let her in.
"So how are you doing?" Joey inquired, taking a seat next to Ruby on the side of the bed.
"Well, considering that I just found out that my entire life has been a lie, I'm just peachy," Ruby said sarcastically, wiping tears from her face with the back of her hand.
"Sorry," Joey apologized. "It was a stupid question, I know."
"How's Charlie?" Ruby asked before she could stop herself.
"...Not too good."
"Good."
"Sorry?"
"No, it's good that she's feeling bad." Ruby abruptly stood up and started to pace the room as she ranted angrily. "She should be feeling bad. She has been lying to me for my entire life! And for what? To cover up the fact that she was loose even when she was a kid?" Ruby knew that she wasn't exactly being fair but, in her defence, Charlie's past trackrecord when it came to men really did speak for itself.
"Whoa!" Joey jumped up, ready to defend her lover. "Don't talk about her like that, Ruby. You don't know what happened."
"What and you do?"
"Yeah," Joey admitted quietly. "I do."
"For how long?" Ruby didn't know if she could take it if Joey had been lying to her too.
"I just found out then, I swear."
"So why don't you just explain it to me?"
"Because it's not my place." Joey paused, sighing deeply. This was such a horrible situation and she hated seeing both Ruby and Charlie hurting. She just wished that there was something more that she could do to make it all go away. "Look, you just really need to talk to Charlie."
When Ruby saw the sadness in Joey's eyes, she felt her stomach drop. "On second thought, I don't think I even want to know." Her legs gave way and she fell heavily back down to the mattress. "I don't want to talk to her right now."
"What else are you going to do? Sit in here and obsess over it all night? You're going to drive yourself crazy thinking about all the possibilities." She knew that it would be better if this was all cleared up now, rather than making Charlie go through with recounting her ordeal again in the future. Joey knew from experience that it never got any easier. She rarely talked about Robbo now, but when she did it was like she was right back in that moment, on that boat again, and it made her skin crawl.
She sat down on the bed again and put her arm around Ruby's shoulders, letting the younger girl lean on her. "Charlie loves you and, right now, she's thinking that you hate her."
"I don't." Ruby may have been confused, angry and hurting but that didn't mean that she hated Charlie. "I really don't."
"I'm not the one that you need to be telling that to."
-
"Rubes!" Charlie exclaimed in surprise, returning from the bathroom to find Ruby and Joey patiently waiting for her.
"Tell me," Ruby demanded. "I want to know the truth."
"Okay." Charlie knew that this had to happen and there was no time like the present. "You'd better sit down."
"I'll leave you guys to it," Joey said, not wanting to intrude on such a private moment.
"Wait." Charlie caught her by the wrist before she could leave the room. "Stay?" she begged, fully aware of how pathetic she sounded. "Please? I need you."
With a glance at Ruby, to make sure that it was okay with the younger girl, Joey acquiesced to her girlfriend's request and hovered, uncertain of where to sit, until Charlie pulled her down onto the bed in between them. At least this way if Ruby lost it, she could hide behind Joey.
"Before I start, I just want you to know that Mum and Dad…they did the right thing and they both loved you like you were their own daughter." Probably more in Dad's case, Charlie couldn't stop herself from thinking bitterly as she remember all the attention that Ross had showered on Ruby. Attention that she had been deprived of when she had been the same age. "I don't want you to doubt that."
"Okay."
"Good, good," Charlie muttered, clearly stalling. She gnawed on her bottom lip, trying to figure out the best way to tell her daughter that the reason she had been brought up believing that her grandparents were her parents was because the girl that she thought was her big sister was really her mother who had been raped when she was still a kid herself. Somehow, she didn't think that saying it like that was going to go down too well.
"Just tell her what you told me," Joey encouraged her with a supportive smile.
Drawing strength from the hand that enclosed around her own, Charlie steeled her resolve and opened her mouth. "When I was eleven, something happened…"
-
"I told you, she hates me," Charlie concluded pessimistically, flopping back across the bed. Although Ruby's reaction to the truth about her true parentage wasn't exactly as explosive as Charlie had expected it to be, it wasn't great either. Ruby had been silent for what felt like forever after Charlie finished telling her story and then quietly excused herself from the room.
"She doesn't hate you," said Joey, trying to keep a more positive outlook on the situation. "Actually, I think that she took it rather well. Ruby's a good kid that's had a pretty major bomb dropped on her. You just have to give her some time, she'll come around."
"I suppose you're right," the older woman sighed. Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, Charlie was shocked to discover that it was almost six in the evening. Where had the day gone? "We should probably think about getting dinner." She bit her lip and looked coyly at her lover. "I don't suppose you want to cook?"
"Nuh-uh."
"Takeaway it is then." Charlie held her hands out for Joey to haul her up off the bed. "We should let Ruby choose, it might help cheer her up."
"Sounds good to me," Joey agreed, knowing that Ruby would pick pizza. Ruby always picked pizza whenever she could get away with it.
She opened the door to the bedroom and stood back to let Charlie out first. She almost ran straight into her girlfriend's back when Charlie stopped unexpectedly at the sight of Ruby sitting patiently in the lounge room with her packed bags resting at her feet.
"What's this?" Charlie asked apprehensively.
"I want to go home. Tonight," Ruby said firmly.
"Okay," Charlie agreed easily. At that moment, she would've agreed to anything that Ruby asked as long as it kept her happy. "I'll just tell Morag that we're leaving and-"
"I was actually hoping that Joey could drive me back," Ruby cut her off, making it clear that she wanted to return to Summer Bay without her sister…Mother. Whatever. "Alone."
"Oh."
"I don't think that's-" Joey began, uneasily. She didn't want to go stepping on Charlie's toes here.
"It's okay," Charlie said quietly. She dug through her pockets and handed Joey her car keys.
"Look, I don't hate you or anything. I just need some space to try and process all of this," Ruby tried to explain. She didn't want to hurt Charlie but she really couldn't be around her right now. She couldn't stay in this house with two people who had been lying to her since the moment she was born.
These Bucktons sure love their processing, Joey thought, remembering how long it took for Charlie to 'process' her feelings for her. I guess it must be genetic.
Charlie forced a smile, trying not to show how disappointed she was. "It's fine." She turned to Joey, who was still focused on her in concern. "You should leave now before it gets too dark."
Ruby took that as her cue to start taking her things out to the car.
"Are you sure that you're okay with this?" Joey asked, touching Charlie's arm lightly.
"I don't have much choice, do I?" Charlie remarked with a crooked half smile. "I'm not going to force her to stay. Besides, I suppose I should have a talk with Dad while you're gone."
Joey nodded understandingly. "I'll drop her off and then drive straight back." Ruby had Leah and Xavier and Nicole to look out for her in Summer Bay, she'd be okay without Joey. Charlie on the other hand, would not.
"Thank you." Charlie pulled her girlfriend into a much needed hug , pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You know, you're kind of amazing." The conversation that she had had with Morag earlier in the day came to Charlie's mind, somehow describing Joey as level headed and mature seemed more like an insult now. She was so much more than that. Charlie knew that if their positions were reversed she wouldn't be handling this nearly as well.
Joey pulled back just far enough to look at her. "Eh, you're not so bad either," she shot back with a cheeky grin. She affectionately nuzzled her nose against Charlie's. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Ruby paused in the doorway, watching the couple kiss. Any other time she wouldn't have had a second thought about barging in there and cheekily making a loud comment about them getting a room. Now that just seemed like it would be inappropriate. She awkwardly cleared her throat loud enough to get their attention.
"Tell your Dad I said goodbye," she said, perhaps a little harsh but she didn't care.
Charlie nodded, releasing Joey from her hold. "I will."
"Guess that's our cue to leave." Joey gave Charlie's hand one last squeeze before letting go and crossing the room to join Ruby in the hallway. "I'll see you later."
Charlie nodded, biting the inside of her cheek to keep herself from crying as she watched the two most important girls in her life walk out the door. "I love you."
End Act II
