Chapter Two

Joey Collins had finally bought the boat she'd dreamt off. After she'd taken off on a long haul, she'd been involved in an accident where she'd nearly drowned. The compensation from the accident had been sufficiently high that she hadn't had to work for a while. She'd bought a boat and she lived on it very happily, except for the fact that she was desperately lonely. Today was her third attempt at returning to Summer Bay. Returning to Charlie Buckton. She knew it was a big risk. The chances were that Charlie had moved on. She probably had some hunk of a boyfriend and hadn't given Joey a second thought. And while Joey had avoided it for some time now, she knew she had to go back, even if it was just for the sake of closure.

Charlie could hardly believe that Hugo had actually left her in the middle of the ocean with nothing but a bottle of water. Paddling to keep herself afloat, Charlie looked around desperately.

"No choice, I guess," she sighed, looking in the direction of the island.

There was nowhere else to go but the place that she and her team had once found Geoff and Nicole, way back when deranged Elliot had tried to destroy Roman's life. Charlie's world had been so different then. She'd been attempting to date the ex-SAS officer who had always blown hot and cold with her. Now she was dating Angelo for the second time around and her heart had already been lost to a woman who was long gone. And the man who had helped Charlie destroy the relationship that sent the love of her life away, had now left her for dead in the water. Wedging her water in the waistband of her trousers and hoping she wouldn't lose it, Charlie began to swim.

Joey kept one hand on the wheel and the other fumbled with the packaging of the sandwiches she'd made for herself. The sun was shining and the breeze was wafting the smell of the waves towards her. All in all, if she wasn't so scared of where she was going, she thought it was a glorious day. Keeping watch ahead of her and torn between trying and not trying to picture Charlie's face, she ate her lunch, wondering what lay ahead of her this time around.

Charlie was exhausted by the time she washed up on the shore of the sandy beach. She was grateful to have retained her water and thanked God for small mercies. She collapsed on the sand and rolled onto her back. Sand clung to her wet body and entangled itself in her hair. Closing her eyes against the burning sun, she wondered what she would do now that she was here. Would Hugo honour his promise and tell someone where she was? Would Angelo or Watson come and rescue her? Would she survive however long a rescue mission might take? Nicole had been in ever such a sorry state that time. She'd nearly died. It was Geoff who had saved her. But Charlie was all alone. Nobody was here to protect her. As usual, she had to fend for herself.

Joey continued heading for Summer Bay. She was getting near and her heart was starting to race at the thought of being near Charlie again. That is, if she got near her. Maybe Charlie would take one look and her and send her packing. It had been almost a year since they'd first met. The anniversary of what Robbo had done to her was coming up. It made Joey sick to think about it. But her heart soared a little when she remembered everything she and Charlie had shared. Once upon a time, the only good thing she could console herself with over Robbo was that in the process, she had met the love of her life. But Charlie hadn't wanted to keep her. She'd let her down and let her go. It was terrifying to be coming back to face her demons. How much would have changed? How much would have stayed the same? Would Charlie even be there? Or would the hunky boyfriend Joey had firmly imagined, whisked her away to somewhere new? Did Charlie care about her still? Had she cared about her at all? What would either of them say to each other?

Charlie woke up sunburnt. She hadn't meant to fall asleep and now she was regretting it terribly. She touched her face. It was hot and tight. She hurt all over. Hauling herself up into a sitting position, she reached for a bottle of water. It was empty and the plastic was warm.

"What?" she almost cried.

Peering at the bottle, she saw the smallest of cracks in the side. Distraught, she scrunched the bottle in her hand and threw it out to sea. She watched it bobbing along the surface of the waves, mocking her. Pulling herself up to a standing position, Charlie cursed herself for making so many errors since she'd got here, although at least her clothes were a little dryer.

"That's just you all over, Charlie," she said to herself bitterly. "Always making mistakes."

She trudged across the sand, trying to ignore the horrible headache that had formed behind her eyes. There was nothing in front of her but vast open sand. There was no shelter, no drinkable water and no food. Looking around, Charlie searched desperately for some small sign of hope. She hated Hugo for leaving her here to die and she hoped that soon, someone would miss her.