Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed the beginning of this story. It's scary putting new work up! But I really appreciate everyone who has taken to it so far. Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Two

Joey stared at Charlie for a few moments before she collected her mind together and gestured for everyone to sit down. Charlie and Bianca found a couple of chairs together in the small circle.

"What's going on?" Bianca whispered, noting the obvious tension between Charlie and the leader of the support group.

Charlie shook her head but didn't look away from Joey.

"Okay, we have two new people here today," Joey said, nodding towards Bianca and Charlie, without meeting her ex girlfriend's gaze.

"Would you feel okay to introduce yourselves?"

She smiled kindly at the blonde, still not able to deal with Charlie's presence.

"Um..." Bianca struggled.

She glanced anxiously at Charlie who tried to convey silent encouragement.

"My name... my name's Bianca," the school teacher managed. "And this is my friend, Charlie."

Joey finally looked at Charlie, studying her as if she was trying to work her out without making direct eye contact.

"Well, welcome to the group, both of you," she said politely. "Shall we go round and introduce ourselves?"

The others nodded.

"I'm Nikki," a tall, dark haired woman said. "I've been coming to group for six months after I was attacked."

She swallowed anxiously and glanced at Joey for reassurance. Joey smiled gently at her.

"I was at a party and a guy spiked me drink and..."

She trailed off. Bianca closed her eyes at the thought of how similar their stories seemed to be. Charlie touched her hand gently, willing her to stay and not run off.

"My name's Tash," a pretty blonde girl that looked about sixteen said. "I come here because Social Services said I had to. I was attacked by my step-father."

She looked down anxiously, clasping her hands together in her lap. She was relatively new and found every session difficult, even though she admired Joey for how she ran the group.

"I'm Jaq," the oldest woman in the group said. "I was attacked by my partner and now I lived in sheltered accommodation. They recommended this group and I've been coming here for a month."

Everyone turned to look at the only male member of the circle. He shifted a little, having never been comfortable with sharing all that much.

"My name's Mike," he said. "I was assaulted by a guy on a rival football team."

He glanced at Joey to check that he had said enough.

"Well done," she said to the group. "I know it isn't always easy to speak up."

She looked at Bianca and Charlie.

"And just to introduce myself, I'm Joey," she said to them. "I've been training as a counsellor and I've nearly got all my qualifications but this group is part of my degree. I was raped by a colleague just over two years ago, which is what led me to run a group on this specific topic."

Charlie couldn't help but hang on to Joey's every word. She couldn't help but admire her for how hard she must have worked after she'd left the Bay. Whenever she'd thought about her lost love, she imagined her still sailing the high seas. And she'd thought of her often.

"Do you think you could tell us something about yourselves?"

Bianca glanced nervously at Charlie. Joey watched their interaction with curiosity.

"As I said, my name's Bianca," Charlie's companion said. "I'm a school teacher and I was sexually assaulted a few weeks ago at a party. I don't know who it was because they drugged me and I don't remember all of what happened. It's a bit of a blur, to be honest. But it's destroyed my life. Charlie thought coming to a group like this might help."

She smiled anxiously at her friend. Everyone turned to look at her, waiting for her to speak.

"I um..." Charlie faltered. "Well, I'm mostly here to support Bianca. I'm a police officer and I've been working on her case. But um..."

She glanced anxiously at Joey.

"I was raped when I was a teenager," she admitted.

Joey swallowed a sudden lump in her throat.

"It's not something I've really dealt with, to be honest, and I thought if the group could help Bianca then maybe it might help me too. Maybe the trauma of what happened eighteen years ago might stop ruining everything else in my life."

She made eye contact with Joey for the first time.

Next time... Charlie and Joey get a moment to talk and Bianca is eager to find out how they know each other...