Hey guys. I have been mega stressed lately, but my last day of school for the term is on Friday so I should be able to update more :) Thank you for all the reviews and alerts so far, and thanks to MelBelle94 for her help and support.
Charlie sat on the beach, staring out at the ocean.
She regretted coming back to the bay. If she had stayed in Brisbane, she wouldn't have known that Brax and Leah were together and she wouldn't have Brax, Heath, Bianca and Casey hate her. She was afraid that Ruby hated her, and Charlie didn't blame her if she did.
"Charlie?"
Charlie looked up at Ruby who was looking down at her. "Why are you talking to me? Why don't you hate me like Bianca and the Braxtons?"
"I don't hate you," Ruby said. "You're my Mum."
Charlie smiled wistfully. "Rubes, I didn't have a choice, you know that."
Ruby pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I wish you could've stayed."
"Me too Rubes."
"I'm with Romeo now." Ruby said.
"What happened to Casey?" Charlie asked.
"I broke up with him because he didn't want to come to the city with me and he was supporting Brax more than he was supporting me."
"Rubes I'm sorry."
"I'm happy though, me and Romeo started up a surf business together."
"Really?" Charlie asked.
Ruby nodded.
"How is it going?" Charlie asked.
"Really good, I'll take you there tomorrow or something."
"Sounds good."
"Are you staying in Summer Bay?" Ruby asked quietly.
Charlie nodded. "Yeah. I just hope that everyone comes around to the fact that I never died."
Charlie lay on her bed at the Sands, staring up at the ceiling.
She didn't ask to be shot. She didn't ask to be in Witness Protection. She didn't ask to pretend that she was dead. She didn't ask to lie to everyone she cared about. What she wanted was to live in the city with her boyfriend and her daughter. Her family. Instead, she had to live all by herself under the radar in Brisbane for years, lie to everyone she cared about and now she was hated by the man she loved and the woman she once thought was her best friend, and, she had to deal with the fact that the man she loved had moved on with her ex housemate.
There was a knock on her door. Charlie sighed and walked to the door, tying her hair up into a messy bun.
Brax was standing at the door.
"Hi." Charlie said quietly as Brax stormed past her into the room.
"I can't forgive you, but I love you and it's so fucking hard! You hurt me Charlie and I don't think there is any going back." Brax told her.
Charlie nodded. "I know Brax, I'm so sorry."
"Sorry?"
"Brax, I didn't want any of this to happen, I wanted to move to the city with you!"
"I would've gone into protection with you! I know Ruby would've too!"
"It was too dangerous for me to tell anyone, even you and Rubes."
"Why? Why was it to dangerous for us to know? To know you were safe? You should have trusted us Charlie, you should have trusted your daughter and me!" Brax said as he sunk down onto the bed. "Do you know what it was like for me to think you died? Do you know what I did when you left? Who I became? I am with Leah now Charlie, and I don't want you to come back here and expect that I can go straight back to you, after all who says you won't one day up and leave again?"
Tears ran down Charlie's cheeks. Brax wanted to wipe them away and tell her that everything was okay. But he couldn't, because everything wasn't okay.
"If I could do things differently I would Brax, you know that!"
"Well you can't Charlie, it's too late!"
Charlie nodded, tears still running down her cheeks. "I'm staying for Ruby. It's obvious you don't want me here."
"No, Charlie, I do. But I can't forgive you." Brax said, before leaving the motel room, leaving Charlie to fall on her bed, sobbing her heart out.
So, what did you think? Let me know in a review or a PM.
