Chapter Four

Martha and Hugo arrived home feeling numb. When Colleen had reappeared to take their order, having been distracted by Irene's phone call, she had been tearful and subdued. After some gentle probing about what was wrong, Colleen had burst out that Charlie had attempted to take her own life. Both of them were lost in their own thoughts. Martha was feeling increasingly guilty for getting into a row with her. They had once been such good friends. And while Hugo didn't know Charlie that well, they did have shared history. It was history he knew Charlie regretted, history that had cost her the woman she loved, but it was history all the same. Charlie was the only one night stand he'd ever felt guilty about. Afterwards, when the truth had come out, Ruby had charged over to him and accused him of taking advantage of her sister – her mother. To this day, he wondered if it was true. She had been upset. He'd been aware of it. When he'd found her, he knew she'd been crying and was overly emotional. But he hadn't been able to see past his own stress and sadness or through his own desire to have her as his own. He'd been into Charlie from the moment he arrived in the Bay and at the time he'd believed that they were two friends taking comfort in each other. But while it hadn't affected him at all, while he had been able to move on and eventually be with Martha, the woman he loved, Charlie had been forced to watch the woman she loved, sail away from her. And still, through everything, she had been nice to him. She'd never blamed him for accidentally revealing their secret, the one that Joey had already worked out. And she'd defended him each time she knew Angelo had gone after him. Charlie was a good woman. She didn't deserve any of this pain.

"What's up with you two?" Xavier asked, breaking into the couple's thought. "You look like someone's died!"

He grinned and then blanched when they didn't smile back.

"Oh no. Who died?" he asked.

"Charlie..." Martha began.

"Charlie's dead?" Xavier exclaimed.

"No. But she's in a coma. She tried to um... she tried to kill herself."

Xavier grabbed his keys and hurried to the door. If Charlie was in a coma, Ruby would be at the hospital and surely his girlfriend would need him. He wondered why she hadn't called.

Angelo left Charlie and walked back into the waiting room, surprised to find Leah gone and a new arrival holding Ruby as Geoff sat quietly by. As he approached, the two tearful girls pulled away from each other.

"What are you doing here?" Ruby asked Joey gently.

"I needed to see her," Joey explained. "I had to know if she was alright."

"She..."

Ruby burst into tears at the mere thought of having to explain what Charlie had done.

"I know what happened," Joey said softly. "I called the house. Watson told me."

Ruby nodded and wiped her eyes. She looked up when Angelo reached them.

"Hey," he said. "They're taking her up now. They said we could go up and see her when she's settled."

He looked Joey up and down. She studied him back, figuring out who he was with very little difficulty.

"I'm Angelo," he said politely, extending his hand. "And you are?"

Ruby looked between them, dreading some kind of altercation. She hoped they would both realise that now wasn't the time to fight for Charlie.

"My name's Joey Collins," Joey replied, shaking his hand.

Angelo stopped his movement and dropped her hand. He stared at her, his mind reeling with jealous anxiety. What was Charlie's ex doing here? What did she want from her? Geoff watched everyone silently.

"Hey, guys, I brought more coffees," Leah said, approaching with feigned cheer.

She stopped when she saw Joey, breaking into a smile despite the situation.

"Joey!" she said.

Angelo stiffened at such a welcome. Obviously Joey Collins had been a popular girl. She'd stolen Charlie's heart, was close enough to Ruby to be allowed to comfort her and been greeted with warmth from Leah.

"Hi, Leah," Joey said, also smiling.

"When did you get here?"

"Just a few minutes ago. I came straight off the bus."

Suddenly she remembered her stuff, still stashed by the desk.

"But how did you know to come?" Leah wondered.

"Charlie wrote to me," Joey said softly.

She fingered the letter in her pocket and willed herself not to cry.

"She wrote to say goodbye."

Morag helped Ross get dressed and gather his belongings. It had broken her heart to tell him that his little girl had tried to end her life. He'd cried. She'd held him. Then, already knowing the answer, she'd asked him if he wanted her to take him to see her. He'd nodded and now they were preparing to go.

"How's Ruby?" he asked before they left his room.

"She's coping," Morag said, hoping it was true.

Angelo walked away from the group without another word. He was hurt and he was angry. Charlie had made the effort to say goodbye to her ex-girlfriend and not her current boyfriend. What did that say about him? About her? About them? Was she so angry about his deception that she hated him that much? Was she really willing to say the final goodbye to him with no words? Had she been in touch with this Joey girl the entire time? Was there more to this story than he knew? He thought they'd thrashed all this out when she'd had the car accident. Charlie had told him the story of her and Joey from start to finish. He admitted that he'd freaked at first and even now he couldn't help but worry that this side of her, the side that was attracted to women, would come up again. Losing her to another guy, losing her for some other reason would be painful enough but to lose her to a woman would be too much for him to take. He'd asked her then what would happen if Joey was to come back and now he supposed he'd find his answer – if Charlie ever woke up.

Irene sat at home with VJ and Annie.

"What's wrong with Charlie?" VJ asked.

"She's just a little unwell right now," Irene said. "But the doctors in the hospital are making her better."

"Will she come home tonight?"

"Not tonight, sweetheart."

"Will Mummy come home? Do I have to stay here?"

"Your Mum will be round to collect you in a little bit," Irene promised.

Annie observed their interaction. She hoped that everything would be alright. Ruby had been through enough without the one person she was supposed to be able to count on, letting her down. And she hoped for Charlie's sake that she would survive. Suicide was a sin. She liked Charlie. The police officer was a nice woman. She was kind and brave and Annie would never ever forget the fact that she had saved her life. But she worried that she wouldn't get to Heaven. She was in a relationship with a killer, she'd dabbled with homosexuality, she'd been caught up in a murder investigation and now she'd tried to take her own life.

Ruby, Joey, Geoff and Leah turned their attention to Sid as he escorted a hospital trolley towards the elevator.

"Charlie!" Ruby said, rushing forward.

The others followed. Joey caught the briefest glimpse of her beloved, unconscious on the bed before she disappeared behind the lift doors. Ruby turned back and let Geoff hold her. Joey continued to stare.

"Someone will let you know what's happening soon," Sid said. "Sit tight."

Leah nodded and guided everyone back to their seats.

Aden sat on the couch with a beer and a lost mind. He'd arrived home and recovered his phone, surprised to find a missed call from Joey. He was disappointed not to have been able to catch her and her phone had been off or out of signal when he'd tried to call her back. Sitting back on the sofa, he puzzled over the coincidence of Charlie having some kind of accident on the same day as Joey trying to get in touch. Still, he supposed all would become clear soon.

Xavier entered the hospital a little out of breath. He stopped when she saw Leah, Joey, Ruby and Geoff sitting in a solemn line. And Geoff had his arms around Ruby. Turning back around, Xavier fled.

It was an awkward, difficult drive back to Summer Bay. Neither Ross nor Morag wanted to listen to the radio. It didn't seem appropriate somehow. And neither could find anything to say to each other. So they sat in silence. Ross stared out of the window. Morag concentrated on the road.

"She left me a letter too," Ruby said to Joey. "I found it when I... when I found her."

Joey closed her eyes. She could hardly imagine how awful it must have been to be the one who found her.

"I haven't read it yet," Ruby admitted. "I just broke down when I saw her lying there. It was like the whole world slowed down. I didn't know what to do. I panicked and I shook her. I kept screaming her name but she wouldn't... couldn't respond. Then I called an ambulance. Then I called Geoff."

Joey smiled briefly at the blonde boy. Obviously a lot had changed since she'd been gone. When she'd left, Ruby had been completely infatuated with Xavier and now he was nowhere to be seen. She wondered when Geoff had come on the scene. Again, when she'd left, he'd been seeing Nicole.

"She was only just breathing," Ruby continued. "At first I thought she'd gone but there was still some life in her. I didn't know what to do so I just held her hand and waited. I kept kissing her forehead and saying her name over and over like it was going to change something. That's how Geoff and the paramedics found us."

Ruby wiped her eyes as she recounted the trauma of the day.

"Geoff guided me out of the way so that they could work on her. I saw the letter beside her so I grabbed it and shoved it in my pocket."

She pulled it out, studying Charlie's neat handwriting.

"They brought her here. Geoff called Leah and Morag for me and we've been here ever since, just waiting."

"Are Morag and your Dad coming?" Joey asked.

Ruby nodded.

"Morag's gone to pick Ross up from the care home now," she said.

Joey declined comment on the name usage. Now wasn't the time.

"So, Charlie posted you a letter?" Ruby asked, turning her own envelope over in her hands repeatedly.

Joey pulled her letter out of her pocket. She'd moved her bags so that they rested somewhat awkwardly underneath their chairs, out of the way. She showed the envelope to Ruby.

"It arrived this morning," Joey explained. "I have a little mailbox on land. My company pays for it. I don't get much but I pop in whenever I'm not on the water and check it. I made friends with the guy who runs the office. We went out for a drink a few times and I mentioned Charlie to him. When he saw the return name and address, he called the boat to let me know it was there. It stunned me and I considered never going to collect it but I just had this nagging feeling in my mind that I should. I was due back off the boat in a couple of days but the nagging feeling got louder and louder. Before I'd really thought it through, I convinced the skipper to let me take a lifeboat and come to shore. I packed my stuff and left; headed to the mail room before I went anywhere else."

She took a deep breath.

"Charlie made her intentions pretty clear in her letter. As soon as I realised, I called her but her phone was off. Then I called the house but nobody answered. I kept calling all the while I ran to the bus station and booked myself on the next bus to Summer Bay. I phoned you and Leah but I guess by that time you were here and shut your phones off."

Both women nodded.

"Finally I got through to the house and Watson told me what happened. As soon as I got off the bus I came here."

"She'll be happy to see you when she wakes up. She misses you," Ruby said softly but certainly.

Watson stood at reception. She worried about Charlie. Looking around her, she realised that nearly everyone else was too. Senior Constable Buckton was a good boss and a good person. Watson had been horrified when Robertson had suspended her. Charlie may not always make the right decisions – Angelo Rosetta being a specific one – but she was a good person and a good friend. There was no way that she was capable of murdering anyone, not even the man who had raped her. She wouldn't do that. It wasn't in her nature and quite frankly, it didn't make any sense. With her history with the deceased, she would obviously be a suspect. Why would she wreck her life further and let him destroy her from beyond the grave? She wouldn't. Well, she supposed she might have done now. But not that way, not the way Robertson was accusing her of. Charlie wasn't capable of murder. Watson knew it.

Angelo gathered himself together and headed back inside. He watched Joey and Ruby talking to each other. Geoff still had his arm around Ruby and Leah was holding Joey's hand. Heading over to them, he cleared his throat.

"They've taken her upstairs," Leah said.

Angelo nodded. He chose not to look at Joey.

"Xavier was here," he told Ruby.

She sat up straighter, looking alarmed.

"He ran out pretty quick."

Ruby sighed, realising that he would have seen her with Geoff and got the wrong or possibly the right idea. She shook her head. She didn't have the energy to deal with him now. She had to be there for Charlie.