"Happily Never After"
Thanks again for all your great reviews! Love to hear what you guys think!
1818 - 'Cause honesty would just make things too simple lol! Oh and plus they're too afraid of getting hurt. And to answer your question if they would still be friends if they didn't have Riley - keep reading 'cause I may just be addressing that in an upcoming chapter :P
AJ-1978 - Ha Kaitlyn helping CJ get back together - that could be interesting...but I don't quite think that'll happen anytime soon sorry but you never know
Funkyshaz57 - Keep pining away for CJ 'cause one day tou might get your wish :P
Enjoy reading!
Chapter Nine
As Charlie caught Ruby's eyes looking over at Kaitlyn then at both girls as they re-entered the Diner, she nodded, "It's fine Rubes." As Joey sat back down in front of Kaitlyn, quickly apologising for leaving, Charlie made her way over to their table. Suddenly feeling very awkward, and very much like the third wheel, Charlie hesitated before getting Kaitlyn's attention. Which wasn't hard since Kaitlyn had had her eyes fixed on her since she walked back into the room with Joey, looking for anything telling her that their relationship wasn't truly over, that they still loved each other...she didn't find anything. Little did she know that the two women had spent months fighting their real emotions, and had become used to pretending their feelings for each other didn't exist...it's how they were convinced the other wasn't in love with them anymore.
Charlie held out her hand, "Sorry about before...I'm Charlie Buckton. I'm Joey's...ah...Charlie...I mean ex...I'm Joey's ex." God could you be more lame? Joey's Charlie?! Where the heck did that come from? Charlie cringed. Kaitlyn took her hand, shaking it lightly, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Kaitlyn Cruz." Joey looked at the two women, feeling the tension between them, as silence overcame the group. "So...um I'm not really hungry anymore. Did you wanta get out of here?" Joey asked Kaitlyn. "Sure," Kaitlyn nodded. Charlie took a few steps back, as the two women stood up, "Well uh...I'll just leave you to it." "I'll see you tomorrow morning," Joey said to Charlie politely. Charlie nodded, then watched as Joey led Kaitlyn out of the Diner, stopping to say 'Goodnight' to Riley.
Charlie bit her lip as she observed Kaitlyn placing her hand on Joey's lower back as the two girls walked out of the restaurant, laughing at something Joey had said. Finally Charlie slunk back over to her own table, and collapsed in her seat. "Well that seemed to go...okay. In fact you three looked almost civilised," Ruby commented, "Did you and Joey have a good talk outside?" "Sort of I guess...didn't rip each other to shreds for once and...uh I think we started opening up to one another about our problems," Charlie informed her. Ruby reached out, taking Charlie's hand, "Well it's about time." "That's great Charlie," Geoff added. Charlie smiled at Riley, then leaning over to ruffle his hair, as he now seemed more interested in his dinner then the conversation.
"So who was that mystery lady Joey's with? I mean they're not...?" Ruby asked, giving Charlie an apologetic look. "No Ruby they're not on a date. She's just an old friend from high school," Charlie smiled, then frowning slightly, "Actually you'll never guess who the girl is." Ruby and Geoff looked on expectantly, waiting for Charlie to continue. "Well don't keep us in suspense Charlz," Ruby groaned. "Just promise me you won't give Joey a hard time about it, because trust me I've already made my feelings on her quite clear," Charlie sighed, as Ruby nodded, "She's Kaitlyn Cruz."
Ruby looked at Charlie stunned, "That's Kaitlyn Cruz? Kaitlyn Cruz as in..." "Yep," Charlie answered. "No seriously...Kaitlyn Cruz as in..." Ruby repeated. "That'd be the one," Charlie again responded. Ruby sat back in her chair, "Wow. I didn't see that coming. Geez Charlie I'm surprised you haven't reacted at all to this." "Oh trust me, I reacted alright. But Joey calmed me down, and I'm...well I can't say I'm okay about it but I trust Joey, so I guess I am sorta okay about it," Charlie shrugged. Ruby's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Wait...you're okay with this?" Charlie nodded. Ruby continued looking at her mystified by Charlie's response, "God Charlie I at least expected some major fireworks over this. How can you be okay with it? Joey's ex-girlfriend breezes back into town and back into Joey's life...and you're okay with it?"
Charlie's face fell, the sparkle in her eyes disappeared, and as she spoke her lip trembled, "Wait what? Kaitlyn's...Joey's ex-girlfriend?" Geoff let go of Ruby's hand, "I might...leave you two to talk for a minute. C'mon Riley, let's go pick out a cake for desert." Geoff led Riley over to the counter. "Tell me you knew this," Ruby insisted quietly once the boys were out of earshot. "No Ruby I didn't...I was talking about the fact that Kaitlyn's...Robbo's sister. What did you think I meant?" Charlie demanded upset. "Well I just assumed...you knew. I'm sorry I had to be the one who told you," Ruby apologised.
"Are you sure? I mean Joey never mentioned her to me...not once. And...and we had the whole...ex's conversation when we first got back together. We told each about our previous relationships because we didn't want there to be any secrets. Didn't matter how painful or bad they ended, if they hadn't happened, Joey and I might not have been together," Charlie rambled as she looked away from Ruby, avoiding her eyes for fear of bursting into tears. "Yeah I'm sure they were together," Ruby answered honestly, "She told me about Kaitlyn a few years back...I didn't think she wouldn't have told you." "Tell me what she told you about her," Charlie demanded softly. "Charlie I really don't think this is a good idea. You should really be talking to Joey. She's the only one who can tell you why she didn't...tell you..." Ruby trailed off as Charlie turned back to her, her eyes pleading with Ruby to tell her. Ruby nodded.
"Okay well she didn't tell me much. Just that they had been close friends most of their lives, since Robbo and Brett had grown up together. They found out they had romantic feelings for each when they were seventeen and started a relationship," Ruby told her. "So they were...high school sweethearts?" Charlie said sadly. "I guess so. She was the first girl Joey was ever...with. But they kept their relationship a secret, fearing their brother's reactions. Just when things were going so well for them, I mean they were like madly in love...sorry," Ruby apologised as she saw Charlie flinch, "It's um...just how Joey described it. Anyway, well a few months into their relationship, Robbo caught them making out at their house. The girls were frightened of him, expecting him to get violent, but he...well surprisingly he was too shocked to do anything...'til he'd had some time to think about it."
"What did he do?" Charlie asked apprehensively. Ruby breathed deeply, "Well for starters he didn't tell Brett about it because he thought he could 'handle' the problem himself. A couple days after he found out, Kaitlyn rocked up at school with some bruising along her face. She refused to talk to Joey for weeks, telling Joey it was a 'phase' for her, Joey meant nothing to her, which is what she had told Robbo. When questioned, she used the old 'tripped down the stairs, hit my face against the banister' excuse for how she got the bruises. Joey didn't believe her, it had obviously been Robbo, but Kaitlyn wouldn't say anything about her brother. Joey eventually cornered her, and they revealed that they both still had feelings for each other.
Once again their timing sucked, and Robbo caught them in Kaitlyn's bed together after they had obviously...you know. He went mental when he realized that Kaitlyn had lied to him, that Joey's feelings weren't one-sided, and his sister was gay. That it wasn't just Joey that was 'sick.' He threw Joey out of the house literally, and did everything to keep them apart, still accusing Joey of 'turning' Kaitlyn. He kept threatening to hurt Joey if Kaitlyn went near her again. End of high school came around, and knowing Robbo was at work, Joey went to see Kaitlyn, only to find out from her parents that she'd moved to the City. It left Joey really devastated."
"Why wouldn't she have told me any of this?" Charlie looked at Ruby, searching for any possible answer, "She told me there was this girl in high school that she dated briefly...but she didn't mean anything to her. Certainly didn't describe them as being 'madly in love'. Why would she lie to me? And again tonight, not once did she tell me Kaitlyn's her ex?" "I can't answer that," Ruby said softly, "I mean maybe it was just the whole Robbo thing, having to talk about him again. Maybe she wasn't ready for that when you two were discussing your prior relationships." "Maybe. Joey's never lied to me about anything. So why now? Unless..." Charlie replied, still puzzled over Joey's actions. "Unless what Charlz?" Ruby pushed. Charlie shook her head, the thoughts swarming her head making her frustrated, "Unless she didn't want to tell me about Kaitlyn because she never truly got over her. What if the last six years, my whole relationship with Joey has been a lie because Joey's still in love with her?"
Ruby leant forward, taking Charlie's hands in her own, "Don't do this to yourself Charlie! Don't you ever think for one second, one micro-second, that Joey doesn't love you. So she never really got any closure on their relationship, that doesn't mean that she was using you or anything like that until Kaitlyn came back. Joey loved you fiercely...she still does. The love you two share for one another...it's the type of love people dream about finding all the time. Please Charlie, don't you dare question your whole relationship because Joey neglected one detail." Charlie nodded, "I know you're right. I'm just...over-reacting. I can't help that I'm terrified...of losing her. For real this time. I guess it's just a defence mechanism that I put up...to think that what we had wasn't real. So it hurts less if she does leave me for another woman."
"Charlie don't you see that is exactly why Joey left you both times? You shut down your emotions, and make up excuses so that it causes you less pain. But all you're doing is causing yourself more pain trying to block it out," Ruby explained, "I get that you're confused about her actions and you have this real fear of losing her but don't just sit here trying to hide all your emotions and how you really feel. If you're angry, be angry. If you're pissed off, then act like it. If you want to fight for her, then damn well fight for her! I just want you to do something Charlie. Have some reaction for what you're going through!"
"I'm trying Ruby but I'm just really confused right now. I might...um just go for a walk...see if I can clear my head," Charlie sighed, "Will you be right to take Riley home? Unless of course you were planning on staying at Geoff's tonight." "That's fine, we can take him home, and let you have some space. As long as you're cool with Geoff staying over," Ruby replied. "Well if you're planning on moving in with him soon, why would I have a problem with it?" Charlie pointed out. "Good point. So are you maybe planning on going over to Joey's to see her? See if you can get some answers from her?" Ruby questioned.
Charlie bit her lip, "I don't think so. I'm not ready to see her again tonight and ask her what's going on and why she lied to me. And I'm definitely not ready to see her hanging out with that woman again. If I did see them together I'd probably...try to punch my fist through a wall." "Well at least that's one way of showing your emotions about all this," Ruby smiled. "I'll see you later tonight. I won't be gone long, I just need some time to think things through. If Joey's...moving on with her life...I need to work out how to deal with it," Charlie decided sadly.
"Okay but if you want to talk about this, please call me or let me know," Ruby pleaded. "Of course I will. I'll see you later on tonight at home. Tell Riley I'm sorry I bailed on dinner tonight and I can't wait 'til his birthday party tomorrow," Charlie said as she stood up. Ruby squeezed her hands, before letting go, "Remember Charlie...just because Kaitlyn's back in town and spending time with Joey...it doesn't mean anything's happening with them. It doesn't mean you're going to lose her." "Thanks for being so supportive Rubes," Charlie thanked her as she walked out of the Diner.
Making her way down to the beach, Charlie sighed heavily, trying to make sense of where her life got so complicated and wondered if she could ever get her life back. Trudging through the sand, holding her shoes in her hand, Charlie stared out at the ocean. Running her free hand through her hair, Charlie looked up back towards the Surf Club. Charlie frowned as she spotted Joey and Kaitlyn standing side by side, leaning against the wooden railing that led down to the beach. Both girls were laughing and smiling at each other.
Charlie gritted her teeth, and forced her feet to stop walking forwards, closer to them, not wanting them to know she was there watching them, or to know what they were talking about, and if Joey was as happy as she looked. But Charlie balled up her fist, as she watched Joey shivering from the cold and Kaitlyn wrap her arm around her shoulders to warm her up. Joey shifted her arm, to slip it around Kaitlyn's waist. All of a sudden Charlie's anger subsided, as several tears rolled down her cheeks, as she observed Joey's embrace with her ex-girlfriend.
Charlie closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears from flowing. Upon opening them again, Charlie found herself watching the pair as they turned their heads towards each other. The tears streamed down her face as Kaitlyn inched closer bringing her lips to Joey's...and Joey didn't pull away. How can she do this to me...to us? Why did she lie to me? Before Charlie knew it, she was running, bolting in the opposite direction away from the pair. Running as fast as she could across the sand, her vision blurred from the tears that still flowed down her face, Charlie didn't know where she was going, all she knew was that she wanted to get away...away from where her mistakes had lead Joey into the arms of her ex.
Okay now I would like to make a restriction on the hate mail - no more than 15 bad reviews on how much you hate me for this new...possible pairing. But there's no restrictions on good reviews - keep 'em coming...please any good reviews for this chapter would be really nice considering the ending I gave you lol!
Don't hate me too much! Now after the initial shock do you think Charlie is gonna start fighting for 'her girl'? And what do you think is going through Joey's head at the end there?
