Chapter Ten
"Are you happy with all of that?" Charlie asked, wanting to clarify.
She and Joey were seated in the interview room going through Joey's edited statement. Joey had finally agreed to admit officially that she was gay after Robbo had insisted that they had had consensual sex.
"Yes," Joey said. "Yes, I am."
Charlie smiled.
"I'm proud of you, Joey."
"Well, you're the person that's getting me through this," Joey replied.
Charlie blushed, touched that she could mean so much to another person.
"Are you ready to go and talk to Brett?"
Joey nodded.
"Let's go."
Charlie and Joey found Brett on the wharf and approached him.
"Jo! There you are!" he said, not noticing Charlie right away.
"Hi, Brett," Joey said meekly.
Charlie instantly noticed the change in her. When it was just them, Joey was still shy but she seemed to be growing in confidence. When she was around Brett, what little courage she did have, depleted completely. Her posture changed and her voice wavered. She wasn't herself. It was sad to see.
"Who was this friend you stayed with last night?" Brett wanted to know.
He looked up and spotted Charlie, making a mental note of her uniform. Charlie remained silent.
"Is this more of this Robbo crap?" he demanded of his sister.
"It's not crap, Brett. He attacked me," Joey insisted.
"He wouldn't do that, Joey. You know he wouldn't."
"He did. He raped me. And I'm not the first person he's done it to."
"What do you mean?"
"He beat Tanya and raped her too."
"No," Brett said. "That was some out of towner. She told us that herself."
Joey looked at Charlie. Both women shook their heads.
"She made a statement about it," Charlie told him.
Brett reeled from the accusation against his friend and stared at his sister.
"He really hurt you?" he asked her.
Joey nodded, trying to block the images of what had happened to her out of her head. Clenching his fists, Brett decided that he was going to deal with this once and for all. Jumping up, he pushed past Charlie and began to march down the wharf.
"Brett, wait! What are you doing?" Joey yelled.
She looked desperately at Charlie. Brett spun around.
"Nobody treats my baby sister like that!" he said.
Joey was touched that he cared but she didn't want him taking the law into his own hands. It wouldn't help.
"Brett, don't. You need to let the police deal with this," Joey pleaded. "This is Charlie. She's been helping me. She's going to make sure Robbo gets sent to jail."
"She's going to do nothing, Jo!" Brett said, looking at Charlie with utter disdain.
"I'm going to protect your sister," Charlie promised.
Brett shook his head.
"The courts will rip you apart," Brett told Joey.
"I know," Joey said. "And that's why I need your support. And it's why I need you to know…"
She looked at Charlie.
"It's why I need you to know…"
"Know what?"
"I need you to know that I'm gay."
Brett just stared at her.
"Don't be ridiculous."
"It's true," Joey said weakly.
Her heart was hammering in her chest. She thought she might throw up. This time last week she didn't think she'd ever tell a new person again and yet here she was, having now told her new best friend and her brother in the space of a few days.
"No, it's not true," Brett said firmly. "You're just confused or something."
"I'm not confused."
"It's because of what's happened to you. Of course you're not into men right now but when you meet the right guy…"
"There's no such thing as the right guy for me… There never has been."
"Is it her?" Brett asked, pointing at Charlie, who blanched.
"What? No!" Joey protested.
She denied to herself that she was attracted to Charlie. Now really wasn't the time to admit that when Charlie held her, she felt thrills go through her. It was inappropriate. And it wasn't as if she could do anything about it. Even if there was the remotest chance that Charlie would ever be interested in her, which there wasn't, Joey never wanted to be with another person again. But there were moments when she privately admitted that Charlie was the single most beautiful woman she had ever met, as well as being the kindest and most gentle person she had ever known.
"Is she putting queer ideas in your head?" Brett asked.
"Now you're being ridiculous!" Joey argued. "This has nothing to do with Charlie!"
"So, you meet her, suddenly decide you're gay and it's all a big coincidence?"
"Brett, I've always been gay."
"No, you haven't."
"Yes, I have."
"Joey, you take this back right now or you're no longer my sister."
She stared into his eyes and knew he meant it.
"Then I'm an orphaned only child," she said, feeling her heart breaking.
Charlie couldn't bear to watch the interaction but she couldn't look away.
"I want your stuff gone by the time I get home from work. You can shack up with your lesbian lover, I guess."
He stormed away. Joey turned back to Charlie, utterly defeated. Charlie's arms were around her without seeking permission.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this," Joey said.
"Hey, it's not your fault. If anyone should be apologising, it should be me," Charlie said.
Joey gazed up at her questioningly.
"I was the one who convinced you to tell Brett," Charlie explained.
"He needed to know some time," Joey said. "Now was as good a time as any."