Again, I'm really, really sorry for the delay with updates.
Thank you so much for your patience, I hope you like this chapter.
Chapter 10.
Charlie bolted upright in her bed as she heard her front door slam shut.
She listened intently, wondering what was happening, and who was in her house, before she realised that she had given Brax a key when he had last visited her a few days ago because he was so worried about her.
"Charlie!" She heard him yell from downstairs.
She sighed as she propped up her pillows and rested back against them as she waited for him to enter her room.
And soon enough, he burst through her bedroom door, "Thank god." Brax breathed a sigh of relief as he caught a glimpse of Charlie alive and well in her bed, "I've been so worried about you."
"Sure you have," Charlie rolled her eyes.
"Why haven't you been answering the phone?"
"Because I didn't want to speak to you."
"Bianca was ringing too."
"I didn't want to speak to her either."
"And Leah..." Brax added, biting his lip at the look of frustration etched across Charlie's face.
"I didn't want to speak to anybody, especially you."
Brax's teasing grin fell from his face at Charlie's words, "Why?"
"You keep pestering me, you don't let me breathe, Brax!" Charlie barked.
"That's not fair." Brax snapped back, "I'm only trying to help."
"Well, I don't need your help, this slut can look after herself."
"Charlie, don't talk about yourself like that."
"Why not? That's what you think of me isn't it? That's what you really wanted to say at the hospital."
"No it isn't, I was just angry then."
"Okay, well you can leave now, because I don't need you."
"I'm not going anywhere." Brax answered, equally as stubborn as his ex-lover, taking a seat at the end of her bed.
"Brax, get out of my house now." Charlie snapped as she pushed her duvet cover back and stood up.
Brax's mouth dropped open as she did so, she was wearing a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt that once fitted her nicely, but now hung loosely, "Charlie, how much weight have you lost?" Brax gasped, standing up as he faced her.
"None of your business," Charlie snapped.
"Have you not been eating?"
"Bits," Charlie shrugged nonchalantly.
"Charlie-"
"Brax, just get out!" Charlie shouted, inhaling a sharp breath as she raised her eyes to meet his gaze, the first time she did so since he had entered her bedroom, "Please," she begged him, "I just want to be by myself."
"You've been by yourself for the past few days, Charlie. I know this isn't you, and I know there's something more to this than the miscarriage."
Brax frowned as Charlie's gaze appeared to darken.
"That's what I'm talking about," Brax muttered as he raised his hand and pointed a finger at her eyes, "You've changed."
"Get out of my house." Charlie spat as she kept her gaze pinned on him.
"Fine," Brax nodded, he held his hands up in a surrendering motion before he exited her bedroom and walk down the hallway, only to stop outside another door, "What's in-"
"Don't you dare go in there," the fear in Charlie's voice was clearly evident.
Brax frowned as he quickly reached for the door handle and opened it, once again, his jaw fell open as his eyes absorbed the sight before him.
"I SAID LEAVE!" Charlie cried as she grabbed him and pushed him back, slamming the door shut as she collapsed on the floor, leaning against the door as violent sobs racked through her body.
"Baby, I thought you said you didn't know you were pregnant?" Brax asked, an element of horror in his voice as fresh images of the baby's nursery he had just entered invaded his mind.
Charlie stayed silent as she hugged her knees and buried her head into her hands.
"Come on, get up, I'm taking you to the hospital."
"No," Charlie shook her head as she wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up, "I'm fine, really."
"You're not, Charlie. Far from it, now come on, we're going," Brax snapped adamantly, grabbing Charlie's hand as he pulled her down the stairs and towards her front door.
"Brax, no!" Charlie cried as he put his arm around her waist and dragged her along with him.
"Too many people are worried about you, Charlie. I can't do it anymore, you need help." Brax stated, just as Charlie grew more vicious against being taken to the hospital. This gave Brax no choice other than to lift her up, sling her over his shoulder, and carry her toward his car.
x-x
After going to the hospital, Brax and Charlie had soon been seen, and Charlie had been told that the person she needed to speak to was her psychiatrist.
"I didn't know you had a psychiatrist," Brax tried to remain calm, and un-phased by the situation.
"I did," Charlie answered monotonously.
"What for?" Brax questioned, keeping his worried gaze on Charlie.
He was interrupted when the door to Charlie's psychiatrist's room was opened, and he walked out and called her name.
Brax rose at the same time Charlie did, "You're not coming in with me." Charlie clarified.
"Yes I am."
Charlie sighed disapprovingly, and shook her head at his persistence before she walked into her psychiatrist's office, shortly followed by Brax.
"So, Charlie, do you care to explain what happened this morning?" Doctor Monroe smiled lightly as he pinned his gaze on Charlie.
"Nothing would have happened if it wasn't for him," Charlie snapped, nodding her head in Brax's direction.
"And who's this?" The Doctor asked, turning his head to face Brax.
"Brax, her ex-boyfriend," Brax gave a faint smile as he shook the doctor's hand, "And the reason she's been acting like this lately is because she had a miscarriage."
Charlie shrunk back into her seat like a scared little child as she watched the expression on Doctor Monroe's face change.
"I see," he nodded, "Charlie, have you been eating?" Charlie shook her head, "Drinking?" Again, she shook her head, "Sleeping?" she shook her head once more. The doctor sighed before leaning forward in his chair, intertwining his hands as he placed them on the desk, "I think you know what I'm going to suggest, just so you can overcome this again."
Charlie wiped a stray tear from her eye as she looked up at him, "Which solution are we trying this time?"
"Sleeping on the beach so you feel closer to Robin, that worked last time, did it not?"
"I guess so," Charlie nodded.
"Who's Robin?" Brax interjected, his eyebrows furrowed.
Doctor Monroe glanced at a hesitant Charlie before turning to face Brax again, "Maybe you should wait outside, Charlie can fill you in later."
Brax stared at Doctor Monroe before looking at Charlie, "You promise you'll be honest with me?"
"Yes," Charlie nodded, turning her gaze to face him.
"Okay, I'll wait for you outside." Brax announced as he stood up and left the room.
x-x
Later that evening, Brax sighed as he stood on the balcony at Angelo's, downing a glass of whiskey.
He had hoped after seeing her psychiatrist that Charlie would confide in him, but she did the opposite, she pushed him away again.
Instead of asking for Brax to sleep on the beach with her that night, Charlie asked his brother. And that hurt Brax, it hurt him more than he knew possible.
He turned around as he heard someone join him on the balcony, his eyes widened in alarm as he came face-to-face with Heath, "Thought you were meant to be comforting Charlie."
"She needs you, not me, and we both know it," Heath replied, "So get down to the beach and comfort her, I'll look after this place." He added matter-of-factly, taking the glass from Brax's hand as he made his way behind the bar.
x-x
Brax sighed lightly as he walked across the beach and toward Charlie, who sat looking out to sea with a blanket wrapped around her, "It's a bit of a chilly night for doing this, ay?"
"Mm, hence why I asked Heath to be with me, someone to cuddle up to, you know?" Charlie sighed.
"I'm here." Brax admitted sheepishly.
"I don't want you."
"Why not?"
"Because..." Charlie hesitated before finishing her sentence, "You mean too much to me."
Brax sighed as he shuffled closer to her, "Why won't you tell me what's going on?"
"I'm afraid you'll think differently of me if I do, and I can't lose you."
"So, what? You've tried to purposely lose me by pushing me away?"
"It's better than losing you through your choice, rather than my own."
"What if I told you you weren't going to lose me no matter what?"
"It would make me happy." Charlie replied honestly as she turned to face Brax and give him a genuine smile.
"Good because I'm not going anywhere, Charlie." Brax grinned as he laid back into the sand and pulled Charlie with him, so she was cuddled into his side, "I've missed you,"
"I've missed you too," Charlie whispered back, smiling as Brax placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, before she fell into a deep, much-needed sleep.
x-x
The next morning, Charlie smiled as she opened her eyes to see Brax still sleeping peacefully, his arms wound tightly around her as he did so. Her smile widened as she listened to the soft sounds of the ocean, lapping against the shore, and just as she knew she would, she had a perfect night's sleep.
She tried to sit up, giggling as Brax's grip around her tightened, he groaned loudly as she moved away from him.
"Morning," she smiled as he forced his eyes open and gradually sat up.
"Morning," Brax grunted in response as he made himself comfortable, "Sleep well?"
"Very well, thank you," Charlie grinned, "And you did too, like a baby."
"Yeah," Brax nodded, "I'm sort of used to it though."
Charlie frowned, "How so?"
"I slept rough on the beach a lot when I was a kid."
"What? Really?" Charlie gasped, she knew he had a rough childhood, but she wasn't aware of the full extent of it.
"Abusive father- I tried to help my brothers, get them out and down to the beach before it happened."
"I didn't know."
Brax smiled lightly, "Why would you?"
Charlie shrugged in response, she sighed as she looked over at him, knowing that he had trusted her and opened up to her about something he probably wouldn't have done to many people. Reaching across, she took his hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"You're the first person I've ever told that to," Brax admitted, a grin forming on his face, "You must be pretty special." Again, Charlie didn't reply, instead, she sent him a warm smile, "I have to go and open up the restaurant."
"Oh." Charlie muttered in response.
Brax chuckled at her facial expressions, "You could come up for lunch later though?"
"Yeah," Charlie nodded, "I'll see you later then?"
"Sure will," Brax grinned, giving Charlie a quick kiss on her cheek before he stood up and made his way over to Black Magic.
x-x
Ever since Brax had left her to open up the restaurant that morning, Charlie couldn't help battling with her conscience whether or not she should tell him about her past, just like he had confided in her.
She had finally come to the conclusion that she would tell him.
Instead of going to Black Magic, she text Brax and asked him to meet him at her house.
When she heard her doorbell ring, she felt a surge of mixed emotions ripple through her body.
Pushing them all aside, she slowly walked toward the front door and opened it, "Hey," Brax smiled, "Is everything okay? I thought we were having lunch."
"Eh, everything's fine, I just need to talk to you, come in."
Brax frowned as he stepped into her house, "What's up?"
"Earlier on, what you told me about your father on the beach- it made me think about my own life, and I have things I need to tell you."
"You don't need to explain anything to me, Charlie, it's your life."
Charlie nodded, "No I know- but it's about Robin, I need to tell you about her."
"Okay." Brax nodded, his frown deepening as he watched Charlie stroll into the kitchen, following behind her closely.
"I was... I had her- she's my daughter," Charlie blurted out as she turned to face a gobsmacked Brax.
"W-what?"
"When I was fourteen, I was- I was raped, and I fell pregnant afterwards." Charlie took a minute to hold back her tears, and find the strength to continue with her story, refusing to look at a devastated Brax, "I didn't know him, it was on my way home from a party- I don't really want to talk about that," Charlie shook her head, "I really wanted to explain Robin more to you." Brax remained silent as he waited for her to go on, "Her birth was probably one of, and will be one of the worst things I've ever had to go through, I was fifteen, young, naive, and I had no idea what I should be doing."
"Charlie, I-"
"Just let me finish, please." Charlie interrupted, "Because if I don't tell you now, I know I never will." Brax nodded, "My dad was there with me, every step of the way. And after 13 gruelling hours of labour, I finally gave birth to a beautiful baby girl." Charlie wiped a stray tear from her eye as she carried on, "She was born three weeks premature, and because of my age, and her underdevelopment, the doctors told us that it was extremely unlikely that she'd survive." She glanced up at an attentive Brax, again, wiping the tears from her eyes before she spoke, "We had her for three days before she died. We scattered her ashes on the beach, that's where I always feel closest to her."
Brax stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Charlie, catching her in his embrace as she succumbed to her violent sobbing.
He left it several minutes before he released her from his grasp and stepped back, "What did your parents think after she- you know..?"
"Mum was relieved, but dad was upset like me, the thing is, he was so kind, such a kind man- he didn't judge anybody, he wasn't like that, he loved my daughter no matter how she was created."
"Then he was just look you, ay?" Brax gave a gentle smile.
"Yeah," Charlie nodded, smiling warmly as she thought of her father.
"Is that her?" Brax asked, pointing to a picture of a new-born baby on Charlie's fridge.
"Yeah, that's her." Charlie nodded, smiling at the picture.
"She's gorgeous- like her mother." Charlie laughed lightly as she looked up at Brax, "You'd have been a wonderful mum, Charlie."
"I think you'd probably be a pretty awesome dad, too." Charlie smiled back at him.
"Why did you call her Robin?" Brax asked, studying the photo before turning back to Charlie.
"I named her Robin because I figured it was nice- something small and innocent. I always imagined she'd be free spirited and would see the world- just like a tiny bird, my tiny bird."
"That's beautiful, Charlie." Brax sighed, stepping forward as he saw tears well up in Charlie's eyes again.
"I just miss her so much," Charlie sobbed, "So, so much."
"I know you do," he sighed again before pulling her into another comforting embrace, thinking it best not to say anything, just to let her know that he was there for her, no matter what.
x-x
Thank you for reading. In case I don't get another update done beforehand, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!