Hey readers!

It's exam season at the moment, so I'm incredibly stressed out because I have my first exam on Friday. However, I do have the next chapter of this story written which I'll upload in this next few days. I also have a chapter of Lilly Braxton redone written although I might write some more for that chapter as it's quite short. Anyway, thanks to LissaBelle24 for your help with this chapter and to all of you readers for reviewing so far and sticking with this story, I imagine that we are near the end now so maybe 5 more chapters? I dunno. Enjoy this chapter and please review!

Ricky sighed as she looked around the hotel room that she would call home until she got a new place. Sure, she could go stay with Bianca or Charlie, but she thought that it would be too weird given the circumstances. She wanted Brax to be happy, and she knew that he would never be truly happy without Charlie. Ricky changed into her pyjamas and crawled into bed, the crisp white sheets feeling cold on her skin. She honestly didn't know where she would go from here, her love for Brax had been real. She thought that they had a future, and then Charlie had returned miraculously from the dead. She wouldn't hold it against Charlie though, it wasn't her fault at all she had been shot and forced to leave the ones she loved. Ricky let out a sob, and pulled the blankets up closer to her chin, waiting for sleep to drag her under.

^..^

"Hey, can I grab a piece of that chocolate cake and a flat white please?" Charlie asked Leah, who was working behind the counter at the diner.

"Sure, just grab a table and I'll bring it over," Leah smiled. "Six fifty."

Charlie pulled out a five dollar note and was in search of some change when a hand reached out and deposited some coins on the counter.

"Thanks for that, you're my chocolate cake hero" Charlie said, looking up at who her saviour was. It was Ricky, looking worn and tired out. "Hey Rick."

"Hey yourself." Ricky said as she followed Charlie to a table.

"What's wrong?" Charlie asked, she had noticed that Ricky had bags under her eyes and appeared withdrawn and tired, not her usual happy self.

Ricky sighed, she wasn't sure how Charlie would take the news. "I broke up with Brax last night."

Charlie stared at Ricky, her jaw clenched tightly. That she hadn't expected. "What?" She gasped as Leah approached the table with her chocolate cake and coffee. "Thanks." She told Leah, who smiled and walked away to tend to more customers.

"Charlie, it's obvious that you're the love of his life, what woman wants to compete with that?" Ricky asked. "Look Charlie, I'm giving you and Brax another chance, the second chance you two deserve."

"But…" Charlie struggled to come up with words.

"You still love him don't you?"

Charlie looked up at Ricky, tears in her eyes as she nodded.

"Charlie. You've got your second chance. Now take it."

"But what it's doing to you…." Charlie trailed off.

Ricky shook her head. "I'm done competing, I just want the best for Brax. I'll find someone else, I know I will. Mine and Brax's relationship was never as strong as yours was, I know he still thought of you every day we were together."

Charlie sighed as she pushed the plate of cake towards Ricky. "Eat. I still can't believe you're doing this for me."

"Can you do me a favour, Charls?" Ricky asked. "Just be happy. It's all I want."

"I don't like the idea that my happiness will be the cause of your suffering."

Ricky shook her head. "It won't. Just promise me I get to spend time with gorgeous Anna. She makes me smile."

Charlie couldn't help but smile at the mention of her daughter. "Yeah, she does."

"Where is she anyway?" Ricky asked.

Charlie grinned again. "She's at the beach with Ruby. She got her a boogie board."

Ricky smiled. "That's so sweet," She sighed and stabbed the chocolate cake with a fork as she thought about what she wanted to say next. "Listen Charlie, I'll move on, I know I will. But will you ever move on from Brax if you don't give this thing another shot?"

^..^

Charlie sighed as she picked up her water bottle, ready to go for a jog. Ruby was still looking after Annaliese so Charlie had time to herself, Ruby was looking after Anna for the entire day. Charlie couldn't help but smile at the thought of Anna and Ruby getting to know each other, it was nice to think that Ruby would have a little sister to spoil and that Annaliese would have an older sister to go to whenever she wanted.

Charlie was just putting her key in the door when there was a knock. Sighing, she opened the door to see Brax.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey." Brax replied.

Charlie could feel the awkwardness and the tension, she was unsure of what to say to him after she found out Ricky had broken up with him. "Do you want to come in? I was about to go for a jog but that can wait." She stood to the side, letting Brax walk in before she closed the door behind him. She walked into the kitchen and pulled out two mugs and turned on the kettle before turning around to face him.

"I still love you." Brax stated.

Charlie sighed, feeling the butterflies in her stomach that were all too familiar whenever she was around Brax. "You know I still love you too."

"I want to understand why you left but I can't. What I can say is that I forgive you for leaving and I want to work it out."

Charlie didn't answer as she spooned coffee granules and sugar into mugs. "You forgive me? That's a bit rich considering that it was your enemy from that gang war that shot me and put us in this situation. And look what it's doing to poor Ricky! She told me that she dumped you and for what, Brax, for us to keep going round in circles?"

Brax sighed in frustration as she handed him a coffee mug. "Charlie, that's why I'm here. I want you back."

"Yet you can't understand why I had to leave?" Charlie asked. "You the one that wanted me to leave town in the first place! You didn't want me to be put in danger and yet you can't forgive me for leaving? I wanted to protect you Brax!"

"I wanted you to leave so something like this wouldn't happen!" Brax yelled. "Yet you were too stubborn to listen to me."

"If I had left when you wanted then we still wouldn't have been together, Brax." Charlie sighed sadly.

"At least I would have known you were alive!"

Charlie shook her head. "We aren't going to get anywhere by blaming each other. We lost so much time together, Brax."

Brax exhaled. "I have a daughter."

Charlie nodded.

"Yet you haven't let me spend any time with her," Brax told her as he rubbed a hand over his forehead. "How do you expect me to get to know my own kid when you won't let me see her?"

Charlie sighed. "How was I supposed to do that when you weren't talking to me? You and your brothers are still mad at me. Look, you have every right to be mad, but you have to think about what I lost too. I lost the chance for you to get your daughter and for us to be a family. I didn't keep Anna purposely away from you and you should know that. You of all people should know how far a person can go to protect their family. That's what I was trying to do, what I was forced to do."

Brax stared at her, he was taking in her little speech, going over the words in his mind. "We were shocked as well," Brax stated, clearing his throat. "The boys and I, well we didn't expect that we would see you again. I needed time, it's not every day you're given a second chance with your true love."

"So where do we go from here?" Charlie asked softly, looking up at him.

Please review!