Chapter 10- And that's why men don't plan weddings
Charlie POV…
1AM
I'd been tossing and turning for hours, nightmares plagued my mind. I just wanted Brax to be there and to hold me and tell me that he was there for me. Just being separated from him for a short space of time, sleeping without him holding me in his arms, made me feel as though I was incomplete. I finally gave up and laid on my back, opening my eyes and staring at the ceiling, that's when I heard the voice
"Hello sweetheart, I was wondering when you'd wake up" I sat up, completely taken aback. A man sat in the chair opposite, his body slightly slumped, only his silhouette could be seen. He leaned forward and flashed a smile. That's when I put a name to him; Geoffrey King.
"What are you doing here? I choked out
"You don't have to be so blunt aye sergeant? I just wanted to have a nice little chat to you about your boyfriend Darryl" he said leaning forward and sitting on the edge of my bed, I flinched slightly as he looked into my eyes, flashing a wicked smile.
"Brax will be here any minute, he just went to go and get coffee, so don't do anything stupid, you don't want to make a mistake now do you" I said, trying to keep a tone of authority in my voice
"You're really gonna play that card with me" he chuckled "I'm not that stupid, I've been here for 45 minutes now" he leaned forward and whispered to me "tick, tock, tick, tock" I instantly felt the colour wash out of my face "That was a pretty silly mistake lying to me there Charlie" he said, his fingers tracing circles on my stomach, I winced as his fingers grazed the surgery wounds. "Now you're gonna tell Darryl, that if he wants his little family to be safe, he best start making some wise decisions…or else" Geoffrey said looking at me mad eyed, I tried to shrug of the terror than ran through my body, but I was trembling like crazy.
"Right, or what are you gonna do?" I asked, partly intrigued and partly scared to the core of what he had in mind
"Well lets just say if Darryl doesn't get the message, maybe he will when I write it for him in your blood on that wall right over there" he said pointing to the other side of the room, I looked at him horrified, his bottom lip curled into a sly smile as he pulled out a shiny object from his pocket. It took a while for me to register what it actually was. A knife. I went to scream, but I felt him clamp his hand over my mouth.
"You just made a big mistake there sweetheart, now lets see if Darryl will finally learn" He whispered. I whimpered in pain as he pushed his knee down onto my stomach with all his strength, Hard, and pressed the knife against my neck. The pressure on my stomach was so intense I felt my body start to slump and everything fade to black.
Sid POV….
I was on the night shift, my third shift today, staying alive on caffeine and desperately wanting to get back and see my kids. '4 more hours to go' I thought. I'd decided to check on Charlie since I'd seen her stirring during the night and crying in her sleep. I trudged down the corridor, rubbing my eyes swiftly. As I edged nearer and nearer to the door I could hear a commotion coming from inside the room. I got to the door and immediately froze to the spot. I saw Charlie clamped down into the bed, a man leaning over her, his clamped around her mouth, the only words I heard were:
"Now lets see if Darryl will finally learn", as he pressed his knee further into her, I saw her body slump slightly, I leapt into action, flying across the room, crashing into him and pinning him against the wall, pressing the alarm button against the wall, I could hear Charlie's blood curdling scream fill the room as I pinned him up against the wall. I felt someone tugging my shirt at the back, the nurses.
"Julie, call security, and the police" I yelled as I continued to pin him up against the wall
"Doctor Walker you need to calm down" Julie replied
"No, he just tried to kill a patient!" I said looking to Charlie, who was now being comforted by one of the nurses.
"Yes, and he won't get away with that!" Julie snapped, pulling me back, I released my grip and stumbled back
"You, you get out of my hospital" I said, pointing my finger directly at him. The security team removed him from the room and dragged him down the corridor; I instantly turned my attention to Charlie, who was now staring into space with a faraway look on her face. I didn't know what to do so I timidly walked up to the bed, sitting on the edge, both of us in silence until I saw a few silent tears stray from her eyes
"Oh Charlie" I muttered as I pulled her in for a hug "Its ok he's gone now" I whispered
"It's not that" she muttered back, I pulled back, looking at her, willing her to answer "I can't sleep" she whispered, more tears running down her face
"It's normal for patients to have difficulty sleeping when they're in pain" I said, rubbing her back
"No it's, it's not that" she shuffled uncomfortably on the bed "Every time I close my eyes…I see his face, yet for some stupid reason I can't put a name to him, I know everything about him, except the name…" she said, her eyes darting around the room, before finally stopping at me, she stared restlessly into my eyes, as if she were pleading with me to say something, explain something to her.
I took a deep breath and sighed. I couldn't tell her anything; she had to figure it out for herself.
"Charlie, what happened to you, you've gone through a truly terrible ordeal, you're memory will come back" I said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She looked at me unsurely. I shrugged it off, I wasn't aloud to say anything to her, and so I changed the subject
"Now are you sure you're ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine" Charlie hesitated, stumbling over her words
"Do you want me to ring Brax at all, get him to come?" I asked, knowing full well that she wouldn't admit that she needed him
"No, let him rest, he hasn't been sleeping…or eating for that matter, is he ok?" she asked me curiously. Inside I was crying for her, for them both. Nothing would be able to mend the feeling of losing a baby, the grief follows you around, chases you like a shadow.
"I think he should be the one to tell you that, don't you?" I asked as I backed towards the door, leaving Charlie lost in her own thoughts.
BRAX POV…..
Ruby and I walked into the diner, my arm loosely looped around her shoulder
"Hey guys how are you" Leah asked chirpily
"We're good thanks, just off to see Charlie and get some muffins" Ruby replied
"Ah, well what flavour can I get you?" Leah asked, I was just about to answer when we were all cut off by Coleen
"Well Daryl Braxton, I have to say, it's a surprise to see you around here again I would have thought that you would be with Sergeant Buckton right now, considering the poor soul is cooped up in a hospital, but mind you maybe she doesn't want you around, after all if it wasn't for you she wouldn't be there in the first place"
RUBY POV…
I felt Brax's whole body tense against me, "I'll wait in the car Rubes" he muttered as he walked hurriedly out the diner
"Coleen! How could you, after everything he's been through?" Leah spat at Coleen
"Don't worry pet, you mark my words, your mother will come to her senses soon and you won't have to put up with that trouble anymore" Coleen said nodding at me. My blood boiled and I slammed my fists down on the counter
"Is that what they teach you in Church Coleen? My mother made the best decision of her life standing by that man, and after everything he's been through don't you think he deserves a bit of compassion? Huh? Now you have no right getting involved in our business, you are not hurting over this like some of us, you're pathetic!" I screamed at her, she threw her apron off and ran out the diner
"Oh Coleen!" Leah called after her
"Oh Leah I'm so sorry" I said, realising what I had just done
"No, Ruby you had every right, but um, you should go see how Brax is holding up" she said nodding towards the door Brax went out of
"Yeah I probably should…" I said taking the muffins from her and walking eagerly out the door
I rushed out of the diner and frantically walked towards the car park in search of Brax, I spotted him leaning up against the car
"Dad!" I called, lightly jogging towards him "Dad, dad are you ok?" I asked as I came to a standstill next to him, placing the muffins on the car bonnet
"Yeah, I'm alright" he said, swiftly turning his head and wiping away what were obviously tears.
"Hey you know no body else thinks that right?" I said rubbing his back
"Don't they Rubes, because she was right, I screwed up, I let Charlie down" he said shaking his head at me. I looked at him in disbelief "I can't go back from this Rubes, I can't undo any of it!" he shouted
"Well then stop beating yourself up about it and let somebody in!" I screamed
"I can't…" he muttered
"Brax!" I moaned "don't do this" I said tilting my head so I caught his glance " let Charlie in then, you don't have to do this on your own" I said, trying to convince him "I can't pretend to understand how you feel for a second, but there's one person who will" I said reaching out to him and giving him a warm hug
CHARLIE POV….
I sat bed bound, trying to occupy myself by reading the latest on Brangelina in the 'OK!' magazine Ruby had bought for me. I threw it down the end of the bed and sighed. I couldn't wait until Sid said I could get up and walk around.
"Hello?" I heard a voice sound, I recognised it instantly.
"Bianca" I smiled as she walked into the room with a big bunch of flowers in her hands
"Hey, look at you Charlie!" she came up and wrapped her arms around me "How are you feeling?" she asked, I sighed and leant back in the bed, to be honest I was in agony physically and emotionally, I shrugged the thoughts back
"I'm ok considering" I smiled, before looking down and flicking my eyes around "Look Bianca, I'm sorry about everything I-"
"No Charlie you don't have to be sorry for anything ok? No stupid grudge is gonna loose me my best friend ok?" she said, sitting down on the bed
I smiled back at her, happy I had my best friend back, maybe it would give me someone to talk to. "So how did the engagement party go?" I asked her, looking at her ring on her finger "Oh B, that's a beautiful ring" I said smiling
"Thank you, I personally think he must have had some help from a little missy, cough, cough April, but Charlie we didn't have the party" She said. The smile faded from my face and she saw. "It didn't feel right having it without you there" she said, her eyes start to well up, and I pulled her in for a hug "Oh B" I said hugging her tightly
"We all thought that you were…" she trailed off
"Its ok, everything's ok now." I said pulling back and smiling at her
BIANCA POV….
It was only when she pulled away and smiled at me that I could see how frail she had become, the dark circles under her eyes had surfaced, probably from a lack of sleep, her hair was tangled and had lost the vibrant shine that it once had and her skin was paled of the light and warmth it used to give off, and her eyes looked empty, painful. I gave her a weak smile back and wiped my tears away, laughing slightly
"Where's Brax and Ruby?" I asked
"I forced them to go home and get some rest last night" she chuckled
"And how'd you sleep?" I asked curiously, she glanced nervously around the room "Charlie?" I said looking questioningly at her
"I didn't…" she whispered
"Oh Charlie" I said pulling her in for another hug
"Every time I close my eyes I'm back there" she cried "And then last night, King came into my room" she whispered, balling her eyes out
"The Geoffrey King?" I asked her, she nodded against my shoulder
"He's been hassling Brax for the restaurant, and I'm pretty sure he's the one that gave Brax all the bruises" she said, shaking her head in disbelief
"He hit Brax?" I asked
She pulled back and nodded her head anxiously. I rubbed my hands up and down her arms "Did he hurt you?" I said, pushing a strand of hair off of her face and tucking it behind her ear, she shook her head "No, Sid got here in time" she whispered. I nodded my head, as if to say it's ok, when really it's far from ok.
"Charlie, if King came in to hurt you, are you sure that it's a good idea that Brax is around here a lot" I said, praying that she wouldn't take it the wrong way, she flicked her head up and met my eyes, glaring at me
"No Bianca, don't you dare say that ok!" she snapped tears running down her face
"Ok, ok" I soothed
"No, no not ok! Everyone has got this idea stuck into their head that he's, he's wrong ok, and he's not!" she sobbed "Do you know how scared I feel when he's not here?" she questioned I shook my head and looked down "I feel safe in his arms Bianca, its taken a long time for me to feel that way about someone, we have a connection, I can't explain it B but its so intense, I love him" I nodded my head acknowledging her, knowing I'd felt that way about a certain Braxton brother once too
"So how are Brax and Ruby?" I asked, wanting to change the subject drastically
"Ruby is ok, she's just happy I'm ok I think, she's started calling Brax dad" she chuckled
"And Brax?" I asked, knowing full well that she was trying to avoid part of my question; she sighed and looked at me shaking her head
"Over the past few days its been Brax helping Ruby out, Brax carrying her out when she's asleep, Brax watching her like a hawk, making sure she eats. I'm worried about him." She said, fresh tears brimming in her eyes
I sighed, knowing what was up with Brax, but I couldn't tell Charlie, he had to do that himself.
"Talk to him" I said comfortingly, squeezing her hand
"How?" she asked, crying even more
"Just be honest with him, remember, no more lies"
"No more lies" she repeated
"Are you sure there's nothing else Charlie?" I asked, she looked at me hesitantly
"Charlie" I said, practically begging her to tell me "Come on Charlie what's wrong?"
She looked down before shaking her head at me "I feel so disgusting" she muttered
"Disgusting, what? Charlie how are you disgusting?" I asked her
"I look awful Bianca, I'm just worried that when I get out of here and Brax…when Brax see's this" she said motioning her hands to her stomach "He won't want me anymore" she said
"Charlie, that is never going to happen, ok that man loves you more than anything else in the world"
"Yeah but Bianca you haven't seen them" she said crying, obviously referring to the wounds she had
"Charlie, Brax loves you for who you are, he's not going to go anywhere" I said smiling at her "You really love him don't you?" I said, she nodded her head and gave a weak smile "Yeah I really do" she said "Anyway enough about me, shouldn't you be at work?" she questioned
CHARLIE POV….
"Nope, I have 2 free periods so I thought I would spend them with you" she said smiling at me, I laughed at her, it was just like old times. It felt good.
"So how's the wedding planning going?" I asked her, nodding at the stacks of wedding magazines she had in her bag.
"Ah wedding, yes well, we have bridesmaids sorted and I have picked my maid of honour," she said giving me a cheeky smile
"Ooh who's the lucky lady for that job?" I asked her, and she looked up at me with a questioning look
"Seriously Charlie, are you really gonna ask me that question, it's you silly!" she squealed
"Me?" I practically screamed
"Well yeah, best friend equals made of honour" she chuckled
"Oh B, thanks" I said giving her a hug "Common lets do some wedding planning then" I said, opening one of the magazines and flicking the pages, both of us oohing and aahing at every dress we saw.
RUBY POV…..
Brax and me walked into the hospital laughing and joking, me nibbling on my muffin. Casey was back at Summer Bay High today so we were going for a surf later, purposely arranged by me, so Brax and Charlie could have a much needed talk. Sid called me over and I told Brax to head on and see Charlie
"Hey Sid" I said smiling at him
"Hey Ruby, how are you today?" he asked smiling at me
"I'm good thanks, what did you call me over for?"
"Well I have some good news…." he said trailing off
"And by that I guess you have some bad news as well" I said, slightly disappointed when he nodded his head "Ok good news first" I said
"Well we're happy with Charlie's progress, and if all goes well she can go home in a week" he said
"Oh my god that's fantastic!" I said beaming like a little kid at Christmas
"The bad news is we had an incident last night" he said
"Well what kind of incident?" I asked, the smile falling off my face
BRAX POV….
I left Ruby talking to Sid and headed off to see Charlie.
"Hey you" I said smiling at Charlie
"Hey" she said smiling back
"Hey Brax" Bianca said waving at me
"Hey" I said nodding my head at her
"I hope you don't mind me being here I just had a free so…"
"No, no it's fine with me" I said holding my hands up
"I missed you" Charlie said smiling at me and holding her arms out
"Yeah, well just for the record I missed you more" I said putting the bag from the diner on the bedside table and linking my hands into Charlie's. I sat down on the bed and leant in to give her a slow and passionate kiss.
"mmm I missed you most" she said winking as she pulled away
We heard a little coughing from the other side of the bed, both turning and laughing at Bianca who sat there disgusted
"Keep it PG lovebirds you're worse than me and Liam!" We both laughed at her comment and I crawled in next to Charlie, wrapping my arms around her waist
"You better take me to your dress fitting" Charlie said, nodding at Bianca
"Of course you're coming, your maid of honour" she said hitting Charlie's arm lightly
"Maid of honour aye?" I said looking at Charlie and kissing her forehead
"Yep, just gotta get walking now so I can get down that aisle with April" She said smiling, I smiled back at her
"You'll do it" I said, she gave me a warm smile "So what are we looking at then" I said pointing to the magazines
"Dresses" Charlie said leaning forward and grabbing a magazine
"This is Bianca's favourite" Charlie said pointing to the dress that was circled on the page, I nodded my head, approving of their choice
"And this is Charlie's favourite" Bianca said showing me a picture of dress in another book, I had to admit, it was a stunning dress "Don't you think she'd look amazing in it?" Bianca asked me, at first I was stunned, had Charlie been talking to Bianca about marriage? And then I smiled; one day I knew I'd marry her. She was the one.
"Yeah…Yeah she would" I replied turning to Charlie and smiling, she smiled back at me, her cheeks going a deep shade of pink with embarrassment "but then you would look great in any wedding dress" I said causing her to bury her head into my chest. She smiled up at me, I had my arm wrapped around her waist, She leaned into me slightly, I looked down at her, both of us wearing matching smiles, I think it's safe to say, both of us were absolutely smitten. I kissed the top of her head and looked at Bianca who gave me a sly smile and winked, I grinned back and tightened my grip on Charlie ever so slightly, never wanting to let go of her.
"That one's nice" I said nodding to the page Bianca now had open in the book, Bianca looked up at me and Charlie moved her head, both of them had their eye brows raised
"And that right there is why men don't plan weddings" Bianca sighed
"Tragic" Charlie said shaking her head and smiling at me
"What? It wasn't that bad was it?" I asked, both of them shook their heads at me in disappointment
"You have so much to learn" Bianca said, laughing at me
How was that? I hope you liked it, keep reviewing, i love hearing your thoughts, it keeps me motivated and if you have any idea's then I would be happy to include them! xx Here is a sneak peak of what's next:
-Ruby is distraught at what Sid tells her
-Brax is upset at Charlie for keeping things from him
-Charlie remembers who shot her
-Brax finally opens up to Charlie