For JB. I hope you enjoy your time away! Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Twenty One

Charlie and Joey sat down to a pasta dish that Joey prepared for them. They hadn't really talked but their silence so far had been comfortable.

"Does Angelo know you're here?" Joey finally asked.

Charlie shrugged and then winced before explaining she didn't care. Joey looked half quizzical and half hopeful.

"I broke up with him," Charlie confirmed.

Joey smiled and touched her hand.

"Well then I'm very proud of you," she said.

Charlie looked at their joined hands and then gazed into Joey's eyes, thanking her quietly.

"Are you going home tomorrow?" she asked, upset at having to lose her.

Joey nodded.

"I've got to go and try and figure out if I still have job!" she laughed.

Charlie managed a smile.

"Would... would it still be okay for me to come and see you sometime?" she asked.

Joey smiled and nodded happily.

"I'd love that," she said honestly. "I'd love to show you were I live, introduce you to my friends... I'd really like it if we could be part of each other's lives again, Charlie."

They noticed that they were still holding hands and self consciously broke apart, continuing to eat their meals.

"Well, I don't deserve it but I'd like to be any part of your life that you'll let me be," Charlie told her.

They continued eating for a few moments before Charlie looked suddenly hopeful.

"Could I... maybe drive you home tomorrow?" she asked.

"What about your arm?" Joey wondered.

"It's fine," Charlie said.

It did hurt but she didn't think it was bad enough to impact her driving. And the more time she got to spend with Joey, the happier she knew she would be.

"Well, if you're sure," Joey said. "I don't want you to be hurt though. You keep dismissing it but you went through a lot today."

"I'll be fine," Charlie insisted. "I'd... I'd like to spend more time with you. If that's okay?"

"That's absolutely fine."

The night was drawing in and Charlie and Joey were both stalling for time, not wanting to part.

"Where are you going to stay tonight?" Joey asked.

The two women were on the sofa together, having spent most of the night chatting about anything and everything. It felt natural to be together again, to be friends, to be close.

"I reckon I'll go and crash at the caravan park," Charlie said. "I'll figure out what to do more permanently in the morning."

"You could stay here," Joey said. "This thing doubles up as a sofa bed."

She gestured to the couch.

"Would you mind?"

"Of course not," Joey said. "It's fine. Especially if you're driving me home tomorrow."

She smiled. Charlie smiled back.

The following morning, Charlie woke somewhat reluctantly. She hadn't had the best night's sleep in the world but it felt better to wake up in the lounge of Joey's safe house than it had all those mornings where she'd woken up in bed with Angelo. Her discomfort had been based in her anxiety over where he was and what he was doing. He hadn't called her at all at the night before but rather than feeling relieved, she was unnerved. Angelo didn't stay quiet. He was a bad loser and he didn't take things lying down. She dreaded whatever was to come.

"Morning," said a gentle voice.

Charlie opened her eyes and saw Joey hovering over her with a cup of tea. She offered it out and perched on the edge of the bed.

"Thanks," Charlie said, sitting up.

Joey tried not to gaze at her. But she had always thought that Charlie was at her most breathtaking first thing in the morning. Today, her hair was all messy, her eyes were sleepy and she looked terribly cute in the little teddy bear t-shirt Joey had provided her with in place of proper pyjamas.

"Did you sleep okay?" she asked.

"Not really," Charlie admitted. "You?"

"Better than the last few nights," Joey said. "It's amazing how having a rapist and wannabe murderer after you can disturb your sleep!"

They both managed a laugh.

"What time would you like to leave?" Charlie asked.

"Whenever's good for you," Joey said. "I know you have some stuff to sort out today."

Charlie nodded.

"I need to see Ruby first," she said. "Let her know what's happened, deal with her freaking out..."

"Freaking out?"

"People round here are pretty set on the idea of me and Angelo being an item," Charlie explained. "That's one of the many reasons I found it so hard to leave him."

Joey nodded and reached out for Charlie's hand.

"Take your time," she said. "I know none of this is going to be easy for you. And I know I'm not local anymore but I'll be here for you as much as I can. I'll only ever be a phone call away and if you ever need to get away or something, you can always come and stay with me."

"Thank you, Joey," Charlie said sincerely. "Thank you for everything."

Two hours later, having left Joey to pack up her stuff, Charlie headed round to see Ruby at Irene's house. The teenager was pretending to study but was clearly watching television.

"Hey, Charles," she greeted warmly. "What are you doing here? Geez, you look like you didn't sleep a wink all night!"

"I didn't," Charlie admitted, sinking into a chair.

Ruby eyed her curiously.

"Charlie, what happened to your arm?" she asked worriedly. "What happened? Are you okay? What about Joey?"

Charlie shook her head and rubbed her temples, wondering how she was going to explain anything.

"I'm fine," she said first. "It's just a scratch."

"A scratch from what?" Ruby asked.

"A bullet."

"What?" Ruby screeched.

Charlie winced and quickly assured her that she was fine. She carefully began to explain the story to Ruby about Robbo breaking in and finished by telling her she'd broken up with Angelo.

"Why?" Ruby asked. "You two were so perfect together."

"We're not," Charlie told her. "We never have been. I was just pretending."

Ruby sighed and looked into her mother's eyes.

"Is this about Joey?" she asked.

"No," Charlie said, although she knew it was, at least in part. "I mean, of course I still have feelings for her but that isn't the issue. The issue is that Angelo makes me unhappy."

"Since when?" Ruby asked. "I thought you were great together."

Charlie sighed, wondering how she was ever going to begin to explain.

"The break up has been a long time coming," she said. "He... he's different behind closed doors than he is when other people are around. He's so controlling, Rubes. He bullies me."

"Well, I think it's understandable that he'd be a little insecure while you've been working with Joey," Ruby ventured.

Charlie tried not to cry.

"I'm not siding with him," Ruby said quickly. "I'm just confused. After all you've bee through together, I just thought this was it. You know, the real deal?"

"I wanted it to be," Charlie admitted. "But he's been treating me badly for a long time. It's just only been now that I've been able to stand up for myself."

"What's he been doing?" Ruby asked.

"Going through my phone, screaming and shouting at me, pushing me around..."

"He hit you?"

"He pushed me," Charlie said, recalling the day outside the safe house. "He's been intimidating me."

"Then I'm glad you ended it," Ruby said. "And I'm sad it's taken so long."

Charlie swallowed.

"I still can't quite believe I actually did it," she admitted.

"What was the final push?"

"He came charging into the hospital after I was shot and... and all he cared about was why I'd been in the safe house in the first place. He didn't care that I could have been killed. He doesn't care about me. He just cares about having a hold over me. And that's not the same thing."