Chapter Twenty One

Brax elbowed his way into Charlie's room without so much as giving Joey a chance. He rushed to her on-off-girlfriend's side and held her hand.

"How are you feeling?" he asked kindly, although confusion and anger was still bubbling away in the back of his mind.

How could Charlie have dated that woman? Was she gay or straight? And why hadn't she been upfront about it? And had they been together that morning while he had been tearing his hair out trying to protect her from Hammer?

"I'm okay," Charlie said, trying not to register her disappointment that Joey hadn't come in to check on her. "A bit sore but it was mostly a graze. Not a proper shooting, as such."

He nodded, still clutching her hand.

"I was so scared I was going to lose you," he admitted quietly. "I'm so sorry I got you dragged into all this mess. I…"

He trailed off and shook his head.

"Charlie, who's that woman I keep seeing you with?" he asked, deciding to get right to the point.

Charlie hesitated.

"Is she here?" she asked.

She saw bitterness etched on his face as he nodded.

"Her name's Joey," Charlie explained. "I haven't seen her for years. I… We…"

"You were lovers?" he said.

Charlie nodded, surprised to find that, despite how awkward the situation was, she wasn't ashamed to admit that she and Joey had been an item.

"When?" Brax demanded. "And why the hell didn't you tell me? I mean, something like that is important to know, Charlie! If I'd been sleeping around with men, wouldn't you want to know where I've been and what I've been doing?"

Charlie hesitated.

"We were together very briefly in 2009," she explained. "I didn't tell you because I didn't think it was relevant. I didn't think I'd ever see her again."

"So… what are you?" he asked.

"What do you mean, 'what am I'?" Charlie asked. "I'm me."

"You who suddenly likes girls," Brax pointed out.

"Me who predominantly dates guys but fell in love with a girl two years ago," Charlie replied calmly.

"Did you love her as much as me?" Brax asked. "Because you said you loved me."

Charlie hesitated. She didn't want to lie but the truth would hurt him. She let the question hang in the air as if they could somehow forget about it.

"Do you still love her?" Brax asked, his tone surprisingly soft.

"Yes, I do," Charlie admitted. "I'll always love her."

She shrugged sadly.

"And where does this leave us?" Brax asked.

"It doesn't affect us," Charlie replied. "We were over before Joey came to town."

"But…"

He let go of her hand and rubbed his temples.

"I thought that was just temporary," he said.

"Until I stopped being a cop or you stopped being a criminal?"

Brax sighed and sank into the chair beside the bed, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I'm not a criminal anymore," he said. "You know I've changed. And if only this damn town would catch on, then you and I could be together. Or so I thought."

Charlie sighed heavily.

"Brax, I care about you," she said sincerely. "I love you even. But you know this is never going to work…"

He jumped to his feet, finally annoyed.

"It could work if we tried!" he said. "If we just tried…"

She reached out for his hand.

"It won't," she said.

"But you can't deny that there's something between us. How can you let that go?"

"There is something between us," Charlie said. "There probably always will be. But… it's impossible."

"We would have made it work if it hadn't been for her," Brax insisted. "Now she's back, you can suddenly fight your attraction and your feelings and all the stuff you battled so much with before."

Charlie sighed.

"She's not staying," she said. "She's heading back to the city today and I'm probably never going to see her again."

"Why not?" he asked. "If you're still in love with her or… whatever."

"Because she doesn't love me," Charlie replied, grief evident in her voice.

Brax leant forward and kissed her tenderly, making the moment last as long as he could. Drawing away, he looked into her eyes.

"Nobody looks as concerned as she does right now if they're not in love," he said. "I don't claim to understand whatever you've got going on with her and I certainly don't want to know the details. I desperately hope that it doesn't work out and that you realise the person you really want is me. I can't even promise not to give you up without a fight. But she loves you. You should know that."

Kissing her one more time, he left.

Next time… Charlie and Joey have a heart to heart at last…