Chapter Twenty One

Joey hadn't slept all night. Rather than time being a healer, it seemed that Charlie's ability to plague her heart was only getting stronger. Now, at six in the morning, Joey was swimming in the sea, trying to feel refreshed and at one with the waves. She hoped for some kind of peace. Everything in her head felt so cloudy. She'd made a mistake by going on a date with Crystal. While the barmaid seemed fine about everything, Charlie had most definitely been hurt. And while Joey was still angry about what had happened between them – or, most specifically between Charlie and Hugo – she had never wanted to cause her that kind of pain. If she was being honest with herself, she was all talk. She could say as many times as she liked that she hated her, but the truth was that she loved her. And an even stronger truth was that she always would. And last night, she had been psyching herself up to tell her that when Charlie had started shouting. Now it felt like they were back to square one.

Charlie hadn't slept all night. With sunlight peeking through the curtains, she gave up with a frustrated growl and hauled herself out of bed. Throwing some clothes on, she jogged out of the house and down towards the beach. She needed fresh air and to clear her head. She also needed to go back in time and not yell at Joey. Her ex had every right to go on a date with another woman. It wasn't as if they were still together. And Joey was right – at least she had had the decency to wait until they were broken up before she moved on. And what had happened to pledging to wait for Joey until she was ready to forgive her? She had only said it that morning and she'd taken it back in less than a day. So much for patience, she thought to herself as she powered across the town. She was meant to be proving herself to Joey but all she felt now was that she had let her down.

Exhausted, Joey swam back to shore. When her feet touched the ground beneath her, she stood and walked the rest of the way. Grumbling to herself about the perils of wet sand on her feet, Joey walked back up the beach and grabbed her towel, wrapping it round her and drying off. She paused when she saw Charlie powering across the sand, wondering why they happened to be the only two people up and out so early in the morning. Noticing her, Charlie stopped abruptly, hovering a little way off until they made eye contact. Hesitantly, Charlie approached.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Peachy," Joey said. "You?"

Charlie sighed at the same, harsh tone that the formerly soft, sweet Joey used with her now.

"I couldn't sleep for thinking about you," she said honestly.

"Planning more things to yell at me?" Joey asked, continuing to dry herself.

Charlie watched shamelessly.

"You're one to talk," she said.

"I wasn't the one who cheated," Joey shot back.

She wrapped her towel around her waist and crouched down to put her stuff back into her bag.

"Joey, can't we even be civil to each other now?" Charlie asked.

Joey stood back up, detecting the desperation in her voice. She felt her heart twinge.

"I was planning on being civil to you last night... before you started yelling," she admitted.

Charlie stammered a little, taken by surprise.

"You were?"

Joey shrugged and turned to walk away. Charlie stared after her, feeling more conflicted than ever. Suddenly, Joey turned and hurried back up to her.

"Why were you so upset about Angelo?" she demanded.

"What...?"

"Do you like him?"

"No!"

"Then why do you care if he knows about us?"

"I..."

Joey stepped closer to her, their bodies touching.

"Do you want him to cure you?" Joey asked, almost whispering into her ear.

Charlie felt like she was on fire at being so close to her. She wondered if Joey would ever stop having such an effect on her every time they were together. If there was no future, then she hoped the spark would soon go away. But if there was, then she never wanted it to end.

"I don't..." she managed.

"You want a nice, strong man to sweep you off your feet so you can pretend that whatever you had with me was just a phase," Joey suggested, remaining close.

"What we had..."

"Maybe I was wrong," Joey continued. "Maybe you did care about me..."

"I did! I do!" Charlie agreed.

"So it really is a shame that it's too late," Joey replied, pulling away again. "Have fun with your boyfriend."

She continued on her way.

The following day, Charlie's mood was no better. Her head was still full of Joey and to make matters worse, Ruby had come to her and told her that on her sixteenth birthday – the following week – she was going to lose her virginity with Xavier. It had panicked her to say the least and they had been arguing over it ever since. Charlie didn't want Ruby to rush into anything, she wanted her to wait. She did not want her to grow up so very quickly. But Ruby wasn't listening. She'd lost her temper and told her that she was disappointed that the one person she thought she could count on to support her, had turned into an overnight prude and let her down. Now, the two girls sat down to lunch together and Charlie was desperate for it to go well. She was also desperate to get her point across. And it was not lost on her that Joey was eating her own lunch at another table.

"All I'm saying is that you should think about it," Charlie tried.

"I have thought about it," Ruby insisted. "And I really want to do this. Why won't you support me?"

"Because you're fifteen years old and..."

"I'll be sixteen," Ruby pointed out.

"Sixteen then," Charlie replied stiffly. "Don't rush into something you're not ready for."

"I am ready!"

"You're just a baby, Rubes..." Charlie said, her voice full of emotion. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I love Xavier," Ruby told her. "I want to show him."

"There are other ways to show him!" Charlie protested. "Ruby, if he's pressuring you..."

"He's not," Ruby said firmly. "It was my idea."

"But... why? Why do you want to do this so soon?"

"Charlie, what planet are you on?" Ruby finally snapped. "Sex isn't a bad thing. And I mean, come on, it's not like you're the queen of good sexual decisions. You're being a hypocrite right now."

"I'm speaking from experience," Charlie told her, trying not to show how much Ruby's comment had hurt her.

"Look, you're not going to change my mind about this," Ruby said. "And I'm doing things a hell of a lot better than you ever have. I've been with Xavier for months, I'm in love with him and I want to lose my virginity to him. I've thought about it, I'm ready for it and it's going to be a hell of a lot better than screwing random men hoping that they might love me."

This time, Charlie couldn't fail to look wounded.

"The best thing that ever happened to you was Joey and you messed it up by sleeping with Hugo," Ruby continued. "So I don't think you're in a position to lecture me about sex."

Irritated, the teenager stood up and stormed out of the Diner. From her table, Joey watched Charlie remain in her seat. Even from behind, she could tell that her ex-girlfriend was trying not to fall apart. Steeling herself, Charlie tossed some cash on the table and left, hurrying towards the wharf in order to be alone. On her way out, Joey caught her eye and was alarmed by the depth of pain she saw there.

Ten minutes later, Joey walked down the wharf quietly. Charlie was perched on the end with her feet dangling in the water. She was hunched over and even from a distance, Joey could see she was in tears. Charlie looked up when she heard footsteps approaching and her heart sank when she saw that it was Joey.

"Joey, I'm really not in the mood for a fight," she managed, wiping her eyes furiously.

In silence, Joey sat down behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist and resting her chin on her shoulder, holding her close, keeping her safe and offering as much comfort as she could.

Next time... Charlie and Joey finally have their heart to heart...