Brax's POV

Hesitantly, Riley steps aside to let me in.

'What are you doing here, Brax?' he asks me, eyeing me off suspiciously as he closes the door behind me. His house is a mess; it looks as if he hasn't left it in days.

'I'm not here to clean your place, if that's what you were hoping,' I say, trying to lighten the noticeably heavy mood, but Riley doesn't take it. He just stares at me, wondering. I clear my throat and start again. 'I ahh, I need to talk to you, mate,' I say, 'about something important.'

'You wouldn't even speak to me at Brodie's funeral,' he scoffs, looking disgusted. 'Even though he died trying to save your girlfriend from Hammer.'

'Let's not forget he was also part of the reason Hammer was there in the first place,' I quickly remind him. His resulting stare could have killed me had I not shamefully looked away. He was right. I hadn't spoken to him at Brodie's funeral, nor had I spoken to him since, despite the fact that Brodie had lost his life trying to protect Charlie. But even in death I can't forgive him for what he put her through in the first place, nor can I forgive Riley. Or Tegan for that matter, who I had forgotten about until this point.

I sigh. 'Okay, just listen to what I have to say. I figure you owe me that much.'

Riley says nothing. He just nods once in silent agreement.

'You haven't...told anyone, have you?'

'What?'

'About Charlie and I being together?'

Riley laughs. 'Your dirty little secret's not unravelling, is it?' he asks, his voice mocking. I can't believe him.

'Did you tell anyone or not?' I ask, growing impatient. I hadn't expected this conversation to be pleasant, but this was turning out to be worse than I'd imagined.

Riley sits down on the couch, amongst piles of clothes and other mess, putting his feet up on the coffee table in front of him. 'Does it look like I've been anywhere recently?' he asks.

'You could have told someone else before – '

'I take it you haven't spoken to any of the other Boys about this?' he interrupts me. 'No, that's right, you left the River Boys. So I guess that means you haven't spoken to any of them about this at all.' Neither of us say anything for a moment. I'm beginning to think that coming here was a bad idea. But then, suddenly, Riley sighs, and looks at me with eyes that, finally, aren't full of spite. 'I didn't tell anyone. I never wanted to be in on...what happened with the cop – '

'Charlie,' I say quickly. 'Her name's Charlie.'

'Whatever. I never wanted to get involved, I never wanted to get Hammer involved, I knew we were out of our minds to do what we did. And I regret doing it every second. The point is, I didn't tell anyone. Brodie didn't get the chance, and it was his idea in the first place, so I didn't think it was my place to tell people.'

I can tell he's being sincere. Despite his wacked-out reasoning behind it, I am confident that Riley really hasn't told anyone.

'Thank you, Riley,' I say finally. 'Can I count on you not to say anything now?'

'Are you telling me you still haven't told anyone? After all that's happened? I heard what happened with Jake...' He sounds genuinely surprised, and maybe even a bit...concerned?

'Not yet,' I tell him. 'But we're working on it. You're right. Too much has happened for us not to.' I start heading for the door. 'Hey. Get yourself out of this dump. I may not be a River Boy anymore, but you still are. Brodie would want you to get back out there.'

Riley just smiles.

'I can't,' he says, and he points down to his ankle. There's a black ankle monitor strapped around it. So he got house arrest for what he did. I can't help but feel that this punishment is just a bit too light. Nevertheless I nod in understanding, and head out the door.

I thought that speaking to him about this would bring me closure. I thought that, if he had been the one to tell Jake's boys, then I could have kicked his ass and felt better. I also thought that if, as it turned out, he wasn't the one to tell them, then I would have felt even better than if he had have been the one to tell them. But as I head back to my car now, I feel no greater sense of security and no less worried than I did when I arrived on Riley's doorstep.

The same question remains – do Jake's boys know about Charlie and I? And if they do, what are they planning?

Charlie's POV:

I understand Bianca's response to my secret, but it doesn't mean that I like it. Bianca is my best friend, and I betrayed her trust. I feel horrible about lying to her this whole time. I hope I haven't lost her for good. I don't think I could handle any more loss in my life.

As I sit at home now, alone, a million things run through my mind. Would things have played out differently if I had just been up front with Bianca to begin with? What if we were up front with everyone? Is Brax hiding something from me?

Just as I begin thinking about Brax, I hear a knock on the door.

My heart skips a beat as I think it might be him. I hop off the couch and run for the door, desperate for one of his hugs. When he holds me in his arms, it's like that's the world, and nothing else exists, and nothing else matters. As I open the door, my heart nearly stops this time, because who I see standing on the threshold is someone I never would have expected to see again.

She smiles at me, as if she is happy to see me, as if this was a casual, friendly visit.

'Tegan!' I gasp. A zillion flashbacks of her start zipping through my head – the kidnapping, how she had me tied up, her slaps and hits, the way she had basically professed her love for Brax, though not in specific phrasing.

'Sergeant Buckton,' she says, her voice like knives, ripping through my ears. 'You're looking well.'

'What are you doing here?' I exclaim, actually feeling the look of exasperation that must be plain on my face.

She tilts her head to the side. 'I thought it was time we spoke,' she says. 'Don't worry – this chat won't be like our last.'

She moves to step into the house, but I step forward, blocking her. 'We won't be having any sort of chat at all,' I say sternly. 'Get the hell out of here! What were you thinking coming over here? Did you think I'd just open the door for you? That we'd hug it out and I'd just forgive you for what you did?'

'What makes you think I'm here for forgiveness?' she asks, and I am lost for words.

'I honestly don't know,' I say finally, stepping backwards. I start to close the door, but Tegan pushes it back, intent on either talking to me or coming inside.

'Charlie, wait,' she says, her arm up against the door. 'I didn't come here for forgiveness, because I know you wouldn't give it to me.'

'You're damn right.'

'But I did come to apologise.'

'You should be in jail for what you did,' I say. 'You were an accomplice in the kidnapping! You assaulted me!'

'I know,' she says. 'I don't know what came over me. I – I'm sorry for what I did.'

'Sorry doesn't make it okay!'

'But it makes me feel a little better.' Even though she's apologising to me, for what she did to me, the whole thing is still about her, just like everything else is.

'You're not forgiven, Tegan. I don't know what you were expecting for me, coming over here, but – '

'I was expecting a liiiiittle better than this from you, I have to admit.'

'Better from me? I've been through hell in the last three months, Tegan! Because of what you and the others did! I was in a psych house because of what you had a hand in! You should have been arrested and charged!'

'What's going on here?' a familiar voice asks, and Brax comes into view. Thank God. 'Tegan, what the hell are you doing here?'

Tegan eases off, tiny beside Brax.

'I just...wanted to apologise to Charlie,' she says softly. 'And to talk to you.'

I roll my eyes. 'Always an ulterior motive,' I say.

'What do you want?' Brax asks. My comment seems to go unnoticed.

'Umm...I'd rather talk...in...in private.' When before she was demanding and strong, now she seems weak and pathetic, the way I've always thought she was.

'Charlie...' Brax looks at me, as if asking for permission to talk to her. I kind of can't believe it.

'Whatever,' I say. 'She's already pretty much told me how she feels about you, maybe she plans to let you know now too.'

Brax looks confused, but I don't care. I close the door, leaving the two of them alone.