Chapter Twenty Three
After accepting Frankees offer of a lift back to Brooke's place, Frankee walked with Mel and the kids to the car, after the kids were settled in the car Frankee ignited the engine and began the drive back to Brooke's place. She attempted to make conversation with Mel and the kids but to no success Mel completely ignored her making conversation with the kids and playing eye spy with them. Twenty minutes later she pulled into the driveway turning off the engine she helped Mel get the kids inside the house hating every second of it.
While Mel got the kids ready and in bed she sat downstairs in the front room making herself at home as she always did when she was in Brooke's house, she sat on the couch having turned on the TV and the Sky Tv box she flicked through the channels until something grabbed her attention on the music channel it was the weekly chart show and they were just about to reveal who was number one in the charts in Austrialia...
On the TV- Before we reveal this weeks number one here is a video by a group new on the Australian scene who have had to postpone their tour of Australia due to an injury aquired by their lead vocalist, the very talented Brooke Carter...Here is the new single from Fifth Element, Here is Summertime...Enjoy
Frankee stared at the TV in a state of shock the bands new video was being played on a national station and no doubt if people liked the video it would be played worldwide on every major station in every country in the world. She was brought out of her thoughts when Mel came down the stairs as she saw what was on the TV she stopped in her tracks,
"Is that our new single" She asked not sure of she was imagining this or not
"Um Yeah it is, its brilliant isn't it"
Mel slowly walked over to the couch and sat down on the end of the couch that Frankee wasn't sitting on "Woah, Brooke is gonna love this"
"Yeah she is, this is great its gonna get us so much publicity" Frankee grinned thinking to herself 'Brooke being attacked could be the best thing to ever happen to the band'
"Its a shame we won't be able to cash in on it until Brooke is better"
"Maybe we should tour without her you know keep the intrest in us going"
"NO, I'm not doing this without her she was the only reason I joined the band anyway"
"Whatever it was just a suggestion Mel"
"I know it was but we all agreed and we're waiting until Brooke is one hundred percent better"
"But we don't know how longs that gonna take?"
"Who cares about how long it takes I'm just happy that she's alive"
"So am I, its just I know how long shes wanted this and I thought maybe we could do it for her" Seeing that Mel was about to talk she cut her off knowing that she was tensing up "But that was just a stupid idea, knowing Brooke she'll be back to normal in a few weeks"
Mel smiled giggling she knew Brooke better than most people and Frankee was right Brooke would be better before anyone expected her to be but she also knew that its wasn't gonna be in a few weeks more like a few months maybe a year suddenly the smile disappeared from her face when she realised that she probably wouldn't be very involved in Brooke's recovery due to their recent seperation. Seeing Mel's change Frankee placed a hand on Mel's shoulder when Mel didn't pull away she shifted a little closer to her wrapping her whole arm around Mel's shoulder unable to control her feelings, As Mel looked at her Frankee leaned into Mel...
As soon as she realised what Frankee was attempting to do Mel instantly jumped up of the seatee her face filled with shock at Frankee's intentions she slowly processed the events, all she could feel was disgust towards Frankee. She began walking towards the stairs but was stopped when Frankee grabbed her wrist pulling her back so they were again face to face, "Let e go Frankee"
"No, look I misread the signals I'm sorry" Frankee lied
"No your not" Mel replied she was sick and tired of Frankee's behaviour, she was the reason that her and Brooke weren't together anymore, Frankee had made her life a misery over the last year it was hard enough for her living without Brooke in her life like she'd used to be, she'd finally had enough of Frankee's behaviour, "Your never sorry, you've always done what Frankee wants never what is good for everyone else even when we were in school you were the same"
"Mel theres no reason to talk to me with some much disrespect"
"Disrespect?" Mel shook her head at Frankee and continued "In order to disrespect you I'd have to respect you first and I don't" Mel said walking into the kitchen hoping Frankee would take the hint and leave, she groaned in annoyance when Frankee entered the kitchen shouting at her
"What the fuck Mel, where do you get of being all high and mighty with me"
"Do not raise your voice to me I'm not being high and mighty I'm being honest. I lost any respect I had for you when you forced me to continue sleeping with you because you knew my secret" Mel said getting all the items she needed for the kids' dinner ready.
"Why what exactly are you gonna do if I don't Mel?" Frankee smuggly answered smirking at Mel
"You know what I'm gonna do" Pausing for a second, when Frankee shrugged her shoulders at her "Nothing, I don't have time to argue with you, I've gotta cook for the kids then when Joey gets back I have to call Carl and give him an update"
"I've already called Carl"
"Stop Frankee"
"I'm sorry" She asked confused
"I spoke to Carl this morning he had no idea how bad Brooke was, your a liar I'll talk to Carl and I'll look after the kids, not because I'm still technically married to Brooke but because they don't trust you"
"This isn't gonna get you into Brooke's good books...Or her bed"
"I'm not doing this to get into Brooke's good books or her bed, I'm doing this because I love her and I don't want her to worry about the kids not being settled in and fed properly"
"Sure, Whatever" Frankee said walking out of the kitchen she picked up her phone of the table and shouted "I'll be at the hotel if you need me" With that she stormed out of the house she couldn't believe how Brooke still had a hold over Mel no matter what she did she couldn't get Mel to love her like she wanted. But she promised herself that Brooke wouldn't win no matter what she had to do to win the game.
"Stupid Bitch" Mel muttered so only she could hear...
Meanwhile at the hospital
Having shared a kiss in the very public gardens of the hospital Joey and Charlie had heatedly made their way into the hospital and having found the first free room they could were now in a passionate clinch again, Charlie had Joey gently pressed against the wall of the room, hacing locked the door so they weren't interrupted, each kiss was sending a massive spark through of both of their bodies so much so that neither of them could pull themselves away as well as the fact that they had both been wanting this since Joey had got back in the bay, even if Joey had denied her feelings in a bid to make things work with Frankee.
As the kisses got even more and more passionate, Charlie loosened her hold against Joey so that she was no longer pressed against the wall as Joey wrapped her arms around Charlies neck, Charlie slowly moved them in the direction of the hospital bed which was in the middle of the room as they reached the bed Joey's bottom gently hit the bed as it did Charlie instantly grabbed her bottom and lifted her onto the bed as Joey leant backwards she broke this kiss and gently pushed Charlie's chest to stop her from continuing,
"Are you ok?" Charlie quickly asked nervous she had misread the signs
"I'm fine Charlie...It's just" She nervous replied
"Did I misread your signals?"
"No you didn't, I don't think there was anyway you couldn't misread the signals I was sending" Joey honestly answered as she nervously traced her hands from Charlie's chest to her shoulders then down her arms until the rest over her hands
"Then what's wrong?" Gently taking Joey's hands in her own
"I don't want this to be how we start out again"
"I'll admit that this hospital isn't the nicest but as long as were together it doesn't matter"
"That's not what I meant" Pausing as she tried to think of the right thing to say she smiled as the words flashed in her mind, bringing her right hand up to Charlie's cheek she explained "I know what I feel for you and I know that I have to end it with Frankee, but until then I don't want to ruin what we have by doing the dishonest thing" When Charlie bowed her head, Joey immediatley knew what Charlie must have thought "That wasn't a jab at you Charlie, but I care to much about you to let us start off behind someones back, I know that we'd both regret it"
Charlie smiled brightly at Joey, she was still so pure and honest after all this time she hadn't changed a single bit "Your amazing"
"Thank You" Joey replied blushing slightly, no matter how much she tried to hide it Charlie always made her feel really girly and that wasn't something she was used to.
"Your more than welcome" As she continued to look into Joey's eyes she couldn't help but feel like this was real, she still didn't really know were she stood with Joey and she didn't want to just go along with everything just to have Joey tell her that it wasn't what she thought it was, she decided not to bring up the conversation having Joey back in her life was amazing especially with Ruby in college she didn't have much happiness in her life at the moment and she knew Joey would definatley bring some into her life
"What's on your mind Charlie?" Seeing the struggle Charlie seemed to be having with herself evident in her face and eyes
"Nothing it can wait"
"Charlie, its obviously on your mind so say it"
"What exactly is this Joey?"
"I would have thought it was obvious"
"Yeah but I just wanna know 100% were I stand with you, because I don't wanna open up to what I feel for you again because the feeling you give me is amazing but if it's gonna end with me getting my heart broken as some kind of revenge th..." Before she could complete her sentece Joey pulled her into a extremely passionate kiss pulling Charlie in closer to her wrapping her legs around Charlie's waist in the process
"Does that answer your question?"
Charlie blinked a couple times trying to regain her breath after the kiss "Kind of yeah, but I need a real anwer Joey, I need to know where I stand before..."
Joey cut in "I know I probably should fight for my relationship with Frankee a bit more but She doesn't make me feel the way you do, I don't want us to start off as some dirty little fling because you mean more to me than that" When Charlie went to speak she softly said "Let me finish please?" Charlie nodded for her to do so "I want us to work long term and having an affair isn't the way to go, this isn't about revenge Charlie this is about the fact that no matter how hard I try to stop myself I can't help the fact that I love you"
Charlie looked at Joey her smile spreading across her face as she took in the words that Joey said those three words just started buzzing around in her head until she could finally form a sentence though she knew it wasn't a very good one "You really love me?"
"Yeah, I thought you already knew I did?"
"I thought I knew but I can be wrong, I cause I thought that I wanted it to be real but apart of me thought that I was making it up"
"Well it's not in your mind" Joey replied smiling at Charlie
Charlie's smile got even brighter as Joey smiled at her lovingly "So where do we go from here?"
"Like I said I want to end things with Frankee, then I was thinking maybe we could start over" When Charlie didn't respond to her comment Joey jokingly said "Unless of course you don't want to"
"WHAT" Charlie said a lot louder than she had intended to say it, readjusting her volume she smiled at Joey looking her in the eyes "Your all I want Joey, Since you got back your all I can think about, no matter where I am or what time of the day or night it is your always on my mind, so Yes I want this, this is all I've wanted for the last three years nearly"
Joey beamed lovingly at Charlie gently stroking Charlie's cheek she slowly closed the gap between them until her lips connected with Charlie's in a searing and loving kiss, their lips stayed connected for a few seconds, as Joey pulled out of the kiss she smiled at Charlie saying "Good, but things can't go any further than this until I break up with Frankee. Are you ok with that?"
Charlie used her right hand to play with a lose strand of Joey's hair behind her ear "Of course its fine with me as long as we get to be together I'm fine with it"
"Good" Joey replied smiling at Charlie then again closing her the gap between their lips again
In Brooke's hospital Room
Brooke was sitting up in her room for the last thirty minutes she had been staring at the wall infront of her trying to work out what had happened to her, but everything was still a blur the more she thought about it the worse her headache seemed to be getting however that wasn't something she was worried about right now she just wanted to know who had done this to her and if there was any chance that person would go after her family, they were the most important thing to her and everyone knew that, She was removed from her track of thoughts when she heard the door opened the click of the door hinges making her jump slighty, she slowly turned her head to see who is was and smiled when she realised it was Taylor returning to the room,
"Hey Tay, Everything ok?" She softly asked
"Yeah, Mel took the other back to your, I think she's gonna stay there the night to keep an eye on mum"
"Thats nice of her, She didn't need to"
"Yeah she did, your hurt and Alexi can be a handful sometimes"
"I know Tay, I just meant she doesn't have to do it now that me and her aren't together, theres no real reason for her to do it"
"Yes there is Brooke and you know it" She couldn't understand why Brooke was saying this Mel was like family to them even if they weren't together
"Tay, I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you just there doesn't seem to be a reason for her to do it"
"Yes there is" When Brooke didn't say anything she continued "She loves you, even if your not together anymore doesn't mean she stops loving you"
"Tay it's not that simple"
"Yes it is Brooke, I'm not stupid I know she cheated on you but she confessed to you which must mean she wanted to make things work with you, I know she loves you because I can see it in the way she looks at you just like I could when I was a kid, And I know you love her too so just stop being stupid and tell her"
"Wow, Grown up much..." She said slightly taken aback by Taylor adult reponse to her comment "Look honestly its not just about what I feel for her, Even when she did confess she lied again instead of just being completely honest, and I'll always love her its impossible for me not to but I'm not in love with anymore, I've moved on"
"What with a bunch of randoms in nightclubs?"
"No, I'm dating someone who I really like"
"Who?"
"That doesn't matter at the moment, but the point is I've moved on"
"So What does that mean for Mel?"
Brooke smiled at her younger sisters concern for her ex "It means she has to move on like I have"
"I know that I meant for me and the others and Mel"
"As long as you want to see her you can, Taylor you've known her just as long as me I'm not gonna stand in the way of you or the others seeing her, I know how much you love her"
"Thanks Brooke" Taylor shyly smiled, she knew Mel was wrong for cheating on her sister but Mel had always been there for her and she loved her like she loved her other family because to her Mel was family even if Brooke and Mel weren't together she still wanted her in her life.
"Your welcome Bud" Brooke replied happy that her sister was smiling instead of frowning, She looked at the clock on the wall seeing the time was 23:47 she patted the space on the bed she had made by shuffling over a little "Let's get some sleep its late"
Taylor smiled at her sister slowly walking over to the bed hopping on and laying on Brooke, her arm resting cross Brooke's stomach, her head on Brooke's chest. As she got comfortable she smiled when Brooke placed her arms around her back squeezing her a little, as she started to relax and give in to the jetlag of a 24hour flight she slowly looked up at Brooke;
"Brooke?"
"Yeah"
"Do you remember the song you used to sing me when I had a nightmare?"
"Of course I do, it was the only thing that helped you sleep"
"Would you sing it for me please?"
"Sure..." Taking a deep breath in Brooke began singing the song, gently stroking Taylor's hair as she sang...
Too Rah Loo Rah Loo ral
[Verse 1]
Over In Killarney,
Many years ago,
My Mother sang a song to me
In tones so sweet and low;
Just a simple little ditty,
In her good old Irish way,
And I'd give the world to hear her sing
That song of hers today.
[Chorus]
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Hush now don't you cry!
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, That's an Irish lul-la-by
[Verse 2]
Oft, in dreams I wander
To that cot again.
I feel her arms a-hugging me
As when she held me then.
And I hear her voice a humming
To me as in days of yore,
When she used to rock me fast asleep
Outside the cabin door.
[Repeat chorus]
Oh I can hear that music
I can hear that song
Filling me with memories
Of a mother's love so strong
Its melody still haunts me
These many years gone bye
Too ra loo ra loo ral
Until the day I die
In the Next Chapter; Its Eight Months later
*Are Charlie and Joey finally a couple?
*How's Brooke's recovery?
*Has Mel given in to Frankee's advances
*Joey recieves news on her trail...