Thank you guys so much for your constant reviews love to hear what you guys are thinking (JS thank you for the review, you guys are the readers so what you think is important and I know it wont always be good, but I encourage them as I feel they will only improve my writing and the story) the last chapter was focused on Brax and Charlie because I wanted to show what her leaving really did to him before I made progress with the story line. The next chapter has been broken down into two parts (it was way to long for one chapter) and they are still pretty long (This is after cutting loads of bits out) I was going to post last night but I was to tired to proof read it, I just got in now and got straight to it, so here it is this is part one and part two should be up straight after. hope you guys are still enjoying :)

Chapter Twenty Five Part One

Shutting the front door behind him, he entered his room and immediately froze as he allowed the events of what had occurred minutes ago play back in his mind. He could still hear her muffled cries as he walked away from her, he remembered her trying to justify her action but he couldn't help but stop her each time in fear of what she may say. Pushing his fist in the air only stopping it as it made contact with the wall behind him, Brax regained his composure as he slumped down against his bed burying his head within his hands. He had left the house trying to find some clarity but instead he returned more confused than ever. She left him but yet his words had hurt her, she left him but yet she wore the bracelet in which he had professed his love for her; finally thinking rationally Brax found no sense in the events that had occurred since he had laid eyes On Charlie that day, were her tears because of the guilt she felt for leaving him behind, or were they because being away from him had brought her has much pain as it had him? Groaning aggressively into the palm of his hands Brax began regretting the way he had reacted towards her. 'Why didn't I just let her explain' he thought to himself. Taking his head out of his hand he looked down to the envelope and the black velvet box that lay in the bin besides him, contemplating his next move for a few second Brax finally picked up the envelop as he attempted to straighten it up. He sighed as he looked upon the writing the same way he had done since he found it, his hand lingered over it as he pushed himself to open it and read what she had written but even after ten years and seeing her that day he still welcomed the unknown over the fear of her words. He opened up his draw as he placed the envelope and the velvet box back in the place they had resided in for ten years. Looking down at the letter Ross had left him he took it out of the draw as he pulled the letter out of the enveloped and read it for what felt like the millionth time.

Brax

Before reading this letter I need you to know one thing, the three of you (You, Heath and Casey) will always be family, me and Elise have grown to love you boys like our own and we only pray that what we are doing will not break you.

We have had to leave Summer Bay and to my regret that meant leaving the three of you behind, I don't want you to think we don't care because we do, more than you know but there is no other way out, if I had it my way I would stay and fight but it is out of my hands.

I have seen more strength in you than I ever thought possible for a person, and I thank you greatly for your presence in Charlie's life. Her not saying goodbye will hurt you, that much I know but never doubt how much you mean to her, or how much the three of you mean to all of us.

I may no longer have the right to ask anything of you but I need you to do one thing for me, I need you to stand above every obstacle and make something of yourself

'It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up' I need you to get back up. If you haven't already looked into the second envelope I left you; do so now. This money isn't out of guilt and I know it will not make up for Charlie's absence or mine and Elise's but this is my way of saying I believe in you. Keep this money safe and when the time is right use it to start your dream and set up your business whatever it may be. Despite of any anger or upset you may be feeling, please do this for me

Please apologise to Heath and Casey for us and let them know we are not doing this out of selfishness but rather out of helplessness.

I hope that one day our paths will cross and maybe fate will be generous enough to allow me see the amazing men I am sure you guys will grow up to be, look after Heath and Casey but don't forget to let yourself live

I can only pray that one day you will understand the circumstances under which we left and fate will bring you back into Charlie's life

Ross

Reading Ross's words Brax had always felt like there was something bigger than him that he knew not of, what had he meant by 'if he had it his way he would fight' what was it that they were running away from? or were his words just to ease his guilt over leaving them. Although Brax doubted the truth behind Ross words he still found himself unable to disobey him. Has the letter had instructed Brax had kept the cheque Ross had left for him safe until five years ago when he used it to open up the restaurant, he had many a times thought of disposing of the cheque but each time an unknown force seemed to stop him. Looking up at the time Brax groaned in frustration, it was now 2:45 and any sign of sleep had yet to grace him with its presence, regardless of this he stripped down to his boxes as he lay down on the bed in hopes that his wondering mind would soon tire its self out and allow him escape if only for a few hours.

...

Charlie woke up to the sound of her alarm, only to have the events of the morning come flooding heavily back to her. Sighing in distress Charlie turned the alarm off as she made her way into the living room only to find Ruby at the table with toast and a coffee.

"Hy how you feeling?" Charlie took a seat opposite Ruby

"Am good thanks... and you?" Ruby looked up at Charlie with questioning eyes

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be" avoiding making any further eye contact with Ruby Charlie got up from the table as she made her way into the kitchen in need of her morning caffeine fix

Ruby got up from the table as she followed Charlie's tracks; standing silently at the Kitchen entrance Ruby monitored her mother as she poured herself a cup of coffee

"Ruby will you stop staring, I said I'm fine... I'm not the one who got rushed into hospital last night" Charlie refused to make contact with her daughters eyes, instead she stared into her cup hoping Ruby would not push the issue that she knew was on her mind

"You have to explain to them Charlie, once they hear w..."

"Ruby Please can we not talk about this right now"

Sighing heavily Ruby knew trying to pressure Charlie would not solve anything "Fine I have to get ready for school anyway" Charlie finally looked up at Ruby

"You're going to school?" Ruby seemed a little confused by her mother's words

"Well its Tuesday so yea schools on"

"I know that but shouldn't you be resting, Ruby you was in the hospital less than 12 hours ago" Charlie gave Ruby a worrying look but Ruby stood unfazed as she had seen the look so many times

"Charlie me sitting at home isn't going to do me any good and I only just started yesterday, I don't think taking days off already would be wise" Ruby placed her mug in the sink knowing Charlie would have more to say

"Ruby I am sure they will understand, I don't th..."

"Charlie I'll be fine just stop worrying" Ruby gave Charlie a quick kiss on the cheek as she proceeded out of the kitchen. Reaching the entrance once again Ruby turned around

"You know you will have to tell them why we left eventually; I think you need to give him more credit... they deserve for you to be honest with them" Ruby didn't wait for Charlie's response before she disappeared into her room leaving Charlie alone with her words.

Charlie sighed as she gazed in the direction Ruby had left in; only if she knew she had tried explaining but had been shut down time and time again. She wanted to be strong but Charlie doubted her strength would be able to withhold a repeat of what had transpired earlier that morning on the beach with Brax. Regardless of the amount of times she replayed his words in her head, the sting from them never ceased in power. She had tried to tell him, she so desperately wanted to explain but it seemed his feeling towards her were now only that of anger and bitterness. Picking herself up from the kitchen stool Charlie made her way into her room ready to get dressed for another day at work. 'Great' she thought to herself not only had she had to endure Brax's resentment towards her but now she had to spend her day working alongside Jack whom she was sure wasn't going to ease up on her anytime soon

...

Sighing heavily Charlie walked into the office that she and Jack were sharing, breathing a sigh of relief she slumped down into her seat glad that Jack was yet to get in; unfortunately Charlie had never had much luck as Jack instantly walked into the room. Looking up at him briefly Charlie chose not to send a vocal greeting figuring it would only go ignored. She turned her head back down towards her desk

"Morning" Charlie looked up slowly unsure of whether he had been talking to her or if another person had joined them in the office. Noticing Jack was looking at her she cleared her throat as she spoke

"Err morning" she looked at him with confusion, less than twenty four hours ago he chose not to acknowledge her unless he necessarily had to

Jack noticed the look on Charlie's face but chose not to comment on it. He couldn't deny that Charlie's arrival was going to stir up a lot from the past, but if there was one thing he knew it was that Martha would not have defended her if she didn't deserve it. Although Martha had continuously refused to tell him what Charlie's 'secret' was he could tell by the way Martha addressed the unspoken issue that it was not child's play but this only increased his curiosity

"There was an issue at the surf club this morning; we've been assigned to go down there. We should probably get going before Palmer calls in again" Jack opened up the door as he spoke looking over at Charlie

"Sure" Charlie stood up still shocked by his calm and civilised approach to her

...

"Martha told me about their whereabouts on their little girl's only weekends" Jack kept his gaze on the road but his voice still calm and almost welcoming

"Right" Charlie replied slowly unsure of what to say

"I'm sorry I know I shouldn't have had them lying about where they were going but well... once they get an idea into their heads its kinda hard to get a word in edge ways"

Jack nodded in agreement as a small but hardly noticeable grin crept up on his face

"Yh that's definitely Martha stubborn as" Charlie sent him a small smile at his words but she still couldn't shake her uneasiness, unable to shake the question from her mind Charlie began to speak

"She didn't tell you..." Charlie paused unsure of how to phrase the question without raising suspicion if it turned out she was wrong. As if he had been reading her mind he continued for her

"Why you left?" Jack glanced at her briefly before looking back at the road

Charlie simply nodded waiting in anticipation for his reply

"No she didn't" Jack noticed Charlie's face ease up as she let out a sigh of relief, this only added to his curiosity but at the same time it made him realise that whatever it was had to be far from a minor issue

...

Taking her seat next to April, Ruby sent a warm smile towards the entrance of the classroom as Casey and Xavier walked in.

"Hy" Walking over to her, Casey smiled lightly at her before giving her a worrying look

"You're here"

"Yh, where else would I be?"

"I don't know at the hospital maybe" Ruby smile widened as she sensed the worried tone

Shaking her head Ruby replied

"No it was just a scare I err... forgot to take my insulin when I got home so..." Ruby noticed the questioning look on his face

"I have diabetes" Casey looked a little taken aback but quickly regained focus

"Oh I – I didn't know... err" Stopping his blabbering lips Ruby spoke

"It's ok of course you didn't know"

"But you all good now yh?"

"Yh I'm fine thanks"

"Well I'm glad you're ok" Casey smiled at her as he made his way to his seat

"What was all that about?" April nudged Ruby as she waited for a reply

"I'll tell you later" Ruby whispered as the class began

...

"Assignments are due in three weeks no excuses" Ruby and April made their way out of the classroom glad that the School day was finally over

"Ruby" turning at the sound of her name she already knew who it was before her eyes settled on him

"Hy Casey"

"You guys walking home?" asked Casey

"Yh" replied Ruby

"Is it cool if we walk with you" Casey nodded to Xavier and Dex as he spoke

"Err I don't need permission" Dex walked past the two boys before placing a kiss on April's lips as she hit him gently on the chest

"Yh you can, I promise not to go fainting on you this time" Ruby and Casey smiled at each other as they all made their way out of Summer Bay High School

Leaving Ruby and Casey behind April, Dex and Xavier walked ahead

"How's Charlie doing?" Casey broke the awkward silence

"She fine, she's at work so at least she as something to keep her busy"

"You mean something to keep her mind of what happened yesterday" Casey spoke softly

"Yeah I guess"

At Ruby's response silence fell on them once again and once again Casey broke it

"So where does she work?"

"Yabbie Creek Police station" Ruby chuckled lightly as Casey's looked at her surprised and confused

"She's a cop"

"Wow... didn't see that coming" Ruby looked over at Casey with a raised eyebrow

"No I just mean she doesn't look- she seems- I just" Ruby couldn't help but laugh as Casey continued to stutter as he tried to formulate an understable sentence

"Case I know what you meant" Casey sent her a sheepish smile as they continued walking

"How about Elise and Ross, are they back as well?" Casey looked at Ruby with eager eyes hoping she would give him the answer he wanted, his eagerness quickly disappeared as he noticed the look on Ruby's face. She eyes seemed full of sorrow at the sound of their names; Casey noticed this and wondered why he knew her reply was going to be worse than a simple

"No"

...

Casey had been replaying Ruby's words since they were spoken, he hoped they would change and it would turn out he had heard wrong and what she had told him was a figment of his own crazy mind. He had many a times tried to tell both Heath and Brax what he had found out but each time he mentioned their names he was immediately shut down.

"They died over six months ago" Ruby's words continued to sting him hard. He had been so excited when they returned he could hardly contain his eagerness to see both Ross and Elise but now he had been told he would never get that change, he had no idea how to feel. Was he supposed to morn them regardless of having not set eyes on them since he was four or was he supposed to digest the information and simply move on? He wasn't sure what to do with himself.

Walking down the school hallway Casey turned at her request

"Casey" Ruby walked up behind him unsure of what to say. Since she had told him about Elise and Ross they had hardly spoken, Casey seemed to be going out of his way to avoid her

"Hy"

"Hy" replied Casey "I really have to get going I..."

"Xavier told me you have a free period" Ruby interrupted

"Err yh...I have to study so..." Casey turned to walk away but not before Ruby spoke

"I'm sorry" looking at her he wondered what she meant "I'm sorry you didn't get to see them before they..." Ruby stopped unable to finish "I know they really hoped they would see you guys again" Casey looked at her puzzled

"How do you know that?"

"They talked about you guys a few times... only when they though no one was around" answered Ruby

"They did?" asked Casey a little surprised by this

"Yh they did, it was obvious they thought highly of the three of you" Ruby hoped the truths in her words were helping him

Casey sent Ruby a warm smile thankful for her words, knowing they had thought of him like he had of them gave him comfort

"Have you really got plans or is it ok if I take you somewhere, I want to show you something" Asked Ruby

Casey looked at her questionably "haven't you got class?"

"No I have a free period too" Casey nodded in response

"So you'll come?" asked Ruby

"Yh sure" Casey replied as they both made their way out of the school

...

"The beach" Casey looked at Ruby with a raised eye brow unsure of what he was supposed to be looking at

Ruby laughed lightly

"Not the beach, the ocean"

Casey nodded slowly before speaking

"Ok so what's so special about it?"

Ruby walked towards the ocean letting the cool water run between her toes, Casey looked on still unsure of what they were doing there

"They're here" Ruby looked out into the ocean as she spoke

"Who's here?" asked Casey as he looked around for any familiar faces

Ruby looked over at him

"This is where we spread their ashes a few nights ago" Ruby smiled at him before she looked back towards the ocean

"They wanted to rest out there" Ruby nodded towards the ocean as she felt Casey's presence draw nearer to hers. Looking up at him she watched as he focused on the view ahead of him

"I know it's not the same as seeing them face to face, but I have been here to talk to them and it does help, I may not be able to see them but I know they're listening"

"It's better than nothing" Casey quickly added, Ruby smiled at his words, she could see taking him there was helping

Settling themselves down on the sand Ruby chose not to speak as Casey lost himself in the view of the ocean; finally looking over at her Casey spoke

"You said they used to talk about us" Ruby nodded in response

"What did they used to say?" Ruby smiled as she remembered the numerous times she had listened in on Ross and Elise's conversations about the boys without their knowledge. Ruby told Casey some of what she had heard

The surprised look on Casey's face at her words hadn't gone unnoticed by Ruby

"And they never knew you heard any of this" Casey said through his laughter

"Nope... I usually just stayed back and listened"

"They cared about you guys a lot... so does Charlie" Casey smiled at Ruby's words

"Thank you for this" Casey was grateful that she had shared this with him, although she was right it wasn't the same as seeing them face to face but at least this way they would never be far away from him

Dusting themselves off Casey and Ruby walked up the beach talking until the scene not too far from them caught their attention.

...

Now walking out of the surf club with Jack she had been praying not to run into Brax but he seemed like a better option when instead she came face to face with Heath. Stopping in front of Heath Jack took an awkward glance at Charlie before speaking

"Hy mate you good?" he received no reply as Heaths attention remained on Charlie

Noticing this Charlie reluctantly spoke up as she braced herself for another serving of harsh words

"Hi Heath" Charlie looked on waiting for an angry or spiteful reply but instead she received nothing, she watched as he looked on at her, his expression slowly resembling that of anger. She watched as he turned back, she didn't know which was worse, having Brax discredit what they had shared when they were younger or having him and Heath refuse to acknowledge her existence. She watched as he walked through the exit but as the words of her parents came to mind Charlie found her feet leading her towards him

"Where you going?" Jack called as he followed her direction

"Heath" Charlie called his name hoping he would stop but his pace remained the same still refusing to acknowledge her

"Heath will you just stop" Charlie had now picked up the pace in an attempt to catch up to him. Reaching him she gently grabbed hold of his arm only to have him yank it away from her aggressively. His reaction didn't phase her much she was just glad she had been able to get him to stop walking

"What do you want?" Heath's voice loud and laced with anger

"Heath calm down mate" Heath looked over at Jack before angrily addressing him

"I'm not your mate..." Heath began walking again, this time only Charlie followed, Jack stayed in ear shot but stood as he watched on

"If he had a choice he wouldn't be working with me... you can't blame him for this" Charlie spoke

"I'm not blaming him, the only one I'm blaming is you and your selfish parents"

"Don't" said Charlie

"Don't what, it's the truth and you know it, they acted like they cared but all they cared about was themselves"

"That's not true" Charlie's voice was low but firm, she was determined to not let his words sting but the talk of her parents was proving to be too much

"Yeah... where are they then? Why are they not here now? Too busy enjoying themselves God knows where" Heath watched as the look on Charlie's face changed

"Don't talk about them like that, you have no idea how much they wanted to stay here and be here for the three of you, you have no idea what they went through don't you dare talk about them like that" Charlie's voice was now laced with anger as she tried to compose her jittering body. She frowned as Heath scoffed in her direction and once again she felt deflated but before she could speak a voice interrupted her

"Heath" Charlie looked on to see both Casey and Ruby walking towards them. Only then had she noticed Brax stood not too far from them obviously listening to what was going on

"Charlie are you ok?" Ruby walked up to her mum knowing full well the effect Heaths words would have had one her, she turned to face Heath her face now full of anger but she chose not to speak out of fear of saying something she shouldn't

"Heath stop it please" Casey pleaded with him

"No I want to know... where are they? They get up and leave without a word and now they're too cowardly to even show their faces... classic"

"Heath you don't know what you're talking about just walk away" Casey hoped he would drop the issue before Heath really did some damage

"Oh and you do" Heath glared at Casey who chose not to respond

"Come on then, if you know so much tell me where they are?" Heath continued glaring at Casey angrily

"HEATH JUST STOP BEFORE YOU SAY SOMETHING YOU REGRET" Casey turned to Brax looking for some sort of support but received nothing. Brax just stood peering at them in silence

"Why should I?" He turned to look at Charlie, watching as her tears ran down her face he continued "What's the matter...does the truth hurt" Both Heath and Brax couldn't have prepared themselves for the words that were about to be spoken

"THEY'RE DEAD" Ruby spat her words at him as she felt her own tears running down her face

As if only just noticing Ruby's presence Heath gawked at her with unbelieving eyes, it seemed he had finally run out of words to speak. He stared at both Charlie and Ruby blankly unsure if he had heard what Ruby had said correctly. Still standing back, Brax looked on wide eyed as Ruby's words hit the air, her words stung his eyes as he digested what she had just revealed, he could feel his poker face slowly slipping as his eyes instantly gazed over but still he chose to speak no words

"W...what?" the anger in Heaths voice and eyes were now long gone, instead he looked on at the two girls with pleading eyes as his voice came in a low whisper

"They're dead" this time Charlie had been the one to speak up

"What do you...? I don't under...how" Heath could feel his palms sweating as he replayed their words in his mind

"Car crash" Charlie chose to keep her reply short as she felt her voice break

"They're... dead" No one replied knowing Heath was stating the words rather than asking a question

Heath turned and watched along with Brax as Charlie walked away from them defeated, both wanting so bad to call her back and give her the chance to explain but neither making the move.

Ruby turned to face both Heath and Brax; she tried to steady her shaken voice

"She didn't deserve that... Mum and Dad didn't deserve that either" Ruby turned as she walked down the path her and Casey had taken

Casey looked at Heath with disapproving eyes "You just couldn't leave it alone could you" he then turned to Brax but chose not to say anything hoping the disappointment in his eyes would speak for themselves

"Ruby" Casey called after her hoping she would stop for him

Both Heath and Brax remained still as if gravity had came to a halt, Jack stood looking on a little taken aback by what he had just witnessed. Watching as Brax stared on at the path Charlie had just disappeared in he walked up to him before speaking

"I'll go and see if she's ok"

Looking at him Brax nodded thankfully that Jack knew what he wanted without him having to voice it

...

getting to the car Jack spotted Charlie in the passenger seat

"He didn't mean it, he would never have said those things if he knew" Jack took a quick glance at her hoping she would reply him, and thankfully she did

"I know" Charlie words was short but she knew Jack was right she only wished that was enough to stop the pain she was feeling

...

Walking into the house Casey spotted Heath sat on the couch with a beer in hand

"What are you doing here?"

"What's it to you?"

Casey looked over in Brax's direction as he walked out of the kitchen

"How was school?" asked Brax

Ignoring his question Casey spoke of the situation that had occurred outside the surf club

"Do you know how long it took me to calm Ruby down" both Heath and Brax looked over at him

"Is she ok?"Asked Brax, he may have been angry at Charlie but he knew Ruby had no say in them leaving

"I don't know... I spent all this afternoon trying to convince her that HE didn't mean any of what he said" Heath who had now turned his attention back to the TV knew Casey was referring to him but chose to ignore the comment

Refusing to budge Casey continued

"Do you know how much your words hurt her... and Charlie? You couldn't even apologise after..." Casey went to proceeded but was stopped by the sound of Heaths voice

"HOW WAS I TO KNOW...? I DIDNT KNOW THEY WERE..." the anger was laced in Heaths words but his words came to an end as he found himself unable to say the word. Casey and Brax knew too well that the only person Heath was angry with in that moment was himself

"I can't believe you knew and you didn't say anything" Heath looked at Casey

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME, I tried to tell you more than once but you both kept shutting me down at the mention of their names... don't try and put this on me" Heath slumped down onto the couch as Brax glared at Casey. At the age of fourteen Brax couldn't believe how mature Casey was, he may have been the youngest but Brax knew he was the only one that regularly had the ability to keep it together regardless of the situation, in that moment he wished he could be more like him

After a moment of silence Heath spoke up

"They're de... gone and I just stood there and said all those things" Heath buried his head in his hands, cringing as his own words played back in his mind

"And you just stood there and did nothing to stop him" Casey looked at Brax "Do you really hate her that much that you want to see her suffer" Brax stared blankly at Casey, how could he even think that, how could he think he would ever purposely want to cause her any hurt

"Case" Heath tried to call for him to stop but Casey continued this time turning to face Heath

"I know that them leaving really hurt both of you... it hurt me too but have you even given her a chance to explain do you even know the reason for them leaving?" Heath and Brax looked on unable to speak

"No I thought not, you have no idea what may have happened and yet you're more than happy to judge" this time looking at Brax he spoke

"Mum and dad are long gone never once have they looked back, but she is here she is back and she is trying"

Walking away from the Heath and Brax as they stared on at him he spoke once more

"If you both keep pushing they will eventually stop trying" retiring into his room Casey sat on his bed hoping and praying his words had had an impact on his brothers.