Hi guys,
Thank you for all your ongoing support! It makes me smile!
Hope you enjoy this one!
As for the new story I have started writing it, but I have no clue when it will be up, but I will be sure to tell you when it is x
CHAPTER 25- Always a charmer
BRAX POV…..
It'd been a week since I was discharged. It was one full week of being out of hospital, and one full week of being lonely. Charlie had moved Ruby out of here before I even set foot off of hospital turf and I haven't heard from her since the day we broke up. Every time I see her, she doesn't see me, doesn't notice, she's there one blink and gone the next, I try to follow her but I'm chasing a ghost. She doesn't want me, she says she doesn't need me, and I try to put myself into the mindset of not needing her, yet I can't prevent the relief that washes over me of seeing her, knowing that she is ok. The question plays on my mind every time I catch a glimpse of her familiar lone figure captivating me from a distance. Does she miss me too?
I padded down the corridor for the one-thousandth time that night, sighing when the clock only read 4:01 am. I couldn't sleep since I'd been out of hospital, sleeping in my bed without Charlie was like waving a treat in front of a dog and then telling him you can't have it. It's not his. I guess I was just stuck in that time when we called love. My feet made soft padding sounds as I wondered down the hall, flicking the lights on in the kitchen, the house was eerily quiet. I pulled my phone off of the kitchen work top, where I'd last left it and dialed the number I knew off by heart, just so I could here her voice
"Hey you've reached Charlie Buckton, I can't pick up the phone at the moment, leave a message and I'll get back to you"
I sighed and swiped the phone off of the table, groaning in frustration
I jumped slightly when I saw Heath pull out a chair and slump next to me
"Alright Princess what's got your knickers in a twist now?" I grunted slightly, acknowledging his presence but not answering his question
"Heath, you're not my agony aunt, go back to bed" I sighed
"Mate come on" he tried, getting no response he stood up and left me to it 'Just remember, I'm here to talk if you're that desperate" I chuckled at his cheekiness before glancing at my phone again, realizing I hadn't pressed the red button and that now Charlie would probably hear the whole of that.
CHARLIE POV…
I hadn't seen him for a whole week now, my mind flashed with images haunting me: His face, his eyes, his everything. He had made no attempt at contacting me through Ruby or Bianca or Heath for the past 3 days. Why was that eating me up from the inside? Why did it play at the forefront of my mind? Why was it driving me insane? It's killing me. I'm nervous of looking up when I stroll along the beach, just in fear of looking into his eyes again, still trying to recover from him. In the plagued with worry eyes of everyone else, I manage to fool them with an illusion of sanity and content. I guess I'm just love sick.
BIANCA POV…..
I sighed as I walked downstairs to find Charlie sitting on her own with a mug of coffee in her hands, a regular for the past week, she'd spent the whole of it moping around, I pulled out a chair and sat next to her
"Charlie its 3:58 am, what are you doing down here sitting in the dark?"
"Sitting in the dark" She replied glumly, taking another sip of her coffee, she looked so distraught and tired. She had make up smudged down her face, her mascara making black tracks down her cheeks where the trains of tears had been sliding, I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tightly, letting her cry into my shoulder. We were interrupted by the phone buzzing on the table, she picked it up and looked at it, I knew who it was the second she burst out crying even louder than before. I was then puzzled by the noise in the background, as the phone wasn't hung up, there was a loud thud, obviously the phone being thrown across the room, followed by Heaths voice and a screeching chair
"Alright Princess, what's got your knickers in a twist now" I chuckled slightly as did Charlie at the mocking tone of Heaths voice
"Heath, you're not my agony aunt, go back to bed" I heard Brax say, I looked at Charlie whose smile faltered at the sound of his sad voice
"Mate come on" I heard Heath try, followed by Brax's loud sigh "Just remember I'm here to talk if you're that desperate" me and Charlie giggled at Heath's own insult at himself. Eventually the phone line went dead
"Its ironic isn't it?" I said softly, placing my hand on her arm
"What is?" She asked weakly, looking confused
"You're both sitting alone, awake at night because the thought of going to bed without each other kills you…and yet neither of you will do anything about it" I said before taking her empty coffee mug to the sink and heading back up the stairs, my footsteps padding softly as I went.
RUBY POV….
I arrived home from the beach in the morning, skipping through the house and pouring myself some cereal. It was so spookily quiet it unsettled me; I decided I'd check on Charlie considering I'd heard her distraught state last night as she was talking to Bianca. I peeked through the crack on the door to see Charlie sleeping soundly, her hair sprawled out over the pillow; her arms looped loosely around one of the pillows. I sighed to myself; she must have been thinking it was Brax. Her eyes were still puffy and heavy from where she had been crying, but at least she had got some sleep.
CHARLIE POV…..
I awoke the next day and immediately trudged into the kitchen, leaning over the sink and running water into the empty kettle, getting lost in deep thought as I gazed out of the window.
"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes" I heard someone say. I was snapped out of my thoughts and turned to face my daughter, staring at me with that same cheeky smile on her face
"Oi you, don't be cheeky" I said, trying with my best stern voice to be strict, for the first time I didn't have to force a smile onto my face. Trust Ruby to be the one to do that.
RUBY POV….
Her smile vanished as she drifted her eyes back out the window before sighing and shuffling her way over to the couch, hugging a pillow close to her chest
"You know what you need?" I said, jumping onto the couch next to her and snuggling into her shoulder
"What would that be?" she asked, tilting her head so it was resting gently on top of mine
"A lovely lunch out with you daughter" I smiled, squeezing her gently
"And your best friend" Bianca added as she thudded down the stairs, rubbing her tiny bump lightly as she went and waddling slightly as she slumped onto the couch next to us
"I don't know guys…" she hesitated, frowning and creasing her brow
"Well it's three against one Charlie!" Bianca teased, raising her eyebrows at her friends
"Three?" Charlie questioned, equally as confused as me
"Yep, me, Ruby and bub… against you." she mumbled the last part
"Fine, I guess lunch won't hurt." Charlie sighed, holding her arms up for me to help her off of the couch
"Angelo's it is then." I chirped, Charlie turned around, her eyes widened with shock
"What if Brax is there!" she moaned
"Oh come on Mum, Brax won't be there and besides it's a small town, you better get used to seeing him around."
"Fine…" Charlie snapped reluctantly, plodding to her room and slamming the door shut
BIANCA POV…..
"Mum are you ready?!" Ruby yelled, banging on Charlie's door frantically
"Yes!" she shouted, opening the door to stop Ruby knocking any longer, I frowned as Charlie stepped out in her cute little red summer dress with her hair scraped into a quiff. Yes it was casual but as usual, going out with Charlie bumped my self-esteem, anything she wore was sure to suit her to a T, something I didn't always get right and never will.
"You know if I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to impress a certain Darryl Braxton" I winked, causing her cheeks to burn a fuchsia pink
"It's too dressy isn't it?" Charlie whined, turning to head back and change
"Oh no you don't" Ruby said blocking the doorway "You look gorgeous, Brax thinks you would in anything you wear."
"Or don't wear…" I added with a smirk, earning a glare from Charlie
"…Yeah, yep, that too." Ruby said with a weak smile, biting her lip, clearly uncomfortable with the thought.
CHARLIE POV….
As soon as I had climbed the stairs to Angelo's I was ready to pivot on my toes and dash back down the stairs when I saw who was behind the bar, I'd know that rugged looking sexy hair anywhere.
"Go" Bianca gave me a little shove from behind as I came to a stand still in the doorway
"I hate you" I hissed in her ear as one of the waiters led us to our table, right by the bar, in Brax's plain sight. Great I thought. Just great. He made my skin crawl and made everything I had justified my decision with fly out the window and make it all so uncertain. Just seeing him made me angry and my blood boil over how ridiculous I had been, and all of my emotions are uncontrollable and I'm not me, I'm lost in his shadow.
I found my self captivated by his body as he poured himself a glass at the bar, his back was still facing me as he through his head back and knocked the bourbon down in one. I sat and thought to myself 'suck it up Charlie, you and he are over, time to move on' If only it was that damn easy. I was so happy he still hadn't seen me, silently praying it would stay that way for our whole meal, who was I kidding of course it wasn't, he just turned a lot sooner than I would have hoped when a loud wolf whistle got everyone's attention
"Hey my three lady's, how are we doing?" Heath said as he kissed our heads "And might I just say, we are looking smoking" he said, clapping his hands together, causing my eyes to widen at Ruby who looked just as embarrassed as I was.
As the lunch went on I found my self drifting in and out of the conversation and diverting my attention to Brax, finding it hard to focus on anything else but him. I let my mind play on possibilities swerving over unanswered cravings, and after a period of time I get more and more frustrated with myself yet still his being stays at the forefront of my mind, like an unwelcoming storm.
"Charlie" Ruby waved her hand in front of my face, catching my attention
"You haven't eaten anything and said hardly a word since we got here" Ruby sighed, squeezing my hand gently
"That's because Brax is here" Bianca smirked, I blushed, focusing on my plate of food as Bianca nudged Ruby as they turned to face Brax
"You've gotta be kidding" I heard Bianca say as she watched Brax, I flicked my eyes up to see what she was looking at, immediately wishing I hadn't when I saw Brax's tongue half way down some blonde girls throat, I'm not gonna lie, I felt physically sick and mind rattled.
"Its fine…" I muttered, trying not to care when really my heart was lying torn in a pit at the bottom of my stomach "lets just enjoy our meal" I sighed, smiling at them both, nearly hurling up my mouthful of food as I saw Brax guide her to the store room
"I'm gonna get a drink" I muttered making my way up to the bar, I saw Bianca and Ruby exchange a nervous glance and watch me as I made my way up to Heath who stood polishing cutlery behind the bar
'Bottle of your best, strongest vodka please" I stated, batting my eye lashes at him as he looked at me unsure whether to hand a bottle to me or not
"If you're sure?" He questioned, hesitantly handing me the bottle, I immediately took it out of his hands, weaving my way round back to our table, where Ruby's eyes widened at the size of the bottle
"Are you sure that's a good idea Charlie?" she asked, alarmed as I filled my glass
"If you want me to get through this lunch, knowing what's happening in that store room, then yes, yes I do" I replied confidently as I took a swig.
BIANCA POV….
Ruby excused herself as she went to the bathroom, leaving me and Charlie to talk, I watched across the table as she made her way through the bottle, her food still untouched. I turned my head at the sound of giggling as Brax and the blonde made their way out of the store room, her hand sliding up and down his bicep, I shook my head and turned to Charlie, who had her eyes fixated on both of them
"Charlie, talk to him"
"No Bianca, I made the decision to break up with him, so I just have to suck it up don't I?" she said as a single tear trickled down her cheek, before going back to her bottle, she chocked slightly on the drink as the girls hands slid under Brax's shirt
"I'm gonna go and get some air" Charlie said as she got up and hurried out of the restaurant, alcohol bottle in hand, I sighed and leaned back in my chair, grabbing Heath as he walked past
"Hey, can you go after Charlie?" I said in a hushed voice
"Why are we whispering?" he whispered back, I resisted the urge to slap him at his stupidity
"Because Charlie ran out upset at him shoving his tongue down blondies throat" I said angrily, half growling as I stared at Brax across the bar
"Your cute when you're angry" Heath whispered, his warm breath tickling my neck. I snapped out of it
"Will you shut up and go and find Charlie before she does something stupid!" I said a little too loudly, earning a few glances from a couple of customers
"Yes boss" he saluted, dashing out of the restaurant, nearly knocking Ruby off of her feet as she exited the bathrooms
"Where's mum?" She asked as she looked around the restaurant, I just shook my head at her before she looked back over to Brax scowling at him, standing up and walking to the doorway, turning back to face Brax as she yelled across the room
"Oi manager!" She snapped, glaring at Brax as he focused his attention away from the blonde girl and to Ruby, I chuckled to myself as Ruby stood with her arms folded like a two year old having a tantrum, she was so protective of Charlie, I guess it was partly from where they were raised as sisters
"This is a public restaurant you know and I don't know about you but I generally prefer to keep my food down" She spat at Brax, earning a few laughs from other diners in Angelo's, including me who ran up after her as we pegged it down the stairs, only to hear Brax's foot steps pounding down it soon after us
RUBY POV…
"Ruby, Ruby" I heard Brax call as me and Bianca continued out of the surf club
"Rubes wait" He said, reaching out to touch my arm, I yanked it out of his grasp, pushing him back harshly against his chest
"Don't touch me" I glared at him "You know I was stupid to think that after all of this time you would care about my mothers feelings" I snarled, stepping back from him slightly, before running my hands through my hair and over my face, I wasn't angry, I was distraught, the one man who I thought was like a father was constantly chucking things back in my mothers face. I know Charlie ended it with him, but she'd never do what he just did if it was the other way around, I let a few tears fall from my cheeks before wiping them away
"Who's the blonde Brax?" His eyes widened at the question, obviously not expecting me to ask him, he still stood in silence so I decided to get to the point "Charlie's pretty upset…" I trailed off looking for some sort of reaction
"Well it's not my job to make her feel better is it" he said bluntly
"No but the old Brax wouldn't of stood for anyone making her cry" I said, taking a step closer to him and prodding my finger into his chest "Or do you just not care anymore?" I asked, looking up at him through glassy eyes
"Charlie's a big girl Ruby, she can look after herself" he said, diverting his gaze, I knew I was close to making him crack so I pushed him further
"You didn't think that when she was sprawled out lifeless on the floor in her own blood!" I spat "But I guess you've changed right?" I scoffed before turning away from him
"Ruby please, let me explain-" he pleaded, stepping in front of me, I broke him off before he could finish.
"No where'd he go Brax because he sure isn't the man standing in front of me" I questioned, moving my eyes to make contact with him, both of us staring intently at each other until Bianca, guided me away from him. I looked back as we approached the car, only to see Brax crouching on the floor with his head in his hands. Good I thought, he deserved it after today's latest stunt.
CHARLIE POV…..
"You alright?" Heath asked, crouching in front of me, his hands firmly holding mine as I sat on the sofa, I nodded my head slightly, before bursting into tears and shaking it
"Buckton please don't cry!" he said awkwardly, I all of a sudden remembered his fear of people crying on him and automatically tried to perk up, only to feel his arms wrap around me in a tight embrace, I clung on to the back of his shirt, dampening his bare neck with my tears.
HEATH POV….
"You should talk to him, once you've calmed down." I muttered in her ear, I felt her shake her head
"No, no today was humiliating enough, I'm through with talking Heath, I'm done…" she said simply, smiling weakly, trying not to let her pain show, I sighed at her stubbornness, she was just as bad as Brax, I played with her fingers gently in her lap as I tried to figure out what to say
"Look Buckton, I admire you're stubbornness, but you and I both know that you and my brother love each over, nothing will ever change that. I know it doesn't give him the right to treat you like this, but at least hear him out…he's hurting too you know, no matter how much he tries to deny it" I smiled softly at her, turning my head as familiar voices echoed through the kitchen, Bianca and Ruby piled in, Ruby running over to her mum immediately, luckily the sofa was there for Charlie to fall back into, otherwise I think she'd be flat on the floor.
BIANCA POV….
"I think I'm going to go and run a bath" Charlie announced, easing off of the couch
"Buckton wait" Heath called, a small smile forming on his face as he delivered his next line "I'll come join ya" he smirked, causing Charlie's eyes to widen as they both burst out laughing at each other
"Always a charmer hey Heath?" she teased, squeezing his cheeks as she shook her head and headed to the bathroom
"Better luck next time babe" I called from the couch, he turned around, a cheeky smile on his face
"Worth a shot" he chuckled, I pouted at his response
"Awh, I'm only joking, you're more than enough for me" he murmured, kissing me softly
"And I'm off" Ruby said disgusted at the sight of us and bolting up the stairs, leaving me and Heath to snuggle up on the couch, watching the latest episode of Australia's next top model
3RD PERSON POV…
Charlie sighed as she sat in her towel on the bed, her eyes set firmly on the picture in the frame opposite her. How she loved that picture, everything about it was pure happiness. Her and Brax. She held it tightly in her hands, letting her tears slip down the smooth paper. Then she remembered, the girl at Angelo's, the way he had been with her, how he tugged her to the store room, all of which he used to do with her, but not anymore, he wasn't Charlie's to keep. It hurt that he could move on so quickly, regardless of them already being over and that fact being her fault, it still hurt like a stab to the heart. Her phone vibrating on the bedside table snapped her out of her trance.
One new message,
Brax: Ruby told me about before…Can we talk? B x
Tears fell from her eyes as she stared at the screen, she hesitated before clicking delete, like it was never there. She knew what she had to do, she couldn't face it anymore, the pain, the hurt and the anguish.
"Rubes?" Charlie knocked on her daughter's door, shuffling in as she slumped down on the bed next to Ruby
"How are you feeling?" Ruby asked, Charlie just shook her head before deciding now was the time to bring the topic up with her daughter. She had made too many unchangeable mistakes in her life, there was too much pain. A fresh start was the way out
"I need to go Ruby" she put her head over her heart in those few seconds
"What?" Ruby spun her head up at Charlie's words
"I'm leaving Summer bay, I have to get out" Charlie said, she was desperately trying to evade the constant pain aching inside
"Charlie, you can't go, don't you think you should wait until you're in the right frame of mind to decide that?" Ruby asked astonished at her mum's sudden decision
"You're coming with me"
"Mum, no-" Charlie cut her off before she had a chance to continue
"Ruby, no arguments, we're leaving tomorrow start packing" Charlie protested
"Mum!"
"No arguing!"
"What about, Bianca and Leah…What about Brax! Charlie's heart picked up a pace as Ruby mentioned his name, her tears spilled from her eyes as she lost control of her emotions
"Charlie please" Ruby begged
"No, Ruby, Brax doesn't matter anymore" Charlie said as she composed herself, Ruby reluctantly nodded her head
"Pack your things" Charlie whispered as she closed her daughter's door
Ooooh! Dun dun dun!
Please don't hate me, as always, reviews are appreciated x