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Quite a few of you seemed to be excited that things were getting more interesting, so hopefully you'll like this one too!
Chapter 37.
Charlie woke up the next morning feeling rough.
She was sure she'd still be asleep if it wasn't for the knocking on her bedroom door, and the soft voice of her daughter, calling her from the other side.
"Please, leave me alone, Ruby!" Charlie sighed as she sat up in her bed, pulling the duvet up around her neck.
Ruby opened Charlie's bedroom door and stepped inside, and it was clear that she was just upset about the whole situation as Charlie.
"Are you okay?" Charlie asked, her daughter's wellbeing always coming before her own.
"Should I not be asking you that?" Ruby retorted quietly as she took a seat at the foot of Charlie's bed.
"Don't give me that, baby. I know how close you and Brax are."
"It just hurts, mum. I thought he cared."
Charlie sighed as she pushed the duvet away from herself, crawling down the bed, she engulfed her daughter in her arms, stroking her fingers through Ruby's hair as she planted soft kisses on the top of her head, "We'll get through this, Rubes. We don't need him."
"I know," Ruby nodded, pulling away from her mother, she wiped her tears away, "Did you sleep okay?"
"I got a few hours, which is more than the night before." Charlie smiled lightly as she stood up, offering her hands to Ruby, "Why don't you go outside, let me get dressed, then we can both go to the diner for breakfast?"
"Yeah, I'd love that," Ruby smiled, kissing her mother's cheek before she stood up and exited her bedroom.
Charlie stood up and walked over to her wardrobe. She inhaled sharply as she opened the door, and a shirt tumbled out, one of Brax's shirts.
She stood still for a moment, gazing down at it. Before she had realised what she was doing, she picked it up and ran over to her window, throwing the shirt outside, she slammed the window shut again before she resumed picking her outfit out for the day.
x-x
Charlie sighed as she walked into the diner with Ruby, what few people were in the place, turned to look at her as she walked in, "Small town indeed." She muttered as she walked over to the counter with her daughter to place their order.
"How are you holding up?" Leah asked, concerned for her roommate's health.
"I'm fine, thanks, Leah. Getting there," Charlie forced a weak smile onto her face.
"Alright, take a seat; I'll bring your food over when it's ready." Charlie flashed her a grateful smile before she and Ruby found a seat near the window.
Heath walked into the diner and smiled lightly as he saw Charlie sitting at the far end of the place with Ruby.
Placing an order for his coffee, he walked over to the girls, and sat down, "Hey," he smiled.
"Hi," Ruby smiled lightly.
"You alright, kid? Your mum tells me you've been a little upset."
"I'm alright," Ruby smiled, "It's her you should be worried about."
Charlie laughed as she turned to look at Heath, "So, how are you holding up?
"I'm okay."
"Things at the house must be awkward?"
"I'm not staying at the house," Heath shook his head, "I don't want to have to look at his face. Not to mention the fact that Bianca won't stop coming over, she says she's got something important to tell me."
Charlie gave a spiteful laugh, "She would say that." She took a calming breath before speaking again, "So where are you staying?"
"Mum's place."
Charlie nodded, "Does she... know?"
"Nah," Heath shook his head, "She'd slaughter Brax if she found out now, I think I need to at least be ready to speak to him before mum sticks her two cents in."
"Yeah, I understand that."
The table fell into a comfortable silence just as their food and drinks were brought over.
x-x
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay by yourself?" Ruby asked worriedly.
"I'll be fine, I just want to walk the beach, clear my head."
"Okay, well I'm going over to see Casey, call if you need me."
"I will, and don't worry," Charlie laughed, kissing her daughter's forehead before she began her walk down the beach.
"Charlie!" Charlie looked up and froze at the soft voice calling her from further up the beach, Bianca.
She contemplated running away, but she knew she needed to talk to her at some point, so she may as well get it over with.
"I am so, so sorry." Bianca bit her lip as she looked at Charlie, "What happened the other night was a mistake and I can't believe I did that to you."
"How could you do it to me?" Charlie muttered, tears forming in her eyes.
"I was drunk- we both were."
"But being drunk doesn't make you forget who people are, you knew he was my boyfriend, you knew what you were doing!"
"I don't know what to say, Charlie. Please don't throw away our friendship over this."
"FRIENDSHIP!" Charlie shouted, "Me throw it away? You did that the minute you set your eyes on Brax!"
"I'm so sorry!" Bianca cried before bursting into tears.
"I HATE YOU!" Charlie shouted, "YOU BITCH! YOU KNEW HOW MUCH HE MEANT TO ME!"
"THEN WHY DID YOU BREAK UP WITH HIM?!" Bianca shouted back, brushing her tears away with her hands.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Charlie screamed, pushing Bianca back onto the sand, she found herself kneeling over her as she viciously attacked her best friend.
x-x
Unbeknownst to both girls who were fighting on the beach, both of their ex-boyfriends were witnessing the fight from further up the beach.
Brax had just exited the Surf Club when he heard someone screaming, he turned around to see his ex-girlfriend attacking her best friend.
Before he knew it, he was running down the beach to break up the fight.
Running up beside both girls, he quickly grabbed Charlie around the waist and lifted her over his shoulder, toting her away from Bianca.
Heath rushed towards the beach, pulling Bianca to her feet and holding her back as she tried to run for Charlie again.
Charlie kicked and screamed for Brax to put her down, eventually he did.
She looked up at him, her breathing heavy from the passionate fight she had just engaged in, "You can't just go fighting people on the beach, Charlie!" Brax shouted as he glared down at her.
"Are you kidding me right now?" Charlie choked out, trying not to sob in front of him, "You're defending her?"
"Nah, nah, it ain't like that." Brax tried to defend himself.
"Yes it is, Brax!" Charlie screamed, unable to stop the tears that now clouded her eyes, "I'm not this girl!" She shouted, "I don't push people away, I don't fight people on the beach, I've never hated anyone so much before in my life!" Charlie looked down at the sand as she took a deep breath before her gaze met Brax's again, "I hate myself, because of you!"
Brax tried to keep his face impassive as he watched her break down in front of him, "Don't do this to yourself, Charlie, just stop!"
"I can't!" Charlie screamed as she hit his chest, "You don't understand what you've done to me! I hate you! And I hate hating you, because I love you! I still love you!"
Brax ran his hand over his face before looking down at Charlie again who desperately began wiping the tears from her face, "Charlie-"
"Leave it, Brax," Charlie shook her head, "I'll see you around," she muttered before she quickly ran off the beach, toward her car.
x-x
Casey opened the door and an apologetic look crossed his face as he found Ruby on the other side.
"Hey," Ruby whispered as she looked up at her boyfriend.
"How are you holding up?" Casey asked as he pulled her into a hug.
"I'm okay," Ruby sighed, staying in his arms for a while before she stepped back, "How are things here?"
"They're alright. Apart from the fact Brax is foul-tempered all the time, Bianca keeps coming over, mum keeps ringing to see what's going on."
"Sounds pretty hectic." Ruby frowned.
"Yeah, it is." Casey agreed. "Hey, what's wrong?" Casey sighed as Ruby started to cry.
"Everything's just so messed up," she sobbed, "He's like a dad to me and he's ruined everything!" she cried before collapsing into Casey's arms once again.
x-x
Brax frowned as he approached his house to hear someone crying, thinking it was Bianca talking to Casey, he contemplated going away again, but he decided to open the door and go inside.
He froze when he saw Ruby sobbing uncontrollably into his youngest brother's arms. And it's safe to say, the sight broke his heart.
"R-Rubes?" Brax stuttered as he stumbled into the house.
Both teens' heads jolted up at the sound of his voice. Ruby turned to face him, and upon looking into his eyes, she quickly wiped the remainder of any tears from her eyes, determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing the devastation he had caused both Bucktons.
"Ruby, please talk to me," Brax pleaded with her as he moved into the house and stood in front of her, "I didn't want you to get caught up in all of this, not you... not Casey."
"Well we are!" Ruby shouted as she hit his chest, "How could you do this to her, Brax? To me?"
"I don't know what was going through my head at the time, Ruby," Brax admitted sincerely, "But I need you to know this: I love your mum so much, and I love you. Nothing's ever gonna change that."
"But you fucked up so bad," Ruby sighed, feeling tears form in her eyes again, "You hurt us both so, so much."
"I know, baby." Brax sighed as he stepped forward and took her hand in his, "There's nothing I can say or do to change that, apart from tell you both that it was a mistake and I wasn't thinking straight."
"It's not just the cheating, Brax. On the beach, you defended her, you defended someone else over the woman you're supposedly madly in love with!"
Brax remained silent as Ruby started to cry again, "I'm so sorry," Brax ran his hand over his face as he felt tears form in his own eyes, "You know how guilty I feel, right?"
"I know," Ruby nodded, "And although what you did was disgusting, I still care about you, a lot. You still mean a lot to me, and Charlie." Brax nodded, "Can you please just give us some time? And please don't muck up again."
"I won't," Brax shook his head, "Ever... you can trust me, Rubes."
Ruby gave a short nod of her head before turning to Casey, "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Casey gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before he watched his girlfriend leave the house.
x-x
Charlie groaned as she opened her front door to see Heath and Sam on the other side, "Guys, I'm not in the mood for visitors."
"Charlie, you need to hear this," Sam muttered solemnly.
"What?" Charlie snapped.
"You know the other night? Bianca's birthday?" Heath asked.
"Yes, I do!" Charlie shouted, "The night my boyfriend kissed my best friend. The night your brother kissed your girlfriend."
"Alright," Heath snapped, "You're not the only one who's hurting."
"I'm sorry," Charlie sighed, "This afternoon threw me a bit."
"Me too," Heath nodded.
"So what did you come over to tell me then?" Charlie asked, looking from Heath to Sam.
"Brax slept with Natalie."
Charlie frowned as she stared at Sam, "W-what did you just say?"
"The night he kissed Bianca, he-"
"No," Charlie shook her head, "No, he wouldn't! He promised me! HE WOULDN'T!" Charlie screamed as she sunk to the ground, fresh tears streaming down her face, "Please... he wouldn't," she sobbed.
Both Sam and Heath sighed as they looked down at a devastated Charlie before them, Sam gave Heath a gentle nod of the head, "I'll look after her, you find Ruby," he whispered, Heath nodded before leaving Charlie's place.
Sam watched him leave before he knelt down in front of Charlie, pulling her into his arms as he tried to console her.
x-x
Brax walked up to his front door and furrowed his eyebrows as he looked down to see the lingerie bag Charlie had brought into the restaurant on the afternoon of Bianca's birthday.
He bent down and grabbed the bag, holding it up, he peeled the post-it note off that was on the front of the bag, he swallowed hard as he read the message:
'Maybe Natalie could use this?'
Brax rolled the piece of paper into a ball and angrily threw it at the wall before bursting through the front door and pacing over to the bin, stuffing the bag into it.
x-x
Charlie sat on the couch that night, after Sam had comforted her, he had moved her into the living room, and they were soon joined by Ruby who consoled her mother. The only time she had left the house was to leave the lingerie bag outside Brax's front door.
Charlie shivered, startled when her phone buzzed beside her, she let out an involuntary groan as she looked at the screen and saw a message from him:
'I know you hate me right now, and even seeing my name come up on your phone might make you feel sick- but I need to talk to you. Please Charlie, at least give me a chance to explain everything to you, to apologise to you. You deserve that at least, right? If you're willing to hear me out, meet me at the usual place on the beach, Brax.'
x-x
That's that! Hope you liked it.