Chapter Thirty Six
It had been another month and Charlie was starting to feel like things were the way they should be. She was still broken over what had happened to her but it was also a relief that Grant was behind bars, awaiting trial and the chances were that he would be incarcerated for a long time.
Brax had finally agreed to leave her alone and she was relieved about that. He had hooked up with another girl in their year called Tegan, who she believed had once had a thing with Heath. Charlie was happy that she had become insignificant to him now and her life was better without him being in it.
Leah had continued to try and be her friend but although Charlie had mellowed a little and could see that she had changed, especially now that she had fallen in love with Miles, she remained cautious and held her at a distance. Bianca and Liam had been nothing but supportive.
As for Joey, Charlie felt like she couldn't be happier. They hadn't come out as a couple, largely because Joey was scared of her family's reaction, but in private, they were very happy together. They were in love and Charlie's parents were very happy for them. They were taking things slowly but Charlie knew it was the real thing. Joey was the person she was meant to be with for the rest of her life.
At lunch time, as was their ritual, Charlie and Joey walked along the beach, hand in hand to their secluded spot. Sitting side by side, they looked out at the sea and opened their sandwiches.
"What's wrong?" Joey asked when she saw Charlie frown.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Charlie told her, pushing her food away.
"But you like tuna mayo," Joey said, confused. "You asked your Mum to make them last night."
"I know," Charlie said, fighting revulsion. "I really don't understand what's going on."
"You've been really funny with food recently," Joey agreed.
Charlie opted not to mention that she had been throwing up regularly for a while now. She was terrified of what it meant.
"Never mind," she said, faking brightness. "I have chocolate too so it's all good."
Joey chuckled and watched her girlfriend rip open a chocolate bar and devour it. She tucked into her own sandwiches and continued to enjoy her lunch break. Every day seemed wonderful now that she and Charlie were together.
That night, lying alone in bed, Charlie cried herself to sleep. She had been growing more and more concerned about her lack of period, which she had convinced herself had just been down to stress. But the more she thought about it, the more that, plus her sickness and her sudden dislike of food she once loved, painted a scary picture.
For the first time since they had become close, Charlie had shut Joey out. She hadn't been horrible, she hoped, she had just opted to go home alone and secretly went via the chemist. Hiding in her bathroom at home, she had done three pregnancy tests and the result was clear. The rapist had got her pregnant and she had no idea what she was supposed to do about it.
"Is everything okay, Charlie?" Joey wondered as they walked into school together the following morning.
Charlie nodded mutely. Joey frowned and forced herself not to fret that Charlie had suddenly changed her mind about them.
"Charlie?"
"I'm fine," Charlie insisted a little more sharply than she intended.
She caught the looked of upset of her girlfriend's face and apologised quickly. Nobody deserved to be spoken to badly, especially not her.
"Can we skip class?" Charlie asked. "I need to talk to you."
Joey nodded and followed her out of school, eager to know what was wrong.
Charlie and Joey sat quietly in their beach alcove. Joey stared ahead of her, trying to take in the news that her girlfriend was pregnant.
"What… what are we going to do?" she asked quietly.
Charlie allowed herself a small, albeit sad smile at the idea that they would be in this together, like they had been with everything since the project that had brought them together.
"It's too late to get rid," she told her. "Not that I'd want to. But I don't… I don't know if I can…"
Joey caught hold of her hand.
"I don't know if I can be a single mother," Charlie admitted. "Not at my age. And not from…"
She shuddered at the memory of what had happened to her on that bathroom floor.
"You wouldn't be a single parent," Joey assured her. "But the rest of it…"
Charlie turned to look at her. Joey met her gaze.
"Would you really be prepared to raise a child with me, Joey?" Charlie asked. "At our age?"
"I'd do anything for you," Joey told her.
They smiled sadly at each other.
"It won't be easy," Charlie pointed out.
"I know," Joey said.
"And there's so much we wanted to do with our lives," Charlie added.
"And maybe this will be one of those things," Joey replied.
They sat in silence for a long while, shifting to hold each other close.
Two weeks later, Charlie and Joey's lives had changed completely. They had gone back to Charlie's that day and told her parents that she was pregnant. Ross and Karen had whipped her straight into the hospital for all the necessary tests. They had also pledged their commitment to being grandparents and accepted her decision not to give the baby away for adoption but to raise the baby herself – with Joey.
The teenagers had come out as a couple. Comments had been made and people such as Brax and Leah had not offered any kind of surprise. But Joey's parents had reacted badly and she had ended up moving into the Buckton's spare room. It was strange but it felt more like home that her real home had ever been.
"I can't believe we're doing this," Charlie admitted, as the pair of them sat doing homework together at Charlie's large desk.
She put her pen down and shook her head, wondering how her life had spun so far out of control. And yet, she was still happy, in a strange kind of way. Having a baby now, especially born from such violence was not that way she or anyone would want their life to go. But it was happening and with Joey by her side and with the support of her parents, she felt like it was something she could handle.
"Nor can I," Joey admitted.
Charlie looked anxious.
"Are you sure you're not going to change your mind?" she asked quickly.
Joey smiled and reached out to take her hand.
"I'm never going to change my mind about you or baby Ruby," she promised.
Charlie had already named what was going to be a girl after her late grandmother.
"I love you, Charlie and there is nothing we can't face together," she said. "As far as I'm concerned, we're a family now. Forever."
One year on…
Charlie and Joey set up chairs while Ross busied himself with setting up their fishing gear. The girls had finally managed to go out with him in the early morning and he seemed ever so pleased.
"This is called sunrise," Charlie told baby Ruby, lifting her gently out of her pushchair.
She always woke at this time of the day for a feed but today, she hadn't settled so they'd brought her out with them, all bundled up and warm. It was like she had wanted to come.
"And this is your granddad's most favourite thing to do," she added, settling her daughter on her lap.
Ruby gurgled and reached out for Joey, who had happily stepped in as a second parent. Joey offered her hand, which Ruby was obsessed with holding onto at the moment. Unconventional as everything may be, they were a very happy family.
Well, that's the end of this particular story. I'm working on a couple of others but it will be a while before they start getting posted. But I hope there's enough to be getting on with for now! Anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing (or just reading). I really hope you've enjoyed it. Love, IJKS xxx